Spending On Targeted Therapies Reduced Mortality In Patients With Advanced-Stage Breast Cancer
Costly targeted therapies are playing an increasingly important role in treating cancer.
Targeted Therapies Linked to Improved Outcomes for Advanced-Stage Breast Cancer Patients
Targeted therapies accounted for about 90% of new active substance approvals in oncology between 2011 and 2018.
Medicare Advanced Imaging Payment: Dysfunctional Policy Making
Medicare’s experience of paying for outpatient imaging services, particularly expensive advanced imaging such as MRIs, CAT scans, and nuclear scans, has been tumultuous over the last 20 years.
Who Receives Advanced Stroke Care May Depend on the Traffic
New study from USC reveals that Los Angeles County’s traffic patterns affect stroke care access, with socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods most affected.
New Financing Models May Expand Access to Life-Changing Cell and Gene Therapies
A new Schaeffer white paper proposes a stepwise strategy to broaden access, starting with a market-based intermediary and moving to progressively stronger government interventions if needed.
Restoring Civic Trust: A Fireside Chat with Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Shrinking trust in institutions, weakening civic participation and intensifying polarization are destabilizing advanced democracies worldwide. As the social norms that unite communities erode, so too does confidence in government. The Right Honorable Gordon Brown, former prime minister of the United Kingdom and chair of the new Center for Civic Society at the USC Schaeffer Institute,…
Medicare is Experimenting With Having AI Review Claims
This test of prior authorization could save Medicare money, but it should be closely monitored to ensure patient health is not harmed.
PBM Profits Obscured by Mergers and Accounting Practices, USC Schaeffer White Paper Shows
PBMs’ slim profit margins may be strongly influenced by their accounting practices, and widespread industry consolidation has made assessing PBM profitability more difficult.
USC Initiative Awards Funding to Test AI-Driven Strategies to Accelerate Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials
Researchers will examine how artificial intelligence, electronic health records and other digital tools can speed up and improve trial recruitment.
Anna Saavedra, EdD
Anna Saavedra is Director of the Center for Civic Society at the USC Schaeffer Institute and Founding co-Director of the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. Her substantive areas of expertise include curriculum and instruction, civics education, and American families’ educational experiences. She has…
The Unfinished Work of the No Surprises Act: Cost Transparency for Planned Care
Five years after Congress banned surprise medical bills, patients are still waiting on long-delayed cost transparency protections promised in the law.
Testimony on Maintaining U.S. Biotech Competitiveness and Delivering Lifesaving Cures to Patients
As technology evolves, FDA’s regulatory frameworks must adapt to avoid needless uncertainty about how reviewers will evaluate novel products or approaches.
Operational and Policy Considerations in the Effectuation of Medicare’s Maximum Fair Drug Prices for Part D
Medicare-negotiated prices for select drugs will be available to enrollees at the pharmacy counter starting in January 2026. This brief examines the complex process behind implementing those prices, the roles of key stakeholders and potential challenges.
J. Felipe Montano-Campos, PhD
Felipe is a researcher at the intersection of economics, decision science, and health policy. His work examines how individuals perceive and respond to health risks, integrating economic behaviors such as risk compensation and health–wealth trade-offs into decision science to show how private choices, alongside broader social and institutional factors, shape health outcomes and the effectiveness…
Eleanor Hayes-Larson
Eleanor Hayes-Larson is an epidemiologist whose research program integrates social, psychiatric, and neuroepidemiology with advanced statistical methods to understand drivers of cognitive decline and dementia incidence and disparities. Her work takes a lifecourse perspective to examine psychosocial determinants of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in diverse populations, with an emphasis on groups historically underrepresented in…
Schaeffer Center White Paper Outlines FDA Reforms to Boost Pharmaceutical Innovation and Expand Access
To harness the full potential of new medical technologies, a new white paper calls for significant FDA reforms to streamline clinical trials, provide greater certainty for innovators and speed game-changing treatments to more patients.
A Blueprint for FDA: Recommendations to Improve Innovation and Access
We propose a set of recommended actions FDA should take to accelerate development of transformative medical technologies and enhance patient access.
A Diabetes Paradox: Better Health, But Still Out of Work
It will take more than just health improvements to address the poor economic prospects of many with diabetes.
New Alzheimer’s Blood Tests Have the Potential to Supercharge Clinical Trials
Clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease typically take longer than those in other therapeutic areas, but new blood tests that aid in diagnosis could speed up progress.
The Price of Survival, Paid in Advance
A comparison of hospital policies in the U.S. and India offers insight into how different countries value care.