USC Schaeffer
@schaeffer.usc.edu
Home to the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and the Schaeffer Fellows in Government Service. Transforming policy through rigorous, independent research and close engagement with public and private sector leaders.
A new USC Schaeffer white paper shows how #PBM accounting practices and mergers with other players in the pharmaceutical supply chain obscure where profits are generated.
PBM Profits Obscured by Mergers and Accounting Practices, USC Schaeffer White Paper Shows - January 22, 2026 - USC Schaeffer
PBMs' slim profit margins may be strongly influenced by their accounting practices, and widespread industry consolidation has made assessing PBM profitability more difficult. - January 22, 2026
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 30, 2026 at 3:26 PM
A new USC Schaeffer white paper shows how #PBM accounting practices and mergers with other players in the pharmaceutical supply chain obscure where profits are generated.
In formal comments to CMS, Schaeffer scholars identified key deficiencies in the current #MedicareAdvantage risk adjustment approach—namely favorable selection and upcoding—and offered specific considerations for reform.
Comments on How to Improve and Modernize Medicare Advantage - January 26, 2026 - USC Schaeffer
CMS should consider updating its risk adjustment approach to ensure that Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare remain viable for future beneficiaries. - January 26, 2026
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 29, 2026 at 6:19 PM
In formal comments to CMS, Schaeffer scholars identified key deficiencies in the current #MedicareAdvantage risk adjustment approach—namely favorable selection and upcoding—and offered specific considerations for reform.
Controlling blood pressure is one of the most effective ways to save lives, but the US is going backward. Nonresident Sr. Scholar Bob Kocher in @nejm.org outlines how realigned incentives could reward prevention and sustained control.
The Hypertension Control Paradox — Why Is America Stuck? | NEJM
Why is the United States failing to control the population’s blood pressure, despite
the availability of well-understood, effective interventions? And what can health
systems do to move the needle?
www.nejm.org
January 26, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Controlling blood pressure is one of the most effective ways to save lives, but the US is going backward. Nonresident Sr. Scholar Bob Kocher in @nejm.org outlines how realigned incentives could reward prevention and sustained control.
Delinking compensation for #PBMs and other middlemen from drug prices – and using fair, transparent fees instead – could save about $95B annually, according to an analysis from USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce.
Delinking PBM Compensation From Drug List Prices Could Unleash Major Savings - July 24, 2025 - USC Schaeffer
Reforming payments to PBMs and other pharmacy middlemen could lower annual U.S. drug spending by nearly $100 billion without hurting innovation, finds Schaeffer Center research. - July 24, 2025
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Delinking compensation for #PBMs and other middlemen from drug prices – and using fair, transparent fees instead – could save about $95B annually, according to an analysis from USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce.
PBMs often cite low profit margins as evidence they don’t drive up drug costs. However, a new Schaeffer Center white paper shows these margins are heavily influenced by accounting choices and that industry consolidation has further obscured #PBM profits.
PBM Profits Obscured by Mergers and Accounting Practices, USC Schaeffer White Paper Shows - January 22, 2026 - USC Schaeffer
PBMs' slim profit margins may be strongly influenced by their accounting practices, and widespread industry consolidation has made assessing PBM profitability more difficult. - January 22, 2026
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 22, 2026 at 7:17 PM
PBMs often cite low profit margins as evidence they don’t drive up drug costs. However, a new Schaeffer Center white paper shows these margins are heavily influenced by accounting choices and that industry consolidation has further obscured #PBM profits.
USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla quoted in @opinion.bloomberg.com: "Let's have a serious and reasoned conversation about what drugs are worth here in America, and let's develop an American system for aligning prices with value as we perceive it."
The Push for Lower US Drug Prices Uses Bad Logic
The need to address the high cost of prescription drugs is one of the rare areas of concordance in our divided country. Americans across the political spectrum can agree that seniors shouldn’t have to...
www.bloomberg.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:52 PM
USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla quoted in @opinion.bloomberg.com: "Let's have a serious and reasoned conversation about what drugs are worth here in America, and let's develop an American system for aligning prices with value as we perceive it."
📢 The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab (CTRL) has awarded funding to support four research pilots focused on accelerating and improving #Alzheimers clinical trials through #AI and other digital strategies.
USC Initiative Awards Funding to Test AI-Driven Strategies to Accelerate Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials - January 20, 2026 - USC Schaeffer
Researchers will examine how artificial intelligence, electronic health records and other digital tools can speed up and improve trial recruitment. - January 20, 2026
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 20, 2026 at 6:55 PM
📢 The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab (CTRL) has awarded funding to support four research pilots focused on accelerating and improving #Alzheimers clinical trials through #AI and other digital strategies.
📊 This new interactive from USC Schaeffer lets researchers and policymakers explore how medical spending for Medicare beneficiaries with #dementia has changed across time, states, demographics and care settings.
Explore the data here ⤵️
Explore the data here ⤵️
How Medical Costs for People with Dementia Are Changing Over Time and Across the U.S. - January 15, 2026 - USC Schaeffer
Explore medical spending for Medicare beneficiaries with dementia in this interactive from the U.S. Cost of Dementia project. - January 15, 2026
schaeffer.usc.edu
January 15, 2026 at 6:44 PM
📊 This new interactive from USC Schaeffer lets researchers and policymakers explore how medical spending for Medicare beneficiaries with #dementia has changed across time, states, demographics and care settings.
Explore the data here ⤵️
Explore the data here ⤵️
📽️The search for new #Alzheimers treatments depends on faster, more effective trials. The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab recently brought together leading experts to explore promising recruitment strategies.
Watch the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm47...
Watch the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm47...
January 14, 2026 at 8:10 PM
📽️The search for new #Alzheimers treatments depends on faster, more effective trials. The USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab recently brought together leading experts to explore promising recruitment strategies.
Watch the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm47...
Watch the full event here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm47...
USC Schaeffer's Glenn Melnick in Health Affairs Forefront notes a critical but overlooked factor behind rising health insurance premiums: a post-COVID surge in prices paid by commercial insurers to hospitals.
Health Affairs Journal
www.healthaffairs.org
January 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM
USC Schaeffer's Glenn Melnick in Health Affairs Forefront notes a critical but overlooked factor behind rising health insurance premiums: a post-COVID surge in prices paid by commercial insurers to hospitals.
Most Americans are wary of relying entirely on AI to make a diagnosis, but they're more optimistic about its potential to help clinicians detect cancer.
USC Schaeffer's @michaelsobolev.bsky.social discusses his new research on patient trust in AI with @medicaleconomics.bsky.social.
USC Schaeffer's @michaelsobolev.bsky.social discusses his new research on patient trust in AI with @medicaleconomics.bsky.social.
Patients trust physicians over AI for diagnosis but see a role in cancer detection, survey finds | Medical Economics
Most Americans remain cautious about AI diagnosing them on its own, but views improve when the tech assists clinicians.
www.medicaleconomics.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Most Americans are wary of relying entirely on AI to make a diagnosis, but they're more optimistic about its potential to help clinicians detect cancer.
USC Schaeffer's @michaelsobolev.bsky.social discusses his new research on patient trust in AI with @medicaleconomics.bsky.social.
USC Schaeffer's @michaelsobolev.bsky.social discusses his new research on patient trust in AI with @medicaleconomics.bsky.social.
Just 1 in 5 L.A. County pharmacies stock #PrEP, finds new USC Schaeffer research. And far fewer prescribe it, even years after California became the first state allowing pharmacists to do so.
AVAILABILITY AND PHARMACIST-PRESCRIBING OF PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS FOR HIV PREVENTION AT RETAIL PHARMACIES IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, 2023
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a prescription medication that is proven safe and
effective for the prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. Despite
its effectiveness, many indiv...
www.ajpmonline.org
January 6, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Just 1 in 5 L.A. County pharmacies stock #PrEP, finds new USC Schaeffer research. And far fewer prescribe it, even years after California became the first state allowing pharmacists to do so.
High-profile government efforts to reduce drug costs take effect in 2026, including Medicare-negotiated prices and new direct-to-consumer pricing deals.
USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce discusses the potential impacts on patients with @bloomberglaw.com.
USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce discusses the potential impacts on patients with @bloomberglaw.com.
Trump, Biden Drug Price Control Efforts Set to Collide in 2026
Trump and Biden administration policies seeking to rein in high prescription drug prices are slated to go into effect in the new year, setting up various overlapping plans with which drug companies mu...
news.bloomberglaw.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:36 PM
High-profile government efforts to reduce drug costs take effect in 2026, including Medicare-negotiated prices and new direct-to-consumer pricing deals.
USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce discusses the potential impacts on patients with @bloomberglaw.com.
USC Schaeffer’s Geoffrey Joyce discusses the potential impacts on patients with @bloomberglaw.com.
Benchmarking drug prices to inflation is misguided. Instead, we should ask if value is outpacing inflation, argues Schaeffer's William Padula in HA Forefront.
"Holding pharmaceutical innovation to the same metric we use for breakfast cereal is not fiscal prudence, it’s conceptual confusion.”
"Holding pharmaceutical innovation to the same metric we use for breakfast cereal is not fiscal prudence, it’s conceptual confusion.”
Health Affairs Journal
www.healthaffairs.org
December 22, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Benchmarking drug prices to inflation is misguided. Instead, we should ask if value is outpacing inflation, argues Schaeffer's William Padula in HA Forefront.
"Holding pharmaceutical innovation to the same metric we use for breakfast cereal is not fiscal prudence, it’s conceptual confusion.”
"Holding pharmaceutical innovation to the same metric we use for breakfast cereal is not fiscal prudence, it’s conceptual confusion.”
As pharmacy closures accelerate, states have a potential lifeline.
Designating vulnerable community pharmacies as “critical access” may be the most immediate way of protecting patient access, USC Schaeffer postdoctoral researcher Emily Gravlee writes in Health Affairs Forefront.
Designating vulnerable community pharmacies as “critical access” may be the most immediate way of protecting patient access, USC Schaeffer postdoctoral researcher Emily Gravlee writes in Health Affairs Forefront.
Critical Access Pharmacy Designations Could Strengthen Access | Health Affairs Forefront
Pharmacy closures are occurring at an alarming rate and threatening a large loss of access to essential healthcare in many United States (US) neighborhoods.
www.healthaffairs.org
December 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
As pharmacy closures accelerate, states have a potential lifeline.
Designating vulnerable community pharmacies as “critical access” may be the most immediate way of protecting patient access, USC Schaeffer postdoctoral researcher Emily Gravlee writes in Health Affairs Forefront.
Designating vulnerable community pharmacies as “critical access” may be the most immediate way of protecting patient access, USC Schaeffer postdoctoral researcher Emily Gravlee writes in Health Affairs Forefront.
While cannabis may soon be considered a lower-risk drug, a USC Schaeffer white paper highlights growing evidence of health risks from heavy or long-term use.
The authors argue federal regulations are needed to protect consumers & promote responsible use.
The authors argue federal regulations are needed to protect consumers & promote responsible use.
Federal Regulations of Cannabis for Public Health in the United States - July 18, 2022 - USC Schaeffer
State-level cannabis regulations have weak public health parameters compared to other countries, leaving consumers vulnerable. - July 18, 2022
schaeffer.usc.edu
December 18, 2025 at 9:45 PM
While cannabis may soon be considered a lower-risk drug, a USC Schaeffer white paper highlights growing evidence of health risks from heavy or long-term use.
The authors argue federal regulations are needed to protect consumers & promote responsible use.
The authors argue federal regulations are needed to protect consumers & promote responsible use.
Even the most advanced medical technology means little if patients in need can’t access it, USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla told lawmakers last week.
Read his testimony on how forward-thinking regulatory reform can promote tech that makes good health more accessible & affordable.
Read his testimony on how forward-thinking regulatory reform can promote tech that makes good health more accessible & affordable.
Testimony on Accelerating Medical Breakthroughs for American Patients and Their Families - December 9, 2025 - USC Schaeffer
Rational and forward-thinking regulatory reforms can stimulate and enable the uptake of new medical technologies that make good health more accessible and affordable. - December 9, 2025
schaeffer.usc.edu
December 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Even the most advanced medical technology means little if patients in need can’t access it, USC Schaeffer's Darius Lakdawalla told lawmakers last week.
Read his testimony on how forward-thinking regulatory reform can promote tech that makes good health more accessible & affordable.
Read his testimony on how forward-thinking regulatory reform can promote tech that makes good health more accessible & affordable.
The projected growth in #Alzheimers could drive families & the US toward fiscal disaster, warn USC Schaeffer’s Joe Grogan & Ryan Long.
The good news: Policies that support prevention, early detection, and innovation today can add healthy years of life and protect budgets.
The good news: Policies that support prevention, early detection, and innovation today can add healthy years of life and protect budgets.
How America Can Defuse the Alzheimer’s Economic Bomb
Social Security could become insolvent in as little as eight years, with more people retiring and living longer and fewer paying into the program. Alzheimer’s disease is accelerating A
www.realclearhealth.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:07 PM
The projected growth in #Alzheimers could drive families & the US toward fiscal disaster, warn USC Schaeffer’s Joe Grogan & Ryan Long.
The good news: Policies that support prevention, early detection, and innovation today can add healthy years of life and protect budgets.
The good news: Policies that support prevention, early detection, and innovation today can add healthy years of life and protect budgets.
📢Making #Alzheimers clinical trials faster, stronger and more representative. Our new Clinical Trial Knowledge Hub shares lessons from the field and key insights on what works.
Explore here: schaeffer.usc.edu/clinical-tri...
Explore here: schaeffer.usc.edu/clinical-tri...
December 10, 2025 at 8:57 PM
📢Making #Alzheimers clinical trials faster, stronger and more representative. Our new Clinical Trial Knowledge Hub shares lessons from the field and key insights on what works.
Explore here: schaeffer.usc.edu/clinical-tri...
Explore here: schaeffer.usc.edu/clinical-tri...
More money can't fix the ACA, but there's a better way to cover every American without increasing costs, writes USC Schaeffer's Dana Goldman.
Meet the USA Plan:
✅Basic protection for all
✅Income-based deductibles
✅No-cost preventive care
Meet the USA Plan:
✅Basic protection for all
✅Income-based deductibles
✅No-cost preventive care
Money Alone Can't Fix the ACA. Here's How to Cover Everyone Without Increasing Costs. - December 3, 2025 - USC Schaeffer
Health insurance does not need to offer everything to everyone, but it should be a backstop for everyone. - December 3, 2025
schaeffer.usc.edu
December 3, 2025 at 5:46 PM
More money can't fix the ACA, but there's a better way to cover every American without increasing costs, writes USC Schaeffer's Dana Goldman.
Meet the USA Plan:
✅Basic protection for all
✅Income-based deductibles
✅No-cost preventive care
Meet the USA Plan:
✅Basic protection for all
✅Income-based deductibles
✅No-cost preventive care
Newer, transparent #PBMs are gaining some ground in a marketplace dominated by 3 major firms. But as USC Schaeffer’s Neeraj Sood tells @modernhealthcare.bsky.social @noahtong.bsky.social, the fate of these alternative PBMs is still tied to the Big 3.
Upstart PBMs chip away at market leaders as ‘Big 3′ pivot
Top pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark, Optum Rx and Express Scripts have rolled out new models that mirror what smaller rivals offer.
www.modernhealthcare.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Newer, transparent #PBMs are gaining some ground in a marketplace dominated by 3 major firms. But as USC Schaeffer’s Neeraj Sood tells @modernhealthcare.bsky.social @noahtong.bsky.social, the fate of these alternative PBMs is still tied to the Big 3.
The declining prices of anti-obesity medications show the power of competition and transparency in the pharmaceutical market, USC Schaeffer’s Dana Goldman writes in the @wsj.com.
Opinion | Get the Government Out of the GLP-1 Market
Its involvement often leads to distortions and perverse incentives.
www.wsj.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:15 PM
The declining prices of anti-obesity medications show the power of competition and transparency in the pharmaceutical market, USC Schaeffer’s Dana Goldman writes in the @wsj.com.
USC Schaeffer Scholar William Padula spoke with @reuters.com about the new round of Medicare-negotiated drug prices announced yesterday.
www.reuters.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:06 PM
USC Schaeffer Scholar William Padula spoke with @reuters.com about the new round of Medicare-negotiated drug prices announced yesterday.
📅 Meeting the urgent need for #Alzheimers treatments requires a stronger, more efficient system for recruiting patients into trials. Join the USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab on Dec. 4 to hear from leading experts.
Info and registration: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/improv...
Info and registration: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/improv...
November 25, 2025 at 12:47 AM
📅 Meeting the urgent need for #Alzheimers treatments requires a stronger, more efficient system for recruiting patients into trials. Join the USC Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab on Dec. 4 to hear from leading experts.
Info and registration: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/improv...
Info and registration: schaeffer.usc.edu/event/improv...
The #340B drug discount program has grown rapidly while straying from its mission of serving poorer patients and providers, Schaeffer scholars write in the @washingtonexaminer.bsky.social.
True reform must target the "buy low, sell high" incentive that largely benefits wealthier entities.
True reform must target the "buy low, sell high" incentive that largely benefits wealthier entities.
Federally fueled hospital drug sales must be reformed
Without a change, 340B will continue to enrich wealthier entities at the expense of the vulnerable entities while increasing costs for taxpayers.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:20 PM
The #340B drug discount program has grown rapidly while straying from its mission of serving poorer patients and providers, Schaeffer scholars write in the @washingtonexaminer.bsky.social.
True reform must target the "buy low, sell high" incentive that largely benefits wealthier entities.
True reform must target the "buy low, sell high" incentive that largely benefits wealthier entities.