Tradeoffs

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 SecretaryLearn 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.

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 MedicineKatie Eyer, JD, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law SchoolJames Blumstein, LLB, University Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Health Law & Policy, Vanderbilt University Law SchoolLearn 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.

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 beneficiaryTricia Neuman, ScD, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Program on Medicare Policy, Kaiser Family FoundationAmal Trivedi, MD, Professor of Medicine and Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown UniversityLearn 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.

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, KFFLearn 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.

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 InstituteEderlina Co, JD, Associate Professor of Law, University of the PacificCynthia Cox, Vice President and Director of Program on the ACA, KFFStacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical CenterBenedic Ippolito, PhD, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise InstituteRyan Levi, Reporter/Producer, TradeoffsLearn 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.

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 TimesLearn 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.

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 HealthBob Galvin, MD, former Chief Medical Officer, General Electric and Board Chairman, Catalyst for Payment ReformDan Mendelson, CEO, Morgan HealthAnn O’Malley, MD, MPH, Senior Fellow, MathematicaMatt Ohrt, Co-founder, Self Fund HealthLee Sagraves, Employee, JPMorganChaseGwen SagravesLearn 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.

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, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of VermontRichard Rawson, PhD, Professor Emeritus, UCLA Department of PsychologyAndrew Dertien, Contingency Management Coordinator, HealthRIGHT 360Bernard GrovesAyesha Appa, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCSF and San Francisco General HospitalTyler Sadwith, Medicaid Director, California Department of Health Care ServicesLearn 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.

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 USAAlfred Engelberg, JD, retired attorney and former counsel to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry AssociationJeremy Greene, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins UniversityCandy Meyer, PatientBhaven Sampat, PhD, Professor, Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in SocietyMarta Wosińska, PhD, Senior Fellow, Brookings InstitutionLeslie Walker, Senior Reporter/Producer, TradeoffsLearn 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.