Tradeoffs

The pandemic pushed Medicare to start paying for “hospital-at-home” care for the first time, launching the largest test ever of home-based hospital care. This week, we look at what we’ve learned from the hospital-at-home explosion and questions about home-based care remain unanswered. Guests:  Bruce Leff , MD, Director, The Center for Transformative Geriatric Research, Johns Hopkins David and...

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...

Less than a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some states are rethinking their abortion bans. This week, reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein introduces us to a Republican lawmaker pushing to add exceptions to the ban he helped pass, and we consider how well exceptions work - or don't - in practice.  Guests: Alice Miranda Ollstein , Health Care Reporter, Politico State Sen. Rich...

Meet the man behind our revamped research newsletter bringing you the latest health policy studies, original analysis, interviews with leading researchers and more every Tuesday. Subscribe at tradeoffs.org/research Guest: Soleil Shah, Research Reporter, Tradeoffs Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news. Support this type of j...

Later this year the Supreme Court is set to decide whether to close a legal pathway that Medicaid recipients have used for more than 50 years. This week, we talk with Farah Yousry about the potential consequences of this decision. Guests: Farah Yousry, Health Equity Reporter, Side Effects Public Media Susie Talevski, patient Chris Schandevel , Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom Jane Perkin...

People leaving jail and prison are at extremely high risk of hospitalization and death. This week , why policymakers from deep blue California to solidly red Utah think bringing Medicaid behind bars could help. Guests: Lee Reed Shira Shavit , MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco; Executive Director, Transitions Clinic Network Jacey Cooper , Directo...

Medicare’s historic plan to slow prescription drug spending is taking shape. Last Thursday federal health officials began detailing how one of two major drug price reforms contained in the Inflation Reduction Act will work and who it will affect.  This week, we talk with Medicare director Meena Seshamani about the “opportunity of a lifetime” to put these unprecedented policies into action. Gu...

One year of health insurance premiums for a family of four now costs as much as a car. Nine states are trying to lower those costs in an aggressive way - by holding hospitals and insurance companies accountable for high spending. In this episode we look to see if any of those efforts have bent the cost curve. Guests:  Leemore Dafny, PhD, Harvard University economist Michael Bailit , MBA Presi...

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...