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What We're Reading: Privatizing VA Medical Care
What we're reading, December 29, 2016: President-elect Donald J. Trump considers privatizing veterans' medical care; a new task force to improve sharing of pregnancy status data; and medical marijuana legalization reduced traffic fatalities.
President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering a change to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that would allow veterans to see private doctors of their choosing. The New York Times reported that the plan would let veterans opt out of care at VA hospitals. At this time there are no details on the cost or how the change would affect the current VA system. President Barack Obama opposes such a privatization of the VA, as do some veterans groups.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has formed a task force to better capture pregnancy status data in the fight against the Zika virus. The task force will address the capture of pregnancy status, sending and sharing pregnancy status, and the use of clinical decision support. Pregnancy status is central to a CDC Zika registry that provides monitoring of pregnant women and infant outcomes.
Some states that legalized medical marijuana have seen a reduction in the number of traffic fatalities. According to Reuters Health, the expected increase in the number of people killed in traffic accidents did not materialize—instead deaths dropped 11% on average. The study does not show the reason for the drop in traffic deaths, but some researchers suggest marijuana users are more aware of their impairment than drinkers. Currently, 28 states have legalized medical marijuana.
Laundromats as a New Frontier in Community Health, Medicaid Outreach
May 29th 2025Lindsey Leininger, PhD, and Allister Chang, MPA, highlight the potential of laundromats as accessible, community-based settings to support Medicaid outreach, foster trust, and connect families with essential health and social services.
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Managed Care Reflections: A Q&A With Melinda B. Buntin, PhD
June 2nd 2025To mark the 30th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), each issue in 2025 includes a special feature: reflections from a thought leader on what has changed—and what has not—over the past 3 decades and what’s next for managed care. The June issue features a conversation with Melinda B. Buntin, PhD, a health economist and a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carey Business School.
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Inside the Center's MDD Value Model and Its Use of Dynamic Pricing
May 13th 2025Larragem Raines, MS, of the Center for Innovation & Value Research, discusses the organization's major depressive disorder (MDD) open-source value model, dynamic pricing, and the future role of artificial intelligence in care.
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