Tradeoffs

As adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities strive to live more freely and fully than ever before, many of America’s doctors, hospitals and insurers are getting in the way. We get an inside look at one doctor’s quest to improve health care for people with conditions like Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.Guests:Alison Barkoff, JD, Administration for Community Living, HHSKevin CarlsonClarissa Kripke, MD, Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Director of the Office of Developmental Primary Care; University of California, San FranciscoMarjorie Ongpauco, BSN, RN, Nursing ConsultantHarold Pollack, PhD, Professor of Social Work, Policy and Practice; University of ChicagoDonna Valencia, BSN, RN, MSN, Administrator, Group Home AdministratorLeslie Walker, Senior Producer/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.

New research sheds light on how many hospitals are using artificial intelligence, what they’re using AI for, and what it means for patients and policymakers.Guest:Paige Nong, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota School of Public HealthLearn 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.

Worrying about deportation can literally make people sick. Health care providers are scrambling to cut through their undocumented patients’ panic about President Trump’s new immigration policies.Guests:MariaSteph Willding, CEO, CommunityHealthEmily Hendel, Director of Clinical Services, CommunityHealthSamantha Artiga, Vice President and Director for Racial Equity Health Policy Program, KFFLearn 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.

The Trump administration’s swift and sweeping efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is creating chaos across global public health efforts. One doctor working to halt an Ebola outbreak in Uganda reflects on consequences, now and long-term, of America’s abrupt change in policy.Guest:Dr. James Lawler, Director of International Programs and Innovation, Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical CenterLearn 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 fight to improve Americans’ nutrition could get new momentum from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he will face practical and political limits to changing U.S. food supply if he’s confirmed to lead the Health and Human Services Department.Guests:Laura Schmidt, professor at the University of California at San Francisco Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies; Department of Humanities and Social Sciences; and School of Medicine. Susan Mayne, former director of the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 2015-2023; Yale University adjunct professor of epidemiology.Christina Roberto, director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at the University of PennsylvaniaLearn more and read a full transcript on our NEW 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.

If the Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a vaccine skeptic — to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he would control a powerful group of federal vaccine advisors.Guests:Ron Balajadia, Hawaii Department of Health immunization branch chiefDorit Reiss, University of California, San Francisco, professor of public health law Dr. Sarah Long, former member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and Drexel University, professor of pediatric infectious diseaseDr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.Richard Hughes IV, attorney with Epstein Becker Green Per Fischer, CEO, MinervaXLearn 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.

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.Read our new story about an obscure but extremely influential vaccine committee that Kennedy, if confirmed. would control.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.

Many Republicans have singled out Medicaid as a policy that could see big changes under the new administration and Congress. We take a closer look at why many conservatives think less Medicaid will mean better Medicaid.Guests:Josh Archambault, Senior Fellow, Cicero InstituteBrian Blase, President, Paragon Health InstituteMichael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato InstituteElizabeth Matney, Iowa Medicaid Director (2021-2024)Barbara Sears Roshon, Ohio Medicaid Director (2016-2019)Tom Scully, CMS Administrator (2001-2004)Learn 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.

With Medicaid poised for potential cuts from Republicans in Washington, Dan Tsai reflects on what he's learned running Medicaid for the Biden administration — and his hopes and concerns for the program's future.Guest:Dan Tsai, Deputy Administrator and Director of Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, CMSLearn 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.