Harvard Health Policy and Management

📰 Explore the latest in research from the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard Chan!

We’re especially excited to share this month's "Research Chat," featuring Dr. Ari Ne'eman!

🔗 Check it out here: t.e2ma.net/message/yewm...

Spiritually active people are less likely to abuse substances, Harvard study says Researchers at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health published findings in JAMA Psychiatry that shows that people who attend religious services or pray are 13% less likely to misuse drugs, alcohol or ...

📰 New @gbhnews.bsky.social article spotlights Howard Koh and his latest research finding that spiritual practices are associated with a lower risk of hazardous drug and alcohol use.

Dr. Koh says spirituality was also linked to reduced depression and suicide risk, and improved overall mortality.

YouTube video by Melissa Joy Dobbins 304: SNAP, School Meals, New DGAs: What’s Changing & Why It Matters – Dr. Sara Bleich

🎙️Check out Sara Bleich in the latest episode of Sound Bites Podcast, as she dives into some of the most pressing issues in food policy today.

🔗 Listen/watch here: lnkd.in/ePRTuPww

How smoking divides America — Harvard Gazette Mapping the midlife effects of a lethal habit.

New research isolates an old foe — #smoking — as the principal culprit behind U.S. #midlife mortality gaps defined by place and education. Ellen Meara and colleagues sought to shed light on the gap in #mortality among Americans 25 to 64, which widened from 2.6 years in 1992 to 6.3 years in 2019.

Health insurance premiums are rising—here’s why | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Health policy expert Meredith Rosenthal discusses the impact of higher premiums and explains why health care costs keep rising.

“Unfortunately, the expiration of the ACA enhanced subsidies is a very significant blow to insurance coverage and affordability.“

@harvardhpm.bsky.social’s Meredith Rosenthal discusses the impact of higher premiums and explains why health care costs keep rising.

Community health centers face multiple threats to financial stability Fifty health centers in Massachusetts, which serve a million patients a year, are straining under an "assault" from federal policy changes.

Important read from @gbhnews.bsky.social features John McDonough discussing growing financial threats facing community health centers due to federal policy changes that will likely force them to scale back operations. These challenges put millions at risk when it comes to accessing affordable care.

Pressure Points: Leading academic medical centers in turbulent times | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Event Type

📅 Be sure to tune in on Wednesday, January 21st for this important conversation featuring fellow healthcare leaders and experts, including Ted Witherell and Rifat Atun, discussing effective crisis leadership.

🎥Register and watch live through the link below ⬇️

Stricter Medicaid policies lower access to prescription medications | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health After the COVID-19 public health emergency, when Medicaid continuous enrollment ended, Americans filled fewer prescriptions, according to a new Harvard Chan School study.

New JAMA study co-authored by Ben Sommers and @adrianna.bsky.social finds that when #Medicaid continuous enrollment ended after #COVID, Americans lost access to medications, with fewer prescriptions filled to treat conditions ranging from colds and allergies to cancer, diabetes, HIV, and depression.

Hospitals acquired by real estate investment trusts associated with greater risk of bankruptcy, closure | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health REIT acquisition of hospitals had no significant impacts on quality of clinical care or patient outcomes—but had a significant negative impact on hospital finances, according to a new Harvard Chan Sch...

Real estate investment trust (REIT)-acquired U.S. hospitals were associated with a greater risk of bankruptcy or closure than non-REIT-acquired hospitals, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard Chan School.

Learn more from Thomas Tsai of @harvardhpm.bsky.social:

YouTube video by Harvard HPM Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

🎥 New video spotlighting the mission and impact of the Department of Health Policy and Management at @hsph.harvard.edu.

▶️ Watch, share, and learn more about what drives HPM!

#HealthPolicy #PublicHealth #HPM #HealthEquity #Storytelling

Is cost curbing use of weight loss drugs? — Harvard Gazette Study finds 40 percent of GLP-1 prescriptions go unfilled.

📰 Excellent Harvard Gazette piece featuring Anna Sinaiko and colleagues' research to fill in knowledge gaps about how GLP-1 drugs are used by patients.

Federal health policy changes could upend coverage across U.S., experts warn | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Significant changes in federal policy slated to take effect in the coming months could disrupt health care coverage, costs, and access to care for millions of people, according to experts who spoke at...

Significant changes in federal policy slated to take effect in the coming months could disrupt health care coverage, costs, and access to care for millions of people, especially lower-income Americans, according to experts who spoke at a Harvard Chan Studio event, moderated by @adrianna.bsky.social

Pressure not off for SNAP recipients | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Sara Bleich spoke about the history of SNAP and the effects of major new legislative changes to the program.

Recent changes to SNAP “can really have a dampening effect on [people’s] willingness to apply, because they may assume that they’re not qualified, even if they might actually be eligible for the program,” says Sara Bleich, professor of health policy at Harvard Chan School. @harvardhpm.bsky.social

Check out this article in The New York Times quoting @adrianna.bsky.social — the piece discusses rising health-insurance costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and is a timely and powerful look at the challenges many Americans are facing right now.

Read below ⬇️
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/h...

It was an honor to host @drtomfrieden.bsky.social recently for an engaging conversation on his new book!

Thank you to the @harvardgh.bsky.social team for their support in coordinating this successful event.

Rhetoric vs Reality on Immigrants’ Health Care Spending This JAMA Forum discusses eligibility restrictions for emergency Medicaid coverage, cuts to health care coverage for legal immigrants, and the broader pattern of health care cuts made by the Trump adm...

💡 New JAMA Health Forum piece co-authored by Ben Sommers examines the 'Rhetoric vs Reality' on health care spending among the immigrant population in the United States.

Read the article below ⬇️

Psychological safety at work is essential--especially amid crisis | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Promoting psychological safety in the workplace is essential to employee wellbeing and retention, especially during times of crisis--when, ironically, psychological safety is likeliest to dwindle, according to a study co-authored by Harvard Chan School'...

Promoting psychological safety in the workplace is essential to employee wellbeing and retention, especially during times of crisis—when, ironically, psychological safety is likeliest to dwindle, according to a study co-authored by Harvard Chan School’s Michaela Kerrissey. @harvardhpm.bsky.social

Food banks, already strained, brace for prolonged demand Even as SNAP benefits are restored, food banks and pantries around the nation continue to feel the strain with no reprieve in sight.

📰 Check out this insightful piece from @npr.org, featuring Sara Bleich, discussing how food banks are bracing for prolonged demand due to the funding crisis caused by the Trump administration's Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is set to shrink federal SNAP spending by billions over the next few years.

Faculty share tips on successful classroom strategies | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health More than 30 faculty members at Harvard Chan School came together on Nov. 13 to share teaching practices that work to foster open, respectful, and intellectually engaging discussions in the classroom.

📰 Proud to see three of our amazing HPM colleagues—Ben Sommers, Michaela Kerrissey, and John McDonough—mentioned in this insightful article on effective classroom strategies.

Check it out ⬇️ via @hsph.harvard.edu

tagging @joefigs.bsky.social for this question!

Medicaid Cuts Likely to Affect Urban Safety-Net Hospitals | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The HQO Lab team collaborated with the New York Times The Upshot to understand which hospitals will be most at risk for the Medicaid cuts. This data blog was

💡The Healthcare Quality and Outcomes (HQO) Lab has been working with The Upshot team (via @nytimes.com) to assess which hospitals may be most at risk to Medicaid cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (#OBBBA). Read about their findings below ⬇️ via @hsph.harvard.edu

Explainer: Understanding the SNAP program—and what cuts to these benefits may mean The economic costs are significant—but so are the human ones, a Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health professor and former government health official explains.

This insightful explainer from the @harvardkennedy.bsky.social featuring Sara Bleich walks through how SNAP works, its broad impacts, and the implications of proposed policy changes.

Is health insurance a matter of life and death? Scientists may have an answer. The surprisingly tricky question stumped researchers for decades. But they think they finally have an answer.

📰New research shows what many policy debates have skirted: insurance really can be a matter of life and death. In this @uwsph.bsky.social piece featuring HPM's Ben Sommers, the evidence is now clear — health insurance saves lives.

🛒 Exciting news — our Fall 2025 Health Policy and Management pop-up webstore is now live! Browse a selection of exclusive HPM-branded items and show your department pride. Shop now thru 11/15.

Comparing US prevention efforts to other high-income countries Life expectancy in the USA is considerably lower than in most high-income countries, with many deaths considered preventable. The extent by which poor…

We often hear that the U.S. underinvests in primary care and prevention—and that this explains why Americans live shorter, less healthy lives.

In our new @thelancetph.bsky.social, we take a closer look at this issue.

#IrenePapanicolas @Brown

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

Join us now, LIVE!

When communities lose trust: One year after Steward Health’s bankruptcy and the death of two hospitals - CommonWealth Beacon One year after Steward Health Care's demise, the Nashoba Valley and Dorchester communities are grappling with strained EMS services, diminished access to care, and trust that has been broken. Local le...

In this recent Commonwealth Beacon article, Jose Figueroa weighs in on the impacts of hospital closures, particularly on rural communities.

Read more below ⬇️ @cwbeacon.bsky.social @joefigs.bsky.social

HPM is thrilled to share that Meredith Rosenthal will assume the role of Department Chair. Meredith has been serving as Interim Chair since the spring, and we are delighted to continue under her wisdom and leadership. Congratulations, Meredith!

@hsph.harvard.edu

Cancellation of food insecurity survey a blow to understanding hunger in U.S. | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Sara Bleich, professor of health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, discusses the importance of the Household Food Security Report and what impact its cancellation could have.

📰 In September the USDA cancelled the Household Food Security Report, which provides yearly data on the state of food insecurity. HPM's Sara Bleich discusses the report’s importance and the impacts its cancellation could have.

Read below ⬇️

Without Obamacare subsidies, this couple's insurance premiums are set to go up almost $2,000 The subsidies are a key sticking point in the government shutdown: Democrats in Congress say that in order to secure their votes to reopen the government, they must be extended.

HPM's @adrianna.bsky.social says, “we should expect a lot of marketplace enrollees to be receiving unpleasant news about their premiums in mid- and late-October. People may have the option to switch to a plan with lower premiums...but those switches often come with a large increase in deductibles."