Adam Beckman MD
@AdamLBeckman
Helping strengthen primary care & public health. Resident physician @BrighamMedRes, previously Office of the 21st US Surgeon General, views mine
Grateful to the superstar @AdamLBeckman @BrighamMedRes + Chris Cai @PORTAL_Research, H. Elani @dental_harvard , D. Dai & J. Orav for helping lead this work! 🙏@Arnold_Ventures for supporting work. @JAMA_current study link: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…
New bipartisan bill—the “GUARD” Act— aims to finally fix the duplicative MA & VA payment loophole. Estimated to save taxpayers >$12 billion per year. Informed by great research from @Brown_SPH @PennLDI @CornellLaw @BUSPH & @HarvardChanSPH + many others warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…
I want to emphasize that this is 18,000 avoidable deaths per year *of Medicare enrollees.* They aren't in CBO's "uninsured" count — they're older people and folks with disabilities on Medicare who won't get extra financial help because of a proposed moratorium on a regulation.
CBO projects that House reconciliation bill will cause 1.38 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries to lose Medicaid coverage. We estimate that this will lead to over 18,000 avoidable deaths/year stemming from loss of LIS. Link to memo led by @PennLDI: bit.ly/4mwfcDA
Between this and accelerating Medicaid work requirements to Dec 2026 (with states permitted to start even sooner), I have to imagine that the increase in uninsured would climb 2-3 million. Maybe more? But it doesn’t sound like the House is planning to wait for a new CBO score.
The updated reconciliation language doubles down on the bill’s Marketplace cuts by ending “silver loading” for the 2026 plan year. This would greatly increase many Marketplace enrollees’ premiums, compounding increases due to expiration of enhanced tax credits.
The Medicaid work requirement in the House bill is a lot stricter than work requirements in previous legislation.
Medicare Advantage plans target veterans & justify high reimbursements with offering dental & vision benefits. But we find veterans in MA used these services with the same frequency as veterans in traditional Medicare. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…
Many Vets enrolling in Medicare Advantage get zero care paid by plans. MA insurers argue that vets get extra benefits (vision + dental). But in new @JAMA_current study, we find that this claim is NOT actually the truth. @AdamLBeckman @HarvardChanSPH jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…
Medicaid is a more cost-effective way to save lives than lots of other things the government pays for, like vehicle inspections or some cancer treatments. More from me + @sangerkatz on a big new Medicaid study: nytimes.com/2025/05/16/hea…
Therefore, the comprehensive CMS payments MA plans get to care for vets (especially those who get little to no medical care paid by MA) are not justified by the “extra” MA supplemental benefits. Urgent need for VA and CMS to fix this inefficiency to tune of $BILLIONS per year
Using national survey data, we find: 1. No significant differences in total utilization or spending of dental & vision services between vets in MA vs TM. 2. MA plans only spend ~$82 per veteran enrollee on dental care and ~$6 more on vision aids than what TM vets get.
Many Vets enrolling in Medicare Advantage get zero care paid by plans. MA insurers argue that vets get extra benefits (vision + dental). But in new @JAMA_current study, we find that this claim is NOT actually the truth. @AdamLBeckman @HarvardChanSPH jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…
Veterans in Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare used dental and vision services at similar rates, with no significant difference in total spending. #SGIM25 ja.ma/42YklMX @AdamLBeckman
The HHS Office of Minority Health was created under the Reagan Administration.
NEW w/ @RuthReader: HHS is eliminating offices that work on minority health, HIV and STIs. HIV experts called it a "decimation" that will cost the government much more over time than any short-term savings. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/0…
Veteran Medicare Advantage plans target veterans with $0 premiums and supplemental benefits but exclude Medicare Part D, likely to attract veterans using VHA care. ja.ma/4c4ECmM
Some Medicare Advantage plans are targeting Veterans in their marketing - "Freedom Plan," "Patriot Plan," etc. And after enrollment, push them to get care from VA, pocketing premiums as profits So taxpayers are paying for the same coverage twice! jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-…
Non-profit hospitals receive tax exemptions (up to ~$37.4 billion/yr) to provide “community benefits” In new @JAMAHealthForum study, we find that the non-profit tax system is *structurally discriminatory* Socially vulnerable communities benefit less… jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-…
Important, deeply weedy regulatory development: HHS just announced that they are rescinding the "Richardson Waiver" That's the policy under which HHS has, for decades, observed notice-and-comment rulemaking for (among other things) grant programs — like, say, NIH grants
"The budget committee document listed several possible options, such as...eliminating the tax exemption for nonprofit hospitals" nytimes.com/interactive/20… by @sangerkatz @aliciaparlap h/t Naomi Stark
As a doctor, I know Medicaid is how many people who play important roles in our lives get their care - childcare workers, cleaning workers, construction workers, parents, fellow Americans in every community. #DontCutOurMedicaid
What is Medicaid? To me, it is a young woman who works at a daycare, comes to clinic with a sore throat, and gets treated for Strep so she can get back to work. (1/4) #HandsOffOurMedicaid