Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Michael Chernew, professor at Harvard Medical School, back to the pod to discuss the recently released National Health Expenditures Projections for 2025–34 from the Office of the Actuary (OACT) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Related Links:

• National Health Expenditure Projections, 2025–34: Strong Utilization Growth Initially, Legislative Impacts Later (Health Affairs)
• The NHE Projections Through 2034: Growth Assumptions, Policy Consequences (Health Affairs Forefront)

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Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the pod to explore the evolving landscape of Medicaid work requirements. 

They break down who is impacted by these policies, how the requirements are structured across states, and the real-world challenges of implementation. The conversation also explores concerns about administrative burden, potential coverage losses, and what these changes mean for beneficiaries, policymakers, and providers.

Topics covered:

• What Medicaid work requirements are and how they work
• Who qualifies—and who may lose coverage
• State-level variations and policy design
• Administrative complexity and compliance challenges
• Potential impacts on access to care and health outcomes

Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at both the federal and state levels, featuring insights from Katherine Gudiksen, Leemore Dafny, and Nathan Hostert.

Related Links:

• Medical Frailty Rule Contravenes HR 1, Burdens The Health Care System, And Threatens Public Health (Health Affairs Forefront)
• States balk at the high price of Medicaid work requirements amid budget crunch (POLITICO PRO)

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Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News to the pod to discuss the Rural Health Transformation Fund, highlighting how it aims to improve infrastructure and access in rural communities amid ongoing challenges like hospital closures, workforce shortages, and Medicaid cuts.

To learn more about the Rural Health Transformation Fund, join us on June 8 for a free event featuring Kate Sapra and Katherine Ornstein highlighting state initiatives focusing on improving care for older adults.

Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at both the federal and state levels, featuring insights from Katherine Gudiksen, Leemore Dafny, and Nathan Hostert.

Related Links:

• Rural Health Payout Series (KFF Health News)
• Rural America at a Glance (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Federal Budget Cuts Won’t Hit All Hospitals Equally: How States Can Better Analyze Hospital And Health System Financial Data (Health Affairs Forefront)

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THIS SPONSORED PODCAST EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CVS HEALTH.

In this sponsored episode, James Margiotta, Chief Growth Officer at CVS Caremark, joins Health Affairs Publishing's Jessica Bylander to unpack the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), their impact on prescription drug costs, and the value PBMs bring to the health care system.

James has nearly 35 years of experience driving innovation, operational excellence, and enterprise value across the healthcare system. In his current role, James leads the team responsible for partnering with clients to identify their unique needs and bringing forward strategic solutions to meet their objectives.

Throughout his career at CVS Health, James has scaled businesses across CVS Caremark, CVS Accountable Care, Minute Clinic, Aetna, and CVS Pharmacy — each with its own challenges, cultures, and market dynamics.

James and Jessica's conversation explores how PBMs help employers, health plans, governments, and unions manage rising prescription drug costs while balancing affordability, transparency, and member experience. James explains CVS Caremark’s approach to controlling costs, dives into the growing demands for price transparency, and how artificial intelligence may transform pharmacy benefits and member navigation services.

Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Andrew Rundle of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health to the pod to discuss his recent Forefront article about Medicare’s upcoming ACCESS model and its potential to expand digital health for chronic disease management. They discuss why the program could spur rapid growth in health tech while highlighting key challenges, including serving an older population with varying degrees of digital literacy and adapting to a new, evidence-driven marketplace.

Related Links:

• The ACCESS Model May Set Off A Health Tech Gold Rush, But New Markets Bring Serious Obstacles (Health Affairs Forefront)
• A deeper dive into the ACCESS Model—Who’s participating, potential headwinds and how it could spur health plan adoption (Fierce Healthcare)
• ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) Model (CMS)
• ACCESS Model Accepted Applicants (CMS)

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Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our third and final episode for the series in 2026, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the program to discuss the rising economic and social importance of family caregiving, recent federal policy shifts affecting Medicaid and caregiver programs, and new interventions at the state and private‑sector levels.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Related Links:

• Reflections On Caregiving Policy: Progress, Challenges, And Opportunities (Health Affairs Forefront)
• History Repeats? Faced With Medicaid Cuts, States Reduced Support For Older Adults And Disabled People (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Long Term Services and Supports Initiative
• National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers
• Nation Alliance for Caregiving's Caregiver Nation Coalition

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of youth mental health challenges, including suicide and self-harm. Listener discretion is advised.

Health Affairs Publishing’s Kathleen Haddad welcomes Caroline Figueroa of Stanford University to the pod to discuss how teens are using AI chatbots for mental health support and the factors driving that use, including access and stigma. It also discusses emerging concerns and potential approaches to improving safety, design, and oversight of these tools.

Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at both the federal and state levels, featuring insights from Katherine Gudiksen, Leemore Dafny, and Nathan Hostert.

Also, learn more about the upcoming AcademyHealth 2026 Annual Research Meeting from May 30 to June 2 featuring Caroline Figueroa as part of the panel, A Responsible Approach to AI Innovation to Support the Mental Health of Young People.

Related Links:

• Responsible AI for Youth Mental Health (Hopelab)
• Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions (common sense media)
• One in Eight Adolescents and Young Adults Use AI Chatbots for Mental Health Advice (RAND)
• Towards responsible AI for adolescent mental health and well-being
• 2026 CHATBOT LEGISLATION TRACKER

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Welcome to a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. This episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our second episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Bianca Frogner, director of the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Washington to discuss the role of direct care workers in long‑term care, workforce shortages, policy shifts affecting Medicaid, immigration, labor standards, and more.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Georgetown University’s Katie Keith and Deputy Editor Chris Fleming back to the podcast to unpack a new court case over mifepristone that could alter telehealth access to medication abortion and test the boundaries of FDA authority.

Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at both the federal and state levels, featuring insights from Katherine Gudiksen, Leemore Dafny, and Nathan Hostert.

Related Links:

• Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Ruling Barring Telehealth And Pharmacy Access To Mifepristone (Health Affairs Forefront)
• The US Food and Drug Administration’s Regulation of Mifepristone (JAMA)

Sign up for Health Affairs' free newsletter to catch up on our new articles, podcasts, and events.

Welcome to the first episode in a new, limited podcast series exploring major policy changes affecting older adults. The episode is part of our Age-Friendly Health series, which explores topics at the intersection of aging, health, health care, and health policy.

In our first episode, host Katherine Ornstein welcomes Hemi Tewarson of the National Academy for State Health Policy how the The Big Beautiful Bill will impact Medicaid and state health policies affecting older adults. Their conversation explores work requirements, Medicaid financing changes, rural health investments, the sustainability of age‑friendly services, and more.

Support for the Age-Friendly Health series is provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation.