Five years after Congress banned #SurpriseBills, patients are still waiting on some key cost transparency protections promised in the law. USC Schaeffer Scholar Erin Duffy in Health Affairs Forefront argues patients can't afford further delays.

The White House's efforts to expand access to anti-obesity medications address a critical public health challenge. USC Schaeffer research demonstrating the health and economic benefits of broader coverage helped inform the move.

The White House’s deals on anti-obesity medications could have a ripple effect: They may encourage more insurers to offer coverage, USC Schaeffer’s Darius Lakdawalla tells @cnbc.com.

People with #diabetes are living healthier lives due to medical advances over the past few decades—but surprisingly, their workforce participation hasn’t improved. 🎧 USC Schaeffer's Jack Chapel dives into his research on this “diabetes paradox" on The Academic Minute.

Expanding #Medicare coverage of anti-obesity medications would be one of the most effective public health investments the U.S. could make, USC Schaeffer research shows. ⤵️Our scholars have identified ways it can be done affordably.

While Congress continues to weigh #PBM reform, many states have passed laws this year targeting middlemen practices. USC Schaeffer's Geoffrey Joyce tells @stateline.org @chatlanis.bsky.social these efforts can help bring down patient costs.

How can the U.S. keep its biotech edge as China surges? USC Schaeffer’s Lowell Schiller told the Senate HELP Committee how #FDA modernization can support the innovation ecosystem and ensure patients benefit from today's scientific advances.

While the US #biosimilar market has developed more slowly than Europe’s, USC Schaeffer research shows early biosimilars are delivering on their promise to lower biologic #drugprices.

CMS staffing shortages could make the ongoing #Medicare enrollment season challenging for beneficiaries, warns USC Schaeffer’s Jon Blum in @thehill.com: “We don’t have the infrastructure right now in place to really make sure those benefits get delivered well and get communicated well."

As health insurance costs rise, more Americans may skip coverage or seek cheaper care outside their health plan. USC Schaeffer’s Erin Duffy tells @nbcnews.com @berkeleyjr.bsky.social why that’s risky and explains how patients can negotiate to make #MedicalBills more manageable.

Doctors often prescribe sleep drugs to older adults long term, despite the risk of serious side effects. New USC Schaeffer modeling in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social shows that reducing prescriptions to adults 50+ would improve quality of life, boost longevity and save the U.S. over $100 billion.

What do the White House’s recent drug pricing agreements really mean? USC Schaeffer’s Darius Lakdawalla explains why it's hard to make sense of them. 👇

There’s bipartisan agreement on the need for #340B reform. A recent USC Schaeffer white paper illustrates why meaningful reform must target “spread pricing” incentives that benefit wealthier providers.

As the average workplace family health plan hits $27k this year, employers face a growing challenge in managing the costs of high-priced specialty drugs, USC Schaeffer’s Paul Ginsburg tells the @nytimes.com @reedabelson.bsky.social.

A recent draft report by health technology assessment (#HTA) organizations on how to account for “novel” benefits in economic evaluations fundamentally misses the mark, USC Schaeffer experts and colleagues argue in a new comment letter.

Congratulations to Darius Lakdawalla, chief scientific officer at USC Schaeffer, on his election to the National Academy of Medicine! He was recognized for transforming the study of value in healthcare, with a focus on the patient perspective.

For the first time, Medicare-negotiated drug prices will become available to beneficiaries in January. This will require complex technical coordination. A new USC Schaeffer issue brief examines: 💠CMS' implementation plans 💠Roles of key stakeholders 💠Potential challenges for drugmakers & pharmacies

Enrollment in #Medicare plans opens today, with millions facing a similar headache: Too many plan choices, not enough reliable info. USC Schaeffer Scholars in @statnews.com share how policymakers can simplify the process. After all, that's what beneficiaries want.

Medicare may soon overhaul the system for determining physician pay, which has largely been shaped by an influential industry group. USC Schaeffer's Paul Ginsburg, a former MedPAC vice chair, tells @medscape.com @lizszabo.bsky.social why reform is long overdue.

Pfizer and now AstraZeneca struck deals with the White House to provide "most-favored nation" pricing in Medicaid. But as USC Schaeffer’s Darius Lakdawalla explains to @cbsnews.com, the effect may be small since Medicaid already gets the “best price” by law.

While the White House’s Pfizer deal may not change prices much, the company’s pledge to invest in U.S. research and manufacturing could be a strong boost for domestic drug production, USC Schaeffer Scholar William Padula tells @investopedia.com.

Medicine is moving at light speed — curing rare diseases and personalizing care with AI. @schaeffer.usc.edu highlights that the FDA regulatory approval processes must catch up.

California’s new tax cut on legal cannabis is designed to undercut the illicit market. But efforts to rein in illegal sales continue to lag, partly due to weak enforcement, USC Schaeffer’s Rosalie Pacula told @annenbergmedia.bsky.social.

Pfizer's deal with the White House grabbed headlines, but its actual impact is uncertain. USC Schaeffer's Dana Goldman discusses with @nam.edu the challenges of patchwork drug pricing efforts and the need for a more rational pricing system. Read the interview here: nam.edu/news-and-ins...

The big flaw in #340B: "The program is not actually directed to the needy," USC Schaeffer Scholar Ryan Long told HealthLeaders. The program's reliance on spread pricing disproportionately benefits hospitals with a higher mix of commercially insured patients, our new white paper shows.

USC Schaeffer’s WilliamPadula discusses what TrumpRx could mean for patients and why it's important to focus on bringing down drug development costs.

USC Schaeffer's William Padula talks with @axios.com about President Trump's claims on drug price reductions.

A new Schaeffer Center white paper shows meaningful #340B reform must eliminate "spread pricing," where providers buy discounted drugs and bill insurers at higher rates. This practice favors wealthier providers and drives up costs systemwide.

The Trump administration can help ensure Americans pay drug prices more in line with the rest of the world by adopting a more rational system for pricing medicines, USC Schaeffer scholars wrote about #MFN in @statnews.com earlier this year.

NIH may create an Open Payments-style database to track health industry funding of research. USC Schaeffer's @profgenkanter.bsky.social tells @science.org that transparency is generally good but warns: "The devil is in the details."

USC Schaeffer research featured in @stateline.org finds pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods are less likely to carry a key #opioid addiction treatment, even though people of color are more likely to die from opioid overdoses. stateline.org/2025/09/08/m...

The pace of medical innovation is accelerating. New development tools can deliver life-changing treatments faster and at lower cost. Our new Schaeffer Center white paper shows how the #FDA can fully harness these technologies so more patients benefit.

What if for just $8 per newborn, hundreds of boys each year could be spared from a lifetime of muscle loss and early death? Schaeffer's Elizabeth Currid-Halkett shares her family's story with early #DMD treatment in @wsj.com and calls on HHS to update newborn screening guidelines

📅Join us Friday: How #FDA policy reforms can cut drug development costs and get innovative treatments to patients faster. Speakers: @scottgottliebmd.bsky.social, Janet Woodcock, ArsenalBio's Ken Drazan, @everylifeorg.bsky.social's Annie Kennedy & Schaeffer's Lowell Schiller Register (DC + Zoom) ⬇️

The #FDA is shifting away from longstanding practice of having outside experts review drug applications. This could mean less public scrutiny and external input on agency decisions, USC Schaeffer Sr. Scholar @profgenkanter.bsky.social tells @kffhealthnews.org.

To ensure patients fully benefit from this era of rapid medical innovation, a new USC Schaeffer Center white paper outlines significant #FDA reforms to: 🔹streamline clinical trials 🔹provide certainty to innovators 🔹improve access to new treatments

While drug ads boost sales, USC Schaeffer research found they also help patients by improving medication adherence, encouraging use of generics and driving greater engagement with the healthcare system.

A fair price for GLP-1s should reflect their underlying value. Schaeffer Center research estimates a value-based price of: 💠$7,511–$8,939/year for Medicare-aged adults 💠$12,202–$16,762/year for adults aged 44–46, who gain more years of better health

Employers are bracing for the sharpest increase in healthcare costs in about 15 years. Still, Schaeffer Sr. Scholar Paul Ginsburg tells @nytimes.com why coverage remains too valuable for them to abandon.

Only 39% of pharmacies carry buprenorphine, a highly effective opioid addiction treatment. @schaeffer.usc.edu shows access is even lower in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

While a new out-of-pocket cap protects #Medicare beneficiaries against high drug costs, USC Schaeffer research finds most are likely paying more at the pharmacy counter. Co-Director Erin Trish discusses how plans are reacting to the IRA and the potential financial and health impacts on seniors.

It’s become much easier to prescribe a key #opioid addiction treatment. However, a new USC Schaeffer study in #HealthAffairs shows most pharmacies still don't carry the treatment, including in some especially hard-hit areas.

Medicare Advantage has grown to cover most seniors. Schaeffer Sr. Scholar Steve Lieberman traces how overpayments, upcoding & favorable selection are helping fuel MA's meteoric rise and discusses potential reforms on the #HealthAffairs podcast.

📅The #opioid epidemic remains an urgent and evolving public health challenge. On Sept. 3, Schaeffer Scholars Rosalie Pacula and Jevay Grooms join a Health Affairs briefing to discuss evidence-based strategies for addressing systemic drivers of the crisis.

New USC Schaeffer modeling aims to uncover dementia's total economic burden, estimated at $781B this year. The modeling will "empower researchers and policymakers to find opportunities to reduce the large and growing costs of dementia,” Sr. Scholar Julie Zissimopoulos says in @gohealio.bsky.social.

Small gift cards may boost enrollment of low-income people in a patient registry for faster #Alzheimers clinical trials, according to new USC research in @jamahealthforum.com.

"Hospital at home" has already proven it can work, but the program is at risk without help from Congress, USC Schaeffer researcher Manav Midha writes in @thehill.com.

📅 Join us Sept. 19 for a conference on #FDA policy reforms aimed at reducing drug development costs and getting valuable new treatments to patients faster. Speakers: @scottgottliebmd.bsky.social, Janet Woodcock, Ken Drazan, Lowell Schiller & more ➡️Registration: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/reform...

“It doesn’t look like it’s quite the hotbed of conflicts that Secretary Kennedy and others might have thought,” lead author @profgenkanter.bsky.social of USC Schaeffer told @bloomberg.com.

Before RFK Jr. abruptly dismissed CDC vaccine advisors, reported conflicts of interest among members had reached historic lows, USC Schaeffer’s @profgenkanter.bsky.social reports in new @jama.com research.