The study examines how changes in prescription medication use during the COVID-19 pandemic can reveal strengths and weaknesses in the healthcare system. The goal is to use these patterns to improve preparedness for future public health emergencies.

This case study examined the relationship between county-level medical debt and timely cancer treatment initiation, finding that patients in counties with higher medical debt were more likely to experience delays in starting cancer care. The authors concluded that financial burden at the community level — not just the individual level — plays a meaningful role in cancer care disparities. They suggest that policies aimed at reducing medical debt could be an effective lever for improving timely access to treatment for newly diagnosed cancer patients.

This case study uses Colorado APCD data to evaluate the state's 2014 Medicaid reimbursement policy for postpartum depression screening during well-child visits, finding that it increased billed screening rates by nearly 10 percentage points and modestly raised diagnoses and outpatient mental health treatment among Medicaid mothers — though screening reached only about one-third of births by study's end. The authors conclude that financial incentives alone are insufficient and must be paired with provider training, referral support, and expanded mental health access.

This case study uses Colorado APCD data to examine a 2017 insurer-physician acquisition, finding that integration inflated Medicare Advantage diagnosis-based payments by $1,000–$1,800 per patient annually without corresponding treatment increases, while steering commercial patients toward cheaper specialists. The authors conclude that integration creates a cross-market tradeoff and that pay-per-patient contracts can replicate the coding effect, making merger-focused antitrust policy insufficient on its own.

This case study uses Colorado APCD data to examine insurance gaps at the age-19 Medicaid and age-26 commercial coverage cutoffs, finding that roughly 9% of young adults lose coverage around each birthday — with those transitioning off commercial plans faring worse than Medicaid recipients — and calling for targeted policy attention to these predictable transition points.