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Tradeoffs

Tradeoffs
Medicaid
Health Insurance
Affordable Care Act
Mental Health
Medicare
Health Policy
Healthcare Costs
Health Equity
Public Health
Abortion
Health Care System
Artificial Intelligence
Generic Drugs
Medical Debt
Trump Administration
Durham, North Carolina
Mental Illness
Opioid Addiction
Healthcare Policy
Preventive Care

Tradeoffs explores the toughest choices in health care, diving into issues like the cost of care, health equity, insurance, mental health and artificial intelligence. We connect policy to practice, uncovering the data and personal stories that help audiences understand the stakes — and the potential solutions.

Learn more about us, find transcripts for each episode and additional reporting at https... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes403Founded7 years ago
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Artwork for Tradeoffs

Latest Episodes

The Trump administration’s decimation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has many academics deeply concerned.

Guests:

* Aaron Carroll, President and CEO, Academy Health

* Sebastian Tong, Family Physician and Associate Professor, U... more

In the second episode of our special series on medical debt, we explore lessons from Oregon’s aggressive legislation to push hospitals to prevent patients from falling into medical debt.

Guests:

Sara R. Collins, Senior Scholar, Commonwealth Fund

L... more

Hospitals can automatically wipe out the cost of care for low-income patients. A Tradeoffs analysis finds that hospitals in Texas could be doing more to protect people from unaffordable bills.

See the full series at tradeoffs.org/hiddenhelp.

Guests... more

A live conversation with a bipartisan group of state Medicaid leaders on the impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive anti-fraud push.

Guests:

* Amir Bassiri, Medicaid Director, New York State Department of Health

* Paula Chatterjee, Dire... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Tom Oliverson
Anesthesiologist and State Representative
Texas House of Representatives
Episode: Hidden Help: A New Push for Hospitals to Prevent Medical Debt
Amir Bassiri
Medicaid Director in New York
New York Medicaid
Episode: States Weigh In on Medicaid Fraud
Kevin Lowndes
Chief of the Massachusetts Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Massachusetts
Episode: States Weigh In on Medicaid Fraud
Drew Goncharowski
Former Director of the State of Nebraska; Senior Fellow at the Fiscal Lab on Capitol Hill
Nebraska; Fiscal Lab
Episode: States Weigh In on Medicaid Fraud
Ed Gonzalez
Sheriff of Harris County, Texas
Harris County Sheriff's Office
Episode: 911 Fails People in Mental Health Crises. Here's a Plan to Fix It.
Rebecca Neustatter
Executive Director of the Health Lab at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
Health Lab, University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
Episode: 911 Fails People in Mental Health Crises. Here's a Plan to Fix It.
John Waxler
64-year-old man living with stage 4 colon cancer and leukemia in Florida
Private individual (SNAP recipient)
Episode: As SNAP Shrinks, What's the Future of Food Aid in America?
Lori Ventura
Operations lead at Free Senior Health Clinic in Newport Richey, Florida
Free Senior Health Clinic
Episode: As SNAP Shrinks, What's the Future of Food Aid in America?
Stephanie Carlton
CMS Deputy Administrator; Chief Clinical AI Officer
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Episode: Beyond Finger Pointing: The Fight to Lower Health Care Costs

Host

Dan Gorenstein
Host and founder/executive editor of Tradeoffs; leads reporting and interviews.

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 511 ratings
  • NPR

    - is where I first heard this podcast. I am a first responder so I heard 911- of course I’m interested.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    gwlk
    United Statesa month ago
  • Elizabeth Kromm’s kid

    Love how you included my mom

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Slay Joys
    United States8 months ago
  • Timely health policy

    One of my favorite weekly podcasts. They go in-depth on an important health policy issue in every episode. Tradeoffs’ reporting is particularly important in our current time of uncertainty about insurance costs and coverage. They cover federal policy regularly but also go to the state and even local level when needed. The show has a social justice angle too, highlighting underinsured and/or uninsured populations.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Aaron Weidman
    United Statesa year ago
  • USAID cuts

    The episode on USAID cuts is superb. Every American with a heart should listen to this first-hand explanation of how the cuts are impacting global health now, with implications for future US health. In surgery, a scalpel is more useful than a buzzsaw.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Joe Pozawokiem
    United States2 years ago
  • Did anybody bother to read the Oregon paper?

    I went back and actually re-reviewed the New England Journal paper. If you see the population that they enrolled using the lottery, this was a healthy population to start with. They did not have hypertension, and they had no diabetes. It would’ve been very unlikely that Medicaid would’ve made them healthier. Also note they were only 10% African-Americans. This is a bio study from a relatively healthy. Population and should not be used to judge whether Medicaid makes people healthy or not. I woul... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Rdswinford
    United States2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Deep dives into policy tradeoffs plus human perspectives make complex topics accessible.
Balanced, data-driven health policy storytelling with real-world impact.
Strong investigative edges and credible guests; sometimes perceived as left-leaning by critics.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Beyond Finger Pointing: The Fight to Lower Health Care Costs
Q: How can AI realistically contribute to cost reduction while ensuring patient trust and safety?
Use AI to automate administrative tasks, assist clinical decision support, enhance patient navigation, and only pay for AI when it demonstrably improves health outcomes, all within a clear regulatory and governance framework.
Beyond Finger Pointing: The Fight to Lower Health Care Costs
Q: What concrete steps can hospitals and insurers take tomorrow to lower costs without sacrificing quality?
Implement targeted care coordination (on-site nurses, better discharge planning), reduce site-specific redundancies, advance payer-provider collaboration, and pursue interoperable data to enable better decision-making and pricing transparency.
Trump's Pick to Quiet HHS Chaos Heads to the Senate
Q: You ultimately decided you wanted to do a 1500 word profile on Klomp because you see him rising up through the administration into this role, and he's going to have some real power and influence. What do you expect to see two years out from an HHS that has all but been run by Klomp?
Two years out, Klomp could be in a position where he has solidified changes in internal processes, improved coordination across agencies, and possibly expanded influence over leadership appointments, depending on political dynamics and midterm outcomes.
Trump's Pick to Quiet HHS Chaos Heads to the Senate
Q: Final question, Dan. You covered the White House and public health. There's so many things you can and do right about. What do you expect to see two years out from an HHS that has all but been run by Klomp?
If empowered, Klomp would likely push for substantial back-end health care reforms, such as changing prior authorization and improving interoperability, while RFK Jr. may still influence other areas; the exact outcome will depend on how durable Klomp's power is in a volatile political environment.
Trump's Pick to Quiet HHS Chaos Heads to the Senate
Q: Vaccines, Dan, have obviously been a focus of Kennedy's HHS. Part of why Trump brought Klomp in is to keep the health department focused on the message the White House wants to see and away from abrupt vaccine policy shifts that cause political headaches. Based on your reporting, is Klomp's appointment a signal that the Maha vaccine agenda is in trouble?
I think so. This is a guardrail around some of what Maha wants to do on vaccines, with Kennedy empowered to make changes but Klomp providing the day-to-day management and focus on affordability and stable messaging.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Tradeoffs

What is Tradeoffs about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A data-driven health policy show that blends rigorous analysis with human stories to explain complex topics like Medicaid, budgeting, and health care markets. Recent episodes spotlight state policy rollouts, abortion access in restrictive environments, mental health and jail reentry, and the economics of care, including debt, AI in medicine, and consumer-driven reforms. The program often features policymakers, researchers, physicians, journalists, and advocacy voices, offering practical takeaways for listeners who want to understand how policy changes play out in real-world care and costs. A standout trait is its combination of data storytelling and on-the-ground reporting, making intricate policy debates accessible without sacrificing nuan... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Tradeoffs?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Tradeoffs:

1. What the Health? From KFF Health News
2. An Arm and a Leg
3. Planet Money
4. The Ezra Klein Show
5. Public Health On Call

How many episodes of Tradeoffs are there?

Tradeoffs launched 7 years ago and published 403 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Tradeoffs?

Recent guests on Tradeoffs include:

1. Tom Oliverson
2. Amir Bassiri
3. Kevin Lowndes
4. Drew Goncharowski
5. Ed Gonzalez
6. Rebecca Neustatter
7. John Waxler
8. Lori Ventura

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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