IHPI 2025 Year in Review

Despite nearly a century of clinical and technological advances, prenatal care delivery in the U.S. remained essentially unchanged until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional care practices. COVID safety protocols led to fewer in-person office visits for uncomplicated pregnancies and increased the use of telehealth. In response, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) partnered with the University of Michigan to convene a panel of more than a dozen maternal care, public health, pediatrics, and equity experts, as well as patient representatives, to develop recommendations for more flexible, person-centered prenatal care options for individuals with average-risk pregnancies.

This effort, spearheaded by IHPI member Alex Peahl, MD, MSc following her participation in the IHPI Policy Sprint program, led to the development of new ACOG guidance for redesigning prenatal care delivery in the U.S. Dr. Peahl co-authored the ACOG Clinical Consensus document, Tailored Prenatal Care Delivery for Pregnant Individuals, which outlines a transformative, more flexible approach to prenatal care that has the potential to improve outcomes for millions of pregnant patients across the nation.

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When treating cancer, doctors must select chemotherapy drugs that maximize treatment effects while minimizing harm to patients. However, about 7% of the population carries a DPYD gene variant that inhibits their ability to process fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy drugs normally. Patients with these variants can experience severe or even fatal toxicity from these drugs, which are commonly used to treat colorectal, head and neck, and some breast cancers.

Until recently, genetic testing for DPYD variants prior to treatment was not the standard of care. But thanks to the tireless efforts of IHPI member Dan Hertz, Pharm.D., Ph.D., a participant in the 2024 IHPI Impact Accelerator Policy & Communications Training Program, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently adopted a new label on capecitabine (Xeloda) that includes a boxed warning to “test patients for genetic variants of DPYD (dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase) prior to initiating Xeloda, unless immediate treatment is necessary.” 

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Many IHPI members are widely recognized as experts in their fields. Their influential research extends across state, national, and international boundaries to inform health policies and improve lives. Recent work includes:

• Evaluating evidence from Michigan’s Medicaid work requirement (Renuka Tipirneni, M.D., M.S.)
• Reducing and preventing firearm violence (April Zeoli, Ph.D., M.P.H.)
• Improving sepsis care (Hallie Prescott, M.D., M.Sc.)
• Recognizing and addressing the addictive nature of ultra-processed foods (Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., M.Phil., M.S.)
• Understanding the implications of new evidence that shows SNAP food restrictions fail to improve health outcomes (Katherine Bauer, Ph.D., M.S.)
• Increasing awareness and optimizing healthcare and outcomes for people with SCD in the state of Michigan (Sarah Reeves, Ph.D., M.P.H.)
• Promoting “exercise snacks” during the school day to improve physical and mental health outcomes in Michigan children and adolescents (Rebecca Hasson, Ph.D.)
• Identifying suicide risk factors among Veterans and how to prevent them (Kevin Saunier, Ph.D.; Mark Ilgen, Ph.D.; Rebecca Sripada, Ph.D., ABPP; John McCarthy, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Kara Zivin, Ph.D., M.S., M.A., M.F.A.)
• Understanding the impact of health care services provided by Medicaid (John Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P.; Renuka Tipirneni, M.D., M.Sc.; Sarah Miller, Ph.D.; Helen Levy, Ph.D.; Thomas Buchmueller, Ph.D., Aaron Parzuchowski, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc.; Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D.; Susan Goold, M.D., MHSA, M.A.; Terrence Liu, M.D., M.S.; Edith Kieffer, Ph.D., M.P.H.)
• Examining how food insecurity affects health across the lifespan and how to address it (Katherine Bauer, Ph.D., M.S.; Eric Brandt, M.D., M.H.S.; James Buszkiewicz, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.; Nina Hill, M.D.; Helen Levy, Ph.D.)
   

Four new Research Interest Groups were established in 2025 to increase opportunities for IHPI members with shared research interests to collaborate. The new health services research focus areas are food and nutrition policy, artificial intelligence and health policy, climate and health policy, and Medicaid policy.

The U.S. Administration for Community Living estimates that nearly 70% of adults aged 65 and older will need some form of long-term care during their lifetime. Yet, according to IHPI’s National Poll on Healthy Aging (NPHA), many older adults are not prepared for their future long-term care needs. In fact, fewer than half of people aged 50 and older (43%) believe they are likely to need long-term care in the future, and nearly half (48%) say they do not know how to plan for it. Findings from the Michigan Poll on Healthy Aging tell a similar story: few older Michiganders have taken steps like designating a medical power of attorney (25%) or identifying potential caregivers (24%). To share these findings and connect older adults with resources, the NPHA team and poll co-sponsor Michigan Health Endowment Fund hosted a webinar in May 2025, which drew leaders from aging organizations, health care professionals, and members of the public for a discussion on how to better support people in preparing for long-term care.

In another NPHA report, adults age 65 and older reported more positive effects of work on their health and well-being than those ages 50–64. However, 39% of adults over 50 who had not retired said disability, chronic illness, or poor health interfered with their ability to work. In Michigan, 34% of adults aged 50 and older are employed or self-employed—compared with 42% nationally—but they were more likely to say that work benefits their mental health (81% vs. 71%).

The NPHA team has collaborated with more than 75 IHPI members with expertise in aging since the poll started in 2017. Their work has produced 42 peer-reviewed publications featuring poll data, including 16 with students or trainees as first author, to reach people across the U.S. with valuable insights into healthy aging. A recent article published in the New York Times exemplifies the national reach of this important work to promote the well-being of older Americans.

New in 2025 (and ongoing through 2026), the National Poll on Healthy Aging team is partnering with the Alzheimer’s Association to field a brain health-focused survey to understand current public knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding brain health behaviors and dementia risk reduction. This work supports the Alzheimer’s Association mission to advance research and improve public understanding of brain health.

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IHPI recently completed its 10-year evaluation of the Healthy Michigan Plan, Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program, with the team’s summative evaluation report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services due to be released soon. The evaluation, conducted by a team of more than 20 IHPI members and staff, has informed important policy decisions in the state and throughout the nation and offers key insights as we look to Medicaid’s future. The evaluation found that Medicaid expansion reduced uninsurance and hospital uncompensated care, promoted the use of primary and preventive care, improved health, supported financial well-being, and strengthened the safety net for Michigan residents with low incomes.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare continues to expand rapidly. AI applications range from alleviating clinicians’ administrative burden to revolutionizing patient care. IHPI experts are focusing on research related to incorporating digital health tools in medical education and practice, using AI to detect disease and develop personalized treatment plans, understanding the patient perspective on the use of AI in healthcare, studying how AI may worsen or improve health disparities and how to address these through policy, and ensuring that AI models are trained using representative data to reduce biased results. 

IHPI provides ongoing networking and educational opportunities for members who wish to collaborate on AI-related projects, including support for the e-Health and Artificial Intelligence (e-HAIL) annual AI and Health Symposium, and a new research interest group focused on AI and health policy.

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Supported by the IHPI Innovation Fund and individual donors, the MPrOVE Fellowship Program provides early-career faculty members with an opportunity to explore new research ideas over the course of 12-18 months. In 2025, three fellows pursued projects to:

1. Identify actionable next steps for regional delivery of colorectal cancer care across the University of Michigan’s statewide network of care (Calista Harbaugh, M.D., M.Sc., Research Practice Partnership Fellow)
2. Increase adoption and impact of the Michigan Plan for Appropriate, Tailored Healthcare (MiPATH) to deliver more tailored prenatal care that meets patient needs (Alex Peahl, M.D., M.Sc., Research Practice Partnership Fellow)
3. Increase appropriate, guideline-directed medical therapy for patients admitted to Michigan Medicine with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) to decrease length of stay and mortality (Thomas Cascino, M.D., M.Sc., MPrOVE Fellow).

MPrOVE also won three awards at national conferences this year, recognizing the program overall and specific project achievements:

1. 2025 Vinod Sahney Award, Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference ("Bridging the Gap: Uniting Research and Practice for Healthcare Excellence & Resource Allocation").
2. Overall Best Abstract, Oral Presentation, SPAQI Perioperative Medicine Summit (Using a Machine Learning Tool to Predict Suitability for Surgery at an Ambulatory Surgical Center).
3. SAMBA Excellence and Innovation Award, and second place for “Overall Excellence and Innovation,” 2025 Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia’s Annual Meeting (A Machine Learning Surgical Site Optimization Tool Can Accurately Predict ASC Suitability: Saving Time for Anesthesiologists and Other Pre-Operative Clinicians).