What We're Reading

The health policy journal club is an interdisciplinary, inter-professional group convened monthly by the Farley Health Policy Center to discuss timely topics in health policy. A curated selection of high-yield articles provides the basis for discussion. Past topics include income inequality and health, professionalism in medicine, patients as consumers, and adjusting payment for measures of social risk. This page presents the reading list from the most recent journal club.

The Farley Center’s October Health Policy Journal Club examined the state of primary care in the US: (1) the vision for future care delivery and (2) where things stand on policy progress.

Articles:

Perspectives on evolving models of care delivery in primary care [these articles are from family medicine but have parallels across specialties providing primary care]:

• Strayer SM, Hoff T. The Future of Patient Panel Size in Primary Care. JABFM. 2026;39(1).
• Kong M, Lin S, Ramm JD, Weir S, Newton WP. Access to Continuity - Strategies for Symbiotic Improvement of Access and Continuity of Care. 2026;39(1).
• Rushlow D, Bazemore A, Klatt P. To Team or Not to Team: A Foundational Debate for the Future of Family Medicine - Insights from the Family Medicine Leadership Council. JABFM. 2026;39(1).
• Kallenberg GA, Bennett IM. "Hard Fork" for Family Medicine - Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Way We Experience Practice. JABFM. 2026;39(1).
• Gravel J, Stephens M. Should Family Medicine and Family Physicians Be Responsible for Addressing Population Health and the Social Drivers of Health? JABFM. 2026;39(1).
• Newton WP. The Clinical Model of Family Medicine: Debate and Dialogue About Our Future in Alexandria. JABFM. 2026;39(1).

The state of primary care:

• Phillips RL, Cohen DJ, Phillips EJ, Hughes LS, Bazemore AW. The State of Primary Care in the United States. Milbank Q. 2026;104(SI):0911. (attached)
• Gergen Barnett KA, Steinberg JL. From the Federal Government to the Front Lines of Primary Care: Lessons Learned in the Fight to Strengthen the Foundation of Healthcare. JABFM. 2026;39(1).

Proposed federal legislation:

• Statement for the Record by the Primary Care Collaborative for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. September 15, 2026.
  • Optional/for reference, actual bill text: Patients First Act
• Littrell A. Bipartisan Senate bill would send $10 billion to primary care and rework how Medicare values physician work. September 10, 2026.
  • Optional/for reference, actual bill text: Pay PCPs Act
• H.R. 9257 Primary and Behavioral Health Care Access Act of 2026