Tradeoffs

People leaving jail and prison are at extremely high risk of hospitalization and death. This week, why policymakers from deep blue California to solidly red Utah think bringing Medicaid behind bars could help.

Guests:

Lee Reed

Shira Shavit, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of California San Francisco; Executive Director, Transitions Clinic Network

Jacey Cooper, Director, California Medicaid Program

Cindy Beane, MSW, LCSW, Commissioner, West Virginia Bureau of Medical Services

Amy Katzen, JD, MPP, Director of Policy and Strategy, Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Mike Levine, Medicaid Director, MassHealth

Dana Flannery, Former Senior Policy Advisor, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System

Khalil Cumberbatch, MSW, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Council on Criminal Justice

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One year of health insurance premiums for a family of four now costs as much as a car. Nine states are trying to lower those costs in an aggressive way - by holding hospitals and insurance companies accountable for high spending. In this episode we look to see if any of those efforts have bent the cost curve.

Guests: 

Leemore Dafny, PhD, Harvard University economist

Michael Bailit, MBA President and Founder Bailit Health

David Seltz, Executive Director Massachusetts Health Policy Commission

Amy Rosenthal, MPH, MPA Executive Director Health Care For All

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Black Americans report higher levels of mistrust in the health care system than white Americans and suffer worse outcomes in everything from maternal mortality to life expectancy. What if improving health literacy and demystifying health information could be the part of the solution?

This week, one doctor’s crusade to help more people understand their own health care and why insurers are starting to buy in.

Guests:

Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD, MPH, MPA, Founder and CEO, Grapevine Health

Keith Maccannon, Director of Marketing, Outreach and Community Relations, AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia

Yvonne Smith, Grapevine Client

Karen Dale, RN, MSN, Market President, AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia

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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 explain how this negotiation process will work 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, PhRMA

Steve Pearson, MD, MSc, Founder and President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)

Ben Rome, MD, MPH, physician and researcher, Harvard Medical School

Meena Seshamani, MD, PhD, Deputy Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Leslie Walker, Senior Producer/Reporter, Tradeoffs

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Ashish Jha shifted from the role of academic theorizing about health policy into a calm, reassuring voice leading the White House’s COVID response. Now, he’s back in the world of studies and scholarship leading Brown University's School of Public Health. This week, what he learned from his time in Washington.

Guest:

Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator

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It’s been one year since 988, the country’s new mental health crisis line, went live with hopes of transforming crisis services in America. So far, call volumes are up, wait times are down, and reviews are mixed.

This week, we check in on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next for 988.

Content warning: This episode includes mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call, text or chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Guests:

Naomi

Monica Johnson, Director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office, SAMHSA

Shawn Kinney, 988 Crisis Counselor, First Choice Services

Deborah Turner, Director of Crisis and Referral Services, Goodwill of the Finger Lakes

Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness 

Tia Dole, PhD, Chief 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Officer, Vibrant Emotional Health

Kellan Baker, PhD, Executive Director, Whitman-Walker Institute

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Economist Amy Finkelstein has studied America’s patchwork of health insurance policies for more than 20 years. In a forthcoming book she concludes it’s time tear the whole system down.

This week, Dan talks with Amy about how she came to that conclusion and what a better system could look like. 

Guest:

Amy Finkelstein, PhD, Professor of Economics, MIT

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More than 1.5 million people have lost Medicaid coverage since April 1 as states start purging people from the rolls for the first time in three years.

This week, we check in on the “Medicaid unwinding” with a leading researcher, and get an up- close look at what it’s like to fall through the unwinding cracks.

Guests:

Adrianna McIntyre, PhD, MPP, MPH, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Politics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Farah Yousry, Managing Editor, Side Effects Public Media

Bobby Summers, Medicaid recipient

Kathryn Bamberger, Outreach & Enrollment Coordinator, Southeast Healthcare Services

Joel Potts, Executive Director, Ohio Job and Family Services Directors’ Association

Cindy Gauder, Caseworker, Greene County Department of Jobs and Family Services

Learn more and read a full transcript on our website.

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One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, 15 states have effectively banned abortion. Dozens of clinics in those states have shut their doors or moved to states where abortion is still legal.

This week, Politico’s Alice Miranda Ollstein takes us to an Alabama clinic that stayed put. She wanted to learn what happens when an abortion clinic can no longer provide abortions.

Guest:

Alice Miranda Ollstein, Health Care Reporter, Politico

Learn more and read a full transcript on our website.

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Medicare is in the midst of a pretty dramatic transformation. Before long, two out of every three enrollees will likely have a private Medicare Advantage plan.  

This week, we look at what’s gained and what’s lost when private insurers manage so much of the nation’s Medicare program — and where we go from here.

Guests:

Carol Berman, Medicare Advantage enrollee

Rick Gilfillan, MD, MBA, independent consultant, former hospital and insurance executive and former Medicare official

Michael McWilliams, MD, PhD, Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Learn more and read a full transcript on our website.

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