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Excess COVID-19 Deaths in Republican Counties Paint Voting as a Proxy for Public Health Support
On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead author of a paper that discovered that counties that voted majority Republican in the 2020 presidential election had 73 excess deaths per 100,000 people compared with counties that had Democratic majorities.
The pandemic highlighted deep partisan divisions in the United States over public health measures. Disputes over masking and beliefs about science and vaccines that prevent severe illness and death from infection with SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, affected nearly every area of life. That rancor impacted death rates in counties that voted Republican in the 2020 presidential election, according to a new study out Monday in the journal Health Affairs.
In counties where 70% or more of eligible voters chose the Republican party, there were nearly 73 additional deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 people compared with Democratic counties (where less than 30% voted Republican).
On today’s episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead author of the study, Neil J. Sehgal, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of health policy and management in the University of Maryland (UMD) School of Public Health. He discusses the findings of the paper, co-authored with other scholars from UMD, as well as the University of California, Irvine Program in Public Health.
The analysis, which included the majority of US counties, controlled for other characteristics likely to influence COVID-19 transmission and death such as age, race/ethnicity, vaccine uptake, unemployment status, burden of chronic disease, and health care access.
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Reference
Sehgal NJ; Yue D; Pope E; Wang RH; Roby DH. The association between COVID-19 mortality and the county-level partisan divide in the United States. Health Aff (Millwood). Published online June 7, 2022. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00085
Navigating Sport-Related Neurospine Injuries, Surgery, and Managed Care
February 25th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Arthur L. Jenkins III, MD, FACS, CEO of Jenkins NeuroSpine, to explore the intersection of advanced surgical care for sport-related neurospine injuries and managed care systems.
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Eliminating Enhanced PTCs Would Have Cascading Economic Impacts, Report Estimates
March 6th 2025Enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) have made marketplace health insurance more affordable, and eliminating them could have sweeping impacts on consumers and the health care industry, according to a new report.
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Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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Patients With Disabilities Report Low Access to Culturally Sensitive Care
March 3rd 2025This investigation analyzes public data on adult patients from the 2017 National Health Interview Survey, including how often they were treated with respect and could see health care providers who shared their cultural views.
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