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Tradeoffs

Latest episodes

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Aug 10, 2023 • 20min

States’ Uphill Battle to Stop Runaway Health Care Costs

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 economistMichael Bailit, MBA President and Founder Bailit HealthDavid Seltz, Executive Director Massachusetts Health Policy CommissionAmy Rosenthal, MPH, MPA Executive Director Health Care For AllLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Aug 3, 2023 • 23min

One Doctor’s Crusade to Improve Health Literacy

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 to buy in.Guests:Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA, Founder and CEO, Grapevine HealthKeith Maccannon, Director of Marketing, Outreach and Community Relations, AmeriHealth Caritas District of ColumbiaYvonne Smith, Grapevine ClientKaren Dale, RN, MSN, Market President, AmeriHealth Caritas District of ColumbiaLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 27, 2023 • 26min

What to Expect When Medicare and Pharma Finally Negotiate Drug Prices

The Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare historic new power to directly negotiate the prices of some of the costliest prescription drugs. Now the federal agency must grapple with a difficult question: What makes a drug price fair?This week, we explain how this negotiation process will work and the impact it could have.Guests:Anton Avanceña, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Outcomes, University of Texas Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutical Economics and Public Policy, University of Southern California Lauren Neves, JD, Deputy Vice President, PhRMASteve Pearson, MD, MSc, Founder and President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)Ben Rome, MD, MPH, physician and researcher, Harvard Medical SchoolMeena Seshamani, MD, PhD, Deputy Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesLeslie Walker, Senior Producer/Reporter, TradeoffsLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 20, 2023 • 19min

What White House COVID Coordinator Ashish Jha Learned on the Job

Ashish Jha shifted from the role of academic theorizing about health policy into a calm, reassuring voice leading the White House’s COVID response. Now, he’s back in the world of studies and scholarship leading Brown University's School of Public Health. This week, what he learned from his time in Washington.Guest:Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and former White House COVID-19 Response CoordinatorLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 13, 2023 • 27min

Progress and Pain Points in National Crisis Line's First Year

It’s been one year since 988, the country’s new mental health crisis line, went live with hopes of transforming crisis services in America. So far, call volumes are up, wait times are down, and reviews are mixed.This week, we check in on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next for 988.Content warning: This episode includes mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.Guests:NaomiMonica Johnson, Director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office, SAMHSAShawn Kinney, 988 Crisis Counselor, First Choice ServicesDeborah Turner, Director of Crisis and Referral Services, Goodwill of the Finger LakesHannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness Tia Dole, PhD, Chief 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Officer, Vibrant Emotional HealthKellan Baker, PhD, Executive Director, Whitman-Walker InstituteLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jul 6, 2023 • 25min

One Economist’s Plan to Blow Up America’s Health Insurance System

Economist Amy Finkelstein has studied America’s patchwork of health insurance policies for more than 20 years. In a forthcoming book she concludes it’s time tear the whole system down.This week, Dan talks with Amy about how she came to that conclusion and what a better system could look like. Guest:Amy Finkelstein, PhD, Professor of Economics, MITLearn 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 today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jun 29, 2023 • 26min

1.5 Million People Have Lost Medicaid. How Worried Should We Be?

More than 1.5 million people have lost Medicaid coverage since April 1 as states start purging people from the rolls for the first time in three years.This week, we check in on the “Medicaid unwinding” with a leading researcher, and get an up- close look at what it’s like to fall through the unwinding cracks.Guests:Adrianna McIntyre, PhD, MPP, MPH, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Politics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthFarah Yousry, Managing Editor, Side Effects Public MediaBobby Summers, Medicaid recipientKathryn Bamberger, Outreach & Enrollment Coordinator, Southeast Healthcare ServicesJoel Potts, Executive Director, Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ AssociationCindy Gauder, Caseworker, Greene County Department of Jobs and Family ServicesLearn more and read a full transcript on our website.We want to hear what you think about our humble podcast, take 5-10 minutes to fill out our listener survey.Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jun 22, 2023 • 17min

‘No Place Else To Go’: Inside a Former Abortion Clinic

One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 15 states have effectively banned abortion. Dozens of clinics in those states have shut their doors or moved to states where abortion is still legal.This week, Politico’s Alice Miranda Ollstein takes us to an Alabama clinic that stayed put. She wanted to learn what happens when an abortion clinic can no longer provide abortions.Guest:Alice Miranda Ollstein, Health Care Reporter, PoliticoLearn more and read a full transcript on our website.We want to hear what you think about our humble podcast, take 5-10 minutes to fill out our listener survey.Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift.Follow us on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jun 15, 2023 • 27min

The Meteoric Rise of Private Medicare Advantage Insurance

Medicare is in the midst of a pretty dramatic transformation. Before long, two out of every three enrollees will likely have a private Medicare Advantage plan.   This week, we look at what’s gained and what’s lost when private insurers manage so much of the nation’s Medicare program — and where we go from here.Guests:Carol Berman, Medicare Advantage enrolleeRick Gilfillan, MD, MBA, independent consultant, former hospital and insurance executive and former Medicare officialMichael McWilliams, MD, PhD, Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's HospitalLearn more and read a full transcript on our website.We want to hear what you think about our humble podcast, take 5-10 minutes to fill out our listener survey.Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter featuring the latest health policy research and news.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift.Follow us on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jun 8, 2023 • 19min

What Gas Stoves, Minimum Wage Laws and the Military Teach Us About Health Policy

Next week many of the country’s health economists will gather in St. Louis to share new research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Health Economists. This week health economist Sayeh Nikpay gives us a sneak peek at some of the most exciting papers coming out of this conference.Guest:Sayeh Nikpay, PhD, MPH, Tradeoffs Senior Research Advisor; Associate Professor, University of Minnesota School of Public HealthLinks to more info on the studies mentioned in today's episode:Thomas Thivillion on gas cooking subsidiesMark Meiselbach and Jean Abraham on minimum wage lawsManasvini Singh and Stephen Schwab on how power shapes patient care in the military careLearn 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 today, with a gift.Follow us on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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