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AcademyHealth Blog

Welcome to the AcademyHealth blog, together with our members, we promote interaction across the health research and policy arenas by bringing together a broad spectrum of players to share their perspectives. Here we offer important perspectives from people passionate about expanding access to care, reducing costs and improving quality, as well as updates on AcademyHealth activities relevant to the community.

Blog Post

From Termination to Turning a New Leaf

In Work Interrupted: Voices from the Field, Siham Ahmed reflects on the abrupt termination of her Payne Fellowship and the uncertainty that followed. Just as she was beginning to build the future she had envisioned, a single email changed everything, . Her story is a reminder that while opportunities may be interrupted, purpose and commitment to public service can endure.
Posted Sep 24, 2026 By Siham Ahmed, M.P.H. 
Blog Post

Who Says It’s Broken? Rethinking Stakeholder Engagement in Quality Improvement Projects

While health services researchers have embraced stakeholder engagement as essential to improving care quality, the timing and authenticity of that engagement determine whether we produce real solutions. True partnership means bringing those with lived experience in before defining the problem, not after designing the intervention.
Posted Sep 23, 2026 By Christine McClure, Ed.D.
Blog Post

With the Fiscal Year Closing, Where Did AHRQ's Funding Go?

As the fiscal year comes to a close, senators from both parties are asking what happened to AHRQ’s funding. After 150 research grants were canceled this summer, questions remain, including whether the money Congress appropriated is funding health services research.
Posted Sep 22, 2026
Topics Advocacy
Blog Post

AHRQ Research Interrupted: A Collection of Stories

On July 15, 2026, researchers across the country began receiving official notices that AHRQ was terminating ongoing grants, many of which had already gone months without funding. The stories below document what these cancellations mean for researchers, patients, health systems, and communities that depend on health services research.
Posted Sep 15, 2026 By Karina Collins
Blog Post

Understanding School Medicaid - Part 3: The Implications of H.R.1 on School Medicaid and School Health Services

School Medicaid stands at a crossroad. At a time when students’ health care needs are growing, school Medicaid plays a critical role in supporting student health and learning. Yet, H.R.1 jeopardizes this sustainable funding source for schools across the country, raising concerns about the future of school health services and students’ well-being.
Posted Sep 10, 2026 By Ngan Bui
Blog Post

No Perfect System: Reflections on Learning Across Countries

Coming from Canada, Laura Yudo expected to hear that a single-payer system was the fix for U.S. health care's biggest problems. Instead, conversations with scholars from France, Ghana, Rwanda, Nepal, and beyond convinced her that no country has it all figured out, and that the real value lies in learning from each other's trade-offs.
Posted Aug 27, 2026 By Laura Yudo