Austin B Frakt

Biographic Data

ID5535847
NAMEAustin B Frakt
GIVEN NAMESAustin B
FAMILY NAMEFrakt
SIGNATUREFRAKT A B
AFFILIATIONSBoston University
ORCID0000-0002-0795-5462
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS16
TOTAL CITATIONS12
WORKS AS AUTHOR16
WORKS AS EDITOR0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2018
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2026
H-INDEX1

  • Favorable Selection of Veterans in Medicare Advantage

    Allison Dorneo, Steven D Pizer et al.ARTICLEMedical Care2026References: 20

    BACKGROUND: Prior literature has shown that favorable selection of enrollees in Medicare Advantage (MA) that is not accounted for under the Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) risk adjustment model can result in significant overpayments to MA plans. Detailed data from the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Nosos risk score can measure previously undetected favorable selection in a unique cohort of patients. OBJECTIVE: To analyze characteris…

  • Payment Source Shift for Surgical Care Among Veterans Enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans

    Open AccessWinta T Mehtsun, Yanlei Ma et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2025

    The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest substantial cost shifting in veterans' surgical care from MA to VHA among high-veteran MA plans, underscoring the urgent need for policy reforms to improve the efficiency of veterans' care

  • Characteristics and Benefit Design of Veteran Medicare Advantage Affinity Plans

    Open AccessAllison Dorneo, Yanlei Ma et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2025

    This study found that MA insurers-specifically VMAPs-engaged in targeted marketing to veterans, offering $0 premiums, cash back benefits, and supplemental benefits. However, nearly all VMAPs excluded Medicare Part D, likely designed to attract veteran enrollees who use VHA care, making them low-cost enrollees to the plan. Since the VHA cannot bill plans for Medicare-covered services, VMAPs may be increasing wasteful federal spending

  • Characteristics of Health Systems Operating Medicare Advantage Plans

    Open AccessAaron Hedquist, Eric Yu et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2024

    This cross-sectional study describes Medicare Advantage plans owned or operated by health care systems in the US

  • Cost Shifting for Emergency Care of Veterans With Medicare After Mission Act Implementation

    Open AccessL Burke, Yanlei Ma et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2024

    This cross-sectional study examines changes in payers for emergency department visits in Veterans Affairs and community facilities from 2016 to 2021

  • Evaluation of Potentially Avoidable Acute Care Utilization Among Patients Insured by Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

    Open AccessAdam L Beckman, Austin B Frakt et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2023

    The findings of this cross-sectional study of Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare patients with ACSCs indicate that apparent gains in lowering rates of potentially avoidable acute care have been associated with shifting inpatient care to settings such as ED direct discharges and observation stays

  • If Patients Don’t Use Available Health Service Pricing Information, Is Transparency Still Important

    Open AccessChristopher Whaley, Austin B FraktARTICLEThe AMA Journal of Ethic2022

    The US health system is replete with health service pricing idiosyncrasies and opacity unrelated to quality. Online tools intended to make health care purchasing resemble consumerism by making prices transparent have had little if any effect on improving health care market functioning and changing patient behavior. Although price transparency is still in its infancy, it holds promise to be as useful to patient-consumers as it has been to large pu…

  • Variation in Use of Surgical Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic by Surgical Urgency and Race and Ethnicity

    Open AccessThomas C Tsai, Ava Ferguson Bryan et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2021

    As shown by this cohort study, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in large disruptions to surgical care across all categories of operative urgency, especially elective procedures. Racial and ethnic minority groups experienced less of a disruption to surgical care than White patients. Further research is needed to explore whether the decreased surgical use among White patients was owing to patient discretion and to document whether demand for surgical…

  • Raising the Minimum Wage and Public Health

    Open AccessCecille Joan Avila, Austin B FraktARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2021

    Some states, and perhaps soon the federal government, are considering increasing the minimum wage. President Joe Biden voiced his support for raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour while on the campaign trail, and also

  • Covid-19 Pandemic Leads to Decrease in Emergency Department Wait Times

    Open AccessAlex Woodruff, Austin B FraktARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2020

    Public health and medical officials have been trying to reduce wait times in emergency departments (EDs) for years. Surprisingly, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic seems to have done just that. But now people are concerned that wait times are getting shorter for the wrong reasons

  • Protectionist Policies and Withdrawal From Global Coordinating Bodies Undermine Efforts to Fight Pandemics

    Open AccessNambi Ndugga, Austin B Frakt et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2020

    In the midst of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has sickened and killed people on every continent except Antarctica, President Trump announced his decision to withdraw funds from the World Health Organization (WHO). This decision, made by a high-income country, could have deadly implications for low-and middle-income countries

  • Health Care Cost Growth Benchmarks in 5 States

    Open AccessElsa Pearson, Austin B Frakt et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2020

    In 2018, national health care spending increased by 4.6% reaching $11 000 per person. Amid this growth, states are seeking novel ways to protect their budgets. One approach is to set a cost growth benchmark—a percentage growth rate under which states aim to maintain annual health care costs

  • Challenges of Aging Population Are Intensified in Prison

    Open AccessMelissa M Garrido, Melissa Garrido et al.ARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2020

  • To Truly Build the Affordable Care Act Into Universal Coverage, More Creativity Is Needed

    Open AccessPaul Shafer, Austin B FraktARTICLEJAMA Health Forum2020

    Once former Vice President Biden clinched the Democratic Party presidential nomination in early June, it was clear that the chances of a Medicare-for-all-type system in the near future had all but disappeared. Yet, frustration with the fragmented health insurance system crystallized support of progressives for a fundamental rethinking of how US residents pay for health care. Although many progressives will not be satisfied with incremental change…

  • Research Lifecycle to Increase the Substantial Real-world Impact of Research

    Amy M Kilbourne, Melissa Z Braganza et al.ARTICLEMedical Care2019References: 31

    BACKGROUND: US health care systems face a growing demand to incorporate innovations that improve patient outcomes at a lower cost. Funding agencies increasingly must demonstrate the impact of research investments on public health. The Learning Health System promotes continuous institutional innovation, yet specific processes to develop innovations for further research and implementation into real-world health care settings to maximize health impa…

  • Community change and resident needs

    Open AccessMariana C Arcaya, Alina Schnake-Mahl et al.ARTICLEHealth & Place2018Cited by: 12References: 6

    The health implications of urban development, particularly in rapidly changing, low-income urban neighborhoods, are poorly understood. We describe the Healthy Neighborhoods Study (HNS), a Participatory Action Research study examining the relationship between neighborhood change and population health in nine Massachusetts neighborhoods. Baseline data from the HNS survey show that social factors, specifically income insecurity, food insecurity, soc…