A briefing on the latest research in the Department of Health Policy and Management
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A small selection of recent work by HPM faculty and researchers
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Preemption at the Intersection of Health Care and Artificial Intelligence
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JAMA Network, February 2026
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Medical artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in clinical practice in the US, with roughly two-thirds of physicians reporting using it in a 2023 survey. Yet, federal agencies only review a fraction of the medical AI that affects clinical care. New JAMA Network viewpoint, co-authored by David Blumenthal, explores this. Read it here.
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Health effects of reductions in food assistance benefits in the USA |
The Lancet, February 2026
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Recent correspondence in The Lancet, co-authored by Jose Figueroa, Sara Bleich, and colleagues, examines the potential health consequences of major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), following the 2025 passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which reduces SNAP funding by $186 billion over ten years. With around 4 million people expected to lose or see reductions in benefits, the study highlights concerns about rising food insecurity and its possible clinical impacts. Read it here.
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Fluctuating State Medicaid Dental Coverage: Asymmetric Impact Of Benefit Cuts And Expansions, 2010-21
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Health Affairs, February 2026
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Medicaid adult dental coverage is an optional benefit that states often add or remove in response to budgetary pressures. The effect of these fluctuations on access to dental services is unclear. Using 2010–21 Health and Retirement Study data and a dynamic difference-in-differences event study, co-authors Ben Sommers, Meredith Rosenthal, Hawazin Elani, and colleagues examined the effects of removing versus adding Medicaid adult dental benefits among adults ages 50–64 with income up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Read it here.
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Research Chat: Ari Ne'eman
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Ari Ne'eman, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, chats about current and future research and finding solutions to real-world public health challenges.
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Q: What’s a real-world problem that your current research is trying to solve, and how would you explain it to someone outside of public health?
A: My research looks at how public policy shapes the lives of people with disabilities and their families. One of the key areas at issue there is the availability of Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS), which serve as the foundation for disability and aging services in this country. Unfortunately, these services are at growing risk today because of cuts to federal Medicaid funding. Of late, my research has been looking at how HCBS impacts people with disabilities’ ability to stay in their own communities, their ability to participate in the workforce, as well as other outcomes like social inclusion and health.
Q: Why does this work matter now, and how could it change the way we think about health policy, and/or your specific area of work, in our daily lives?
A: We’re in an environment in which people with high costs and ongoing needs are at profound risk. It’s never been more important to be able to clearly articulate what we’re buying with our investments in services that support people with disabilities to live in the community. My hope is that my research can serve a dual purpose: first, to provide policymakers with a sense of the tradeoffs that they face when structuring disability services, with the goal of designing Medicaid HCBS and other public programs in such a way as to maximize autonomy, inclusion, health, and other outcomes we care about. Second, to help the public understand the value that community-based supports provide to both disabled people and the broader community in which they live.
Q: Looking ahead, what change or impact do you hope your research will lead to in the next five to ten years?
A: In the next few years, we’re going to be in an environment in which our primary focus is protecting the service system that currently exists. But in time, I hope we can return to thinking critically about what needs to evolve in disability and aging services. We still invest tremendous resources into what I would call legacy infrastructure - nursing homes, sheltered workshops, group homes, and other service models that don’t facilitate fully included lives for people with disabilities and older adults. We have to be cautious in how we transition away from yesterday’s approaches, but I believe there is still space for meaningful change in how we approach supporting people with significant ongoing support needs in this country. We have not reached the final frontier of inclusion and autonomy for people with disabilities yet. There remains much more work to do.
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In Case You Missed It (ICYMI):
Recent Harvard Chan news featuring HPM faculty and researchers
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HPV-vaccinated women may require fewer cervical cancer screenings
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Women vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) at a young age may need only two or three screenings for cervical cancer—which can be caused by HPV—over the course of their lifetimes, according to a new study co-authored by Jane Kim. Read more here.
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A call to document harms from nutrition policy changes and to fight for families |
In a recent interview on the implications of changes to federal nutrition policies, Sara Bleich called for health professionals, researchers, and advocates to document harms caused by these changes and to fight to help families keep their benefits. Read more here.
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Why finding a primary care provider can be so tough
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The number of primary care physicians (PCPs) seeing new patients in the U.S. is declining and the number of advanced practice providers (APPs)—including physician assistants and nurse practitioners—available for these visits isn’t enough to fill the gap, according to a new study from researchers including postdoctoral research fellow René Karadakic, and Michael Barnett. Read more here.
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| Community health centers face financial threats from federal policy changes
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Federal policy changes are putting community health centers at risk of financial struggles, according to John McDonough, who was quoted on the issue in a Jan. 28 GBH article. He noted that, traditionally, community health centers—there are roughly 17,000 across the U.S.—have had bipartisan support. But under the Trump administration, he said, “We are seeing the greatest assault on community health centers and healthcare for disadvantaged populations that we have ever seen in the modern history of the country, going back to the 1960s when we created Medicare and Medicaid.” Read more here.
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Health insurance premiums are rising—here’s why
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Monthly health insurance bills are rising for many Americans, with those on Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans seeing particularly high increases due to the expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits at the end of 2025. Also known as enhanced subsidies, these credits were passed by Congress in 2021 to temporarily expand eligibility for lower health insurance premiums. Meredith Rosenthal discusses the impact of higher premiums and explains why health care costs keep rising. Read more here.
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A small selection of recent media pieces featuring HPM faculty and researchers
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GBH spotlights Howard Koh and his latest research finding that spiritual practices are associated with a lower risk of hazardous drug and alcohol use.
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The Harvard Gazette highlights new research by Ellen Meara, isolating smoking as the principal culprit behind U.S. midlife mortality gaps defined by place and education.
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Recent episode of the Commonwealth Beacon's Codcast unpacks claim denials, regulatory reforms, and bigger picture health insurance challenges, with John McDonough as podcast co-host.
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A wider public conversation has arisen over whether it’s time for a shift in how we think about categories of autism, amid rising interest in the disorder across the country. Ari Ne'eman explores this in a recent Harvard Gazette piece.
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The latest research resource highlights from the Office of Research Strategy & Development (ORSD) at Harvard Chan
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The Harvard Chan Research Software page provides a guide to software tools widely used across our research community:
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Statistical analysis tools such as: SAS, Stata, JMP Pro, MATLAB, R, and Python
- Scientific illustration and lab tools such as: BioRender, FlowJo, and SnapGene
- Clear access information: How to obtain each tool
- Licensing and cost details: Institutional discounts when available and eligibility guidance
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Harvard Chan researchers have access to powerful cluster computing to support demanding analytical and computational workloads, paid for by the School for eligible PIs and their labs. Through FAS Research Computing (FASRC), investigators can run CPU and GPU jobs on the Cannon cluster, including a dedicated HSPH partition that provide priority access and faster job turnaround. To benefit from this School investment and improve performance, be sure to submit jobs to the HSPH partition. FASSE, a secure environment, is also available for Level 3 data. Learn more on the FASRC Computing Resources Intranet page.
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Thank you for taking the time to read about current and ongoing work in the Department of Health Policy and Management. If you have any questions, comments, or are a member of HPM and would like to be featured in an upcoming Research Recap, please email Rachel Levitt, Academic Appointments and Communications Specialist, or click the submit button below.
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