HSPP / Health Services, Policy & Practice

Health insurers and hospitals increasingly treat patients less as humans in need of care than consumers who generate profit.

We spoke with Dr. Michael Silverstein, director of the Hassenfeld Child Health Innovation Institute at Brown and vice chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—about the rise of syphilis and the task force’s recommendations.

With the recent conclusion of the 2024 election, the spotlight now shifts back to Congress as it enters the final weeks of the 118th session. While time is limited and there is much to accomplish, Congress has a critical opportunity to reshape health care affordability, enhance transparency, reduce costs, and lay a strong foundation for future reforms through the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act (LCMT) and Health Care PRICE Transparency Act 2.0. Taking action on key provisions during the lame-duck session could serve as a catalyst for addressing issues such as health care consolidation, cost disparities, and opaque pricing structures before turning the page to a new legislative chapter.

What is the cost of homelessness in Rhode Island? Do we measure it in dollars, hours, square footage? Or is it measured by sleepless nights, persistent coughs, uncertain futures? The reasons Rhode Islanders remain unhoused are varied, but the results are the same: marginalization and the fight to keep a stable footing.

Doctoral student Shriya Jamakandi has received an Emerging Scholars Grant from the Society of Family Planning to investigate the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade on the health outcomes of pregnant women with private insurance.

With over half of America’s doctors now employed by large health systems rather than physician-owned practices, a team of Brown researchers is examining how this trend toward consolidation impacts health care costs, patient access and market competition.

A decades-long debate about prescribing habits in long-term care facilities is renewed with heartening evidence.

Meehir Dixit ’24, a newly minted Brown alumnus with a concentration in public health, has already found a home as a research assistant in the School of Public Health’s Center for Gerontology & Health Research and Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research (CAHPR).

The School of Public Health’s newest research center focuses on health care cost, access and outcomes by comparing data across the globe.

Brown armed him with the tools needed to analyze and improve health policy, but Chima Ndumele’s passion for righting injustice keeps him looking forward, focused on improving the lives of low-income Americans.

After Joe Silva graduates from Brown’s School of Public Health, he will begin a two year role as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the U.S. Government.

Brown researchers examined hundreds of thousands of veterans’ health records to determine if exposure to burn pits on military bases correlates with elevated risk for respiratory and cardiac health conditions.

Camping on city streets, open-air drug use, and crime are generating fierce pushback against harm reduction efforts like decriminalization. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Geronimo Bejarano, originally from Colombia, stood out in a field of 2,323 graduate applicants to win merit-based fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants

Despite being on the front lines of the climate crisis, the health care sector is also one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. A new study from Brown researchers looks at these decarbonizing efforts across the globe.

Four years out from the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, a new study explores the extent to which COVID-19 and influenza vaccines are being distributed and employed simultaneously, particularly among high-risk populations.

New research points to October as the sweet spot, at least for kids. But it’s not too late to get one, even now.

Accomplished physician, scholar and public health expert Ateev Mehrotra M.D., MPH, will join Brown's School of Public Health on July 1, 2024.

Every health care model involves people doing their best to balance competing priorities in the face of limited resources. In other words, every system involves tradeoffs.

When humanitarian catastrophes erupt around the world, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of suffering. How do aid workers navigate the immense challenges in order to jump into action—juggling safety, equipment and logistics?

Strokes are the leading cause of death and a major contributor to disability in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A new study published Wednesday in the journal “Neurology” found Black people in the United States experience strokes more frequently and at younger ages compared to White people.

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans has grown substantially in the past few decades, enticing more than half of eligible people, primarily those 65 or older, with low premium costs and perks like dental and vision insurance. And as the private plans' share of the Medicare patient pie has ballooned to 30.8 million people, so too have concerns about the insurers' aggressive sales tactics and misleading coverage claims.

Together, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute have awarded a 5-year, $5 million grant to create the Learning Health systems training to improve Disability and chronic condition care (LeaHD) center at Brown University.

Who owns your doctor’s office? More and more often nowadays, the answer is a private equity firm — a type of investment fund that buys, restructures, and resells companies.

With the expanded scope of biosecurity involving human, animal, and plant-based pathogens, there is a need for increased collaboration across sectors — human health, veterinary and agricultural authorities must work together to address potential biosecurity threats comprehensively.

Americans’ use of mental health services pivoted to remote visits and increased considerably, a new study found. Economists think both changes are here to stay.

Our podcast interviews professor Omar Galarraga, who explains that everything from cash to coupons, to a simple redesign of a form, can make HIV treatment and prevention more accessible.

In the Boston Globe, Professors Andy Ryan and David Meyers lay out why Medicare Advantage plans are costing taxpayers billions in excess spending—and how to fix it.

With an updated vaccine, readily available testing, and successful treatments, Dean Ashish Jha writes that COVID-19 isn't the disruptive force that it once was: "The virus no longer needs to reorder our lives and our priorities."

"While there are areas within medicine ripe for the assistance of AI, any assertion that it will replace health care providers or make our roles less important is pure hyperbole," writes Dr. Craig Spencer for STAT.

Elizabeth Burke Bryant, a champion for children’s health in Rhode Island and beyond, will be professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice.

How do we value the care of vulnerable Americans?

Programs aim to help patients maintain good health, avoid hospitalization or institutionalization, and reduce health care costs.

New research supported by the National Institute on Aging will study the effects of multiple medications on older adults with the aim of reducing harms and improving efficiency.

Brown University's Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research and Meals on Wheels America have announced a collaboration on a three-year research initiative to investigate the most effective mode of meal delivery to support older adults’ ability to age in place in their homes and out of institutional settings.