Health Care Policy | Penn Today

Nudging populations toward better health

Kevin Volpp, Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School, discusses how behavioral health interventions can improve public health outcomes.

2 min. read

Eri Maeda standing outdoors against a brick wall and smiling, facing forward.

Investigating barriers to menopause care for Medicaid patients

Rising third-year Eri Maeda dedicated her summer to a Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program project exploring how insurance status may shape access to menopause care in the U.S.

4 min. read

Health insurers are denying more drug claims, data shows

A study led by Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine and Leonard Davis Institute found that cancer patients with prior authorization requirements were more likely to have a sudden interruption in access to their oral chemotherapy medication. Penn Medicine’s Aaron Schwartz, also of LDI, says that claim denials are opaque, with many decisions made by private actors.

How could Medicaid cuts affect long-term care?

Rachel Werner of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine discusses Medicaid cuts and long-term care.

New data show most patients now stay on Wegovy, Zepbound after a year

PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that increased insurance coverage might be turning the tide against low persistence on weight-loss drugs.

Health insurers promise to improve coverage reviews that prompt delays and complaints

Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine says that patients are trapped between care being unaffordable and nonfinancial barriers and administrative burdens growing worse.

Innovative program jointly launched by Independence Blue Cross and Penn Medicine accelerates access to outpatient scans

A joint program from Independence Blue Cross (IBX) and Penn Medicine gets patients on the path to care and a diagnosis faster and to save both providers and IBX time on prior authorization requests for outpatient scans (such as, CT, PET, and nuclear medicine scans, MRI and echocardiograms). Launched in 2023, the success of the program has driven IBX to expand the program to other network providers.

Expanding essential wound care for people who use drugs

A new study from Penn’s School of Nursing, published in the Harm Reduction Journal, identifies critical factors and strategies for expanding low-barrier wound care services for people who use drugs. The research comes as the rise of xylazine, a tranquilizer found in the street opioid supply, has led to a significant increase in severe necrotic wounds among this population.

Improving care for disadvantaged patients

New research from Penn Nursing provides insight on the critical factors that help or hinder hospital nurses in delivering quality care to socially disadvantaged patients.

1 min. read

Long-term care in the U.S. faces two existential threats: an immigration crackdown and Medicaid cuts

In a co-written opinion essay, Rachel M. Werner of the Leonard Davis Institute and Perelman School of Medicine outlines two major threats to U.S. long-term care: the ongoing immigration crackdown and federal cuts to Medicaid.

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