David Schleifer
@davidschleifer.bsky.social
Associate Director of Programs at the Peterson Center on Healthcare, focused on affordability and transparency. Views are my own, or a least I hope so.
Price variation happens in outpatient settings, not just hospitals. David Muhlestein & Yuvraj Pathak find providers in office settings negotiate different prices for the same services with different insurers www.i-jmr.org/2026/1/e96883 @jmirpub.bsky.social #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
i-jmr.org
i-jmr.org
You may have never heard of the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. But they are the only federal agency supporting work that brings basic research & discovery down to practice: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/s...
Health Care Agency Discontinues Dozens of Active Research Awards (Gift Article)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality slowed the awarding of new grants last year. Now it is stopping existing ones.
nytimes.com
In our most literal Morning Spew ever, we ask: Do the new subway cars smell a little weird? hellgatenyc.com/new-subway-c...
Do the New Subway Cars Smell Like Vomit to You?
And more fresh-scented stories to take you into the weekend.
hellgatenyc.com
Insurer pricing, claims data transparency bills advance in Congress bit.ly/4yUtXGD #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Hospital price transparency bills advance in Congress: What to know
Hospital price transparency bills advance in Congress, expanding disclosure rules for hospitals, insurers, ASCs and labs with new penalties and reporting.
beckerspayer.com
NEW: The number of Amazon workers on food stamps or Medicaid nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025. The number of Uber, DoorDash, Lyft and other gig workers on these benefits also exploded. Read @rachellerman.bsky.social and me. washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Amazon, gig companies see spike in workers on SNAP and Medicaid, study shows
Amazon workers on federal aid nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025, while ride-hailing and food delivery drivers shot up on lists compiled by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
washingtonpost.com
North Carolina launches statewide effort to tackle rising #healthcare costs www.cbs17.com/news/capitol... #healthecon #healthpolicy
North Carolina launches statewide effort to tackle rising healthcare costs
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — High out-of-pocket costs, medical debt and a lack of competition are among the challenges a new state commission says it must address to make healthcare more affordable for N…
cbs17.com
House Energy and Commerce Committee approves #healthcare price transparency bill subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026... #healthpolicy #healthecon
POLITICO Pro: House Energy and Commerce Committee approves health care price transparency and illicit drug bills
The panel incorporated several measures into one requiring more disclosure from hospitals and insurers.
subscriber.politicopro.com
Huge kudos to our @georgetownccf.bsky.social team - our explainer on federal Medicaid work rules is here. ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/07/16/n...
New Federal Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements Rule Threatens Coverage for Vulnerable Americans: An Explainer of the Interim Final Rule
On June 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), published the Interim Final Rule with Comment (CMS-2454-IFC, hereafter referred to as the IFR) “Medicaid Program; Community Engagem...
ccf.georgetown.edu
Great op-ed from Jonathan Levin, Employers' Forum of Indiana: Indiana's commercial hospital prices rank 9th highest nationally. Family ESI coverage averages $24,725/year, or about 34% of median household income, and that's before deductibles & cost-sharing. www.ibj.com/articles/jon... #healthcare
Jonathan S. Levin: Indiana cannot ignore market power hospitals wield - Indianapolis Business Journal
Given the depth of consolidation in Indiana, additional policy changes will still be needed to improve affordability and slow the growth of hospital prices.
ibj.com
"American workers need affordable healthcare: Congress can help by requiring price transparency" www.linkedin.com/pulse/americ... #healthcare #pricetransparency #healthecon #healthpolicy
American Workers Need Affordable Healthcare: Congress Can Help by Requiring Price Transparency
Most Americans—nearly 165 million people—get their insurance through their jobs. Employers spend $1 trillion each year on healthcare.
linkedin.com
My latest for @insidehighered.com: More than 43 million Americans have college credits but no credential. A new report from ReUp Education outlines how states can improve efforts to re-engage them
States Need Better Adult Learner Strategies
More than 43 million Americans have college credits but no credential. A new report from ReUp Education outlines how states can improve efforts to re-engage them.
insidehighered.com
Bob Herman from @statnews.com is doing a series on the high cost of employer-sponosred #healthinsurance and how it harms workers and employers www.statnews.com/health-insur... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Soaring health care costs explored in 'Out of Pocket, Out of Reach'
America’s employer-based health insurance system is crumbling in slow motion. See how, and why, in STAT's 8-part series 'Out of Pocket, Out of Reach.'
statnews.com
Squalene is July's #lipidofthemonth. "Our skin produces an oil called sebum, which contains a high proportion of squalene, a triterpene which acts as an emollient, but also a natural sunblock...Squalene was first isolated from the liver of the squalidae family of sharks, hence its name."
A growing number of states are moving to cap what hospitals can charge commercial payers and employers, turning hospital pricing into one of the most active battlegrounds in state health policy www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/hosp... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
“Eight Oklahoma hospitals...received federal warning letters over healthcare price transparency requirements. Regulators say pricing data must be publicly accessible” bit.ly/4eF1o7Y #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Tulsa-area hospitals among 8 Oklahoma facilities warned by federal government over hidden prices
Eight Oklahoma hospitals, including three in the Tulsa area received federal warning letters over healthcare price transparency requirements. Regulators say pricing data must be publicly accessible.
newson6.com
"This union negotiated hospital prices to save on healthcare" 32BJ cut out the middleman and is on track to save tens of millions of dollars www.marketplace.org/story/2026/0... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
This union negotiated hospital prices to save on healthcare
Fed up with rising healthcare costs, one New York union cut out the middleman and is on track to save tens of millions of dollars.
marketplace.org
Indiana tries government price controls to help employers get better deals from hospitals. kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...
Indiana Takes On Powerful Hospitals by Capping Prices They Charge Employers - KFF Health News
“Government has to intervene, because healthcare is run like an unregulated utility,” Indiana’s GOP governor says of the state’s effort to regulate hospital prices.
kffhealthnews.org
Employer-sponsored insurance is increasingly unaffordable but ERISA could be a powerful tool for change. Georgetown's CHIR identifies ways to strengthen ERISA to address PBM and TPA costs chir.georgetown.edu/ERISA/afford... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Is ERISA Up for the Job? Improving Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Affordability | Center on Health Insurance Reforms
chir.georgetown.edu
"Do TPAs still lock up employer claims data? House hearing witness says yes" #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon www.benefitspro.com/2026/06/11/d...
Do TPAs still lock up employer claims data? House hearing witness says yes
One big union plan saved $100 million per year by cutting one hospital out of its network.
benefitspro.com
The Peterson Center on Healthcare seeks a Senior Manager to support the ideation, development, and execution of work in our health technology policy portfolio petersonhealthcare.org/careers/seni... #healthcare #jobs #healthpolicy #healthecon
Senior Manager, Policy
The Center seeks a Senior Manager to support the ideation, development, and execution of work primarily within its health technology policy portfolio.
petersonhealthcare.org
June's #lipidofthemonth is the deadly Oenanthotoxin, a 17-carbon polyacetylene alcohol found in hemlock water-dropwort www.lipidmaps.org/updates/lipi...
ERISA was enacted in 1974 but is drawing new scrutiny in #healthcare because of lawsuits alleging fiduciary breaches. A new brief from Center on Health Insurance Reforms provides much-need context & clarity about how ERISA could help employers address high spending chir.georgetown.edu/ERISA/
Is ERISA Up for the Job? Improving Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Affordability | Center on Health Insurance Reforms
chir.georgetown.edu
Peterson Philanthropies is launching Peterson Health Analytics to provide employers with the insights they need to take greater control of their #healthcare spending and purchase more affordable, higher quality care for employees and families petersonanalytics.com/peterson-phi...
Peterson Philanthropies Launches Peterson Health Analytics
New mission-driven company empowers employers with actionable data to deliver higher value care for workers
petersonanalytics.com
"With decades of economic evidence demonstrating that hospital consolidation raises prices and does not systematically improve quality, this transaction is about market power" #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/merg...
Mergers only make hospital monopolies worse
Healthy competition benefits consumers through lower prices and improved quality. With NC's hospital markets already highly concentrated, officials should regard further mergers with suspicion, especi...
carolinajournal.com
June 2 I'll be at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown for a discussion on ERISA and its role in advancing #healthcare affordability, moderated by Stacey Richter of @relentleshealth.bsky.social Register at bit.ly/ERISA26
On June 2, I'll be joining Georgetown CHIR in DC for a discussion of ERISA, the 1974 federal law governing employer-sponsored health plans, and its role in improving #healthcare affordability. Register to attend www.eventbrite.com/e/is-erisa-u...
Is ERISA Up for the Job?
A breakfast policy briefing hosted by the Georgetown Center on Health Insurance Reforms
eventbrite.com
Is ERISA up for the job? I'm looking forward to this conversation June 2 at Georgetown on how ERISA can keep #healthcare costs in check, where it is falling short, and opportunities to help employers purchase more effectively, with Stacey Richter of @relentleshealth.bsky.social bit.ly/ERISA26
How much do nonprofit #hospitals spend on management consultants and does consulting impact their finances, operations, or quality of care? jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #healthcare #healthpolicy #healthecon
Changes in Nonprofit Hospitals’ Finances, Operations, and Quality of Care After Using Management Consultants
This cohort study compares financial, operational, and quality-of-care measures among US nonprofit hospitals that used a management consultant firm for the first time from 2009 to 2023 with observatio...
jamanetwork.com
This month's #lipidofthemonth is Juvenile Hormone III, the most prevalent of a family of acyclic sesquiterpene hormones which function to suppress metamorphosis in insect larvae www.lipidmaps.org/updates/lipi... via @lipidmaps.bsky.social
LIPID MAPS
LIPID MAPS website provides open-access to a large number of globally used lipidomics resources, including databases, tools and educational materials.
lipidmaps.org