Tradeoffs

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 AssociationTavril Saint Jean, Senior Research Associate, American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationJanet McNichol, Chief Human Resources Officer, American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationEvan Reid, Senior Director of Analytics, American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationJulia Reilly-Edwards, Data Scientist, American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLearn 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.

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 authorLearn 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.

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, jails, and homelessness. Now, after treatment at the state's largest psychiatric hospital, Adam was just released back onto the streets of downtown Seattle. A mother asks: How could her son pass through so many institutions and none are able to stop his decline?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.

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 Economics and Public Policy, University of Southern California Lauren Neves, JD, Deputy Vice President, PhRMASteve Pearson, MD, MSc, Founder and President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)Ben Rome, MD, MPH, physician and researcher, Harvard Medical SchoolMeena Seshamani, MD, PhD, Deputy Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesLeslie 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.

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 HospitalLearn 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.

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 DepartmentSammetta Cutler, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Community Safety DepartmentSarah Hall, Durham residentDavid Prater, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Community Safety DepartmentJohn Warasila, Real estate developer and architect, Alliance ArchitectureBo Ferguson, Deputy City Manager, DurhamPatrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police DepartmentChristie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall ProjectAllison Casey, EMT, Durham Community Safety DepartmentEMS, 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 generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country.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.

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 SafetyRyan Smith, Director, Durham Department of Community SafetyYolanda, Durham residentSgt. Dan Leeder, Durham Police DepartmentPatrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police DepartmentChristie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall ProjectEMS, 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 generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country.The Marshall Project's Christie Thompson reports on the state of alternative crisis response across the country.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.

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 DepartmentRyan Smith, Director, Durham Department of Community SafetySgt. Dan Leeder, Durham Police DepartmentAbena Bediako, Clinical Manager, Durham Department of Community SafetyChristie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall ProjectEMS, 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 generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country.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.

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 generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Join Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project for our new series The Fifth Branch as we examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country. Episodes drop July 18, July 25 and August 1.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.