Earlier this month, several MedPAC staff participated in the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting in Seattle, WA and the Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) in Minneapolis, MN. Participation in conferences helps MedPAC engage with the broader research community and keep abreast of the latest research in the health policy field. Staff also presented some of MedPAC’s work as part of the Commission’s effort to make its work transparent and available to the public.
Six analysts presented work at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting that the Commission has discussed and published recently:
- Betty Fout presented an analysis entitled “Examining Drivers of Recent Changes In Part D Bids after the Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the poster can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s January 2026 public meeting, and it was published in the March 2026 report to the Congress.
- Andy Johnson presented an analysis entitled “Medicare Advantage Coding Intensity during the First Year of the V28 Risk Model Implementation” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s January 2026 public meeting, and it was published in the March 2026 report to the Congress.
- Grace Oh presented an analysis entitled “The Prices Paid By Medicare Advantage Plans for Dialysis Services and Plan Cost-Sharing Requirements for Dialysis, 2018 to 2022” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s January 2026 public meeting, and it was published in the March 2026 report to the Congress.
- Pamina Mejia presented an analysis entitled “Examining the Accuracy of Drug Prices Displayed on Medicare Plan Finder” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s January 2026 public meeting, and it was published in the March 2026 report to the Congress.
- Katelyn Smalley presented an analysis entitled “Mid-Year Changes In Medicare Advantage Provider Networks, 2023” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s March 2026 public meeting.
- Ledia Tabor presented an analysis entitled “Medicare Beneficiaries’ Knowledge of the Program, Experiences with Information Sources about the Program and Reviewing Coverage Choices, 2019-2023” at the Healthcare Access, Payment, and Coverage poster session. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. This analysis was published in the June 2026 report to the Congress.
Two analysts presented work at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) that the Commission has discussed recently:
- Krista Cherry presented an analysis entitled “Provider Participation In Medicare Advantage Networks, 2023” in the session “Medicare Advantage Enrollment, Networks, and Selection”. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s March 2026 public meeting.
- Renuka Diwan presented an analysis entitled “Preferred Networks and Pharmacy Access In Medicare Part D” in the session “Pharmacy Networks, Closures, and Prescription Drug Use”. The abstract can be found on the conference website here and the slides can be found on MedPAC’s website here. The Commission discussed this analysis at MedPAC’s April 2026 public meeting.
