Tradeoffs

Facing mounting financial pressures, insurance companies are changing the prescription drug coverage available to many consumers in Medicare Part D.Guests:Stacie Dusetzina, Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt UniversitySteven Hadfield, Medicare beneficiaryMark Newsom, Managing Director, Avalere HealthErin Trish, Co-Director, USC Schaeffer CenterCindy Trish, Medicare beneficiaryLeslie Walker, Senior Reporter, 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.

Higher premiums and penalties have made shopping for Obamacare plans more confusing this year. Federal funding cuts have left consumers in many states with fewer guides to help them navigate their options. “I don’t want people to just feel ghosted,” a West Virginia navigator told Tradeoffs.Guest:Jeremy Smith, director, West Virginia navigator program, First Choice Services.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.

Physician and New Yorker writer Dhruv Khullar says artificial intelligence is a powerful tool to get quicker and more accurate diagnoses. But it can also be dangerous.Guest:Dhruv Khullar, Physician, Weill Cornell Medical College; Contributing Writer, The New YorkerLearn 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.

Facing unprecedented pressure from the Trump administration, some of the world’s top drugmakers promise to cut prices. But experts say the savings might not be what they seem.Guests:Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato InstituteStacie Dusetzina, Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt UniversityDarius Lakdawalla, Chief Scientific Officer, USC Schaeffer CenterPete Loftus, Reporter, Wall Street JournalBen Rome, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical SchoolLeslie Walker, Senior Reporter, 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.

What happens if President Trump cuts billions from research on how to make our health care system work better?Guest(s):Aaron Carroll, President and CEO, Academy HealthStuart Buck, Executive Director, Good Science ProjectLearn more 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 been 90 days since Congress passed Trump’s megabill slashing health care spending and reshaping the Medicaid program. States are already knee-deep in dealing with the fallout.Guests:Hemi Tewarson, Executive Director, National Academy for State Health PolicyLeslie Walker, Senior Producer, TradeoffsLearn more 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.

Excerpts of a live conversation with two top health economists about how extra federal support has helped millions of Americans access health insurance, and what would happen if that aid went away.Guests:Katherine Baicker, Provost and Emmett Dedmon Distinguished Service Professor, University of ChicagoJonathan Gruber, Ford Professor of Economics, MIT Learn more on our website, and watch the full conversation on Penn LDI's YouTube page.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.

Every year, millions of people’s medical care runs into the roadblock known as prior authorization, which requires an insurer to sign off before chemotherapy, surgery or countless other services can proceed. Who does this often onerous process help, who does it hurt and how could it work better for everyone?Guests:Tom Roberts, Oncologist, Mass General Cancer CenterAaron Schwartz, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Department of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaKathleen, CaregiverLearn more 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.