USC Schaeffer

🗓️What should Medicare beneficiaries know about the 2027 open enrollment period now underway? USC Schaeffer's Jonathan Blum joins a discussion on affordability, access and choice hosted by @thehill.com this Wednesday. ✒️Register: bangforyourbuck2027.splashthat.com

New guidelines for postpartum GLP-1 use come as prescribing among new mothers has surged in recent years, according to USC Schaeffer research cited by @wsj.com: schaeffer.usc.edu/research/glp...

The ACA failed to bend the cost curve, USC Schaeffer's Dana Goldman writes in @statnews.com. The good news: We now have the tools to get healthcare costs under control if we're willing to take a hard look at the value of treatments.

Medical billing is complex, and patients rarely have insight into how their bills are calculated. A new USC Schaeffer issue brief examines the hidden infrastructure of medical billing and opportunities to improve the system.

Nearly 40% of FDA advisory committee meetings over a recent 10-year period included a patient or consumer rep with active ties to an advocacy organization funded by drugmakers, according to new USC Schaeffer research in Health Affairs Scholar.

State prescription drug affordability boards were created to address legitimate concerns about drug costs and patient affordability, but they don't use the right measures to assess what patients actually pay, writes USC Schaeffer's William Padula in Health Affairs Forefront.

A ballot proposal in California to tax billionaires is being pitched as a way to offset federal healthcare cuts. However, USC Schaeffer’s Glenn Melnick tells @kffhealthnews.org that the measure’s ambiguous language could allow lawmakers to use the money for other purposes.

New treatments that can slow #Alzheimers progression could provide significant value across society, with even greater benefits when treatment starts earlier, according to new USC Schaeffer research.

Dementia's economic impact is estimated to hit $818B this year and continue growing. A new interactive tool from USC Schaeffer shows how dementia and new interventions may shape health and economic outcomes in the U.S. over the next 25 years.

ER visits among foreign-born patients dropped sharply at L.A. hospitals as immigration enforcement intensified last year, new USC Schaeffer research finds. When foreign-born patients did seek care, they were more likely to be hospitalized.

The collapse of community is a threat to democracy. Young people didn’t create this problem, but they have power to fix it, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown of #USCSchaeffer and Robert Putnam told an audience at the @usc.edu Capital Campus in Washington, DC.

Postpartum GLP-1 use has increased sharply in the US, finds new USC Schaeffer research in @jama.com. Among commercially insured patients, nearly 1 in 6 new mothers with type 2 diabetes were prescribed a GLP-1 last year, while prescriptions have risen fastest for obesity and overweight.

States have already allocated billions of dollars from major opioid settlements. The largest share of funds, about 40%, is going toward unknown purposes, finds an analysis of publicly reported data led by USC Schaeffer's Rosalie Liccardo Pacula.

More than 1 in 5 older adults are taking potentially risky combinations of prescription drugs, according to new research from USC Schaeffer's Dima Qato.

A proposal to tie Medicare physician pay increases to inflation represents a retreat from using sweeping financial incentives to influence how doctors provide care, USC Schaeffer’s Paul Ginsburg told @statnews.com.

Most older US adults would be interested in a dementia vaccine, survey finds Researchers asked about a hypothetical vaccine that could cut the risk of dementia in half. Read more: https://bit.ly/4y9IYDl 📷: CDC

As policymakers weigh changes to the No Surprises Act’s overburdened arbitration process, USC Schaeffer's Erin Duffy writes that longstanding commercial arbitration and litigation systems offer important lessons for reform.

Older Americans appear ready to embrace a vaccine that would help prevent dementia. New USC Schaeffer research finds nearly 3 in 4 older adults would be interested in receiving a vaccine that could cut the risk of dementia in half.

New FDA-approved blood tests can detect signs of #Alzheimers before symptoms appear, creating a critical opportunity for early intervention. Congress should pass bipartisan legislation allowing Medicare coverage, USC Schaeffer's Joe Grogan writes. www.realclearhealth.com/articles/202...

A bill before the House Ways and Means Committee would undermine MedPAC's ability to conduct independent analysis, warned USC Schaeffer Sr. Scholar Paul GInsburg.

Very few patients with #Alzheimers are referred to or consider joining clinical trials. Reimbursing providers for counseling patients about trial participation could make a difference, USC Schaeffer experts wrote to CMS.

People who stopped using GLP-1s reported lower trust in pharmaceutical companies than current users and those who never used the treatments, a new USC Schaeffer survey found.

Whether people vote is partly predicted by what they think friends and family will do, new USC Schaeffer research shows.

The first prescription for sleep medications may play an important role in shaping long-term use. Patients initially prescribed drugs like Ambien for longer durations were more likely to still be using them years later, new USC Schaeffer research finds.

As the new school year begins, data from the Understanding America Study at USC Schaeffer points to critical gaps between how parents and their teens perceive teens' well-being.

Medicare's GLP-1 Bridge Program is off to a fast start. USC Schaeffer Scholar Jeremy Shane tells @npr.org the program's early success offers an opportunity to think more broadly about how to link medicine prices to value.

📅Voter turnout in the midterms will be shaped by an often-overlooked factor: friends & family. Join USC Schaeffer researchers and voting rights advocates on Sept. 15 for a conversation on how social circles influence voter intentions. Register here: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/do-you...

Leading voices on the left and right incorrectly assume NIH funding and private research dollars are interchangeable. In reality, they are complementary investments that drive U.S. scientific leadership, USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla argues.

New USC Schaeffer research estimates that 52 million U.S. adults have experienced at least one long COVID symptom, including ~10 million whose symptoms have severely limited daily activities. The need for effective long COVID treatments and surveillance remains urgent.

Nearly 1 in 3 hospitals are now also insurers. Writing in @theconversation.com, USC Schaeffer’s Grace Mackleby discusses the good, the bad and the unknown of what this growing trend could mean for costs and patient care.

Drug prices fell more sharply over the past year than at any point in more than 6 decades. USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce tells @axios.com that market forces are driving much of this decline. www.axios.com/2026/08/17/d...

Confidence in U.S. democracy and higher education are both declining. Adding a civics requirement for college freshmen could help address both issues, argue USC Schaeffer Scholars Anna Saavedra and Peter Levine.

As maternity care costs rise, most rural hospitals no longer deliver babies. USC Schaeffer's Virat Agrawal argues that states should use new rural health funding to expand access to high-quality, lower-cost options.

Clinical trial recruitment for #Alzheimers treatments is a persistent challenge. USC Schaeffer’s Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab interviewed stakeholders from across the trial ecosystem to ID areas of alignment, where priorities diverge and critical gaps.

FDA reviewers can't possibly keep pace with software development in the age of machine learning and AI, USC Schaeffer's Dana Goldman writes in @statnews.com Congress must give FDA the tools it needs to adapt so patients can access -- and have confidence in -- the latest innovations, he argues.

Drug spending is shifting away from “me-too” products and toward highly novel medicines, according to new USC Schaeffer research in Health Affairs. The findings suggest markets & policy are evolving to reward meaningful scientific innovation.

While federal reforms are forcing changes to PBM practices, USC Schaeffer's Geoffrey Joyce tells Healthcare Brew it's unclear whether PBMs will simply be able to find new ways to generate revenue.

The 2025 L.A. wildfires had lasting psychological impacts on residents in evacuation zones, particularly those already facing social and economic hardship, according to a new study from the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC Schaeffer.

📢 New research funding opportunity: The USC-Yale Roybal Center for Behavioral Interventions in Aging, hosted at the USC Schaeffer Center, is accepting proposals for research testing mechanisms of behavior change to promote healthy aging. More info here ⬇️

A prolonged vacancy atop the FDA could mean delayed work on new treatments until there's greater policy clarity, USC Schaeffer's @profgenkanter.bsky.social tells Pharma Voice. “Transition delays and really, any uncertainty in leadership, are not good for the industry and not good for the public."

Language barriers could make it difficult for some patients to understand or get info about hospitals’ financial assistance programs. USC Schaeffer's Erin Duffy in AJMC explains how the financial consequences for patients can be substantial.

Don't count on AI to lower healthcare spending, write USC Schaeffer scholars Bob Kocher & Erin Duffy. Without significant changes to system incentives and market structures, AI is likely to increase health spending in the coming years.

Health insurance premiums for family coverage in California are expected to top $30K next year. USC Schaeffer's Glenn Melnick explains in @latimes.com how soaring premiums are eating into workers' wages.

The prevailing sentiment that new #Alzheimers drugs don’t really work has been a major disservice to families affected by the disease, USC Schaeffer Scholars Paul Aisen and Joe Grogan argue.

Much of what's known about preventing #dementia comes from research in wealthy countries like the US. A new global study from USC Schaeffer's Center for Economic and Social Research finds modifiable dementia risk factors vary widely around the world, but also share some key similarities. #aaic26

Dementia isn’t just a health crisis, it’s also an economic one. USC Schaeffer’s Julie Zissimopoulos discusses her new research with @ktla.com estimating that dementia will cost the U.S. a staggering $818 billion this year.

Medicare prescriptions for Wegovy jumped in the 6 months after the weight-loss drug was approved for heart risk, new USC Schaeffer research shows. However, fewer than 1% of beneficiaries who were likely eligible had filled a prescription.

USC Schaeffer experts recently shared recommendations on a bipartisan legislative proposal to better integrate clinical trials into routine care and expand the use of real-world evidence in regulatory decision-making.

Medicare this week will start covering GLP-1s for weight-loss, potentially benefiting millions of beneficiaries. USC Schaeffer research on the cost, coverage and value of anti-obesity medications has helped inform this policy shift.

DC health debates often center on budget scores, less so on long-term consequences for health outcomes, markets and biomedical innovation. Dana Goldman & Erin Trish in @jamahealthforum.com suggest complementing CBO analysis w/outside modeling to provide a more complete picture of policy impacts.