FEATURE STORIES

Doctors Paid Less for Treating Black and Hispanic Patients

Aaron Schwartz, David Asch, and Rachel M. Werner found that physicians are paid less for providing outpatient care to Hispanic and Black patients than to white patients.

Health Staffing in ICE Facilities

A study by Joseph Nwadiuko found that immigration detention facilities do not have adequate clinical staff, revealing that more than half of the facilities in the study lacked continuous physician coverage for at least one year. 

Racial Disparities in Cancer Care

New research by Jalpa Doshi and Carmen Guerra revealed significant racial disparities in cancer treatment receipt among traditional Medicare beneficiaries.

Hospital Mergers, Prices, and Quality

Mark Pauly and Lawton Robert Burns reviewed new evidence indicating that hospital mergers raise prices while failing to improve quality, and provide guidance to regulators.

Medicare Payment Model Shortchanges Rural Patients

Research from Kristin Linn and Amol Navathe found that the CMS-HCC risk adjustment model systematically underestimated clinical risk for rural Medicare beneficiaries. 

 UPCOMING EVENTS

LDI Fellows Workshop: Using Large Language Models (LLMs) for Health Services Research, Part 2

Monday, December 8, 2025
9:00–11:00 a.m. ET

In-person workshop open to LDI Fellows only.

Financing Long-Term Care: Public vs. Private Solutions

Friday, December 12, 2025
12:00–1:00 p.m. ET

A Conversation with Richard G. Frank, PhD, Narda Ipakchi, MBA, and R. Tamara Konetzka, PhD. Moderated by Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD.

Virtual seminar open to the public.

 EVENT VIDEO RECAP

Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education

More than 350 registrants from the health care community, government, and policymaking joined our panel of experts to explore the future of medical training, and curricular strategies to ensure AI strengthens rather than weakens the education of tomorrow’s physicians.

IN THE MEDIA

“Nursing is No Longer Counted as a ‘Professional Degree’ by Trump Admin.” Antonia Villarruel. Newsweek

“FDA Review Staff was Excluded From Voting on Whether to Approve First Priority Voucher Drug.” Holly Fernandez Lynch. STAT

“These Hospitals Figured Out How to Slash C-Section Rates.” Rebecca Clark. New York Times

“‘Ticking Time Bomb:’ A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.” Jennifer Lewey. ProPublica

PUBLICATIONS

“The Effects of Government-Led Cash Transfer Programmes on Behavioural and Health Determinants of Mortality: A Difference-in-Differences Study.” Aaron Richterman, Tra-My Ngoc Bui, Elizabeth F. Bair, Gregory Jerome, Christophe Millien, Jean Christophe Dimitri Suffrin, Jere R. Behrman, Harsha Thirumurthy. Lancet

“The Enduring Impact of the National Institute of Nursing Research and Why We Still Need it.” Mary D. Naylor, Martha A.Q. Curley, Connie M. Ulrich. JAMA Health Forum

“Medicaid Coverage and Prior Authorization for Antiobesity Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists: A Cross-Sectional Study of State Policies.” Matthew J. Klebanoff, Ashwin K. Chetty, Jalpa A. Doshi. Journal of General Internal Medicine

“Postpartum Persistent Opioid Use After Opioid Exposure for Childbirth.” Meredith Matone, Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Doug Strane, Xianqun Luan, Zachary Meisel. Obstetrics and Gynecology

“VA-Purchased Community Care and Risk of Potentially Unsafe Concurrent Medication Use Among Veterans Receiving Opioids: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis.” Eric T. Roberts, Florentina E. Sileanu, Yaming Li, Timothy S. Anderson, Carolyn T. Thorpe, John Cashy, Katie J. Suda, Thomas R. Radomski, Maria K. Mor, Utibe R, Essien, Megan E. Vanneman, Michael J. Fine, Walid F. Gellad. Health Services Research

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