A Health Podyssey

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Jeff Romine of Carelon Research about his recent paper exploring new research on how extreme heat affects health care use and costs , finding consistent increases in emergency department visits and some hospitalizations, but little change in outpatient care. Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters t...

Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy. In our second episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Bianca Frogner, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Washington...

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Dhara Patel of the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School about her recent paper exploring national trends in cold‑related illness hospitalizations and how climate change and social vulnerability shape health risks across the United States. Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to st...

Welcome to the first episode in a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. The episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy. In our first episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Hemi Tewarson of the National Academy for State Health Policy to discuss how The...

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks with Cynthia Strathmann of SAJE about her recent paper that examines how climate impacts such as extreme heat affect low‑income renters and what policymakers can do to balance climate adaptation with housing stability. Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and...

Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks with Maud Powell of Oregon State University about her recent paper examining stress and anxiety among farmers and ranchers and the interventions that may help address these challenges. Order the May 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis.

In this episode of Behind the Pages, Health Affairs Publishing's Margaret Winchester interviews theme issue advisor Sacoby Wilson of The University of Maryland about key themes from the May Health Affairs issue on climate, health, and equity , with a focus on community‑led approaches, health system interventions, and scalable policy solutions to address climate‑related health risks. Order the May...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Rob Lott interviews Jason Buxbaum of Brown University about his recent paper that explores new research on administrative spending in U.S. health insurance and why it varies so widely across states and markets. Order the March 2026 issue of Health Affairs .' Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis.

Health Affairs Publishing 's Rob Lott interviews Andrew Anderson of Johns Hopkins University about his recent paper that explores new research on the Medicare Advantage Star Ratings program and how effectively it has driven quality improvement over time. Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Order the April 2026 issue of Health Affai...

On a special emergency pod episode of Health Affairs This Week coming to you on the A Health Podyssey feed, Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Brown University 's David Meyers to the pod to unpack the 2027 Medicare Advantage final payment rule, including the higher-than-anticipated rate increase, changes to risk adjustment models, what is V28, and the tradeoffs between market stabilit...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Rob Lott interviews Dr. Ashish Jha about the future of public health education, the growing threat of engineered pathogens and building a bio-intelligence company, and practical approaches to slowing health care spending while preserving access and innovation.

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Em Balkan of Brown University about their recent paper showing that rapid disenrollment from Medicare Advantage plans tripled from 2017 to 2022 , with higher rates among dual‑eligible beneficiaries and certain racial and ethnic groups  — raising questions about how well plans are meeting beneficiaries’ needs. Order the March 2026 issue of Health Affairs .

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews David Powell of the University of Pennsylvania about his recent paper exploring new research showing SSDI beneficiaries face significantly elevated mortality during the mandatory two‑year waiting period for Medicare for such beneficiaries, why the waiting period exists, how it affects access to care, and what policy options could better serve this vulnerable po...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Anna Zink of Tufts University about on her recent paper examining studies of an FDA‑approved cardiac diagnostic AI tool , fractional flow reserve derived from computed tomography. They discuss how the tool shifts testing patterns, raises some costs, reduces invasive procedures, and may improve outcomes—along with what it all means for Medicare reimbursement and...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel about his new book, Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life . He explains why he wrote a wellness guide for the general public, what frustrates him about today’s “wellness industrial complex,” and why evidence‑based habits — not trendy supplements or extreme routines — are key to long‑term health. Pick up a copy of h...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Derek T. Lake on his recent paper exploring new research on Optum’s acquisitions , finding the company tended to buy physician practices already using ambulatory surgery centers and that its ASC acquisitions were followed by higher prices for competing insurers. Order the February 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews So-Yeon Kang of Georgetown University about her recent paper exploring trends in biopharmaceutical clinical trials after The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 authorized Medicare to negotiate prices for selected drugs. Order the January 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it tha...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Jane Zhu of Oregon Health & Science University about her recent paper exploring how many physicians enrolled in Medicaid see few or no Medicaid beneficiaries as patients , highlighting a greater need for targeted policies to boost participation and improve access. Order the February 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our conte...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews John Scott of the University of Washington about his recent paper exploring findings on the financial fallout from traumatic injurie s, highlighting persistent medical debt burdens and the policy gaps that leave many patients unprotected. Order the February 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and w...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Sayeh Nikpay of the University of Minnesota about her recent paper exploring how The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B Program interact in ways that can unintentionally increase costs, the adoption of cost-saving strategies to mitigate these interactions, and how policymakers can act to balance Medicaid savings with revenue impacts on 340B-participating...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Roslyn Murray of Brown University to discuss her paper exploring how Oregon’s 2019 hospital payment cap saved $50 million annually while having little impact on hospital finances, operations, or patient care. Order the December 2025 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way....

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Sherry Glied of New York University on her paper that explores how U.S. health spending growth slowed to less than half its historical rate, driven by lower utilization, slower price growth, and shifts in care delivery and administration. Order the January 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we...

Health Affairs ' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews J. Michael McWilliams of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital on his recent paper that explores opportunities for the use of patient health survey data for risk adjustment to limit distortionary coding incentives in Medicare. Order the January 2025 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content i...

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Steven M. Lieberman of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles on his recent paper that explores how Medicare Advantage has seen significant enrollment growth and what reform efforts can be attempted to rebalance traditional Medicare and MA. Order the August 2025 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely avail...

Health Affairs ' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Zirui Song of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital on his recent paper that explores how private equity acquisition impacts hospital costs and utilization and what variations were seen throughout 2005–19. Order the February 2025 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - a...