Health Affairs Scholar: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 2976-5390 · Oxford University Press · Multidisciplinary

Half of the articles Health Affairs Scholar accepted in 2025 were accepted within 66 days of submission (n = 246); the middle half took 47–93 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
66 days median
middle half 47–93 · n = 246
Acceptance → online
4 days median
middle half 2–10 · n = 245
Change since 2023
No clear change since 2023 (median 74 → 66 days; 90% CI -20 to +3 days).
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · $3,150

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

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How long does Health Affairs Scholar take to accept a paper?

days03060901202023: middle half 50–100 days742023n=792024: middle half 55–102 days792024n=1692025: middle half 47–93 days662025n=246
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
20252464766931213.7%96%
202416955791020.6%98%
20237950741007.6%89%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 10% (25 articles)030–59 days: 29% (72 articles)3060–89 days: 33% (80 articles)6090–119 days: 17% (43 articles)90120–149 days: 6% (14 articles)120150–179 days: 3% (7 articles)150180–209 days: 2% (4 articles)180210–239 days: 0% (1 articles)210240–269 days: 0% (0 articles)240270–299 days: 0% (0 articles)270300–329 days: 0% (0 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (0 articles)330360+ days: 0% (0 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–292510.2%
30–597229.3%
60–898032.5%
90–1194317.5%
120–149145.7%
150–17972.8%
180–20941.6%
210–23910.4%
240–26900.0%
270–29900.0%
300–32900.0%
330–35900.0%
360+00.0%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 4 days (middle half 2–10 days, n = 245).

From submission to online publication, the median was 72 days (middle half 54–100 days, n = 246).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Open access (listed in DOAJ). Listed APC: $3,150 (DOAJ).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJYes (DOAJ record)
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead)
Retractions1 retracted article among 479 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (2.09 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission3.7% of 2025 articles
Publication volume234 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (-3% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Economics, Econometrics and Finance journalsHealth Professions journalsEconomics and Econometrics journalsGeneral Health Professions journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Health Affairs Scholar, 66 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Health Services Research158 (2025, n = 158)≈$3,750NoYes
Medical Care210 (2025, n = 51)NoYes
Health Policy220 (2025, n = 204)≈$4,220NoYes
Milbank Quarterly136 (2025, n = 54)≈$4,430NoYes
Journal of Health Economics267 (2025, n = 92)≈$4,260NoYes
Health Economics335 (2025, n = 116)≈$4,050NoYes
The European Journal of Health Economics227 (2025, n = 130)≈$4,790NoYes
Israel Journal of Health Policy Research178 (2025, n = 75)No fee (DOAJ)YesYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Health Affairs Scholar take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Health Affairs Scholar accepted in 2025 were accepted within 66 days of submission (n = 246); the middle half took 47–93 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Health Affairs Scholar articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 4 days of acceptance (n = 245).

Does Health Affairs Scholar charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: $3,150 (DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 2976-5390; NLM ID 9918627882906676; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 246 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: online date out of range 1.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.