JAMA Health Forum Conversations

The US is an outlier in health system performance, spending more than other peer countries while performing worse. US economist David Cutler, who is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: On Making US Health Care Great and Affordable

Increased health insurance coverage in the US has had a broad range of positive impacts on US health, including increases in preventive care and better chronic disease management. Larry Levitt, MPP, of KFF joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss challenges facing US health insurance coverage today. Related Content: The Ongoing, and Heightened, Threat to Health Insurance Coverage in the US A Backlash Against Health Insurers, Redux

The first months of the Trump administration have been marked by a flurry of actions, many that have affected agencies directly related to health domestically and globally. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the contemporary threats to the health of the American public. Related Content: The Potential Consequences of Disinvestment in Health in the US

US withdrawal from the World Health Organization will have significant implications for global health. Lawrence Gostin, JD, JAMA Legal and Global Health Correspondent and Faculty Director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss global health in an era of new uncertainty. Related Content: The US, the World Health Organization, and the Global Health Infrastructure

Incoming Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, discusses the journal and the state of health policy with Deputy Editor Julie Donohue, PhD, and Senior Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: JAMA Health Forum: Meet the Editor in Chief, Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH JAMA Health Forum—Paving the Way for the Future of Health Policy Science and Scholarship

Founding Editor in Chief John Ayanian, MD, MPP, reflects on the origins and the highlights of the journal's first 5 years, including seminal publications, the journal's current No. 1 slot in the rankings, and the amazingly collegial editorial team, with JAMA Health Forum founding Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Reflections on the First 5 Years of JAMA Health Forum

Research shows that Tobacco 21 (T21) policies with a minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products of 21 years reduce youth smoking, yet their potential long-term impact varies across US states. Jamie Tam, MPH, PhD, of the Yale University School of Public Health discusses these findings with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: US Tobacco 21 Policies and Potential Mortality Reductions by State

Extreme heat in the US led to deaths and hospital admissions among community-dwelling older adults with low incomes. Hyunjee Kim, PhD, of the Oregon Health & Science University, and Jose F. Figueroa, MD, MPH, of Harvard University, discuss these findings with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Heat Waves and Adverse Health Events Among Dually Eligible Individuals 65 Years and Older The Alarming Risks for Dually Eligible Beneficiaries During Heat Waves

The use of care by patients of physicians considered more altruistic differs from the use of care of physicians considered less. Lawrence P. Casalino, MD, PhD, MPH, of Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses his work around this with JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD. Related Content: Physician Altruism and Spending, Hospital Admissions, and Emergency Department Visits

JAMA Health Forum Editor John Ayanian, MD, MPP, and Deputy Editor Melinda Buntin, PhD, spoke with Sherry Glied, PhD, and Dong Ding, MA, MPA, of New York University, about the effects of participation in health care savings accounts. Participation in flexible spending accounts is linked to higher health care and tax expenditures, while health care savings accounts do not reduce expenditures. Related Content: Health Care–Related Savings Accounts, Health Care Expenditures, and Tax Expenditures