A Health Podyssey

Michael T. Osterholm, renowned infectious disease epidemiologist and director of CIDRAP, discusses critical public health challenges in today’s politicized landscape. He delves into the Vaccine Integrity Project, highlighting the importance of trustworthy vaccine oversight. Osterholm addresses the need for improved communication strategies to combat misinformation and emphasizes the structural weaknesses unveiled during the COVID-19 pandemic. He advocates for urgent reforms in health agencies and the cultivation of new public health talent to prepare for future pandemics.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.In this episode, Rob Lott interviews Jennifer Kao of the UCLA Anderson School of Management in front of a live audience about her paper in the October 2025 issue of Health Affairs exploring the impact of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies on generic approvals of US pharmaceutical products.Order the October 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Matthew Maughan of Brown University about his paper exploring how commercial insurers paid more for procedures at hospital outpatient departments as compared to ambulatory surgical centers. Order the October 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Alexander Soltoff of Emory University about his recent paper exploring how private equity-owned hospices reported higher profits and lower patient care spending when compared to other ownership models.Order the October 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Tris Dyson, Founder of Challenge Works on his efforts in cultivating challenge prizes as an opportunity to nurture innovation in science and health care, the newly launched Longitude Prize on ALS, the transformation of drug discovery, and more.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Stephen Crystal of Rutgers University about his recent paper exploring how states with substantial increases in buprenorphine uptake as an opioid use disorder treatment response grew alongside increased Medicaid prescribing from 2018–24.Order the September 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Elizabeth Van Nostrand of Temple University about her recent paper exploring how Indiana adults participating in treatment court program tended to have better health outcomes than individuals who applied and were accepted but chose not to participate.Order the September 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Aimee Moulin of the University of California Davis about her recent paper exploring a model for low-barrier treatment of opioid use disorder that could increase emergency department patient navigation and Buprenorphine use.Order the September 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health, to discuss addiction as a brain disorder, treatments for opioid use disorder, and what’s next in addiction research. Order the September 2025 issue of Health Affairs, which focuses on insights on the opioid crisis.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.

Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Brendan Saloner of Brown University about his recent paper exploring how scaling up opioid treatment and harm reduction programs could reach more people. Order the September 2025 issue of Health Affairs.Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast Subscribe to UnitedHealthcare's Community & State newsletter.