Health Affairs This Week

This episode originally aired on February 27, 2026. Health Affairs’ Jeff Byers welcomes Brown University's Andrew Ryan to the pod to discuss his recent Forefront article that explores whether value-based payment and managed care can lead to addressing the core drivers of spending. Related Links: Value-Based Payment And Managed Care Will Not Solve The Affordability Crisis ( Health Affairs Forefront...

Health Affairs Publishing ’ s Jeff Byers welcomes Michael Chernew , professor at Harvard Medical School , back to the pod to discuss the recently released National Health Expenditures Projections for 2025–34 from the Office of the Actuary (OACT) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Related Links: National Health Expenditure Projections, 2025–34: Strong Utilization Growth Initia...

Health Affairs Publishing ’ s Jeff Byers welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the pod to explore the evolving landscape of Medicaid work requirements.  They break down who is impacted by these policies, how the requirements are structured across states, and the real-world challenges of implementation. The conversation also explores concerns about administrative burden, potent...

Health Affairs Publishing ’ s Jeff Byers welcomes Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News to the pod to discuss the Rural Health Transformation Fund, highlighting how it aims to improve infrastructure and access in rural communities amid ongoing challenges like hospital closures, workforce shortages, and Medicaid cuts. To learn more about the Rural Health Transformation Fund, join us on June 8 for a...

THIS SPONSORED PODCAST EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CVS HEALTH. In this sponsored episode, James Margiotta, Chief Growth Officer at CVS Caremark, joins Health Affairs Publishing's Jessica Bylander to unpack the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), their impact on prescription drug costs, and the value PBMs bring to the health care system. James has nearly 35 years of experience driving innova...

Health Affairs Publishing ’s Jeff Byers welcomes Andrew Rundle of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to the pod to discuss his recent Forefront  article about Medicare’s upcoming ACCESS model and its potential to expand digital health for chronic disease management. They discuss why the program could spur rapid growth in health tech while highlighting key challenges, including...

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 third and final episode for the series in 2026, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the program to dis...

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of youth mental health challenges, including suicide and self-harm. Listener discretion is advised. Health Affairs Publishing ’s Kathleen Haddad welcomes Caroline Figueroa of Stanford University to the pod to discuss how teens are using AI chatbots for mental health support and the factors driving that use, including access and stigma. It also disc...

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 Jeff Byers welcomes Georgetown University’s Katie Keith and Deputy Editor Chris Fleming back to the podcast to unpack a new court case over mifepristone that could alter telehealth access to medication abortion and test the boundaries of FDA authority. Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at...

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 how the The Big Bea...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Duke University School of Medicine 's Mike Pignone to the pod to explore the new cholesterol screening guidelines, how evolving screening and treatment guidelines (including colon cancer and breast cancer screening guidelines) influence care, and the broader cost implications for the health system. Join Health Affairs Publishing on May 13 for an exc...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Stacey Pogue of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy about her recent Forefront article examining proposed updates to health plan price transparency rules , focusing on efforts to improve data usability and the ongoing challenges in making healthcare costs more accessible and actionable. Join Health Affairs Publishing on May 13 fo...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Michael Gerber back to the pod to discuss recent federal action on prior authorization , including CMS’s proposal to expand response-time requirements to prescription drugs. The conversation also covers insurer efforts to reduce prior auth volume, the promise of AI and prior authorization, and what increased transparency could reveal a...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Jessica Bylander back to the pod to explore the White House’s proposed FY 2027 HHS budget, outlining major cuts to health agencies and research programs and the emphasized investment on the Make America Healthy Again initiative. Related Links: Celebrating Big Wins of the Trump Administration ( HHS ) President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss recent health policy developments, including a Supreme Court ruling on conversion therapy, renewed Democratic interest in Affordable Care Act reform, and key findings from MedPAC’s latest Medicare payment report. On April 20th , join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the ev...

On an emergency pod episode, 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 stability and long-term program sustainability. On April 20th , join us for our upcomin...

Health Affairs Publishing 's Jeff Byers welcomes Jeanne Lambrew of The Century Foundation to discuss her recent Forefront article exploring whether high deductibles and health spending accounts achieve their intended goals and how alternative approaches could improve healthcare affordability and access. On April 20th , join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Halle Tecco , investor, founder of Rock Health and professor at Columbia Business School , to the pod to discuss her new book, Massively Better Healthcare: The Innovator's Guide to Tackling Healthcare's Biggest Challenges . Their conversation explores why consumers are becoming a powerful force in healthcare, how innovation happens within complex systems, and w...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Ben Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute to the pod to discuss the growing debate over Medicare Advantage (MA) payments and coding intensity. They break down why MA plans typically receive higher federal payments than traditional Medicare, how diagnostic upcoding factors into that gap, and what a new study in Health Affairs Scholar reveals about policy...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Leslie Erdelack back to the pod to break down recent turbulence at the FDA following the departure of Vinay Prasad, whose decisions around rare‑disease gene therapies courted controversy. They explore the fast‑growing rare disease therapeutics market, why traditional clinical trials often don’t work for ultra‑rare genetic conditions, and the new F...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Margaret Winchester  to the pod to discuss Trump's recent State of the Union Address and unpacking its health care and health policy talking points, including most-favored nation drug pricing, health savings accounts, and if there's a path toward codification for either. On March 24th , join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes Christina Farr , CEO and editor-in-chief of Second Opinion Media , back to the pod to discuss her book, The Storyteller's Advantage: How Powerful Narratives Make Businesses Thrive . The conversation explores the value of storytelling in the health care and health policy space, how to invest in posting, the catch 22 of "spicy takes," recommendations for the relu...

Health Affairs’ Jeff Byers welcomes Georgetown University’s Katie Keith  back to the podcast to break down the newly proposed HHS rule that could bring major changes to the ACA beginning in 2027 . They discuss the proposal’s biggest shifts, including a major push toward expanding catastrophic plans , new marketplace eligibility restrictions tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and potential imp...

Health Affairs ' Jeff Byers welcomes dietitian Jenny Lo from Wellness and Sports Dietetics to discuss the recently revised dietary guidelines for Americans. They discuss what's changed, the emphasis on protein, the ambiguity over ultraprocessed foods, and the best advice she gives to new clients looking to make dietary changes. Related Articles: Panel behind new dietary guidelines had financial ti...