- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
High-Deductible Health Plans and Their Potential Impact on the US Drug Epidemic
On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Matthew D. Eisenberg, PhD, lead author of a study published in the October issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® that investigated the use of high-deductible health plans and their impact on substance use disorder care and spending.
High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) have gained traction in recent years as a means to reduce unnecessary health care spending. The monthly up-front premiums are low, but the high deductibles can lead to higher downstream costs for individuals and families. Potential downsides include the risk of patients deterring or avoiding necessary care.
A team headed by Matthew D. Eisenberg, PhD, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently investigated the impact of HDHPs through the lens of the ongoing epidemic of substance use disorder (SUD) in the United States. The article detailing their study’s findings appears in the October issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®.
On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Dr Eisenberg on his team’s findings that these plans may have reduced SUD service use through the shifting of costs to their members, thereby exacerbating this already troubling epidemic that has resulted in declines in life expectancy and increases in drug- and alcohol-related deaths.
"The Barriers Are Real": Antoine Keller, MD, on Geography and Cardiovascular Health
April 18th 2025Health care disparities are often driven by where patients live, explained Antoine Keller, MD, as he discussed the complex, systematic hurdles that influence the health of rural communities.
Read More
Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
Listen
Empowering Teams Begins With Human Connection: Missy Hopson, PhD
April 16th 2025Missy Hopson, PhD, Ochsner Health, discussed in detail the challenges of strengthening the patient-centered workforce, the power of community reputation for encouraging health care careers, and the influence of empowered workforces on patient outcomes.
Read More
