<description>&lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="1"&gt;About this episode:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="22"&gt;The U.S. takes a unique approach to health care by tying coverage to employment. This has led to high rates of uninsured Americans, the creation of the Affordable Care Act, and ongoing fights about health care spending culminating in a government shutdown late last year. In this episode: Jonathan Cohn details the health care debate happening in Washington right now, the nuances of universal coverage in other countries, and what might come next for health insurance in the U.S.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="504"&gt;Guests:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="513"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://substack.com/@citizencohn" href= "https://substack.com/@citizencohn" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;&lt;strong data-renderer-mark="true"&gt;Jonathan Cohn&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; is a writer for &lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://www.thebulwark.com/" href= "https://www.thebulwark.com/" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;The Bulwark&lt;/a&gt; and the author of "The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage".&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="655"&gt;Host:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="662"&gt;&lt;strong data-renderer-mark= "true"&gt;Stephanie Desmon, MA,&lt;/strong&gt; is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the &lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://ccp.jhu.edu/" href="https://ccp.jhu.edu/" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="830"&gt;Show links and related content:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;ul class="ak-ul" data-indent-level="1"&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="865"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title= "https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/22/congress-health-deal-still-has-hurdles-00740600" href= "https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/22/congress-health-deal-still-has-hurdles-00740600" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;Lawmakers reached a surprise bipartisan health deal. Now they have to keep it.&lt;/a&gt;—POLITICO&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="956"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title= "https://www.nber.org/programs-projects/projects-and-centers/oregon-health-insurance-experiment?page=1&amp;perPage=50" href= "https://www.nber.org/programs-projects/projects-and-centers/oregon-health-insurance-experiment?page=1&amp;perPage=50" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;Oregon Health Insurance Experiment&lt;/a&gt;—National Bureau of Economic Research&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1031"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title= "https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/03/oregon-health-insurance-experiment-ohie-null-results-medicaid-cuts-pass-congress/" href= "https://www.statnews.com/2025/07/03/oregon-health-insurance-experiment-ohie-null-results-medicaid-cuts-pass-congress/" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;Defenders of Medicaid cuts are misunderstanding a study I worked on&lt;/a&gt;—STAT&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1107"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title= "https://podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/972-inside-rising-health-insurance-costs" href= "https://podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/972-inside-rising-health-insurance-costs" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;Inside Rising Health Insurance Costs&lt;/a&gt;—Public Health On Call (November 2025)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="1185"&gt;Transcript information:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1210"&gt;Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="1466"&gt;Contact us:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1479"&gt;Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us &lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="mailto:publichealthquestion@Jhu.edu" href= "mailto:publichealthquestion@Jhu.edu" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;via email&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title= "https://publichealth.jhu.edu/headlines/public-health-on-call-podcast" href= "https://publichealth.jhu.edu/headlines/public-health-on-call-podcast" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;visit our website&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h3 data-renderer-start-pos="1626"&gt;Follow us:&lt;/h3&gt; &lt;ul class="ak-ul" data-indent-level="1"&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1640"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://bsky.app/profile/publichealthpod.bsky.social" href= "https://bsky.app/profile/publichealthpod.bsky.social" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1672"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://www.instagram.com/publichealthpod/" href= "https://www.instagram.com/publichealthpod/" data-renderer-mark= "true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1706"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://facebook.com/johnshopkinssph" href= "https://facebook.com/johnshopkinssph" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1739"&gt;&lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://www.youtube.com/@PublicHealthonCall" href= "https://www.youtube.com/@PublicHealthonCall" data-renderer-mark= "true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid= "link-with-safety"&gt;@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1774"&gt;Here's our &lt;a class= "_ymio1r31 _ypr0glyw _zcxs1o36 _mizu194a _1ah3dkaa _ra3xnqa1 _128mdkaa _1cvmnqa1 _4davt94y _4bfu1r31 _1hms8stv _ajmmnqa1 _vchhusvi _kqswh2mm _syaz13af _ect41gqc _1a3b1r31 _4fpr8stv _5goinqa1 _f8pj13af _9oik1r31 _1bnxglyw _jf4cnqa1 _30l313af _1nrm1r31 _c2waglyw _1iohnqa1 _9h8h12zz _10531ra0 _1ien1ra0 _n0fx1ra0 _1vhv17z1" title="https://feeds.libsyn.com/251651/rss" href= "https://feeds.libsyn.com/251651/rss" data-renderer-mark="true" data-is-router-link="false" data-testid="link-with-safety"&gt;RSS feed&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt; &lt;p data-renderer-start-pos="1797"&gt;Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Public Health On Call

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

1003 - The U.S.'s Insurance-Based Health Care System

JAN 29, 202620 MIN
Public Health On Call

1003 - The U.S.'s Insurance-Based Health Care System

JAN 29, 202620 MIN

Description

About this episode: The U.S. takes a unique approach to health care by tying coverage to employment. This has led to high rates of uninsured Americans, the creation of the Affordable Care Act, and ongoing fights about health care spending culminating in a government shutdown late last year. In this episode: Jonathan Cohn details the health care debate happening in Washington right now, the nuances of universal coverage in other countries, and what might come next for health insurance in the U.S. Guests: Jonathan Cohn is a writer for The Bulwark and the author of "The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage". Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Show links and related content: Lawmakers reached a surprise bipartisan health deal. Now they have to keep it.—POLITICO Oregon Health Insurance Experiment—National Bureau of Economic Research Defenders of Medicaid cuts are misunderstanding a study I worked on—STAT Inside Rising Health Insurance Costs—Public Health On Call (November 2025) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.