Michael L. Barnett
LightNews LightNews
banner
mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett
@mlbarnett.bsky.social
2.2K followers 920 following 140 posts

health policy researcher, primary care physician, dad

Videos
Political science 62%
Sociology 22%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett @mlbarnett.bsky.social · Sep 8
New paper w/ Brian McGarry, Ashvin Gandhi, and Drew Wilcock in @jamainternalmed.com!

Hospitals are complaining across the US that patients are "stuck" waiting for rehab beds at nursing homes when they are medically stable and ready for discharge. What is going on??

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Question Has hospital length of stay increased more for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries than for traditional Medicare beneficiaries since the COVID-19 pandemic?Findings In this cohort study involving more than 89 million hospitalizations from 2017 to the third quarter of 2023, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries experienced disproportionately greater increases in extended hospital stays, especially among those discharged to skilled nursing facilities.Meaning These findings suggest that the Medicare Advantage plan design and practices may contribute to hospital discharge delays, with implications for patient outcomes and hospital capacity as enrollment continues to rise.

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Daniel Stone, Karen Benjamin Guzzo , and 1 more

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 22h
Immigrants save Americans' lives: "...a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result."
www.nber.org/papers/w34791
Is Immigration Good for Health? The Effect of Immigration on Older Adult Mortality in the United States David C. Grabowski, Jonathan Gruber, Brian E. McGarry #34791 Abstract: We measure the impact of increased immigration on mortality among elderly Americans, who rely on the immigrant-intensive health and long-term care sectors. Using a shift-share approach we find a strong impact of immigration on the size of the immigrant care workforce: admitting 1,000 new immigrants would lead to 142 new foreign healthcare workers, without evidence of crowd out of native health care workers. We also find striking effects on mortality: a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Stacie B. Dusetzina, Hyun‐Jung Kim , and 4 more

johnmullahy.bsky.social
John Mullahy @johnmullahy.bsky.social · 23h
Major news outlets: Please consider prominently reporting what this all-star team of researchers has found.
www.nber.org/papers/w34791

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Lisa W. Fazio, Michael Barnett , and 15 more

karenho.bsky.social
Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 4d
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Brian A. Nosek, Steven Van de Walle , and 11 more

fhollenbach.org
Florian Hollenbach @fhollenbach.org · 6d
🧵 New version of our paper (@bcegerod.bsky.social) is finally online: "How Many is Enough? Sample Size in Staggered Difference-in-Differences Designs"
We show that even well-identified DiD studies are often underpowered; sample sizes needed are surprisingly large
Paper: osf.io/preprints/os... 1/6

Reposted by Michael Barnett

danielpayne.bsky.social
Daniel Payne @danielpayne.bsky.social · 6d
Doctors nationwide are seeing patients avoid care amid ICE crackdowns, sometimes with dire consequences.

Health providers are now employing pandemic-era tactics to keep care accessible.

How immigration policy is changing American health care:

www.statnews.com/2026/02/03/i...
Fearing ICE crackdown, immigrants nationally are avoiding treatment, sometimes with dire consequences
Doctors nationally are describing harrowing consequences for patients who put off medical care because of fears of ICE.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by Michael Barnett

jeremyfaust.bsky.social
Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 7d
Checks out

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 6 more

cbsnews.com
CBS News @cbsnews.com · 8d
BREAKING: ICE has halted "all movement" at a Texas detention facility due to measles infections, DHS confirms.
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
The measles​ cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.
cbsn.ws

Reposted by Michael Barnett

jeremyfaust.bsky.social
Jeremy Faust, MD @jeremyfaust.bsky.social · 9d
I am so proud and excited for my friend Dr. Alister Martin @alisterfmartin.bsky.social, NYC’s next Commisioner of Health.

The city is in great hands!

Reposted by Michael Barnett

arrianna-planey.bsky.social
Arrianna Marie Planey, PhD MA @arrianna-planey.bsky.social · 9d
In case it helps, you can use HTML code (e.g., <p> <b> <i> <u>) to format the text blocks on your biosketches in SciENcv

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Jennifer Bussell, Joshua S. Weitz , and 7 more

maxkozlov.bsky.social
Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 18d
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.

That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.

A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.

A short 🧵
Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026
Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Michael Barnett

katemmorgan.bsky.social
Kate Majzoub Morgan @katemmorgan.bsky.social · 20d
📖 Our new study in @jamainternalmed.com examines the primary care workforce serving fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries using a pragmatic, patient-centered measure: clinicians available for new patient visits per beneficiary.
👉Article: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
(1/5)
Primary Care Clinicians Available for New Patient Visits
This cross-sectional study examines changes in the numbers of primary care physicians and primary care advanced practice practitioners available for new patient primary care visits.
jamanetwork.com

mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett @mlbarnett.bsky.social · 21d
this will haunt my nightmares tonight

Reposted by Michael Barnett

bjegorovic.bsky.social
Boris Jegorović, MD, PhD, DTMH @bjegorovic.bsky.social · 21d
#IDSky Blood culture from the febrile patient in ICU. Proteus miralbilis is isolated (susceptibility below). How would you treat?
@dralicehan.bsky.social
@antibioticdoc.bsky.social
@bradspellberg.bsky.social
@idiots-pod.bsky.social
@wwrighid.bsky.social
@cortes-penfield.bsky.social

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Ben Barr, Daniel Kuehn , and 3 more

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 24d
New QJE for the minimum wage literature uses IRS data to study effects on small and medium size businesses. The effects seem…very good

academic.oup.com/qje/article/...
Who's Afraid of the Minimum Wage? Measuring the Impacts on Independent Businesses Using Matched U.S. Tax Returns* Nirupama L Rao, Max Risch The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 141, Issue 1, February 2026, Pages 373-427, https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaf053 Published: 10 December 2025 Article history V PDF • Split View 66 Cite P Permissions < Share V Abstract A common concern surrounding minimum wage policies is their impact on independent businesses, which are often feared to be less able to bear or pass on cost increases. We examine how these typically small and medium-size firms accommodate minimum wage increases along product and labor market margins using a matched owner-firm-worker panel data set drawn from the universe of U.S. tax records over a 10-year period, and using state minimum wage changes as identifying variation. We find that on average, firms in highly exposed industries do not substantially reduce employment-they do not lay off workers but moderately reduce part-time hiring. Instead, these firms are able to fully finance the new labor costs with new revenues, leaving average owner profits unchanged. Higher wage floors, however, forestall entry, particularly for less productive firms, reducing the number of independent firms operating in these industries by roughly 2%. Yet these industries do not shrink; instead, incumbent responses and strong positive selection among entrants reshape industries that rely heavily on low-wage workers, yielding fewer but more productive firms after the cost shock. We also take a worker-level perspective to examine how potentially vulnerable individuals are affected by minimum wage increases. Using panels of low-earning and young workers, we find that their average earnings rise substantially with the minimum wage, while they are no less likely to be employed. Worker transitions indicate that minimum wage increases boost retention and that worker reallocation from independent firms toward corporations buffers dis…

Reposted by Michael Barnett

paulsaxmd.bsky.social
Paul Sax @paulsaxmd.bsky.social · 26d
One of the most honest answers in medicine remains: “We just don’t know.”

Especially true for the flu -- timing, transmission, vaccines, all still full of surprises.

Five questions, five reflections on why the flu keeps humbling us. #IDsky #Medsky blogs.nejm.org/hiv-id-obser...
Influenza -- So Familiar, Still So Mysterious
In what feels like the fastest-peaking influenza season in quite some time, I find myself returning to a familiar answer when asked questions about this miserable virus: “We just don’t know.” At least...
blogs.nejm.org

Reposted by Michael Barnett

mathewkiang.com
Mathew Kiang @mathewkiang.com · 26d
In a new, timely project led by @nathanlo.bsky.social, we collected vaccine exemption rates (mostly) at the county-level for nearly all states.

Now up at @jama.com: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Reposted by Michael Barnett

hannahrabrams.bsky.social
Hannah R. Abrams @hannahrabrams.bsky.social · 27d
SNF capacity is the bottleneck that keeps people waiting in ER hallways and make-shift hospital rooms. SNF beds are crucial to our health system. Since 2020, capacity is down 5%, with less slack, due to staffing shortages.

@jamainternalmed.com @mlbarnett.bsky.social: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett @mlbarnett.bsky.social · 27d
new paper from my team!!

Reposted by Michael Barnett

mcgarrybe.bsky.social
Brian McGarry @mcgarrybe.bsky.social · 27d
New work from @mlbarnett.bsky.social, Andrew Wilcock, Ashvin Gandhi, Fangli Geng, David Grabowski, & me in @jamainternalmed.com documenting declines in SNF capacity in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Changes in US Skilled Nursing Facility Capacity Following the COVID-19 Pandemic
This cross-sectional study assesses changes in skilled nursing facility capacity after the COVID-19 pandemic primarily using Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services data from 2019 to 2024 on Medi...
jamanetwork.com

mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett @mlbarnett.bsky.social · Dec 22
I wonder who can do the quarterbacking! 🤔
aciaccia.bsky.social Antonio Ciaccia @aciaccia.bsky.social · Dec 22
A often-overlooked fallout of our fragmented drug distribution system: patients with too many medicines, too many prescribers, too many pharmacies, and not enough quarterbacking of the entirety of the patient’s treatment journey.

www.wsj.com/health/healt...
America’s Seniors Are Overmedicated
One in six seniors enrolled in Medicare’s drug benefit were prescribed eight or more medications at the same time, an analysis of Medicare data found.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Stacie B. Dusetzina

aciaccia.bsky.social
Antonio Ciaccia @aciaccia.bsky.social · Dec 22
A often-overlooked fallout of our fragmented drug distribution system: patients with too many medicines, too many prescribers, too many pharmacies, and not enough quarterbacking of the entirety of the patient’s treatment journey.

www.wsj.com/health/healt...
America’s Seniors Are Overmedicated
One in six seniors enrolled in Medicare’s drug benefit were prescribed eight or more medications at the same time, an analysis of Medicare data found.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Scott L. Greer

awgaffney.bsky.social
Adam Gaffney @awgaffney.bsky.social · Dec 22
Our new study just up in JAMA IM: we track Americans' out-of-pocket health spending longitudinally over a four-year period, showing that risks mount year after year. Whereas 11.8% of adults experience healthcare financial strain after 1 year, risk rises to 26.7% over four years

Reposted by Michael Barnett, John Mullahy, Aaron Sojourner

atheendar.bsky.social
Atheendar Venkataramani @atheendar.bsky.social · Dec 16
IT LIVES!

First draft: 2011

This draft: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xh3sg...

In between: 12 years of being under review (of which half are on us). +1 coauthor. For me personally: a few moves, a few jobs, a few kids.

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Peter Thorne, Scott L. Greer , and 11 more

mksongbird.bsky.social
MK_Songbird @mksongbird.bsky.social · Dec 14
so far tonight msnbc has interviewed two students from brown university that are also survivors of separate high school shootings.

insanity.

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Barrett

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Joshua Goodman, Valerie Mueller , and 7 more

florianederer.bsky.social
Florian Ederer @florianederer.bsky.social · Dec 10
The brilliant Kate Ho has passed away.

She was an amazing economist and a genuinely kind human being. Her work shaped how we think about healthcare markets and her generosity touched everyone lucky enough to know her.

The profession and the world are poorer without her.

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Dorothy Bishop , and 7 more

aedwardslevy.bsky.social
Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · Dec 10
"there's a new serif in town"
phillewis.bsky.social Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Dec 10
Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor's decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move
Rubio Stages Font Coup: Times New Roman Ousts Calibri
The secretary of state called it a "wasteful" diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters.
www.huffpost.com

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Mark Lubell, Nancy­ Knowlton­ , and 5 more

bistline.bsky.social
John Bistline @bistline.bsky.social · Dec 9
Wow... NYC's congestion pricing has led to big drops in PM2.5 and real improvements in local air quality.

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Megan L. Ranney, John Mullahy , and 6 more

jacobwswallace.bsky.social
Jacob Wallace @jacobwswallace.bsky.social · Dec 8
🚨 Predoc Opportunity at Yale! 🚨

Care about research that changes policy?

My research team works within state government to advance evidence and learning for a smarter safety net!

And our predocs have excellent PhD placements. Apply here!

#EconSky #EconTwitter #Predoc #ResearchJobs #HealthPolicy
Economics of the Safety Net
tobin.yale.edu

mlbarnett.bsky.social
Michael L. Barnett @mlbarnett.bsky.social · Dec 8
i mean, as a expert and doctor i'm biased, but this comment is 🔥🔥🔥🔥
joshuajfriedman.com Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · Dec 8
Justice Jackson to Solicitor General Sauer (just now, in Trump v. Slaughter arguments):
"I guess I have a very different view of the dangers and real-world consequences of your position than what you explored with Justice Kavanaugh. My understanding was that independent agencies exist because Congress has decided that some issues, some matters, some areas should be handled in this way by nonpartisan experts—that Congress is saying that expertise matters with respect to aspects of the economy and transportation and the various independent agencies that we have. "So having a president come in and fire all the scientists and the doctors and the economists and the PhDs and replacing them with loyalists and people who don't know anything is actually not in the best interest of the citizens of the United States."