Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius shares what the country’s top health official can and can’t do, and what she wants senators to consider ahead of RFK’s confirmation hearings. Guest: Kathleen Sebelius, Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Learn 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...

Twenty-six states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in December about Tennessee's ban. We take a closer look at gender-affirming care and the legal arguments that could influence how accessible that care is. Meredithe McNamara, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine Katie Eyer, JD, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School James Blumstein, LLB, University Distinguished Professor of Constitutional...

It’s Medicare open enrollment season, and in this episode first aired in 2021, we explain why shopping for a new plan is often tougher than it seems. Guests: Lilyan Grossman, Medicare beneficiary Tricia Neuman, ScD, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Program on Medicare Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation Amal Trivedi, MD, Professor of Medicine and Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University Learn more and read a full transcript on our website. Want more Tradeoffs?...

One of the nation’s leading experts on the Affordable Care Act breaks down its track record and weighs in on the stakes the historic health care law faces in the lead-up to the election. Guest: Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy, KFF Learn 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....

The next U.S. president will have to make consequential choices about the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug prices and abortion. We compare the positions of candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on these major health policy issues. (NOTE: This episode has been updated to clarify the number of people who would lose health coverage if Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies expired.) Guests: Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute Ederlina Co, JD, Associate...

Journalist Paula Span, who writes The New Old Age column for the New York Times, shares what she’s learned about how to age well. Guest: Paula Span, reporter and The New Old Age columnist for the New York Times Learn 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.

U.S. companies spend more than $1 trillion annually on health care for their employees. To get this budget-busting figure under control, some companies are experimenting with cutting out insurers, and investing in primary care clinics at the office.  Guests: Amy Cooper, NP, Vera Whole Health Bob Galvin, MD, former Chief Medical Officer, General Electric and Board Chairman, Catalyst for Payment Reform Dan Mendelson, CEO, Morgan Health Ann O’Malley, MD, MPH, Senior Fellow, Mathematica Matt...

For decades, the most effective treatment for addiction to methamphetamine or cocaine has been mired in stigma and mostly limited to small research studies. But with deaths involving meth and cocaine on the rise, policymakers across the country are turning to gift cards to fight drug use. This story has been updated to clarify the research on long-term effects of contingency management and the eligibility requirements to deliver contingency management through CalAIM. Credits: Stephen Higgins,...

Many potent new medicines pose a host of challenges for drug companies trying to copy and sell similar versions on the cheap. Can those companies find a sustainable path forward, or will patients get left stuck paying exorbitant prices? Guests: Christine Baeder, MBA, President, Apotex USA Alfred Engelberg, JD, retired attorney and former counsel to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association Jeremy Greene, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins...

America pays less, on average, than any other major country for our generic drugs. But selling essential drugs at such low prices comes with hidden costs — from quality problems to frequent shortages. This is the second episode of Race to the Bottom, a three-part series by Tradeoffs on the problems plaguing the generic drugs we all rely on — and how we could fix them. Guests: Christine Baeder, MBA, President, Apotex USA Laura Bray, MBA, Founder, Angels for Change Craig Burton, Senior Vice...

Generic drugs are, in many ways, the unsung hero of America’s health care system, bringing powerful medical innovations within the reach of millions more people. These cheaper copies of brand-name drugs — from pills that stop heart attacks to antibiotics that cure life-threatening infections — save America hundreds of billions of dollars a year. But will affordable, high-quality generic drugs continue to be there when we need them? Some players are abandoning this business while others slash...

One organization turns to a game to get employees to debate and decide together what health care they most value.  Guests: Paul Fronstin, Ph.D., Director, Health Benefits Research, Employee Benefits Research Institute  Jeanette Janota, Senior Research Associate, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Tavril Saint Jean, Senior Research Associate, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Janet McNichol, Chief Human Resources Officer, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Evan...

A handful of states allow terminally ill people to take life-ending medications prescribed by a doctor instead of waiting for death. This week, we talk with journalist Steven Petrow about his sister’s choice to use medical aid in dying. Guest: Steven Petrow, Journalist and author Learn 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...

In The Fifth Branch, Tradeoffs explored new ways to respond to people in a mental health crisis, this week we have look at another area of the mental health crisis the country is grappling with. 'Lost Patients', a new podcast from KUOW and The Seattle Times, dives into why so many people with mental illness live on the streets, and lack long-term care. Heidi Aurand has watched her son Adam spiral from one psychiatric crisis to the next for about eight years, bouncing between emergency rooms,...

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 revisit our 2023 episode explaining how this negotiation process works and the impact it could have. Guests: Anton Avanceña, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Outcomes, University of Texas  Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, Professor of Pharmaceutical...

Companies claim they can catch cancer sooner with new blood tests and full-body MRI scans. What are the risks and benefits? Guest: Ishani Ganguli, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; primary care physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital Learn 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...

Alternative response teams are being asked to tackle vexing problems: mental illness, homelessness, addiction. How much can they actually do? We explore how Durham grapples with connecting people to long-term care and support, and where the city draws the line between crisis response and social services. Guests: Ryan Smith, Director, Durham Community Safety Department Sammetta Cutler, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Community Safety Department Sarah Hall, Durham resident David Prater, Peer...

How do you keep everyone safe? We look at HEART’s impact on the safety of Durham residents in crisis, the mental health workers responding, and the police. Guests: David Prater, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Department of Community Safety Ryan Smith, Director, Durham Department of Community Safety Yolanda, Durham resident Sgt. Dan Leeder, Durham Police Department Patrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police Department Christie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall Project EMS, Fire, Police...

How do you convince police officers that it makes sense to send unarmed mental health workers to some 911 calls? Guests: Patrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police Department Ryan Smith, Director, Durham Department of Community Safety Sgt. Dan Leeder, Durham Police Department Abena Bediako, Clinical Manager, Durham Department of Community Safety Christie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall Project EMS, Fire, Police and the 911 Call Center make up the existing four branches of the public...

EMS, Fire, Police and the 911 Call Center make up the existing four branches of the public safety system. A special series from Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project explores how a city radically changes its response to people in crisis, by creating a fifth branch.  Nearly half of the country’s 50 largest cities - including San Francisco, New York, Houston, Chicago - have launched programs to send unarmed responders to 911 calls historically handled by cops. In the process creating a new...

In this special bonus episode, we break down the Supreme Court’s recent abortion rulings with help from health reporter Shefali Luthra. Guest: Shefali Luthra, Health Reporter, The 19th Learn 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.

Medicare is betting that taking care of the caregiver will help dementia patients stay at home longer. Patients and their caregivers are often left to navigate the confusing world of dementia by themselves, but Medicare is launching a new program to change that. Guests: Malaz Boustani, MD, PhD, Founding Director, Sandra Eskenazi Center for Brain Care Innovation; Professor of Aging Research, Indiana University School of Medicine  Rosanne Corcoran, Caregiver  Liz Fowler, PhD, JD, Director of...

One out of every four Medicare patients in the hospital is the victim of a medical error. Over the past 20 years, a growing number of hospitals have adopted practices that discuss medical mistakes and offer support to the people who must cope with the often tragic consequences. We examine why experts are calling on the Biden Administration to make patient safety a national priority.    Guests: Jack Gentry, patient  Naomi Kirtner and Jeff Goldenberg, patient’s family and Founders of Talia’s...

Employers are facing a big dilemma: how do they pay for the new highly effective and popular obesity medications without breaking the bank? This week, the questions are forcing companies to re-examine their attitudes on obesity as the understanding of the disease deepens. Guests: Sean Scanlon, Connecticut Comptroller Jeff Levin-Scherz, WTW population health leader Mike Thompson, President of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions Olivia Quagliani, Patient Learn more and read...