Tradeoffs

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...

Popping into the feed with a bit of breaking news on a story we've been reporting on for months: For the first time ever, some people incarcerated in jail or prison will have access to Medicaid. We'll have a full episode on this dramatic policy change in February. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff...

After 20 years, Humira – the best selling drug of all time – is finally facing direct competition. Typically, once generic drugs arrive on a market they dominate sales and deliver big savings. But Humira’s competitors, known as biosimilars, aren’t like most other generics. This week, what makes this prescription drug showdown so unusual – and so important. Guest: Marta Wosińska , PhD, Visiting Fel...

A congressional ban on removing anyone from Medicaid will expire early next year. What will happen to people who lose their coverage, and how are states preparing for this unprecedented undertaking? Guests:  Elizabeth Nash , Principle Policy Associate, State Issues Cindy Mann , Partner, Manatt Health  Rachel Cohrs , Washington Correspondent, STAT Learn more and read a full transcript on...

We've got a lot to share with you in 2023! We're looking into what might happen to the marketplace as Humira, the best selling prescription drug in history, goes generic; and profile a woman pioneering a new strategy to help people better manage their own health, a strategy that has insurance companies whispering. The FDA has approved another controversial Alzheimer’s drug, Medicare is gearing up...

There’s a severe shortage of people to care for older Americans in their homes and nursing facilities. And it’s only expected to get worse. Could providing long-term care workers with new career pathways be part of the solution? Guests:  Serena Maria , Manager of Care Teams, Homebridge Mark Burns , Executive Director, Homebridge Natasha Bryant , Senior Director of Workforce Research and Strat...

California is in the early days of one of the most ambitious initiatives ever to address Medicaid patients’ social needs in hopes of improving their health. This week, we trace the origins, early results and challenges of “CalAIM.” Guests: Jacey Cooper , Director, California Medicaid Program Bradley Gilbert , MD, MPP, Former Chief Medical Officer and CEO, Inland Empire Health Plan Lacy McClellan D...

The Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers to control prescription drug prices. We go inside the government’s race to implement these new powers — and the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to blunt their impact. Guests: Alice Valder Curran, JD, Partner, Hogan Lovells Sean Dickson, JD, MPH, Director of Health Policy, West Health Policy Center Amber Jessup, PhD, Chief Economist,...

Independent abortion funds have been flooded with donations since Roe v. Wade was overturned. How do these funds work and what role will they play in a post-Roe world? Guests: Brittany Mostiller , Leadership Development Coordinator, National Network of Abortion Funds Gretchen Ely, PhD, MSW , Director of PhD Program, University of Tennessee College of Social Work Kim Floren, Director, Justice Throu...

The leader of a landmark abortion study shares what research and her own family experience suggest will happen to people who are denied abortions in a post-Roe world. Guests:  Diana Foster Green, director of research at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health Read a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website . Support this type of journali...

Our annual look back at some of the best health care podcast episodes of the year with help from a few of our podcast host friends. Guests: Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Policymaker in Residence, University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and host of  America Dissected Keris Myrick, Vice President of Partnerships, Inseparable and host of  Unapologetically Black Unicorn Learn m...

More than $50 billion in opioid settlement dollars from drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies is starting to flow to state and local governments and they need to figure out how to spend it. Guests:  Dave Baker, Minnesota State Representative and chair of the state’s Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council  Sara Whaley, Opioid Policy Researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Pub...

Black Americans are at higher risk for many serious illnesses like dementia and kidney failure. But data show they are less likely to have their pain treated and less likely to access services like hospice and palliative care that can reduce suffering, especially at the end of life. This week, we explore what stops seriously ill Black patients and their families from getting the care they want in...

Even though more Americans than ever have health insurance, medical debt is a pervasive problem in the United States. Guests:  Noam Levey , Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News Wesley Yin , PhD, Associate Professor of Economics, UCLA 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 researc...

An overhaul of Medicare’s prescription drug benefit will lower costs for seniors while changing incentives for insurers and drugmakers. Guests Therese Humphrey Ball, Multiple sclerosis patient and advocate. Juliette Cubanski , Deputy Director for Program on Medicare Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our f...

There’s a severe shortage of people to care for older Americans in their homes and nursing facilities. And it’s only expected to get worse. Could providing long-term care workers with new career pathways be part of the solution? Guests:  Serena Maria , Manager of Care Teams, Homebridge Mark Burns , Executive Director, Homebridge Natasha Bryant , Senior Director of Workforce Research and Strat...

Early in the pandemic, state officials unleashed a flood of emergency orders relaxing the rules that limit the care each health profession can provide. Now these temporary measures are expiring and health professionals from pharmacists to physician assistants are jockeying to shape the next wave of workforce reforms. Guests:  Susanna Storeng , DMSc, PA-C, Physician Assistant, High Plains Comm...

Starting Oct. 6, providers must begin giving patients electronic access to more of their health care data than ever before. But the federal regulations forcing this change are fraught with implementation challenges and privacy risks. This week we talk with Micky Tripathi, the federal official overseeing this push to democratize America’s health data, about its promise and perils. Guest Micky Tripa...

Initial screenings for breast, lung and cervical cancer are free, but expensive secondary tests can leave patients in screening purgatory. Guests:  Mark Fendrick, MD, Professor of Medicine and public health at the University of Michigan, Director of the Center for Value Based Insurance Design. Gloria Coronado , PhD, epidemiologist and health disparities researcher, Kaiser Permanente Center fo...

California is in the early days of one of the most ambitious initiatives ever to address Medicaid patients’ social needs in hopes of improving their health. This week, we trace the origins, early results and challenges of “CalAIM.” Guests: Jacey Cooper , Director, California Medicaid Program Bradley Gilbert , MD, MPP, Former Chief Medical Officer and CEO, Inland Empire Health Plan Lacy McClellan D...

This week, we’re sharing the first episode of a new 10-part series from The Nocturnists podcast, called “Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest.”  What is shame? And how does it manifest in medical culture? The Nocturnists teams up with two shame experts to investigate these questions. Read a full transcript of this episode on our website . Learn more about this episode and the Shame in Medicine...

The Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare historic new powers to control prescription drug prices. We go inside the government’s race to implement these new powers — and the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to blunt their impact. Guests: Alice Valder Curran, JD, Partner, Hogan Lovells Sean Dickson, JD, MPH, Director of Health Policy, West Health Policy Center Amber Jessup, PhD, Chief Economist,...

The Biden administration is trying to close a gap in the Affordable Care Act that blocks 5 million people from getting affordable health care. Guests:  Liana Wolk, teacher Owen Marshall , musician Katie Keith, JD, MPH ; Director, Health Policy and the Law Initiative at the O’Neill Institute at the Georgetown University Law Center. Learn more and read a full transcript on our website . Want mo...

Why are a growing number of private insurance companies starting to invest in medical respite — a decades-old idea to care for homeless people who are too healthy to be in the hospital, but too sick to be on the streets? Guests: Henry Jones, former medical respite patient Janelle Goetcheus , MD, Founder and Medical Director, Christ House Julia Dobbins , MSW, Director of Medical Respite, National H...

Letting private insurers offer Medicaid coverage was supposed to lower costs and improve care. We dig into the research on Medicaid managed care. Guests: Sayeh Nikpay , PhD, Tradeoffs Contributing Research Editor; Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota Kathleen Adams , PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory Uni...