Congress banned most surprise medical bills back in 2020, with one major exception: ambulance rides. Most people agree that patients should be shielded from these unexpected charges. But who should pick up the tab instead? As state and federal policymakers grapple with that question, we delve into why finding a fair solution is harder than you’d think.

Guests:

Tara Bannow, Reporter, STAT

Precious Mae Clark, patient

Dia Gainor, Executive Director, National Association of State EMS Officials

Zach Gaumer, Principal, Health Management Associates

James Gelfand, JD President and CEO, ERISA Industry Committee

Bob Herman, Reporter, STAT

Pete Lawrence, Deputy Chief, Oceanside Fire

Butch Oberhoff, President, Texas EMS Alliance

Leslie Walker, Senior Reporter/Producer, Tradeoffs

Matt Zavadsky, At-Large Director, National Association of EMTs

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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.

Guest:

Kathleen Sebelius, Former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary

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Twenty-six states have passed bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, and the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in December about Tennessee's ban. We take a closer look at gender-affirming care and the legal arguments that could influence how accessible that care is.

Meredithe McNamara, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine

Katie Eyer, JD, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

James Blumstein, LLB, University Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Health Law & Policy, Vanderbilt University Law School

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It’s Medicare open enrollment season, and in this episode first aired in 2021, we explain why shopping for a new plan is often tougher than it seems.

Guests:

Lilyan Grossman, Medicare beneficiary

Tricia Neuman, ScD, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Program on Medicare Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation

Amal Trivedi, MD, Professor of Medicine and Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University

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One of the nation’s leading experts on the Affordable Care Act breaks down its track record and weighs in on the stakes the historic health care law faces in the lead-up to the election.

Guest:

Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy, KFF

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The next U.S. president will have to make consequential choices about the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug prices and abortion. We compare the positions of candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on these major health policy issues. (NOTE: This episode has been updated to clarify the number of people who would lose health coverage if Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies expired.)

Guests:

Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute

Ederlina Co, JD, Associate Professor of Law, University of the Pacific

Cynthia Cox, Vice President and Director of Program on the ACA, KFF

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Benedic Ippolito, PhD, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Ryan Levi, Reporter/Producer, Tradeoffs

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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 Times

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U.S. companies spend more than $1 trillion annually on health care for their employees. To get this budget-busting figure under control, some companies are experimenting with cutting out insurers, and investing in primary care clinics at the office. 

Guests:

Amy Cooper, NP, Vera Whole Health

Bob Galvin, MD, former Chief Medical Officer, General Electric and Board Chairman, Catalyst for Payment Reform

Dan Mendelson, CEO, Morgan Health

Ann O’Malley, MD, MPH, Senior Fellow, Mathematica

Matt Ohrt, Co-founder, Self Fund Health

Lee Sagraves, Employee, JPMorganChase

Gwen Sagraves

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For decades, the most effective treatment for addiction to methamphetamine or cocaine has been mired in stigma and mostly limited to small research studies. But with deaths involving meth and cocaine on the rise, policymakers across the country are turning to gift cards to fight drug use.

This story has been updated to clarify the research on long-term effects of contingency management and the eligibility requirements to deliver contingency management through CalAIM.

Credits:

Stephen Higgins, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Vermont

Richard Rawson, PhD, Professor Emeritus, UCLA Department of Psychology

Andrew Dertien, Contingency Management Coordinator, HealthRIGHT 360

Bernard Groves

Ayesha Appa, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital

Tyler Sadwith, Medicaid Director, California Department of Health Care Services

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Many potent new medicines pose a host of challenges for drug companies trying to copy and sell similar versions on the cheap. Can those companies find a sustainable path forward, or will patients get left stuck paying exorbitant prices?

Guests:

Christine Baeder, MBA, President, Apotex USA

Alfred Engelberg, JD, retired attorney and former counsel to the Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Association

Jeremy Greene, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University

Candy Meyer, Patient

Bhaven Sampat, PhD, Professor, Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society

Marta Wosińska, PhD, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Leslie Walker, Senior Reporter/Producer, Tradeoffs

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