Tradeoffs

After Medicare’s decision to restrict coverage of the controversial new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, we look at how this one drug has forced the nation to reexamine how to balance the needs of desperate patients, incomplete evidence and larger economic realities.Guests:Phil Gutis, Alzheimer’s patient and advocateHolly Fernandez Lynch, JD, MBe, John Russell Dickson, MD Presidential Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, University of PennsylvaniaHave a look at some additional resources and a full transcript.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift.Follow us on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An immunosuppressed physician explains what navigating her life – and her workplace – is like in this COVID-fatigued world.Guest:Lindsay Ryan, MD, San Francisco VA Medical CenterHave a look at some additional resources and a full transcript.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift.Follow us on Twitter.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America’s largest health insurance companies moonlight as obscure middlemen, managing billions in health care spending for many of the country’s biggest employers. What could go wrong?Join us for a wild, wonky journey into the world of third-party administrators.Guests:Christin Deacon, JD, Senior Vice President, 4C Health Solutions; former Assistant Director, Division of Pension & Benefits, New Jersey Department of TreasuryBrian Hufford, JD, Partner, Zuckerman Spaeder LLPKen Janda, JD, Founder, Wild Blue Health Solutions; Adjunct Professor, University of Houston College of Medicine Sandy Peters, retireeHave a look at more of Leslie's reporting on TPAs.Support this type of journalism today, with a gift: https://tradeoffs.org/donateFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tradeoffspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. health care system is responsible for 8.5% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. We discuss how health care contributes to climate change, how some hospitals are trying to reduce their carbon footprint and what more needs to be done.NOTE: This episode has been updated to clarify Practice Greenhealth's operating model.Guest:Gary Cohen, co-founder and president of Health Care Without HarmRead a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore the impacts of charging Medicaid enrollees premiums and how phasing out premiums may affect Montana's Medicaid expansion program.Guests:Katharine Bradley, Principal Researcher, MathematicaHeather O'Loughlin, Co-Director, Montana Budget & Policy CenterEd Buttrey, State Representative, MontanaRead a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jails and prisons are one of the few places in the United States where health care is a right. But for many incarcerated people, that care often falls short. This is the story one of those people: Princola Shields.This episode was originally produced for the podcast Sick, a production of Side Effects Public Media.Read a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We explore “cascades of care” — how a clinician's desire to be thorough can snowball into a harmful spiral of unnecessary care.Guests:Meredith Niess, MD, MPH, Clinical Academic Resource Director, University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Novant HealthIshani Ganguli, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s HospitalCheryl Damberg, PhD, MPH, Principal Senior Economist and Director, RAND Center of Excellence on Health System PerformanceScott Weingarten, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Chief Innovation Officer, SCAN Health PlanRead a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Peter Lee prepares to step down after a decade of running California's Obamacare exchange, he reflects on his experience, the strengths and weaknesses of the Affordable Care Act, and what the next frontier for health care should be in the U.S.Guest:Peter Lee, Executive Director, Covered CaliforniaRead a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every 5 years, the FDA has to renegotiate billions of dollars in user fees with the drug and medical device companies it regulates. This is one of those years, and Congress has to pass the latest user fee agreements by the end of September to keep FDA running. We break down this controversial process and what other health policies could pass in its wake.Guest:Sarah Karlin-Smith, Senior Writer, Pink SheetRead a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, a pharmacist and co-owner of an independent pharmacy in Iowa shares what life is like nearly two years into the pandemic.Guest:Kelly Kent, RPh, PharmD, pharmacist and chief operating officer, Towncrest Pharmacy.Read a full transcript and dig deeper into the issues explored in today's episode on our website.Support this type of journalism today by making a donation.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff.Follow us on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.