Category: Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research

Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research News

JACC Author Interview: Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH (Links to an external site)

In this JACC Author Interview, CAHSPER Co-Director Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, and JACC Executive Associate Editor Mitsuaki Sawano, MD, discuss a recent paper that looks into cardiovascular care and outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries during the late phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021–2022). The research reveals persistent reductions in hospitalizations, increased outpatient visits driven by telehealth, and a concerning 20% rise in mortality—especially among socially vulnerable populations and Medicare Advantage enrollees.

The Economics of Healthcare: Myths, Policy, and Reform with Dr. Timothy McBride (Links to an external site)

In this podcast, CAHSPER Co-Director Timothy McBride discusses health care and debunks common misconceptions about health care economics. He explores how the ACA’s “Amazon-like” insurance marketplaces create choice overload and buyer’s remorse, research on balancing options with simplicity, the looming expiration of ACA subsidies and rising premiums. He also discusses Medicaid’s vital role for working families, the elderly, and rural areas, and evidence-based reforms he would prioritize.

Missouri’s health coverage is shifting fast, WashU analysis finds (Links to an external site)

Missouri saw some of the most notable shifts in health coverage in the nation between 2023 and 2025, prior to the open enrollment period now underway. During this period, Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollment grew 62% — far above the 49% increase nationally — while Medicaid enrollment declined across every county. Our new policy brief and dashboards show how these trends unfolded across the state of Missouri, and explore how policy changes during and after the pandemic contributed to these trends.

WashU Public Health at APHA 2025 (Links to an external site)

Several WashU Public Health faculty, students and staff presented research at the 2025 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting & Expo in Washington, D.C., including CAHSPER core faculty members Derek Brown, MA, PhD and Morgan Shields, MS, PhD.

Missouri saw a marked increase in ACA Marketplace enrollment and decrease in Medicaid enrollment in 2023-2025

Our center released a policy brief and dashboards showing changes in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace enrollment in Missouri in 2023-2025. This analysis provides context as we approach Open Enrollment and signals that the expected significant increases in net premiums (after subsidies) may have major effects on health insurance affordability and uptake.

New dashboards show payor mix in Missouri hospitals, 2016-2024

The interactive dashboards allow users to view and compare the payor mix (i.e., the share of reimbursement from private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) Missouri hospitals experienced for emergency department and inpatient services from 2016 to 2024.

CAHSPER welcomes Osvaldo Laurido‑Soto and Kevin Xu as core faculty

We are proud to welcome outstanding additions to our core faculty: Osvaldo J. Laurido-Soto, MD and Kevin Y. Xu, MD, MPH. Their expertise strengthens our interdisciplinary network and enhances our center’s capacity to carry out its mission of improving health outcomes by conducting and disseminating high-quality, rigorous health services and policy research.

WashU Public Health Ideas with Morgan Shields (Links to an external site)

As part of Public Health Ideas, a platform for the dean of WashU School of Public Health to share and discuss work in public health, Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with CAHSPER core faculty member Morgan Shields, MS, PhD. They discussed mental health, substance use, and the personal autonomy of those with mental illness.

Polarization around vaccine hesitancy was 12 times greater than past outbreaks, study finds (Links to an external site)

Political polarization has consistently influenced public reactions to disease outbreaks in the United States, from polio to COVID-19, according to a comprehensive new study by Caitlin McMurtry, CAHSPER core faculty. “Polarization during COVID-19 was considerably more extreme than in past outbreaks, representing a discrete jump in polarization that cannot be explained by gradual partisan separation over time,” she said.

Missouri Medicaid expansion and unwinding link to changes in hospital encounters and a drop in uncompensated care

Our Medicaid Policy Analysis Lab’s latest policy brief reviews changes in hospital encounters over time in Missouri, before and after the start of Medicaid expansion, concentrating on emergency department encounters and inpatient encounters and the “payer mix” hospitals received from those visits (e.g., private, Medicare, Medicaid, and uncompensated).

WashU Public Health Ideas with Timothy McBride (Links to an external site)

As part of Public Health Ideas, a platform for the dean of WashU School of Public Health to share and discuss work in public health, Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with CAHSPER co-Director Timothy McBride, PhD, MS. They discussed the future of Medicaid funding and potential impacts of health care policy.

Brown School researchers study AI’s role in pediatric cancer care (Links to an external site)

Cindy Kang, a PhD student in public health sciences at the Brown School, has received a St. Baldrick’s Foundation Summer Fellows grant to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve outcomes for children with cancer. This summer, Kang is working under the mentorship of Brown School Professor and CAHSPER Core Faculty Member Kim Johnson to study how AI can help predict the risk of metastasis at the time of a child’s initial cancer diagnosis.

Shining a light on psychiatric hospital safety (Links to an external site)

Morgan Shields, an assistant professor at WashU School of Public Health and a CAHSPER core faculty member, has researched hidden harms in psychiatric settings and advocates for better federal monitoring of such institutions. Her research was recently cited in a federal push for transparency.

Pronounced rural-urban gaps remain in health insurance coverage in Missouri

The Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research has released a new policy brief that explores health insurance coverage for persons living in rural and urban areas in Missouri, with comparisons to national averages during the 2021 to 2023 period after Medicaid expansion was implemented.

Center issues policy brief on work status among Missouri Medicaid recipients

The Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research has released a new policy brief that describes the characteristics of Medicaid recipients, including work status, in Missouri and the U.S – important context for the current policy debate about potential work requirements for Medicaid recipients.

WashU Public Health Ideas with Morgan Shields (Links to an external site)

As part of Public Health Ideas, a platform for the dean of WashU School of Public Health to share and discuss researchers’ work, Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with CAHSPER core faculty member Morgan Shields, PhD. They discussed two papers Shields co-authored: “Institutional Betrayal in Inpatient Psychiatry: Effects on Trust and Engagement With Care,” and “Patient-centered inpatient psychiatry is associated with outcomes, ownership, and national quality measures.”

WashU Public Health Ideas with Tim McBride (Links to an external site)

As part of Public Health Ideas, a platform for the dean of WashU School of Public Health to share and discuss researchers’ work, Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with CAHSPER co-Director Tim McBride, PhD. They discussed a paper McBride co-authored, “Policy implications of fixed-to-total-cost ratio variation across rural and urban hospitals.”

Center releases Medicaid policy recommendations for non-emergency medical transportation

Non-emergency medical transportation is a vital Medicaid benefit, as many Missouri residents rely on it to access the health care they need. This was the topic of Transforming Healthcare in Missouri, Part IX. Our center has now released a white paper summarizing the event’s discussions and resulting recommendations. We asked co-author Claire Ami Pavlides, MPH candidate, a few questions about her experience.

Update: Missouri Medicaid agency’s efforts to improve maternal and infant health

Hundreds of maternal and infant health thought leaders from across Missouri gathered to build connections at The Uplift Connection’s 2025 Maternal & Infant Health Convening. One of the convening’s two plenary sessions featured Abigail R. Barker, PhD, who provided updates on the state Medicaid agency’s efforts in maternal and infant health.

Center co-director to speak during Civic Action Week, Feb. 17-23

Bernard Becker Professor, Timothy McBride, PhD, co-director of the Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy and Economics Research will speak on “Translating Research to Policy”. Civic Action Week is a series of civic engagement opportunities throughout WashU during which student groups, faculty, staff, and community partners will host events and other opportunities to engage On […]

WashU Public Health Ideas with Karen Joynt Maddox (Links to an external site)

As part of Public Health Ideas, a platform for the dean of WashU School of Public Health to share and discuss researchers’ work, Dean Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with CAHSPER co-Director Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH. The two discussed a paper Joynt Maddox co-authored, “Forecasting the Economic Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States Through 2050: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association.”