NEJM Interviews

Lawrence Casalino is a professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. L.P. Casalino. Physicians, Corporatization, and the Unmeasured Quality of Care. N Engl J Med 2026;394:1249-1251.

Douglas Opel, a pediatrician and vaccine communication expert, explains recent federal changes that reclassify several childhood vaccines. He unpacks what shared decision-making means and why the shift surprised many. He discusses professional responses and practical communication strategies clinicians can use to maintain trust and clarity.

Abbas Hassan is a plastic surgery resident at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. A.M. Hassan and J.F. Waljee. Valuing Care Provided by Residents and Fellows — Toward Competency-Based Billing. N Engl J Med 2026;394:1041-1043.

Ruqaiijah Yearby is a professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. R. Yearby and M. Alsan. Private Equity’s Transformation of American Medicine — Implications for Health Equity. N Engl J Med 2026;394:937-940.

Bruce Chabner is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and clinical director emeritus of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. I.D. Goldman and B.A. Chabner. Cerebral Folate Deficiency, Autism, and the Role of Leucovorin. N Engl J Med 2026;394:833-835.

Sonja Rasmussen is a professor in the Department of Genetic Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. S.A. Rasmussen and D.B. Jernigan. Antigenic Drift and Antivaccine Shift in the 2025–2026 Influenza Season. N Engl J Med 2026;394:732-735.

Carmel Shachar, assistant clinical professor of law at Harvard and health policy expert, discusses the Rural Health Transformation Program. She covers why rural funding gained traction after Medicaid cuts. She explains the program’s split funding, tight application timeline, which states won awards, and examples like AI, broadband, and care hubs. She also highlights policy incentives, implementation risks, and ongoing obligations for states.

Leemore Dafny, a Harvard professor who studies health-care markets and insurer behavior, explores insurer corporatization. She defines consolidation and its drivers. She links insurer size to provider consolidation. She discusses antitrust limits and why removing insurers is impractical. She outlines policy ideas to boost competition and improve insurer performance.

Robert Kocher, adjunct professor at Stanford and health-policy expert, discusses why U.S. blood-pressure control has stalled. He explores causes of low awareness, misaligned incentives, and short insurance tenures. He describes AI and EMR tools for real-time home BP monitoring and automated treatment workflows. Policy levers like payment models and copay changes are also examined.

Tara Eicher is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Executive Managing Editor of the Journal. T. Eicher, J. Quackenbush, and A. Ne’eman. Challenging Claims of an Autism Epidemic — Misconceptions and a Path Forward. N Engl J Med 2026;394:313-315.