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Filtered by: U.S. Health Policy

Larsen Speaks to Newsweek About Funding Cuts to the CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System

Dave Larsen, professor and chair of public health, says that with the cuts, $25 million would only be enough to fund wastewater surveillance in a few states, and mean only seasonal epidemic pathogens like influenza, RSV and COVID-19 could be tracked.

June 10, 2026

US State Policy Index for Population Health Analyses

Jennifer Karas Montez, Iliya Gutin, Shannon Monnat

The article, co-authored by Maxwell professors Jennifer Karas Montez, Iliya Gutin and Shannon Monnat, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.

May 4, 2026

US State Policy Contexts and Mental Health Among Working-Age Adults

Iliya Gutin, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily Wiemers, Shannon M. Monnat, Douglas A. Wolf

The article, co-authored by Maxwell faculty members Iliya Gutin, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily Wiemers, Shannon Monnat and Douglas Wolf, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.

March 11, 2026

Why the US Must Measure Food Insecurity in Old Age

Madonna Harrington Meyer, Colleen M. Heflin

The article, co-authored by Maxwell professors Madonna Harrington Meyer and Colleen Heflin, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.

February 23, 2026

Strengthening Snap’s Ability to Address Old Age Food Insecurity

Colleen Heflin, Madonna Harrington Meyer,

The article, published in Contexts, was co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer. 

January 5, 2026

Political Science, Public Health Faculty Partner on Vaccine Study

Supported with a generous gift from Maxwell Advisory Board member David Kelso, Brittany L. Kmush and Shana Kushner Gadarian hope to better understand how state policies influence vaccine decisions.

October 16, 2025

The Limits of SNAP in Addressing Older Adult Food Insecurity

Colleen M. Heflin and Madonna Harrington Meyer
This brief describes how SNAP is currently not well designed for older adults in three respects: (1) the high levels of administrative burden associated with eligibility, certification, and benefit-determination processes, (2) the low value of SNAP benefits compared with the high costs associated with redeeming them, and (3) the high levels of state variation in SNAP policies that produce substantially different conditions for SNAP depending on where one lives.
September 30, 2025

Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adult Food Insecurity

Colleen Heflin, Madonna Harrington Meyer

Written by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, and University Professor Madonna Harrington Meyer, the book examines the issue of food insecurity among older adults in the United States. 

September 4, 2025

Renowned Health Economist Joins Maxwell as Moynihan Chair

John Cawley specializes in the economics of risky health behaviors and has been widely published in journals and covered by the media.  

August 15, 2025

Kmush Quoted in HuffPost Article on Measles Cases Potentially Costing the US Its Elimination Status

“It could affect U.S. citizens’ ability to travel to specific countries if they don’t want the risk of measles getting introduced to their country. It could affect other people’s ability to come visit the U.S. Other countries might require proof of measles vaccination before they can reenter their home country,” says Brittany Kmush, associate professor of public health.

July 19, 2025

Fairchild Article on the Collection of Public Health Surveillance Data Published in The Conversation

“The collection of public health surveillance data has never been politically neutral. It has always reflected ideas about individual rights. Despite controversy, it remains public health’s foundational tool,” writes University Professor Amy Fairchild and her co-authors.

March 13, 2025

Fairchild Cited in The Atlantic Article on the Erasing of Science in the US

Scientific expertise itself is now being billed as a political liability, which opens the door to “a populist approach to what counts as valid scientific knowledge,” says University Professor Amy Fairchild.

February 19, 2025

Hamersma Article on Fetal Alcohol Effects Published in Institute for Family Studies Blog

In the U.S., the most common source of developmental disability is fetal alcohol exposure, which can be prevented during pregnancy. Yet supports for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and their families are few and far between, writes Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 28, 2025

Research Studies by Engelhardt and Montez Cited in 2025 Economic Report of the President

Separate research studies by Professor of Economics Gary Engelhardt and University Professor Jennifer Karas Montez were referenced in Chapter 4 of the report, “Expanding and Strengthening U.S. Health Insurance Coverage.”

January 15, 2025

Heflin Weighs In on Whether or Not RFK Jr. Can ‘Make America Healthy Again’ in BBC Interview

“RFK simply doesn't have jurisdiction over most of the policy levers that he would need to make America healthy again,” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

January 6, 2025

Beyond Social Determinants: Fiscal Determinants of Overdose Death in US Counties, 2017–2020

Zoe Lindenfeld, Diana Silver, Amanda I. Mauri, Michah W. Rothbart

Michah Rothbart, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, and co-authors examine the ways in which county fiscal constraints may be associated with responses to the opioid epidemic. Published in Social Science & Medicine.

December 6, 2024

Gadarian Quoted in ABC News Article on RFK Jr.’s Intent to Regulate Farms and Food as Head of HHS

“If all of a sudden HHS is now in the business of passing more regulations on the food industry, on agriculture, we might see that a Republican Senate majority and a Republican House is less interested in allocating a budget to HHS that then would be under a different leadership,“ says Shana Gadarian, professor of political science.

December 5, 2024

Does the Reference Period Matter When Evaluating the Effect of SNAP on Food Insecurity?

Colleen Heflin, James P. Ziliak

In this paper, Colleen Heflin and co-author examine if protective effects of SNAP against food insecurity are obtained whether using the 30-day or 12-month food insecurity scale. Results indicate comparable average treatment effects across both reference periods. Published in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.

November 15, 2024

Colleen Heflin Appointed to Committee on National Statistics

The committee is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and provides guidance to the federal government.

November 8, 2024

Heflin Quoted in Newsweek Article on the Farm Bill Reauthorization and Its Impact on SNAP Benefits

“If the appropriations bills are not passed by the end of December, January benefits will still go out because SNAP benefits are obligated in the prior month (December),” says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

October 2, 2024

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