Jeremy Barofsky
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jbarofsky.bsky.social
Jeremy Barofsky
@jbarofsky.bsky.social
1.4K followers 290 following 62 posts
Associate Research Professor, Better Government Lab, Georgetown University, Interested in the economics of health and poverty; formerly @ideas42 @Brookings and @USCPrice Schaeffer Center, alum of @HarvardChanSPH & @BU
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Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
draaron.bsky.social
New in @thelancet.com: a follow-up to our @nature.com paper on cash transfers and mortality in low- and middle-income countries.

This studies explores *why* cash transfers reduce death, tracing effects on determinants of survival.

free access 🔗: kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
November 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
uozek.bsky.social
Nice summary of our paper and related work by @tomdee.bsky.social and @kslungaardmumma.bsky.social here.

www.chalkbeat.org/2025/11/10/i...
November 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
jbarofsky.bsky.social
🚨 New research 🚨 "Interventions To Automate Medicaid Renewals Reduce Procedural Denials And Increase Coverage," published in Health Affairs from authors @pamherd.bsky.social @giannella.bsky.social, me, @lukef.bsky.social and @donmoyn.bsky.social

Full paper: www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10....
Interventions To Automate Medicaid Renewals Reduce Procedural Denials And Increase Coverage | Health Affairs Journal
Burdensome Medicaid renewal processes are a known source of coverage loss among eligible people. In spring 2023, the pause in Medicaid disenrollment resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency...
www.healthaffairs.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
lukef.bsky.social
Today on Can We Still Govern, I got to share new research on how my team at USDS drove around the country in a van to protect Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans after the pandemic - and share some lessons learned for the coming crisis.

donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-a-van-...
Lessons from Pandemic Era Medicaid Automation for Work Requirements
Small tech capacity investments offer big returns
donmoynihan.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
rooseveltinstitute.org
The admin is quietly rewriting the tax code—giving billions in breaks to major private equity, crypto, insurance, and energy firms by hollowing out the 15% corporate minimum tax.

More tax cuts for the rich is the last thing working families need.

@jessedrucker.bsky.social https://nyti.ms/3WOwXST
How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service are issuing rules that provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax relief to big companies and the ultrarich.
nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
laurenhlb.bsky.social
The Propel data are the best way to see what is going on with SNAP benefit delivery on a national level.

www.propel.app/shutdown-fun...

On November 3, New Mexico delivered SNAP benefits.
November 8, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
donmoyn.bsky.social
What are the effects of the shutdown on SNAP users? Propel provides an app to SNAP users to allow them to track their spending and so can offer real-time estimates of needs.
About 70% of SNAP households have a $10 or less balance on their SNAP card accounts.
www.propel.app/shutdown-fun...
Map of the US showing wide spread of SNAP shortages
November 6, 2025 at 9:18 PM
jbarofsky.bsky.social
Not the main issue, but is a Chamillionaire wealthier than a trillionaire?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Tesla Shareholders Approve $1 Trillion Pay Package for Musk
Elon Musk responded in kind to Tesla Inc. investors approving his $1 trillion compensation package, making a series of extravagant predictions about what the company will be capable of in the years to...
www.bloomberg.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
isabellamweber.bsky.social
“My friends, the world is changing. It's not a question of whether that change will come. It's a question of who will change it.” @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social

People are choosing real alternatives instead of continuity. Mamdani stands for an antifascist economics in the name of the many. 🧵
November 6, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
ritahamad.bsky.social
New study finds more generous state safety net policies w/ fewer administrative barriers are linked to better birth outcomes, esp for marginalized groups. Very relevant finding in current policy environment!
doi.org/10.1016/j.so... @gabeschwartz.bsky.social @npwf.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
brycecovert.bsky.social
And now Trump has destroyed USDS and imposed extra paperwork through work requirements on Medicaid recipients
adrianna.bsky.social Adrianna McIntyre @adrianna.bsky.social · 10d
Cool new study from @pamherd.bsky.social, @giannella.bsky.social, @jbarofsky.bsky.social, @lukef.bsky.social, & @donmoyn.bsky.social finds technical assistance & capacity improvements from USDS significantly improved Medicaid renewal outcomes during unwinding

www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/...
November 4, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
nber.org
The 1975 Voting Rights Act extension lowered mortality for most nonwhite groups but raised it for white adults and older nonwhite men, patterns consistent with status threat, from Atheendar Venkataramani, Rourke O'Brien, Elizabeth F. Bair, and Christopher A. Lowenstein www.nber.org/papers/w34421
November 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
gidlukens.bsky.social
How concerned are people about rising health insurance premiums? With premium tax credit enhancements about to expire and ACA marketplace open enrollment underway, search volumes for terms like “health premium increase” are (almost) off the charts.
November 4, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
adrianna.bsky.social
Cool new study from @pamherd.bsky.social, @giannella.bsky.social, @jbarofsky.bsky.social, @lukef.bsky.social, & @donmoyn.bsky.social finds technical assistance & capacity improvements from USDS significantly improved Medicaid renewal outcomes during unwinding

www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/...
November 4, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
donmoyn.bsky.social
Don't talk about it much on here, but I co-direct a research lab, and here is an update of what we are up to.

cc @sebjilke.bsky.social @pamherd.bsky.social @giannella.bsky.social @jbarofsky.bsky.social @jaeyeonkim.bsky.social
bettergovernmentlab.org/so/c6PeDbgsR...
October Newsletter
The Better Government Lab (BGL) monthly newsletter keeps you up-to-date with the latest research, conversations, and news from the world of civic tech, state capacity, and public policy. Comments or q...
bettergovernmentlab.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
brycecovert.bsky.social
Trump is holding 42 million SNAP recipients hostage right now prospect.org/2025/10/29/t...
Trump Is Illegally Withholding Food From Needy Families - The American Prospect
The White House claims it cannot fund food stamp benefits for November. But not only is there a contingency fund meant to be used in this exact fashion, but it’s illegal for the Trump administration t...
prospect.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
unlearnecon.bsky.social
Herbert Simon on the internet and attention, 1996
This is not an isolated example. The first generation of management information systems installed in large American companies were largely judged to have failed because their designers aimed at providing more information to managers, instead of protecting managers from irrelevant distractions of their attention? A design representation suitable to a world in which the scarce factor is information may be exactly the wrong one for a world in which the scarce factor is attention. As of the mid-1990s the lesson has still not been learned. An “information superhighway” is proclaimed without any concern about the traffic jams it can produce or the parking spaces it will require. Nothing in the new technology increases the number of hours in the day or the capacities of human beings to absorb information. The real design problem is not to provide more information to people but to allocate the time they have available for receiving information so that they will get only the information that is most important and relevant to the decisions they will make. The task is not to design information-distributing systems but intelligent information-filtering systems.
October 28, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
andreapitzer.bsky.social
I've talked before about power struggles within hardening authoritarianism. Usually, regime supporters fight over using rule-of-law in crackdowns (with massive abuses, of course) vs. completely embracing extrajudicial methods. Here, we see the latter dominating. Which is very bad news going forward.
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 18d
🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.

Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.
Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_ BREAKING: Per four senior DHS & Trump admin sources, a mass removal of ICE leadership around the country is underway, with up to 12 ICE field office chiefs being removed & reassigned in an effort to increase deportation numbers. I'm told the move is spearheaded by Corey Lewandowski, and a handful of the ICE Chiefs will likely be replaced by Border Patrol & CBP officials, some of whom will be hand-picked by aggressive & controversial Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. I'm told some of the ICE leadership removed from their positions include the ICE Field Office Directors in: - Los Angeles - Phoenix - Philadelphia - Denver - El Paso - San Diego - Seattle/Portland - New Orleans Border Patrol officials taking over ICE leadership positions would be extremely significant, as Border Patrol and ICE do different things, and I've done numerous ride-alongs/embeds with both. Generally speaking, ICE typically conducts very targeted operations, largely going after criminal illegal aliens or those with deportation orders, but almost always knowing who they are targeting for arrest, often conducting surveillance to learn their schedules before and waiting hours before arresting them if needed. Border Patrol, under Trump 2.0, while sometimes doing their own targeted operations, has been extremely aggressive and has been at the forefront of some of the most controversial immigration enforcement operations we've seen so far, carrying out roving patrols in Los Angeles, Chicago, etc, often at Home Depot, car washes, flea markets etc, leading to a handful of federal judges around the country issuing injunctions against them. A majority of the viral videos you see online are Border Patrol agents, including the use of a Trojan horse style Penske moving truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot, an operation organized by Bovino. ICE often gets blamed for what Border Patrol does, as the media and activists often cannot tell the difference between federal agents, and everyone is called "ICE". I'm told there are growing concerns about the political and PR fallout associated with some of the roving patrols Border Patrol is conducting as lawsuits continue to stack up and mid-terms approach next year. I'm told there is significant friction within different wings of DHS and the administration, with Border Czar Tom Homan & ICE Director Todd Lyons preferring to prioritize targeting criminal aliens & the "worst of the worst" or those with deportation orders, while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and BP Commander Bovino prefer to use aggressive tactics to arrest anyone in the US illegally, including but not limited to criminals, to ramp up deportation numbers and achieve President Trump's promises of mass deportations. I am hearing from both sides of this friction. One senior DHS official tells me: "ICE started with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol started in LA in June, we've (DHS) lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization. It's getting numbers, but at what cost?". Border Patrol agents I've talked to defend their tactics, with one telling me: "What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the US illegally is on the table." It's quite a situation, as both sides of this are on the same team, with the same end goals, but different perspectives on how to get there. Another DHS official confirmed the personnel changes to me on deep background, adding that the moves are based on performance and doing what is needed to achieve the best results. Official statement to @FoxNews via @TriciaOhio : "While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump Administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country." 7:57 PM · Oct 27, 2025 · 29.6K Views
October 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
capitalandmain.bsky.social
“We’ve heard from parents who haven’t been able to pay [their] bills. We often hear from parents who skip meals so their kids can eat during the summertime.”

capitalandmain.com/how-can-they...
‘How Can They Not Feed the Kids?’
Indiana and Tennessee opted out of Summer EBT, which gives families grocery support when schools close for summer.
capitalandmain.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
laurenhlb.bsky.social
I am not a lawyer. David Super is *the* lawyer. If he says the Trump Administration is illegally withholding SNAP benefits, they are. So...they are.

"A more clearly unlawful impoundment is difficult to imagine."
davidasuper.bsky.social davidasuper.bsky.social @davidasuper.bsky.social · 20d
My latest on the Administration's wildly unlawful shutdown of SNAP. To buy their argument, you must ignore the interpretation they took Sept. 30 and repeatedly in the first Trump Administration. Shamelesly and gratuitously cruel.
Balkinization share.google/yaVtx89DJsIR...
Balkinization
Balkinization <br>an unanticipated consequence of <br>Jack M. Balkin <br> <br>
share.google
October 25, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
giannella.bsky.social
Refreshing to start to see systematic efforts like these. A lot of great ideas, particularly about capacity and iterating in a responsive manner (though I disagree with the outsource /delegate to AI stuff).
October 23, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
egoldwyn.bsky.social
When @alonlevy.bsky.social and i started working together, we both thought that a wall of text with a picture and maybe a chart/table was advanced design. We know that’s wrong. We attempted to take our NEC work and add some good design. We are very happy with how this came out: nec.transitcosts.com
How to Build High-Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor
An interactive site presenting the North East Corridor proposal by Marron Institute's Transportation and Land Use Group, authored by Alon Levy.
nec.transitcosts.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
simonfhaeder.bsky.social
New paper out with @donmoyn.bsky.social in @wmhp.bsky.social
World Medical & Health Policy

How Framing of Income Eligibility Guidelines Affect Attitudes Towards Program Access and Burdens in Health and Health-Protective Programs

doi.org/10.1002/wmh3...
October 14, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
calmatters.org
After weeks of waiting, California's governor signed a bill that will allow mid-rise apartment buildings near major transit stops in California's biggest metro areas. https://cal.news/4n3hzge

📝 @frombenc.bsky.social
📸 Ray Chavez
Passengers look on as a BART train didn’t stop at the Rockridge BART station due to a systemwide closure that affected all BART stations, in Oakland on March 9, 2025. Photo by Ray Chavez, Bay Area News Group Hed: Breaking: Gov. Newsom signs massive California housing overhaul
October 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Jeremy Barofsky
pseudoerasmus.bsky.social
Four items by Mokyr: the first is a topic already recognised by the Nobel, but the other three are less well known areas of Mokyr: his study of the Irish famine, his explanation of why the Dutch Republic was not the first, and his artisan theory of the Industrial Revolution.
October 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM