Tradeoffs

A collaboration with American Public Media’s Call to Mind, highlighting how Durham, North Carolina, has reimagined its mental health crisis response system — and what it has learned. Find more reporting on mental health from Call to Mind on their website , on your local public radio station, or by subscribing to the Call to Mind podcast . Guests: Patrice Andrews , Police Chief, Durham Police Depar...

Doctors are flocking to arbitration under the 2020 consumer protection law to settle pricing disputes with insurers. They’re winning, often securing high prices.  Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, reporter, The New York Times Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support...

The state’s Medicaid director Amir Bassiri shares his plans for blunting the effects of Republican health reforms — starting with work requirements. Guest: Amir Bassiri , Medicaid Director, New York State Department of Health Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Suppo...

As demand for new weight loss drugs soars, some employers are making workers track their diet and exercise in hopes of limiting use and keeping costs down. Guests: Nick Miller Ann Lewandowski , founder, Healthcare Rebel Alliance Sean Scanlon , Connecticut Comptroller Dr. Katherine Saunders , executive vice president and cofounder, Flyte Health Christopher Whaley , associate director of the Center...

The White House wants states to drop certificate of need laws in hopes of lowering health care costs. Researchers and state leaders are split. Guests: Nate Adler , founder, Gertie Matthew Mitchell , senior fellow, Fraser Institute; senior affiliated scholar, Mercatus Center at George Mason University Jill Horwitz , professor, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and Feinberg School of Me...

The administration is looking to former health care executive Chris Klomp to help RFK Jr. get Trump’s health agenda back on track. Guest: Dan Diamond , White House Reporter, Washington Post Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this type of journalism today, wi...

The Supreme Court is set to hear Hikma v. Amarin, a battle over drug patents that could raise costs for patients and change the way generic companies do business. Guests: Hans Sauer , adjunct professor, Georgetown Law; former vice president of intellectual property, Biotechnology Innovation Organization Sean Tu , professor of law, University of Alabama Dennies Varughese , partner; Sterne, Kessler,...

Our friends at The Pulse from WHYY explore the economics behind the rise of urgent care and how it’s changing American medicine. Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this type of journalism today, with a gift . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

An employer in Chicago describes how another year of rising premiums forced her to consider dropping her workers’ insurance. Guest: Rachel Bernier-Green , Founder and CEO, EJ Consortium Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this type of journalism today, with a...

We talk with physician and writer Bob Wachter about why he’s cautiously optimistic that artificial intelligence will usher in a ‘golden age’ of medicine — and the questions he still has about these powerful new tools. Guest: Bob Wachter , Chair, Department of Medicine, UC San Francisco; Author, A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future Learn more and read a...

Patients are afraid to show up to medical appointments, while workers are being detained, deported or losing their visa statuses. Guests: Sahida Martinez , promotora, Enlace Jadhira Sanchez, director of community health, Enlace Steph Willding , CEO, CommunityHealth Jordan Herring , Postdoctoral scholar, Emergency medicine, Stanford Hannah Janeway, Emergency medicine physician, Los Angeles Laura Me...

Half of states have rejected federal vaccine guidance on childhood vaccines after controversial changes by the CDC. Public health experts say the split is sowing confusion and increasing the risk of outbreaks. Guests: Michelle Fiscus , physician, chief medical officer, Association of Immunization Managers Jen Kates , senior vice president; director, global and public health policy, KFF  Tao S...

How one addiction clinic in Baltimore has found success combining addiction care with support for the many other health problems older Americans often face. Guests: Malik Burnett , Medical Director, REACH Health Services Lisa Clemans-Cope , Senior Research Fellow, Urban Institute Renee Gray, Patient, REACH Health Services Phyllis Lindsay, Peer Recovery Specialist, REACH Health Services Maggie Lowe...

How Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitious plan to force more people into treatment left many families still searching for help. Guest(s): June Dudas Marisa Kendall , homelessness reporter, CalMatters Read CalMatters full “Courting Disappointment” series here. Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health polic...

Maryland finds out how much the state will get from a nationwide competition for federal rural health investment. Guest(s): Christina Koontz, paramedic  Elizabeth Kromm , assistant secretary for population health and strategic initiatives, Maryland Department of Health Mike Salvadge, chief of emergency medical services, Allegany County, Md.  Meena Seshamani, Maryland secretary of health...

We follow Maryland's 52-day rush to convince the Trump administration to give the state new funding to transform rural health care. Guests: Bonita Baer, Maryland resident Mark Boucot , president and CEO of Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital  Elizabeth Kromm , assistant secretary for population health and strategic initiatives, Maryland Department of Health Levi Lantz,...

Many potent new medicines pose a host of challenges for drug companies trying to copy and sell similar versions on the cheap. Can those companies find a sustainable path forward, or will patients get left stuck paying exorbitant prices? Guests: Christine Baeder , MBA, President, Apotex USA Alfred Engelberg , JD, retired attorney and former counsel to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association...

Rural health experts dig into the Trump administration’s effort to transform rural health care. Guests: Kevin Bennett , Director Center for Rural & Primary Healthcare; Professor, Family and Preventative Medicine, School of Medicine Columbia, University of South Carolina Paula Chatterjee , Director of Health Equity Research, Penn LDI; Assistant Professor, Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine S...

America pays less, on average, than any other major country for our generic drugs. But selling essential drugs at such low prices comes with hidden costs — from quality problems to frequent shortages. This is the second episode of  Race to the Bottom , a three-part series by Tradeoffs on the problems plaguing the generic drugs we all rely on — and how we could fix them. Guests: Christine Baed...

Generic drugs are, in many ways, the unsung hero of America’s health care system, bringing powerful medical innovations within the reach of millions more people. These cheaper copies of brand-name drugs — from pills that stop heart attacks to antibiotics that cure life-threatening infections — save America hundreds of billions of dollars a year. But will affordable, high-quality generic drugs cont...

Black Americans report higher levels of mistrust in the health care system than white Americans and suffer worse outcomes in everything from maternal mortality to life expectancy. What if improving health literacy and demystifying health information could be the part of the solution? This week, one doctor’s crusade to help more people understand their own health care and why insurers are starting...

A Chicago violence prevention program is pairing cognitive behavioral therapy with intensive mentoring and wraparound support to help high-risk teens avoid incarceration. Guests: Nour Abdul-Razzak , Research Associate, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy; Research Director, University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab Charles Branas , Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology...

A leading addiction expert explains how he’s driven by the memory of a friend who died, and why he believes giving data on the drug supply to people on the street is more important than using it to inform national drug policy. Guest: Nabarun Dasgupta , Epidemiologist, University of North Carolina Street Drug Analysis Lab and Opioid Data Lab Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . He...

A group of nurses in Baltimore wants to bring basic care to every person in a neighborhood regardless of age, health, income or insurance. Can this idea from abroad take root in the United States? Guests: Dawn Alley , PhD, Head of Scale, IMPaCT Care Asaf Bitton , MD, MPH, Executive Director, Ariadne Labs Regina Hammond, Founder, Rebuild Johnston Square Neighborhood Organization Chris Koller , Pres...

Economist Amy Finkelstein has studied America’s patchwork of health insurance policies for more than 20 years. In a forthcoming book she concludes it’s time tear the whole system down. This week, Dan talks with Amy about how she came to that conclusion and what a better system could look like.  Guest: Amy Finkelstein , PhD, Professor of Economics, MIT Learn more and read a full transcript on...