Tradeoffs

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...

Some patients’ lives are so complicated by trauma, poverty and other social problems that routine conditions like diabetes and asthma regularly turn into $10,000 hospital visits. America’s health care leaders have spent years trying to help this small but costly group of patients. What have they learned? Guests: Jeff Brenner , MD, CEO, The Jewish Board Arthur Brown, Client, Camden Coalition Amy Fi...

As Republicans consider major changes to Medicaid and Obamacare, we asked a leading economist about the shockwaves these sharp policy shifts could send throughout the entire health care system. Guests: Jonathan Gruber , Ford Professor of Economics, MIT Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health poli...

Why are a handful of sheriff’s departments in California refusing to respond to some 911 calls that involve a person with mental illness? Guest: Lee Romney , Journalist and co-host of  November In My Soul Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Check out Lee's full coverage for CalMatters. Be sure to listen to Tradeoffs special series The Fifth Branch that examines what it look...

Guests: Torie Bosch , Editor, First Opinion, STAT News Michelle Taylor , Shelby County Division Director for Health Services, Shelby County, Tennessee Raynard Washington , director of Mecklenburg County Public Health, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Learn more here . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this ty...

Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas, describes her fight to stop a multi-state measles outbreak despite a chaotic reorganization of federal health agencies. Guest: Katherine Wells, Director, Lubbock Public Health Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this type of journalism today, wit...

We talk with Harvard researcher Ari Ne’eman about why the sharp policy shifts underway in Washington pose a unique threat to people with disabilities.  Guest: Ari Ne’eman , Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring th...

Work requirements led to thousands in Arkansas losing their Medicaid during the first Trump administration. Policymakers say they’ve learned lessons to avoid mistakes this time. Guests: Trevor Hawkins , former Staff Attorney at Legal Aid of Arkansas Angela Rachidi , Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Ray Hanley , former CEO of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care Barbara Sears Roshon...

The latest threat to the Affordable Care Act could strike down a popular provision that gives 180 million Americans access to free preventive care for conditions including HIV and cancer. Guest: Nicholas Bagley , JD, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health...

Two months on the job, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has plowed forward with mass firings, funding cuts and new policies. The most immediate effect is across state and local health agencies, where officials say they see new cracks in safeguards against diseases. Guests: Dr. Phil Huang , director, Dallas County Health and Human Services  Ryan Jury, acting senior dep...

Veteran health care reporter Julie Rovner breaks down the massive cuts and reorganization at HHS and answers listeners’ questions about what to expect next. Guest: Julie Rovner , Chief Washington Correspondent, KFF Health News 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. Supp...

Medicare often pays clinics owned by hospitals double the amount it pays independent clinics for the exact same medical care. Ending that practice could save the federal government up to $150 billion over 10 years, but critics say it could push rural hospitals over the brink. Guests: Tim Rye, chief strategic development officer, Peterson Health  Carrie Cochran-McClain , chief policy officer,...

A closer look at the surgeon-turned-TV-star President Trump wants in charge of Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare. Guests: Tara Bannow , Reporter, STAT News Tom Scully , CMS Administrator (2001-2004) 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 t...

A candid conversation between a professor and a Ph. D. candidate about potential NIH funding cuts and their impact on the future of medical research. Guests: Yvonne Commodore-Mensah , Associate Professor, Associate Dean of Research, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Laura Mata López , PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Trad...

As adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities strive to live more freely and fully than ever before, many of America’s doctors, hospitals and insurers are getting in the way. We get an inside look at one doctor’s quest to improve health care for people with conditions like Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. Guests: Alison Barkoff , JD, Administration for Community Living, HHS K...

New research sheds light on how many hospitals are using artificial intelligence, what they’re using AI for, and what it means for patients and policymakers. Guest: Paige Nong , PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Public 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 polic...

Worrying about deportation can literally make people sick. Health care providers are scrambling to cut through their undocumented patients’ panic about President Trump’s new immigration policies. Guests: Maria Steph Willding , CEO, CommunityHealth Emily Hendel , Director of Clinical Services, CommunityHealth Samantha Artiga , Vice President and Director for Racial Equity Health Policy Program, KFF...

The Trump administration’s swift and sweeping efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is creating chaos across global public health efforts. One doctor working to halt an Ebola outbreak in Uganda reflects on consequences, now and long-term, of America’s abrupt change in policy. Guest: Dr. James Lawler, Director of International Programs and Innovation, Global Center for...

The fight to improve Americans’ nutrition could get new momentum from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he will face practical and political limits to changing U.S. food supply if he’s confirmed to lead the Health and Human Services Department. Guests: Laura Schmidt, professor at the University of California at San Francisco Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies; Department of Humanities and...

If the Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a vaccine skeptic — to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he would control a powerful group of federal vaccine advisors. Guests: Ron Balajadia, Hawaii Department of Health immunization branch chief Dorit Reiss , University of California, San Francisco, professor of public health law  Dr. Sarah Long, former member of the Advisory Co...

Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius shares what the country’s top health official can and can’t do, and what she wants senators to consider ahead of RFK’s confirmation hearings. Read our new story about an obscure but extremely influential vaccine committee that Kennedy, if confirmed. would control. Guest: Kathleen Sebelius, Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Learn mor...

Many Republicans have singled out Medicaid as a policy that could see big changes under the new administration and Congress. We take a closer look at why many conservatives think less Medicaid will mean better Medicaid. Guests: Josh Archambault , Senior Fellow, Cicero Institute Brian Blase , President, Paragon Health Institute Michael Cannon , Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute Eliz...

With Medicaid poised for potential cuts from Republicans in Washington, Dan Tsai reflects on what he's learned running Medicaid for the Biden administration — and his hopes and concerns for the program's future. Guest: Dan Tsai , Deputy Administrator and Director of Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, CMS Learn more on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter fe...

Alternative response teams are being asked to tackle vexing problems: mental illness, homelessness, addiction. How much can they actually do? We explore how Durham grapples with connecting people to long-term care and support, and where the city draws the line between crisis response and social services. Guests: Ryan Smith , Director, Durham Community Safety Department Sammetta Cutler , Peer Suppo...

How do you keep everyone safe? We look at HEART’s impact on the safety of Durham residents in crisis, the mental health workers responding, and the police. Guests: David Prater , Peer Support Specialist, Durham Department of Community Safety Ryan Smith , Director, Durham Department of Community Safety Yolanda, Durham resident Sgt. Dan Leeder , Durham Police Department Patrice Andrews , Police Chie...