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

Why journalists need to explain the value of no-cost preventive care

3 weeks 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

1 month 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.

1 month 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

1 month ago | 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

2 months ago | 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

2 months ago | 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.
Guardian journalists show the harm of hospital’s high prices

Jan 23, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

Last fall, three reporters for the Guardian US showed how Parkview Health, the largest hospital system in Indiana, consolidated aggressively over more than 10 years and then steered patients into expensive care settings, secured high prices from health insurers and became the region’s largest employer. The two-part series called “Too big to care” featured some of the best investigative articles of the year.
CMS reports national health spending grew 7.5% in 2023, far outpacing inflation

Jan 17, 2025 | healthjournalism.org | Joseph Burns

In 2023, the United States spent $4.9 trillion on health care, a growth rate of 7.5% in 2022 or about $14,570 per person, according to a CMS report from the National Health Expenditure Accounts Team. To put the 7.5% in context, consider that 7.5% is almost twice the growth rate in the Consumer Price Index, which rose by 4.1% from 2022 to 2023. Also the 7.5% rate outpaced health spending rates in 2021 (4.2%) and 2022 (4.6%), the accounts team reported in Health Affairs.