Tradeoffs

Employers are clashing with hospitals, insurers and even their own workers over high health care prices. We meet some of the businesses, unions and advocates on the frontlines of this battle that could determine the fate of employer-based insurance.Listener warning: This episode does contain sensitive languageGuests:Marilyn Bartlett, CPA, CMA, CFM, Senior Policy Fellow, National Academy for State Health Policy, and former administrator of Montana state employee health planMike Chernew, PhD, Leonard D. Schaeffer Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical SchoolWill Haynes, 32BJ union memberElizabeth Mitchell, CEO, Purchaser Business Group on HealthSara Rothstein, Director, 32BJ Health FundGloria Sachdev, PharmD, President and CEO, Employers’ Forum of IndianaRep. Donna Schaibley, Indiana House of RepresentativesCandace Shaffer, Senior Director of Benefits, Purdue UniversityBob Smith, MBA, Executive Director, Colorado Business Group on HealthYou can find more of our research online: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/02/18/the-high-price-of-lowering-health-costsSign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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 full of wasteful spending. A group of top health economists say a bunch of small changes could save the country big money.Guests:Zack Cooper, PhD, Associate Professor of Public Health and of Economics, Yale UniversityMario Macis, PhD, Professor of Economics, Johns Hopkins Carey Business SchoolFiona Scott Morton, PhD, Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics, Yale UniversityNeale Mahoney, PhD, Professor of Economics, Stanford UniversityElizabeth Fowler, JD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Programs, Commonwealth FundLearn more about the 1% Project and read a full transcript of this episode on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/02/11/fixing-health-cares-leaky-pipes-could-save-340-billion/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

Doctors and nurses can feel as if they’re living in two worlds. One in which patients are getting sick and dying from the coronavirus, and another in which people deny the virus is real. Emergency room physician Mike Hunihan describes what it’s like to live and work with that dissonance.Guest:Michael Hunihan, M.D.View a full transcript of this episode: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/02/04/death-disease-and-denial-combating-covid-in-the-er/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

Who is Xavier Becerra? We explore Becerra's health policy record, what drives his views and what he could do about the country's health care consolidation problem.Guests:Peter Lee, JD, Executive Director, Covered CaliforniaRichard Scheffler, PhD, Director, Nicholas C. Petris CenterAditi Sen, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthLanhee Chen, PhD, David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover InstitutionLearn more about Xavier Becerra and what HHS can do about consolidation in health care on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/01/28/xavier-becerra-get-to-know-bidens-pick-to-lead-hhs/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

Democrats are returning to the White House and the Senate majority with a long health policy to-do list. Reporter Jonathan Cohn says the battle over Obamacare offers lessons and clues as to where the party’s “unfinished crusade for universal coverage” may head next.Guest: Jonathan Cohn, HuffPost senior national correspondent and author of "The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage"You can find a complete transcript of this conversation on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/01/21/the-ten-year-war-over-obamacare/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tradeoffspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nursing homes have been one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic. So why are so many nursing home workers hesitant to get vaccinated, and what can be done to turn those numbers around?Guests: Tracey Couliboly, Director of Recreation, Jewish Home at RockleighCarol Silver Elliott, CEO, Jewish Home at RockleighJasmine Travers, AGPCNP-BC CCRN, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing, NYU Rory Meyers College of NursingLearn more about vaccine hesitancy in nursing homes and read a transcript of this episode: https://tradeoffs.org/2021/01/14/we-need-you/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

2021 is shaping up to be a big year in health care: a new vaccine, new lawmakers with new policy agendas all over the country. Also on the horizon is a real reckoning with the health effects of racism, and a showdown between some of health care’s biggest players. Tradeoffs is here to take you through the health care year ahead. We’ll explore the policies and programs, and we’ll introduce you to the people whose lives they shape.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tradeoffspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New federal rules requiring hospitals to post their prices are set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2021. But will price transparency lower the cost of health care? [This episode was originally published on July 7, 2020.]Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, Health Care Reporter, New York TimesFor more a complete transcript of Dan’s conversation with Margot: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/07/07/the-price-of-care/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

Soaring numbers of Americans are feeling anxious, stressed and depressed. Could a reimagined approach to primary care help meet their needs? [This episode was originally published on July 28, 2020.]Eboni Winford, PhD, Director of Research and Health Equity, Cherokee Health SystemsParinda Khatri, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer, Cherokee Health SystemsSandy Blount, EdD, Founding Director, Center for Integrated Primary Care, University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolRichard Frank, PhD, Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics, Harvard Medical SchoolRobert, Patient, Cherokee Health SystemsDig deeper into the research and tradeoffs of integrated care on our website: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/07/28/meeting-the-mental-health-need/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterSupport 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.

In a surprise unanimous decision, the Supreme Court pushed back against the power of ERISA, a little known federal law that has stifled states’ attempts to regulate health care for decades. [NOTE: Part of this episode originally aired on Oct. 6]Guest: Erin Fuse Brown, Associate Professor of Law; Director, Center for Law, Health & Society, Georgia State UniversityFor a complete transcript of this conversation and more information on the case and ERISA: https://tradeoffs.org/2020/12/15/surprise-scotus-bucks-erisa/Sign up for our weekly newsletter to see what research health policy experts are reading right now, plus recommendations from our staff: bit.ly/tradeoffsnewsletterIf you value independent nonprofit health care journalism, donate to Tradeoffs. And when you give through the end of 2020, your gift will be doubled: https://tradeoffs.org/donate Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tradeoffspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.