Joseph Burns

Brewster

Health Policy Topic Leader at Association of Health Care Journalists

Independent journalist covering the nation's health system and the business of care. @AHCJ health policy and insurance beat leader. RT ≠ endorsement.

Articles

What if the ACA included a public option insurance plan?

1 month ago | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

When Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, lobbying from health insurers and physicians helped to kill a potentially significant provision: a government-run public option health insurance program. In early versions of the ACA, President Barack Obama proposed that it include a public option that could compete with private insurers and keep them honest, as Robert Pear reported for The New York Times.
Cochrane Corner: ‘Psychological Interventions for Depression in Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease’

1 month ago | onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Paul Cooper |Joseph Burns |Katherine B. Salciccioli

1 What Is the Review About? What are the effects of psychological interventions for the treatment of depression in adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease? 3 What Are the Findings Based on? Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) directly assessing the use of psychological interventions for depression in patients with congenital heart disease were included. The initial literature review yielded 887 studies. However, 870 were ineligible, and 12 did not meet the inclusion criteria.
Why journalists need to explain the value of no-cost preventive care

2 months ago | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Among some lawyers and U.S. Supreme Court observers, a consensus developed Monday that the court will likely uphold a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowing millions of Americans to continue getting no-cost preventive care services. Other lawyers and observers, however, were not so sure. The ACA requires private health insurers to cover preventive health services at no additional cost to patients, as Amy Howe explained in a preview of the case on the SCOTUSblog.
Despite criticism, the ACA has helped more Americans access health insurance

2 months ago | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Many discussions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) include a list of ways the law has failed to help Americans get more affordable and comprehensive health insurance. What’s left out, therefore, are all the ways the law has helped Americans get better coverage and improved health. This is the third story in a series.
How the ACA changed health insurance in the U.S.

2 months ago | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Most Americans may be unaware of the significant impact the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had on nearly the entire U.S. health insurance system. Fifteen years ago, when Congress passed the ACA (officially the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), journalists and consumers recognized that the law provided Americans with health insurance choices that were previously nonexistent. This story is the second in a series. Read the first here.
Why cutting sign-up days and navigator funds undermines ACA gains

Mar 25, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Among the ways to limit enrollment in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to cut funding for the navigators who provide free, unbiased assistance to consumers, and to cut back the open enrollment period. On Feb. 14, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) slashed funding for trained navigators from $98 million last year to $10 million this year.
SCOTUS will hear case threatening no-cost preventive care

Mar 4, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns |Liz Seegert

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case with serious health and financial consequences for millions of Americans in every state. At issue is whether the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that insurers cover preventive care at no cost to patients is constitutional.
‘Hospital, Heal Thyself:’ Book shows few hospitals adopt beneficial methods

Feb 18, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Imagine you could help hospitals improve patient safety and boost income simply by smoothing out patient flow. That’s the idea behind the not-for-profit Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) in Bedford, Mass.
Pharmacy benefit managers raised prices by over 1,000% on specialty drugs

Feb 14, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Reporters covering the cost of prescription drugs should be aware of two reports from the Federal Trade Commission on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs): the first on July 9 and the second on Jan. 14.
Drug costs: Cleaning up confusion on Trump's rules and revisions

Jan 30, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns |Liz Seegert

On his first day in office, President Trump signed dozens of executive orders rolling back key initiatives from the Biden Administration. The topics covered in Trump’s orders ranged from future pandemic preparedness to withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. One action that created some confusion among consumers was the rescission of Biden’s Executive Order 14087, Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans.