@schaeffer.usc.edu
Home to the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service. Transforming policy through rigorous, independent research and close engagement with public and private sector leaders.
Teen cannabis use 2x the risk of being diagnosed with psychotic and bipolar disorders later in life, finds a large study co-authored by USC Schaeffer's Rosalie Liccardo Pacula. There was also increased risk for depressive and anxiety disorders.
What's driving high healthcare costs -- and will what it take to get them under control? USC Schaeffer's Paul Ginsburg shares his insights in this @medpagetoday.com video interview.
In formal comments, Schaeffer experts urged CMS to withdraw the GLOBE and GUARD international reference pricing models and instead pursue a value-based drug pricing approach grounded in American values.
Call it the era of “Big Patient.”
Recent drug pricing developments in Washington signal an effort to shift power toward patients and away from established interests, USC Schaeffer's Joe Grogan writes in @newsweek.com.
New #PBM reform provisions could help keep pharmacies open and improve patient access to medicines and care, USC Schaeffer Sr. Scholar Dima Qato tells @morningbrew.bsky.social.
To ensure Medicaid remains a vital safety net, policymakers should take a close look at the program’s “mission creep” into housing, write USC Schaeffer’s Virat Agrawal and Neeraj Sood in @thehill.com.
Insurer formularies often favor opioid pain medications over non-opioid alternatives, USC Schaeffer's Dima Qato tells @stateline.org @nhassanein.bsky.social. Some states are moving to change that.
The FDA is increasingly turning to ad hoc expert panels instead of federal advisory committees for external advice. FDA watchers generally agree these expert panels "are likely unlawful," USC Schaeffer's @profgenkanter.bsky.social tells Regulatory Focus.
The question of whether to ban drug ads isn’t so clear cut, USC Schaeffer research suggests. @nytimes.com cites Schaeffer research finding that ads led to increased use of non-advertised substitutes, including cheaper generics.
USC Schaeffer's Geoffrey Joyce in @modernhealthcare.bsky.social explains why the FTC settlement with Express Scripts matters:
"[It] really gets to the heart of a lot of things PBMs do to make money and increase drug spend."
www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-reg...
Recent shifts in federal #PBM policy closely align with a decade of USC Schaeffer research examining how PBMs affect drug spending, patient costs and access.
Read more about our research with impact here ⤵️
93% of Medicaid managed care prescriptions and 75% of Medicare Part D prescriptions are filled in states where PBM markets are highly concentrated, finds new USC Schaeffer research. schaeffer.usc.edu/research/pbm...
TrumpRx may offer limited new savings, but it's a notable step toward transparency in the historically murky world of drug pricing, USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce tells @latimes.com.
A new USC Schaeffer white paper shows how #PBM accounting practices and mergers with other players in the pharmaceutical supply chain obscure where profits are generated.
In formal comments to CMS, Schaeffer scholars identified key deficiencies in the current #MedicareAdvantage risk adjustment approach—namely favorable selection and upcoding—and offered specific considerations for reform.
Controlling blood pressure is one of the most effective ways to save lives, but the US is going backward. Nonresident Sr. Scholar Bob Kocher in @nejm.org outlines how realigned incentives could reward prevention and sustained control.
Delinking compensation for #PBMs and other middlemen from drug prices – and using fair, transparent fees instead – could save about $95B annually, according to an analysis from USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce.
PBMs often cite low profit margins as evidence they don’t drive up drug costs. However, a new Schaeffer Center white paper shows these margins are heavily influenced by accounting choices and that industry consolidation has further obscured #PBM profits.
USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla quoted in @opinion.bloomberg.com: "Let's have a serious and reasoned conversation about what drugs are worth here in America, and let's develop an American system for aligning prices with value as we perceive it."
📢 The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab (CTRL) has awarded funding to support four research pilots focused on accelerating and improving #Alzheimers clinical trials through #AI and other digital strategies.
📊 This new interactive from USC Schaeffer lets researchers and policymakers explore how medical spending for Medicare beneficiaries with #dementia has changed across time, states, demographics and care settings.
Explore the data here ⤵️
📽️The search for new #Alzheimers treatments depends on faster, more effective trials. The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab recently brought together leading experts to explore promising recruitment strategies.
Watch the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm47...
USC Schaeffer's Glenn Melnick in Health Affairs Forefront notes a critical but overlooked factor behind rising health insurance premiums: a post-COVID surge in prices paid by commercial insurers to hospitals.
Most Americans are wary of relying entirely on AI to make a diagnosis, but they're more optimistic about its potential to help clinicians detect cancer.
USC Schaeffer's @michaelsobolev.bsky.social discusses his new research on patient trust in AI with @medicaleconomics.bsky.social.
Just 1 in 5 L.A. County pharmacies stock #PrEP, finds new USC Schaeffer research. And far fewer prescribe it, even years after California became the first state allowing pharmacists to do so.
High-profile government efforts to reduce drug costs take effect in 2026, including Medicare-negotiated prices and new direct-to-consumer pricing deals.
USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce discusses the potential impacts on patients with @bloomberglaw.com.
Benchmarking drug prices to inflation is misguided. Instead, we should ask if value is outpacing inflation, argues Schaeffer's William Padula in HA Forefront.
"Holding pharmaceutical innovation to the same metric we use for breakfast cereal is not fiscal prudence, it’s conceptual confusion.”
As pharmacy closures accelerate, states have a potential lifeline.
Designating vulnerable community pharmacies as “critical access” may be the most immediate way of protecting patient access, USC Schaeffer postdoctoral researcher Emily Gravlee writes in Health Affairs Forefront.
While cannabis may soon be considered a lower-risk drug, a USC Schaeffer white paper highlights growing evidence of health risks from heavy or long-term use.
The authors argue federal regulations are needed to protect consumers & promote responsible use.
Even the most advanced medical technology means little if patients in need can’t access it, USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla told lawmakers last week.
Read his testimony on how forward-thinking regulatory reform can promote tech that makes good health more accessible & affordable.
