Tradeoffs

President Trump says the U.S. is leaving the World Health Organization. What it might mean for public health in the U.S. and the world. Guest: Lawrence Gostin , Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law Read a transcript of the episode and learn more about the WHO on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/07/09/leaving-the-who/ Stay on top of all our coverage of the cor...

A recent court decision upheld federal rules requiring hospitals and insurers to post prices. But will price transparency lower the cost of health care? Guest, Margot Sanger-Katz, Health Care Reporter, New York Times For more from Dan’s conversation with Margot, https://tradeoffs.org/2020/07/07/the-price-of-care/ And stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conversations...

Physician and economist Bapu Jena discusses a pair of interesting new health policy research papers with implications for COVID-19, primary care and more.  Guest: Bapu Jena , MD, PhD, Harvard economist and physician Read the episode transcript and find links to the research: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/07/02/research-corner-masks-flint Stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak an...

Medical interns across the nation are starting their first days as doctors. One resident's hopes and fears before her first shift in the COVID ICU.  Guest: Tamar Pounardjian, Resident, Brown Medical School, Internal Medicine Residency Program For more of Tamar's story: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/06/30/becoming-a-doctor/ And stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conve...

With COVID-19 cases surging across the nation, how can Americans fight their coronavirus fatigue while staying safe? Guest, Ashish Jha , Director, Harvard Global Health Institute More about Ashish and some of the research we used for this episode: https://bit.ly/2B9WxLP And stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conversations with people who are being forced to ma...

As the opioid crisis continues to ravage the country, some states are turning to controversial laws that force people into treatment. Are they part of the solution or could they make things worse? This episode originally ran on Jan. 2, 2020. Guests: Dr. Abhishek Jain , forensic psychiatrist Rep. Lauren Davis , Washington state Merredith Cunniff , nurse, advocate and former civil commitment patient...

The Supreme Court says the Trump administration can’t end DACA, for now. What the decision means to one DACA recipient caring for those most vulnerable to COVID-19. Guest: Esmeralda Tovar-Mora; Mental Health Case Manager, Nursing Home Medication Aide, DACA Recipient Read the transcript and see photos of Esmeralda and her family: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/06/19/daca/ To stay on top of all our...

A top World Health Organization official sparked controversy earlier this month when she said cases of asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 spreading the virus are “very rare.” Bloomberg senior editor Jason Gale digs into what we know — and don’t know — about asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19, also known as “silent spreaders.” Guests:  Jason Gale , Senior Editor, Bloomberg News Dr. Sanjaya...

The average doctor does more than 200,000 patient interviews in their career, making communication one of the most common procedures in medicine. How are we training providers for this and are those efforts working? This episode originally aired on Nov. 13, 2019.   Get more content and resources on our website:  https://bit.ly/tradeoffsep3   To stay on top of all our coverage o...

New data suggest undocumented immigrants aren't being tested enough for COVID-19. What's standing in the way, and what's being done to address it? Guests:  Ana Matt Notowidigdo , PhD, University of Chicago Poverty Lab Samantha Artiga , Director, Disparities Policy Project, Kaiser Family Foundation Dawn Mautner, MD, MS, Medical Director, Oregon State Medicaid; Senior Health Advisor, Oregon Hea...

Early in the pandemic, California was conducting just 2,000 coronavirus tests a day. Now the state is up to 60,000. How did they ramp up testing so quickly? Guests:  Bob Kocher , Partner, Venrock Charity Dean, Assistant Director of the California Department of Public Health Paul Markovich , President of Blue Shield of California For more about California’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak:&n...

A new, more conservative Supreme Court is about to rule on its first major cases involving reproductive health and rights. We review the cases and their consequences. Guest:  Mary Ziegler , JD, Stearns Weaver Miller Professor of Law, Florida State University For more about these two cases:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/06/04/without-precedent/ To stay on top of all our coverage o...

As the nation responds to the police killing of George Floyd, we explore the public health impacts of police violence and what a public health response could look like. Guest: Rhea Boyd , MD, MPH, pediatrician and police violence researcher Read the transcript and learn more on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/06/02/police-violence/ Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/tradeoffsp...

With their business models upended by the coronavirus, hospitals are dusting off a decades-old idea: hospitalize patients in their own homes. Guests:  Bruce Leff , MD, Director, The Center for Transformative Geriatric Research, Johns Hopkins Travis Messina , MBA, Cofounder and CEO, Contessa Kavita Patel , MD, MPH, Nonresident Fellow, Brookings Institution Raphael Rakowski , Cofounder and CEO,...

Sites known as preprint servers post cutting-edge research in mere days. That speed has advantages during a health crisis, but it also comes with risks. Guest:  Richard Sever, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press For more about preprints visit:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/05/26/science-under-pressure/ To stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conversations wit...

Requiring face masks in public during COVID-19 may be a good public health move but it may also be putting some people's health at risk. Guest:  Dr. Gabriel Felix, Psychiatry Resident at Cambridge Health Alliance For more of Gabriel’s story:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/05/21/masking-problems/ To stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conversations with people...

Some scientists argue we should intentionally infect volunteers with the coronavirus to get a vaccine sooner. How would it work? Guests: Lehua Gray,  Challenge Trial Volunteer Seema Shah , JD, Associate Director of Research Ethics, Lurie Children’s Hospital Zeb Jamrozik , MD, PhD, Monash Bioethics Centre Anna Durbin , MD, Professor of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Pu...

The cosponsor of Colorado’s recently withdrawn public option bill shares what it was like to go from being on the eve of major health reform to the brink of an economic and health care catastrophe. Guest: Kerry Donovan , State Senator, Colorado District 5 For more information about Colorado's public option legislation:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/05/14/bill-interrupted/ To stay on top of all...

America’s public health agencies are fighting the coronavirus with phones and faxes rather than the real-time data they desperately need. Guests: Janet Hamilton, Executive Director, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Richard Danila, Deputy Epidemiologist for the state of Minnesota Katie O’Donnell, Larimer County Health Department Arien Malec, former federal health IT official Julia A...

Inside one county's efforts to use contact tracing to flatten the COVID-19 curve. Guest: Tair Kiphibane, nurse, director of the infectious disease bureau in Salt Lake County, Utah. For more information about contact tracing:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/05/07/disease-detectives/ To stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conversations with people who are being force...

What happened to Medicaid during the last recession? And what can that teach us going into the next one? Guests: MaryAnne Lindeblad , Washington State Medicaid Director Tom Betlach , Former Arizona Medicaid Director Ben Sommers , MD, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Economics, Harvard Helen Levy , PhD, Research Professor, University of Michigan School Get more information and read the transcrip...

The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that insurers are owed $12 billion for losses they incurred in the early days of the Affordable Care Act. What are the origins and implications of this case? Guests: Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation For more of our conversation with Larry:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/04/30/risk-corridors To stay on top of all...

The coronavirus is straining our primary care system. But, for some, the situation is starting to look more robust. Guests: Chuck Jones , President and CEA, Harbor Health For more information about how primary care services are faring in this climate, visit  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/04/28/primary-care-on-the-mend/ To stay on top of all our coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and our conver...

Millions of Americans have recently lost their health insurance along with their jobs. What should be done to help them stay covered during this crisis? Guests: Mayra Jimenez Chris Holt , Director of Health Care Policy, American Action Forum Jon Gruber , Professor of Economics, MIT Jill Berk , Senior Researcher, Mathematica For more information about COBRA v ACA:  https://tradeoffs.org/2020/0...

How COVID-19 is threatening one man’s decades-long battle for sobriety and stability. Guest: Antonio Matthews Get more information and read the transcript of this episode: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/04/21/getting-on-the-bus/ See all of our coronavirus coverage here: https://tradeoffs.org/coronavirus/ Support our show:  https://tradeoffs.org/donate Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.c...