Managed Care Cast

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) was joined by Erin L. Duffy, PhD, MPH, an author of a study published in the June 2026 issue. She is a health policy researcher at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at the University of Southern California, with a focus on health care affordability, access to care, and how health systems can better...

Most patients with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) go undiagnosed until significant liver damage has already occurred, despite the availability of simple, guideline-supported screening tools that remain notoriously underused in both primary care and weight management settings. That's according to a conversation between Naim Alkhouri, MD, chief medical officer at Su...

In this episode, Bhavana "Tina" Bhatnagar, DO, discusses how the field of acute myeloid leukemia has been fundamentally transformed; what this means for patients in rural, underserved settings; and where hematologic oncology is headed next.

Perry Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, watched epidemics emerge, witnessed governments fail to respond, and seen communities mobilize when institutions would not. From the early days of the AIDS crisis to COVID-19, Ebola, and beyond, he has drawn consistent lessons about what makes public health succeed and what causes it to collapse.

For patients with cancer, diagnosis doesn't just bring a physical battle. It can trigger a trauma response that can linger long after treatment ends, quietly reshaping how people sleep, think, and connect with the world around them.

Early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) means little if it does not lead to timely treatment, yet a significant gap persists between when CKD is found and when evidence-based therapies are started. That disconnect is the focus of the second episode of Beyond the Silo: Integrated Care Across the CRM Continuum, a podcast series from The American Journal of Managed Care®, in which Ralph Riell...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care® spoke with Jonathan Wrathall, PhD, a senior advanced analytics consultant at Elevance Health. He authored 2 studies published in the May 2026 issue, both of which centered on food insecurity: “Food Insecurity Identification Modeling for Medicare Enrollees Using Administrative Data” and “Making the Most of Limited Resources...

Psychiatrist and longtime psychedelic researcher Scott Shannon, MD, CEO of the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies, and founder of Wholeness Center, discusses how a new federal push to accelerate psychedelic therapies could reshape the future of mental health care.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects an estimated 37 million Americans, yet most cases go undiagnosed until the disease has significantly progressed. A urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) test can detect kidney damage years before a decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), but it remains underutilized. In the first episode of Beyond the Silo: Integrated Care Across the CRM...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) was joined by Tim McDonald, PhD, MPP, and Bryan E. Dowd, PhD, authors of research published in the April 2026 issue. Their study, "Benefit Design and Consumer Information: Results From a Randomized Trial," found that reducing information barriers for consumers selecting primary care clinics in a tiered network desi...

A clinical pharmacy leader outlines 8 interdependent domains institutions must master to build financially sustainable, patient-accessible CGT programs.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, Ella Hohmann speaks with Douglas Marks, MD, breast medical oncologist and associate professor at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, about the role of lifestyle interventions in reducing breast cancer risk. Marks reviews the evidence behind dietary modification, physical activity, and alcohol reduction, and discusses why some of these strategies remai...

Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, FASCO, chief medical officer with the International Myeloma Foundation and professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, has spent more than 25 years advancing the treatment of multiple myeloma. In this episode, he breaks down how improved survival, evolving frailty assessments, and the r...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) was joined by Yubin Park, PhD, and Michael Ellenbogen, MD, authors of research published in the March 2026 issue. Because financial incentives may influence clinical decision-making, their study examined the relationship between industry payments and Medicare beneficiary spending. As reflected in its title, “Indust...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, I spoke with Dr. Michael Bernstein, an assistant professor in the department of diagnostic imaging at the Warren Alpert Medical School, and Brian Sheppard, a professor of law at Seton Hall Law who focuses on malpractice litigation, to discuss the broader implications of AI becoming more prevalent in health care; understanding its potential impact on legal outc...

In January, the CDC announced major revisions to the US childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of diseases covered by routine vaccines from 17 to 11. The changes followed a December 2025 presidential memorandum directing HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and acting CDC director Jim O’Neill to update the schedule if “superior approaches” were identified abroad. The revisions also com...

What Health Inequities Are Really Costing Your Company: Wayne Rawlins, MD by Managed Care Cast

Scalable Strategies Boost Heart Failure Prescription Fills: Weston Blakeslee, PhD by Managed Care Cast

Grocery Card Use Associated With Increased Care Among Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries: Jennifer L. Kowalski, MS by Managed Care Cast

Managed Care Cast News Roundup: February 10, 2026 by Managed Care Cast

Kristi Martin, a longtime Washington, DC–based policy strategist with deep experience implementing major legislation like the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, explores how the Orphan Drug Act, passed in 1983 as a bipartisan, patient-driven effort, transformed rare disease treatment by aligning scientific advances, government investment, and market incentives, but that reform ma...

The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC) kicks off its 2026 author podcast series with Nate C. Apathy, PhD, guest editor of AJMC’s 15th Health Information Technology (IT) special issue. He is an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and an affiliated research scientist at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana. To...

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, The American Journal of Managed Care® spoke with David Muhlstein, PhD, JD, founder and CEO of Simple Healthcare, about his recent articles highlighting Transparency in Coverage (TIC) files and ghost rates from 119 insurers, including 3 national commercial payers. Aetna, Cigna, and United Healthcare TIC files were more than 90% ghost rates—billing codes for pro...

The latest news from The American Journal of Managed Care.

On today’s episode, AJMC® spoke with Dr. Sachin Jain, president and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan, about his 10 predictions for the health care industry in 2026. Jain breaks down his predictions and what they could mean in both the short and long term for Americans and how they may shape access, affordability, and accountability across the US health care system.