FEATURE STORIES

Penn Study Questions Accuracy of Federal Maternal Morbidity Stats

Research led by Beth Pineles

found that federal birth certificate data significantly undercounts severe maternal complications and masks racial disparities.

Promoting Public Benefits in the Emergency Department

Austin Kilaru, Raina Merchant, and Anish Agarwal found that adding follow-up text messages to paper flyers increased the likelihood that discharged patients contacted a benefits navigator. 

"Pill Mill" Laws Cut Opioid Overprescribing and Deaths

Trump Order on Homelessness Sparks Alarm

Dennis Culhane, Margaret Lowenstein, Vincent Reina, Dominic Sisti, and Shoshana Aronowitz unpacked how Executive Order 14321 fails to properly address homelessness.

How 'The Talk' Has Changed for Latino Families

In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Diana Montoya-Williams shared how Latino families have adapted safety conversations with their children as ICE arrests surge.

 PENN LDI AT ACADEMYHEALTH

Research by many LDI Fellows will be represented at the 2026 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, May 30–June 2 in Seattle. Browse our day-by-day Fellow presentation schedule, and stop by LDI's booth #611 in the exhibitor hall. 

 EVENT RECAPS

Medicaid After HR1: State Challenges and Policy Tradeoffs

Our recent virtual seminar  brought together 900+ registrants to explore the future of Medicaid following the sweeping changes enacted under H.R.1.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Knee Replacement Surgeries

At the Charles C. Leighton, MD, Memorial Lecture, Dr. Said Ibrahim discussed longstanding disparities in knee replacement surgery for African American patients.

IN THE MEDIA

“Violence Has Fallen, But So Has Funding for Prevention.” Elinore Kaufman. New York Times

“After Dobbs, Miscarriage Care Looked Different in States With Abortion Bans.” Courtney Schreiber. Science News

“The Testosterone Moment is Here. And Men May Never Look the Same.” Derek Griffith. New York Times Magazine

“Medicaid Cuts Could Leave Parents Struggling to Find Pediatric Care.” Diane Alexander. Marketplace

“Inside America’s Emergency Room Crisis.” Austin Kilaru. WHYY

PUBLICATIONS

“Prevalence and Treatment of Anxiety and Depression Among U.S. Health Care Workers, 2021–2024.” John C. Lin, Chloe Gao, Anthony Zhong, Jaya Aysola, Judith A. Long. Journal of General Internal Medicine

“Bundled Payments-Looking Beyond the Episode.” Yuvaram N.V. Reddy, Sri Lekha Tummalapalli, Amol S. Navathe. JAMA Internal Medicine

“Examining Staff Perceptions of a Proactive, Telephonic Transition-of-Care Program for Pregnant People With Emergency Department Utilization.” Stephanie M. Garcia, Lanelle Quzack, Erica Hartmann, Natasha Dravid, Michelle Adyniec, Meredith Matone. Health Services Research

“Trends in Prescription Drug Coverage Restrictions in Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial Insurance Plans, 2011–2019.” Michael Anne Kyle, Pragya Kakani, Samantha L. Burn, Luca Maini. Health Affairs Scholar

“Safe Minimum Nurse Staffing Requirements for Hospitals: Evidence From Pennsylvania.” K. Jane Muir, Linda H. Aiken, Heather Brom, Vaneh Hovsepian, Karen B. Lasater, Matthew D. McHugh. Medical Care

Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics is a national leader in advancing health policy through transformative research.