Alternative @nytimes.com headline: "A Jewish Democrat's Criticism of Israel May Win Him a NYC House Seat."

Wealth concentration was already way off the rails before Musk became a trillionaire. The wealthiest megabillionaires in the country have basically been doubling their wealth annually in recent years. Feels near impossible to maintain a liberal democracy in this kind of situation.

"Today’s social scientists (especially economists) tend to prize clean causal “identification” through “natural” experiments, with less emphasis on building big-picture narratives with theory and rich description."

For more context: total Medicare spending is ~4% of GDP

We're hiring! The KFF Project on Hospital Costs is searching for a Senior Policy Analyst or Senior Data Analyst to work on timely policy analyses relating to hospital and health system spending, prices, finances, and business practices: kff.bamboohr.com/careers/115

Satisfying to help set the record on work requirements straight with @adrianna.bsky.social "Given the research evidence and policy details, we conclude that, in the real world, Medicaid work requirements are much more likely to worsen poverty than to reduce it."

ICYMI, the work requirements regulation dropped yesterday evening. I think the biggest departure from initial expectations (but a confirmation of recent rumors) is around medical frailty — conditions like cancer and HIV *only* exempt people if severe enough to "impair compliance with the new rules.

I haven't seen a read of the literature this selective since, well, 2018 when the first Trump administration tried to argue that work requirements would improve health because people who worked were healthier on average aspe.hhs.gov/reports/medi...

It’s always striking how the decline in alcohol consumption is covered as a business problem instead of a win for public health.

First Chevron, then Meta, now Uber. Total corporate capture.

Hell yeah. Don't let bosses convince you that you don't deserve more. Don't let someone who hoards $100 million tell you that working people don't deserve $100,000. Instead organize and get yours.

New from @kff.org: 1.4 million Medicaid enrollees may be exempt from the work requirements included in the 2025 reconciliation law across the 39 states that are planning to adopt the optional high unemployment hardship exception.

Bill Cassidy to join Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Kudos to @georgetownccf.bsky.social CCF team - our 43 state tracker on implementating Medicaid work reporting requirements is live! We'll be tracking enrollment, state policy choices and operations, vendors and admin $, materials for consumers. Here's Montana. ccf.georgetown.edu/feature/trac...

We published today the latest figures on cause of death in children. In every year since COVID, the number one killer of children in the US is guns.

It's official. Our FIRST academic publication is officially live @aeajournals.bsky.social! ✨ TLDR: In an online experiment, @emmarackstraw.bsky.social and I find evidence that evaluators assigned to Black supervisors perceive Black workers as more productive on average. #econsky #blacksky

Retirement is getting harder to hold onto. More older Americans are going back to work because Social Security and savings no longer cover rising basics like rent, food, and medicine. What was meant to be a stable exit from work is, for many, becoming a return to it.

“reparations aren’t realisti—"

this is so good

Due Friday! @povertyscholar.bsky.social, Megan Reynolds and I are looking forward to reviewing your submissions!

MAHA: Pro-natalism 🤝 medicalization Advocate for: - expanded access to fertility treatment (among people with insurance) - policies that increase uninsurance among Black & non-Black POC Ignore: - environmental racism & effects on reproductive health / outcomes - the State's role in PH practice

February: Gallup says that due to cost reasons it will no longer do presidential approval polling May: Gallup says it is exploring "digital twin" technology that replaces human respondents with AI/LLM-generated answers news.gallup.com/opinion/meth...

"Significant Supreme Court reforms have to be on the table now. . . . [The Court] is seizing power from Congress, and maybe it is time for Congress to start taking a little power back. . . . We have two and a half years between now and the next election to lay the groundwork for change." Preach!

After the Trump admin and their allies in Congress let the ACA tax credits expire, health insurance costs spiked. Now, millions of working families are struggling to afford it and are forced to get worse coverage or drop their health insurance completely.

Looking for a faculty job in an awesome department? Might I suggest Vanderbilt Health Policy? We are searching for a tenure track faculty member, all ranks considered! Please apply - it is an outstanding department and Nashville is a great place to work and live! apply.interfolio.com/185527

"Other areas of nonacademic spending were clearly protected, as they are likely viewed as being more mission critical for a range of reasons. Athletics, research administration, and development were the least likely to face reductions when the university’s budget was cut."

As @rdnayak.bsky.social writes, “Organized labor is a key ally not only in providing skilled workers but also in building the political coalitions that make large-scale public investment possible.” Public projects work better when the workers who build them aren’t treated as an afterthought.

The Better Government Lab is hiring a post-doc with data science skills and an interest in public management to work on reducing administrative burden in safety net programs. Interest in tech a plus. Start: August 26 or earlier @sebjilke.bsky.social @pamherd.bsky.social apply.interfolio.com/185941

this is a great piece and i'm also somewhat annoyed because it means i have to rework the piece i was writing for next week www.nytimes.com/2026/05/02/o...

Nebraska's Medicaid work requirements start today. As I wrote for @motherjones.com, work requirements are just cruel and also, Long Covid is not on the list of conditions that could qualify you for an exemption. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Love employment research and policy? We do too! @upjohninstitute.bsky.social is hiring a full-time research analyst. Our current RAs' degrees range from BA to PhD, so give the opening a look. #econ_ra #EconSky #sociology #policysky

Firms like Deloitte and Zoom are cutting back their parental leave policies. Like the anti-DEI push has removed Black workers, this will remove women workers via @rcobooth.bsky.social www.businessinsider.com/deloitte-cut...

My book Coverage Denied comes out tomorrow & I'm grateful to @donmoyn.bsky.social for the space to lay out the core findings, which show how prior auth's extension into most corners of health care burdens patients & their physicians, and in doing so deepens inequity open.substack.com/pub/donmoyni...

Poverty is downstream of power imbalances, but our safety net does little to change that. 🎧 Listen to our fellow Jamie Keene explain why it doesn’t have to be this way on @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social, and read her full report below ⬇️

In his first 100 days, Zohran Mamdani has: -Delivered millions in restitution for workers cheated by gig companies -Cracked down on predatory landlords -Launched the first stage of a universal childcare program -Fixed thousands of potholes in NYC streets This is what leadership looks like.

NEW (and open access!) in @pnas.org: We find that Secure Communities triggered “preemptive” immigration enforcement, increasing detentions, transfers, & removals even before formal county activation. Joint with @cvargas100.bsky.social and @immigrationlab.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....

My book Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality is out on 4/23! It’s available through @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org and Amazon, Strand, Powell’s, etc. Out in less than 3 weeks, it combines survey & interview research to explain health ins barriers. www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...

"AHRQ hasn’t funded any new research projects in almost a year, and it hasn’t issued grant funding for existing projects since before the end of the previous fiscal year in September."

Uninsured rate for children, by state. Texas accounts for a quarter of all children without health insurance in America.

We’re holding our monthly press call for reporters on Monday 4/6 at noon ET. We will cover what’s hot with Medicaid, children’s health, and do some fact checking on the Administration’s narrative about alleged fraud. Reporters should email [email protected] for details.

Timely interview with Andrea Campbell on the OBBBA and how its design obscures a democratic response. Her commentary is also available now, ungated: read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/articl...

New paper from our founding director @sandydarity.bsky.social published in BMJ Global Health! Outlines how to evaluate plans for black reparations in the USA: gh.bmj.com/content/11/S...

I suspect the proponents of work requirements are well aware of (and counting on) the punitive impacts of these provisions. They're using the pretext of reserving benefits for the "deserving poor" to justify mercilessly slashing the safety net.

the average business traveler has never encountered an ICE agent in the flesh. if anyone in the administration had half the sense god gave a goat, they’d be desperate to keep it that way.

Exciting news - we are seeking proposal submissions (due May 15) for a special issue of @jhppl.bsky.social on "Community Organizing, Power, and Politics", that I am editing alongside @povertyscholar.bsky.social and Megan Reynolds. Please see the full CFP below! Invited papers will be due Sept 1.

Health plan disenrollment following MOUD initiation "was associated with a 51% and 56% increase in the hazards of all-cause mortality and overdose mortality" Relevant finding as states work to operationalize Medicaid work requirement exemptions for enrollees with substance use disorder.

man this makes me tear up

States are going to have to spend over $1 billion just to upgrade their Medicaid in order to comply with Republicans' new work requirements. A windfall for the consulting companies that have a monopoly on this work. apnews.com/article/medi...