Tradeoffs

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There’s growing excitement that artificial intelligence can make health care better by speeding up care, improving diagnoses and easing the burden on a burned out workforce. But there are also concerns that these powerful new tools will perpetuate biases and inequities long baked into our health care system.In Part 2 of our special series on racial bias in health care AI, we dig into what the Biden administration is doing to keep biased algorithms from getting to the bedside.Guests:Emily Sterrett, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Improvement Science, Duke University School of Medicine Department of PediatricsMark Sendak, MD, MPP, Population Health & Data Science Lead, Duke Institute for Health InnovationMinerva Tantoco, Chief AI Officer, New York University McSilver Institute for Poverty, Policy and ResearchCarmel Shachar, JD, MPH, Executive Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law SchoolKathryn Marchesini, JD, Chief Privacy Officer, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information TechnologyMelanie Fontes Rainer, JD, Director, HHS Office for Civil RightsLearn 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.

There’s growing excitement that artificial intelligence can make health care better by speeding up care, improving diagnoses and easing the burden on a burned out workforce. But there are also concerns that these powerful new tools will perpetuate biases and inequities long baked into our health care system.In the first of two back-to-back episodes on racial bias in health care AI, we explore the challenge of diagnosing bias in AI and what one health system is trying to do about it.Guests:Emily Sterrett, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Improvement Science, Duke University School of Medicine Department of PediatricsMark Sendak, MD, MPP, Population Health & Data Science Lead, Duke Institute for Health InnovationGanga Moorthy, MD, Global Health Fellow, Duke Pediatric Infectious Disease ProgramPaige Nong, PhD Candidate, University of Michigan School of Public HealthLearn 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.

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 life and in death.Guests:Deborah Brunson, PhD, Caregiver and Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina WilmingtonKaren Bullock, PhD, LCSW, Professor, Boston College School of Social WorkLearn 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.