Thread by @cynthiaccox

If you'll indulge me, I'd like to do an end-of-year 🧵highlighting the incredible work by colleagues @KFF.
Here's a sample of the health policy & COVID analyses this year by @KrutikaAmin @matthew_t_rae @NirmitaPanchal @nishakurani @emmawage @gio_j_ramirez & @JaredOrtaliza (1/10)

2/ Looking at OECD data, @JaredOrtaliza @gio_j_ramirez @VenkSathees and @KrutikaAmin found the pandemic set back life expectancy far more in the U.S. than in similarly large/wealthy nations.
Life expectancy of Hispanic and Black Americans was set back most
healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collecti…

3/ Sadly @KrutikaAmin found that not only did the U.S. experience some of the worst excess death rates overall in 2020, we also saw many more young people die than did peer countries. Again, this is in part due to racial disparities, as more POC died young
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid-19…

4/ @JaredOrtaliza @_KendalOrgera and @KrutikaAmin found that, just since June, 𝟭𝟲𝟯,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 in the U.S. could have been prevented by vaccines. COVID-19 was the #1 or #2 killer of working age adults (25-64) in recent months.
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/covid19-…

5/ @KrutikaAmin also found that over 𝟔𝟗𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 could have been prevented by vaccination between June to November 2021. We estimate the bills for these preventable hospitalizations topped $𝟏𝟑 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧.

6/ @KrutikaAmin & @matthew_t_rae dug into Epic data, finding vaccinated people hospitalized with “breakthrough” COVID-19 were disproportionately older and more likely to have high-risk comorbidities, but also had shorter hospital stays than unvaccinated
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/characte…

7/ @NirmitaPanchal and @rubbah documented the steep rise in mental health concerns during the pandemic. Low-income people, parents, and Black & Hispanic people were particularly more likely to experience negative mental health effects from the pandemic
kff.org/coronavirus-co…

8/ @emmawage @cromwick & @KrutikaAmin found that, while health sector jobs have mostly recovered, hospital employment remains ~4% lower than expectations & nursing home jobs are 13% lower than expectations. Staffing could be a problem as #Omicron spreads.
healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collecti…

9/ @nishakurani @KrutikaAmin and @matthew_t_rae did a deep dive into hospital price transparency data, finding low compliance with the law. They also showed how the price of a knee replacement in the NYC area can range from about $45,000 to $70,000.
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/price-tr…

10/ Lastly, the #NoSurprisesAct prohibiting surprise bills will soon go into effect. However, the law’s protections do not apply to ground ambulances. @KrutikaAmin and @matthew_t_rae found 51% of emergency ambulance rides included an out-of-network charge.
healthsystemtracker.org/brief/ground-a…