Evaluation of Low-Value Services Across Major Medicare Advantage Insurers and Traditional Medicare.

Importance: Compared with traditional Medicare (TM), Medicare Advantage (MA) insurers have greater financial incentives to reduce the delivery of low-value services (LVS); however, there is limited evidence at a national level on the prevalence of LVS utilization among MA vs TM beneficiaries and whether LVS utilization rates vary among the largest MA insurers.

Objective: To determine whether there are differences in the rates of LVS delivered to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MA vs TM, overall and by the 7 largest MA insurers.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study included Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older residing in the US in 2018 with complete demographic information.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program issuance timing is associated with sugar-sweetened beverage marketing in the USA.

Objective: Prior research has shown that there are more supermarket displays of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) during times when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are distributed ('issuance periods'). This may contribute to inequitable purchasing and consumption. This study examines whether SSB marketing in weekly supermarket circulars, which retailers use to advertise products, is more prevalent during issuance periods compared to non-issuance periods.

Quality-of-Care Outcomes in Vertical Relationships Between Physicians and Health Systems.

Importance: Vertical relationships (ownership, affiliations, joint contracting) between physicians and health systems are increasing in the US. Many proponents of vertical relationships argue that increased spending associated with consolidation is accompanied by improvements in quality of care.

Objective: To assess the association of vertical relationships between primary care physicians (PCPs) and large health systems and quality of care.

Disparities in property insurance relief among socially vulnerable Texas communities after Winter Storm Uri.

Property insurance is an important tool for resiliency from the accelerating impacts of climate-intensified extreme weather events. However, disparities in property insurance payouts may reduce their potential protective effects. The objective of this study was to quantify disparities in insurance payouts by Texas' insurers after the 2021 Winter Storm Uri, and to understand if any socioeconomic factors were associated with higher rates of declined relief.

Disparities in Access to Outpatient Surgery Related to Removal of Procedures from Medicare's Inpatient Only List.

Objective: We assessed the shift from inpatient to outpatient surgical care related to changes to the Inpatient Only List in 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019.

Summary Background Data: The extent to which procedures shift from the inpatient to outpatient setting following removal from Medicare's Inpatient Only List is unknown. Many health systems also encouraged a shift from inpatient to outpatient surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Variation in tiered network health plan penetration and local provider market characteristics.

Objective: To understand variation in enrollment in tiered network health plans (TNPs) and the local provider market characteristics associated with TNP penetration.

Data Sources And Study Setting: We used 2013-2017 Massachusetts three-digit ZIP code level employer-sponsored health insurance enrollment data, data on physician horizontal and vertical affiliations from the Massachusetts Provider Database, state hospital reports in 2013, 2015, and 2017, and the 2013-2017 Massachusetts All-Payer Claims database.

Study Design: Linear regressions were used to estimate associations between TNP and local provider market characteristics.

Utilization, Steering, and Spending in Vertical Relationships Between Physicians and Health Systems.

Importance: Vertical relationships (eg, ownership or affiliations, including joint contracting) between physicians and health systems are increasing in the US.

Objective: To analyze how vertical relationships between primary care physicians (PCPs) and large health systems are associated with changes in ambulatory and acute care utilization, referral patterns, readmissions, and total medical spending for commercially insured individuals.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This case-control study with a repeated cross-section, stacked event design analyzed outcomes of patients whose attributed PCP entered a vertical relationship with a large health care system in 2015 or 2017 compared with patients whose attributed PCP was either never or always in a vertical relationship with a large health system from 2013 to 2017 in the state of Massachusetts.

Crizotinib Has Preclinical Efficacy in Philadelphia-Negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

Purpose: The Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis are characterized by JAK/STAT pathway activation. JAK inhibitors are approved for MPN treatment, but persistence has been observed, due to JAK/STAT reactivation.

Experimental Design: Using MPN patient samples, JAK2-mutated cell lines, and MPN mouse models, we examined both the efficacy and mechanism by which crizotinib, the ALK/MET/RON/ROS1 inhibitor approved for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, alters MPN cell proliferation and JAK/STAT activation.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Inpatient and Outpatient Utilization of Bariatric Surgery.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, deferral of inpatient elective surgical procedures served as a primary mechanism to increase surge inpatient capacity. Given the benefit of bariatric surgery on treating obesity and associated comorbidities, decreased access to bariatric surgery may have long-term public health consequences. Understanding the extent of the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to bariatric surgery will help health systems plan for appropriate access.

Simplification of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recertification Processes and Association With Uninterrupted Access to Benefits Among Participants With Young Children.

Importance: In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), families may temporarily lose benefits for which they are still eligible because of administrative issues. This lapse in benefits, referred to as churning, increases the risk of food insecurity for families, which is linked with poorer health.

Objectives: To examine the rate of churning among SNAP participants with young children and evaluate the association of administrative policy changes with churning risk.

Comparison of Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Little is known about changes in obstetric outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To assess whether obstetric outcomes and pregnancy-related complications changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study included pregnant patients receiving care at 463 US hospitals whose information appeared in the PINC AI Healthcare Database.

The Marketing of Ultraprocessed Foods in a National Sample of U.S. Supermarket Circulars: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of advertisements for ultraprocessed foods and beverages in U.S. supermarket circulars, which are digital and print marketing materials with weekly sales promotions.

Changes in Calorie Content of Menu Items at Large Chain Restaurants After Implementation of Calorie Labels.

Importance: Calorie labeling on menus is required in US chain food establishments with 20 or more locations. This policy may encourage retailers to offer lower-calorie items, which could lead to a public health benefit by reducing customers' calorie intake from prepared foods. However, potential reformulation of restaurant menu items has not been examined since nationwide enforcement of this policy in 2018.

Disparities in Adult Fast-Food Consumption in the U.S. by Race and Ethnicity, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2018.

Introduction: This study provides the most recent estimates for fast-food consumption in the U.S., overall and by race/ethnicity and age.

Association of a Sweetened Beverage Tax With Purchases of Beverages and High-Sugar Foods at Independent Stores in Philadelphia.

Importance: The relationship between a sweetened beverage tax and changes in the prices and purchases of beverages and high-sugar food is understudied in the long term and in small independent food retail stores where sugar-sweetened beverages are among the most commonly purchased items.

Objective: To examine whether a 1.5 cent-per-fluid-ounce excise tax on sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was associated with sustained changes in beverage prices and purchases, as well as calories purchased from beverages and high-sugar foods, over 2 years at small independent stores.

Trends and patterns in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among children and adults by race and/or ethnicity, 2003-2018.

Objective: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has declined steadily. This study uses the latest national data to examine trends in SSB consumption among children and adults by race and/or ethnicity and to document whether long-standing disparities in intake remain.

Design: Trend analyses of demographic and dietary data measured by 24-h dietary recall from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Availability and Nutrient Composition of Vegetarian Items at US Fast-Food Restaurants.

Background: Consumer demand for vegetarian options is growing. Fast-food restaurants have responded by adding high-profile vegetarian offerings, but little is known about the overall availability or nutrient profile of vegetarian options at these establishments, or how these items compare with nonvegetarian items.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify trends in the availability and nutrient profile of vegetarian items in US fast-food restaurants from 2012 to 2018.

Prevalence and nutrient composition of menu offerings targeted to customers with dietary restrictions at US fast casual and full-service restaurants.

Objective: To examine the prevalence and nutrient composition of menu offerings targeted to customers with dietary restrictions at US fast casual and full-service chain restaurants.

Design: We used 2018 data from MenuStat, a database of nutrient information for menu items at large US chain restaurants. Five alternative diets were examined: gluten-free, low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, low-fat and vegetarian.

Association of Chain Restaurant Advertising Spending With Obesity in US Adults.

Importance: Restaurants spend billions of dollars on marketing. However, little is known about the association between restaurant marketing and obesity risk in adults.

Objective: To examine associations between changes in per capita county-level restaurant advertising spending over time and changes in objectively measured body mass index (BMI) for adult patients.

Decreasing Trends in Heavy Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in the United States, 2003 to 2016.

Background: Although previous studies have documented declines in intake from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in the United States, it is important to examine whether heavy SSB intake (≥500 kcal/day) is decreasing in parallel. Examining the intake patterns of heavy SSB consumers is imperative because these individuals face the greatest health risks and thus may benefit the most from targeted policy and programmatic efforts to reduce intake.

Objective: To provide the most recent national estimates for trends in heavy SSB intake among children and adults in the United States between 2003-2004 and 2015-2016, to examine whether these trends differ by sociodemographic characteristics, and to describe where SSB are acquired and consumed by the heaviest SSB consumers.

Facilitators and barriers to bikeshare use among users and non-users in a socioeconomically diverse urban population.

Public bike sharing programs are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. While there is a growing body of literature exploring participation and facilitators among bike share users, little is known about the views of people who have not enrolled in bikeshare programs and how they differ from current users. This knowledge is critical to expand bikeshare ridership, particularly among low-income populations who typically have lower participation levels.

Impact of Changes in Chain Restaurant Calories over Time on Obesity Risk.

Background: Prior research on the restaurant environment and obesity risk is limited by cross-sectional data and a focus on specific geographic areas.

Objective: To measure the impact of changes in chain restaurant calories over time on body mass index (BMI).

Design: We used a first-difference model to examine whether changes from 2012 to 2015 in chain restaurant calories per capita were associated with percent changes in BMI.

Calorie and nutrient trends in large U.S. chain restaurants, 2012-2018.

Introduction: Large chain restaurants reduced calories in their newly-introduced menu items from 2012 to 2015. The objective of this study was to provide updated calorie trends through 2018 and examine trends in the macronutrient composition of menu items across this time period.

Methods And Findings: Data were obtained from the MenuStat project and include 66 of the 100 largest revenue generating U.