To Grow The Mental Health Workforce, Streamline Licensure And Make Licenses Portable Renee Gross,Jeff Shumway,andRebecca Flournoy April 8, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/grow-mental-health-workforce-streamline-licensure-and-make-licenses-portable With a growing demand for mental health and substance use disorder services, states should think creatively about policies to extend and grow the workforce.

A Vision For MIPS’s Next 10 Years: Short-Term Changes, Long-Term Strategy Development Michelle SchreiberandDora Lynn Hughes April 14, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/vision-mips-s-next-10-years-short-term-changes-long-term-strategy-development CMS has been working aggressively to improve the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) within the program’s statutory constraints and current framework.

AI Prescribing Medications In Utah: A Flawed Regulatory Playbook Eric Bressman April 17, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/ai-prescribing-medications-utah-flawed-regulatory-playbook In regulatory terms, allowing an AI system to independently prescribe medications is a threshold no one has ever crossed—granting a machine authority that, until now, has required years of education, supervised training, standardized testing, and formal licensure.

The Attack On Race-Conscious Health Policies: The UCLA Lawsuit And The Trump Administration’s Broader Campaign Andrew Twinamatsiko April 21, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/attack-race-conscious-health-policies-ucla-lawsuit-and-trump-administration-s-broader The litigation against health equity measures has expanded and accelerated. Now the federal government has thrown its weight behind interest groups that have struggled to establish standing, eliminating the constraints that limited private litigants.

Many Experts Say Private Equity Hospital Acquisitions Reduce Quality, Increase Spending Robert Tyler Braun,Dhruv Khullar,Emma E. McGinty,Colleen L. Barry,Lindsey Vuolo,andAmelia M. Bond April 29, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/more-than-half-experts-say-private-equity-hospital-acquisitions-reduce-quality-increase In the latest Cornell Health Policy Insight Panel survey, a majority of respondents said that PE hospital acquisitions had negative effects on quality and spending, but on access and financial stability, opinion was mixed.

Rural Health Transformation Investments Must Pair Mobile Health Infrastructure With Sustainable Care Delivery Kait Guild April 30, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/rural-health-transformation-investments-must-pair-mobile-health-1777468557815 It is always heartening when funders and public officials recognize the value of mobile health. But without long-term operational and sustainability planning, that initial recognition can only take us so far.

'Health In All Policies’ Is An Effective Governance Framework. Why Have Our Leaders Ignored It? Aletha Maybank,William B. Jordan,Joneigh S. Khaldun,andJulia Caplan April 30, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/health-all-policies-effective-governance-framework-why-have-our-leaders-ignored Every policy is a health policy. It may seem obvious, but our laws and regulations are rarely developed with this in mind.