SSN Central PA

Opinion | Cutting Medicaid Funding Isn't the Only Worrisome Change to the Program Restrictions on demonstration projects will further hinder access to care

As I wrote in @medpagetoday.com, if we're meant to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, we need boots. America's safety net (e.g. Medicaid) is the boots, and the additional changes headed Medicaid's way will further undercut the security of vulnerable patients. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

Trump's second presidency begins: evaluating effects on the US health system The first hundred days of the second Trump administration was unprecedented, with the administration taking remarkably aggressive, often questionably …

Sobering analysis of Trump’s first 100 days for healthcare by @scottlgreer.bsky.social Jarman, Kulikoff and my Central PA SSN codirector @mirandayaver.bsky.social
@ssncentralpa.bsky.social
@scholars.org

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Evaluating Student Evaluations of Teaching: a Review of Measurement and Equity Bias in SETs and Recommendations for Ethical Reform - Journal of Academic Ethics Student evaluations of teaching are ubiquitous in the academe as a metric for assessing teaching and frequently used in critical personnel decisions. Yet, there is ample evidence documenting both meas...

Kreitzer and Sweet-Cushman have a great summary of the research here. I am not joking in the least when I say it's easier to detect instructor gender than teaching or learning in evals. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Will democratic backsliding lead to outmigration from US or from particularly backsliding states to others within the US? Yeah, I think so.

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...

Opinion | Republicans are trying to turn their attacks on Obamacare into self-fulfilling prophecies For those who buy insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act, premiums are about to get much more expensive.

My MSNBC debut, on the rising ACA premiums. The Trump Admin is letting the Biden Admin's enhanced subsidies expire, making marketplace ins prohibitively expensive (so younger/healthier people will drop out, leaving the rest costlier to insure), & tariffs aren't helping. www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Photo of Capitol Hill in background with title of "Experts Available: Senate Finance Committee's Medicaid Policy" followed by circle headshots of the experts, their affiliations, and expertise.

📢The Senate Finance Committee released its "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," with major #Medicaid changes from the House version. For reporters covering what these proposed changes could mean for healthcare access & public health, these experts are available. ⤵️

🔗 Connect: scholars.org/features-exp...

Column: Republican budget has a few big winners, many losers Virginians must make their voices heard if they want a smarter, fairer budget from Washington, William & Mary professor Christopher Howard writes in a guest column.

"Republicans are being very selective in the budget numbers they highlight. They claim that almost all Americans will receive a tax cut. What they don’t mention is how huge those tax cuts will be for the rich compared to everyone else," — @chris-howard.bsky.social in this @pilotonline.com op-ed. ⤵️

Thanks Miranda and thanks @scholars.org for the help getting this placed. This is indeed a big, very bad, bill.

Everything new in RFK Jr's MAHA proposal "The trust issues are quite far-reaching" and impact public perception towards health-based changes across the U.S., a health professor told Newsweek.

Miranda Yaver, co-leader of the Central PA chapter of @scholars.org, spoke with Newsweek about the public health challenges under RFK Jr. "This trust will be difficult to rebuild, especially as we see the continued hollowing out of the public health bureaucracy. www.newsweek.com/rfk-maha-rep...

Everything new in RFK Jr's MAHA proposal "The trust issues are quite far-reaching" and impact public perception towards health-based changes across the U.S., a health professor told Newsweek.

I spoke with Newsweek about how RFK Jr./MAHA have quickly eroded trust in health communications and data, and why that's especially dangerous in the setting of vaccines. www.newsweek.com/rfk-maha-rep...

📢 The House has passed the #BigBeautifulBill, introducing several proposed changes to #Medicaid. For reporters covering these proposals and their potential impact, the following experts are available for comment. ⤵️🧵

🔗 Connect: scholars.org/features/exp...

Here is a blog post with a quick summary of this article:

medium.com/3streams/cul...

#Tariffs are promoted as a way to protect American workers—but do they work? In this No Jargon podcast ep, Erica Owen (University of Pittsburgh) discusses the shifts in U.S. #tradepolicy under #Trump & the effects they’re having on businesses, workers & consumers.

🎧 Listen now: buff.ly/4k0RfmD

‘Rationing by inconvenience’: Health insurers count on customers not appealing denials Call it “rationing by inconvenience”: Health insurers save money when customers are too exhausted to bother appealing denials.

I wrote this based on my JHPPL article on inequitable administrative burdens of appealing coverage denials, incorporating a new interview I did with a doc who reviews claims for a major insurer and who said, "We’re told denying things is OK because people can appeal" www.statnews.com/2025/01/23/h...

#Trump has bold plans for a second term in office, but how feasible are they? In this No Jargon podcast episode, @donmoyn.bsky.social helps separates fact from fiction to explore what Trump’s plans could mean for the future of the country.

Listen now: buff.ly/4j17MXh

Excited & honored to lead the Scholars Strategy Network! A wonderful organization, uniquely prepared for this moment, w/37 chapters nationwide!

This nightmare delay and denial shows why patients need a bill of rights Reform didn’t come in time for Frank Wurzbacher, but it might help to prevent future tragedies.

I have a new op-ed in The Hill on a less discussed aspect of the health insurance coverage delays and denials we've been talking about the last several weeks, and why ERISA reform is needed to deliver the health insurer accountability that these conditions demand. thehill.com/opinion/heal...

Blog post on research with Toby Heinrich on how self interest and knowledge of AI shape preferences for AI regulation

@ssncentralpa.bsky.social
#AI
#artificialintelligence

📅 Interested in joining @scholars.org ? Join our info session on Wednesday, December 18th at 2pm ET to learn about our mission, membership benefits, and how to get involved.

Already a member? Share this with your colleagues!
scholars.my.salesforce-sites.com/event/home/s...

@mirandayaver.bsky.social highlights the large scope of health insurance coverage denials (36% of survey respondents, most of whom experience multiple denials) & how insurers' reliance on AI in claim processing can exacerbate this health policy problem (lawsuits allege 90% reversal rate on appeal!).

If you are interested in the work of a group of engaged policy scholars in Central and Western PA, give us a follow!

a man walking into a room with the words " we 're here " written on the floor ALT: a man walking into a room with the words " we 're here " written on the floor

Hello! We are the Central PA chapter of @scholars.org, co-led by @cmwitko.bsky.social and @mirandayaver.bsky.social. We'll be posting updates about our members' work (ranging from health policy to inequality to labor and more), and stay tuned for updates about a spring health policy event!