Tradeoffs

In the second episode of our special series on medical debt, we explore lessons from Oregon’s aggressive legislation to push hospitals to prevent patients from falling into medical debt.Guests:Sara R. Collins, Senior Scholar, Commonwealth FundLawrence J. Furnstahl, Former Chief Financial Officer, Oregon Health & Science UniversitySean Kolmer, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Hospital Association of OregonRob Nosse, Oregon House of Representatives​Lisa Reynolds, Oregon SenateAdam Zarrin, Director, State Government Affairs; Blood Cancer UnitedThis episode was reported by Melanie Evans, edited by Dan Gorenstein and Ryan Levi and mixed by Andrew Parrella.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.Special thanks to Joe Amditis, Big Local News, Jason Buxbaum, Fred Cerise, Betsy Cliff, Elizabeth Colvin, Hacks/Hackers, Keith Hearle, Arthur Hong, Jake Kara, Ray Kluender, Luke Messac, Brian Mittendorf, Paige Moody, Dilcia Mercedes, Charles Minshew, Matthew Notowidigdo, Eli Rushbanks, Tatiane Santos, Eva Stahl, Jared Walker and Derek Willis.Tradeoffs reporting for this story was supported, in part, by the California Health Care Foundation, the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation and the Solutions Journalism Network.

Hospitals can automatically wipe out the cost of care for low-income patients. A Tradeoffs analysis finds that hospitals in Texas could be doing more to protect people from unaffordable bills.See the full series at tradeoffs.org/hiddenhelp.Guests:Erin Fuse Brown, professor of health services, policy and practice, director of the health policy and law lab, Brown UniversityAimee Carlock, Grapevine, Texas, resident, patientJill Horwitz, Trobman Innovation professor of law,professor of emergency medicine, Northwestern UniversityNeale Mahoney, professor of economics, Trione Director of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford UniversityDr. Tom Oliverson, Texas RepresentativeAnna Stelter, vice president of policy, Texas Hospital AssociationRebecca Wahl, Houston resident, patientLearn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.This episode was reported by Melanie Evans and Dan Gorenstein, edited by Ryan Levi, and mixed by Andrew Parrella.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Special thanks to Joe Amditis, Big Local News, Jason Buxbaum, Fred Cerise, Elizabeth Colvin, Hacks/Hackers, Keith Hearle, Arthur Hong, Jake Kara, Ray Kluender, Luke Messac, Brian Mittendorf, Paige Moody, Dilcia Mercedes, Charles Minshew, Matthew Notowidigdo, Eva Stahl and Derek Willis.

As millions of Americans are expected to lose health insurance coverage following federal cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, states are searching for new ways to prevent medical debt before it starts.In this episode of Tradeoffs, economist Neale Mahoney explains the research into strategies for relief from high healthcare costs and evaluates policy fixes to protect consumers.Guest:Neale Mahoney, professor of economics, Trione Director of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University.Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.This episode was produced by Melanie Evans, edited by Ryan Levi and Dan Gorenstein, and mixed by Andrew Parrella.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Tradeoffs reporting for this story was supported, in part, by Arnold Ventures.

A live conversation with a bipartisan group of state Medicaid leaders on the impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive anti-fraud push.Guests:Amir Bassiri, Medicaid Director, New York State Department of HealthPaula Chatterjee, Director of Innovation, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of MedicineDrew Gonshorowski, Former Medicaid Director, State of NebraskaKevin Lownds, Division Chief, Medicaid Fraud Division, Massachusetts Attorney General’s OfficeLearn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.This episode was produced by Ryan Levi and mixed by Andrew Parrella.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman.Special thanks to Silvana Dillon, Dave Grande, Julia Hinckley, Hoag Levin and Katie Milholin.

911 calls related to mental health are the most likely to involve police use of force. A new book offers a blueprint for a 911 redesign that could save lives.Guests:Rebecca Neusteter, Executive Director, University of Chicago Health Lab; Author of “911, What’s Your Emergency? The Promise and Peril of Crisis Response”Ed Gonzalez, Sheriff, Harris County, TexasLearn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.This episode was produced by Christine Herman, edited by Ryan Levi and Dan Gorenstein, and mixed by Andrew Parrella and Cedric Wilson.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Tradeoffs reporting for this story was supported, in part, by the Sozosei Foundation.Thanks to all our listeners who help to support our work, including Daniel Woflson, Misha Fotoohi, Susan Carrel, Ellise Verheyen, Harold Pollack and David Asher.

Cash-strapped states and struggling families are wrestling with the consequences of major reforms to the SNAP program passed as part of Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill.Guests:Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy, Cato InstituteChloe East, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Colorado BoulderJoël McClurg, former SNAP compliance officerLeslie Walker, senior reporter, TradeoffsJohn Waxler, SNAP applicantLori Ventura, operations director, Free Senior Health Clinic This episode was reported and produced by Leslie Walker, edited by Ryan Levi and Dan Gorenstein, and mixed by Andrew Parrella.The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.Special thanks to Jossie Barroso, Jack Cardinal, Cindy Huddleston, Acadia Jacob, Joseph Llobrera and Kenny Palmer.Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website.Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today.