William Schpero

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Hannah Maniates, M.P.H. with "Research Priorities of State Medicaid Directors in the Current Environment". After registering, you will receive a confirmatio... Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Hannah Maniates, M.P.H. with "Research Priorities of State Medicaid Directors in the Current Environment". After registering, you will receive a confirmatio...

Very excited that Hannah Maniates from the National Association of Medicaid Directors will be joining us for our next Medicaid Insights Colloquium on Nov. 12.

Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

We are grateful for support from @commonwealthfund.org and @rwjf.org.

cc @acinthedc.bsky.social @khemp.bsky.social @chpc-cornell.bsky.social

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The T-MSIS Analysis Reporting Checklist This Special Communication discusses a checklist to guide reporting of research using T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAF) data.

For more:

➡️ Publication in @jamahealthforum.com: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

➡️ Checklist and Related Resources: tafchecklist.org

➡️ Video Explainer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=27_t...

5/N

The Checklist represents a multi-year effort to develop best practices by a sub-committee of the Medicaid Data Learning Network (MDLN), hosted at @academyhealth.bsky.social.

We benefited from a ton of input across a broad cross-section of the Medicaid research community.

4/N

The TAF Checklist — akin to the STROBE checklist for observational research — recommends a series of items that should be reported in analyses using these data to ensure that TAF-derived research is both high quality and reproducible.

3/N

The advent of TAF in 2019 has done much to catalyze timely research on the Medicaid program.

Yet, the data are highly complex, with varying quality across data elements and states.

2/N

We are excited today to launch the T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAF) Analysis Reporting Checklist, which is designed to guide reporting of research using the TAF, the new generation Medicaid claims data.

See @jamahealthforum.com: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Links to resources in thread below ⬇️

1/N

🚨📝 New CHPC memo out now! This brief titled, “State Policy Levers to Improve Medicaid Pediatric Provider Payment” synthesizes a recent study by CHPC/Weill Cornell faculty members Drs. Beth McGinty, Kayla Tormohlen, Sallie Permar, Cori Green, & Ilina Das Ewen.

📖 Read here: buff.ly/fxNfaMG

Emergency Medicaid at Risk — Preserving State Authority and Access to Care | NEJM States that use federal dollars to provide health care to unauthorized immigrants, beyond narrowly defined emergency services, will now face enforcement actions and potential recoupment of funds.

For decades, the narrowly defined Emergency Medicaid (EM) program has reimbursed hospitals for emergency care provided to uninsured, low-income immigrants.

In @nejm.org, we write in defense of state flexibilities in EM, which seem at risk: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

cc @chpc-cornell.bsky.social

➡️ Please spread the word:

The Medicaid Data Learning Network (MDLN) is launching a survey to gain insights into researchers’ use of federal Medicaid claims data (TAF).

The survey will help the MDLN advocate for improvements to data access / quality.

weillcornell.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Check out our article in Health Affairs Forefront:
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

Dig through individual responses (with comments) on the CHPC website:
healthpolicycenter.cornell.edu/chpc/surveys...

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Every 5-6 weeks, the Cornell Health Policy Center (@chpc-cornell.bsky.social) will survey 64 leading health policy researchers on the most pressing health policy topics of the day.

To start: effects of Medicaid work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

2/N

For many years, the Clark Center at Chicago Booth has regularly surveyed leading economists to assess consensus on timely economic policy issues.

We are excited today to launch the Cornell Health Policy Insight Panel, where we extend that model to health policy.

1/N ⬇️

📣 It’s not too late to join us THIS THURSDAY for our September CHPC Journalism Series webinar: “Supporting Data-Driven Journalism on Medicaid Policy!”

🗓️ Thursday, September 25th | 2:00-3:00 PM ET

Register: buff.ly/PqOT9rD

Not great apples-to-apples estimates out there, but roughly my sense is rx is comparable, ED in Medicaid is higher, outpatient care in Medicaid is lower.

Diagnosed health conditions and health care use among Medicaid expansion enrollees, 2019 and 2022 As of 2025, 40 states and the District of Columbia have implemented expansions of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).1 A large body o

Link to Paper:

academic.oup.com/healthaffair...

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cc @chpc-cornell.bsky.social

2. The OBBBA includes work requirement exemptions for certain groups, including folks who are "medically frail" or in treatment for SUD.

Our paper is an early proof-of-concept that states could use claims to automate exemptions (if allowed to do so in final regs).

5/N

➡️ We see two important implications:

1. Most expansion enrollees are actively receiving care. The coverage losses predicted under the OBBBA's work requirement will thus likely introduce discontinuities in care.

4/N

➡️ Key Finding 2: There was meaningful variation in health care use across states.

Rx use exhibited the largest variation across states, followed by outpatient visits, ED visits, and inpatient visits.

3/N

➡️ Key Finding 1: In 2022, over one-third of adult expansion enrollees had at least 1 diagnosed health condition.

One-quarter had an ED visit, while over 60% had outpatient visits and prescription drug fills.

2/N

During debate on the OBBBA, I realized we know very little about health care needs and use in the adult Medicaid expansion population.

We have a short paper out in Health Affairs Scholar this week that uses national Medicaid claims data in an attempt to fill that gap:

⬇️ 1/N

Calling all health policy journalists:

Come to our session next week on data resources for reporting on Medicaid!

Postdoc, Postgrad, and Research Intern Vacancies Browse Postoc and Research Intern vacancies at UW–Madison.

Dan Sacks and I are looking for a postdoc to work on Medicaid evaluation projects at UW-IRP. See posting: hr.wisc.edu/postdoc-and-... . Email your resume and cover letter to Tim Connor at tim.connor@wisc.edu.
For any questions regarding the position, please contact Dan Sacks at dan.sacks@wisc.edu

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: CHPC Journalism Series: Supporting Data-Driven Journalism on Medicaid Policy. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In this session, two Cornell experts will identify key data resources for reporting on timely Medicaid policy topics, including: - Impact of emerging federal and state policy developments - Coverage trends...

📢 Calling all journalists 📢

Join our third session of the Cornell Health Policy Center Journalism Series “Supporting Data-Driven Journalism on Medicaid Policy!”

🗓️ Thursday, September 25th | 2:00 PM–3:00 PM ET on Zoom

Register now:

🚨 Want to learn more about key public data resources for reporting on Medicaid policy issues?

Join our third session of the Cornell Health Policy Center Journalism Series
“Supporting Data-Driven Journalism on Medicaid Policy!”

🔗 Register: buff.ly/WsGMU4H

Please spread the word -- our next @chpc-cornell.bsky.social event for journalists is focused on data resources for reporting on Medicaid policy.

Details below:

Insurance Churn and the COVID-19 Pandemic This study estimates whether the Families First Coronavirus Response Act decreased insurance churn.

My co-authors Sarah Shubeck (UCM) & Emily Crawford (Booth PhD student) & I have a new paper in JAMA Health Forum studying the effects of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) on insurance churn (defined as losing health insurance over the next 12 months) jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Please spread the word!

Happening tomorrow.

Very clear article discussing our @beckerfriedman.bsky.social / @nber.org working paper and other aspects of healthcare job growth.

The full paper together with @nealemahoney.bsky.social @siepr.bsky.social @kevinrinz.bsky.social @victoriaudalova.bsky.social is here: gottlieb.ca/papers/Healt...

This portends another addition to the Cape Cod house that is subsidies for the safety net: Medicare DSH, Medicaid DSH, the Critical Access Hospital program, 340B, etc.

All have overlapping purposes and are subject to gaming and mis-targeting.