Tradeoffs

Tradeoffs

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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://tradeoffs.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent Episodes

OCT 8, 2026
Hidden Help: What Happened When Oregon Forced Hospitals to Boost Financial Aid?
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 Lawrence J. Furnstahl, Former Chief Financial Officer, Oregon Health & Science University Sean Kolmer, Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Hospital Association of Oregon Rob Nosse, Oregon House of Representatives ​Lisa Reynolds, Oregon Senate Adam Zarrin, Director, State Government Affairs; Blood Cancer United This episode was reported by Melanie Evans, edited by Dan Gorenstein and Ryan Levi and mixed by Andrew Parrella. The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website. Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today. Special thanks to Joe Amditis, Big Local News, Jason Buxbaum, Fred Cerise, Betsy Cliff, Elizabeth Colvin, Hacks/Hackers, Keith Hearle, Arthur Hong, Jake Kara, Ray Kluender, Luke Messac, Brian Mittendorf, Paige Moody, Dilcia Mercedes, Charles Minshew, Matthew Notowidigdo, Eli Rushbanks, Tatiane Santos, Eva Stahl, Jared Walker and Derek Willis. Tradeoffs reporting for this story was supported, in part, by the California Health Care Foundation, the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation and the Solutions Journalism Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 MIN
OCT 1, 2026
Hidden Help: A New Push for Hospitals to Prevent Medical Debt
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: Erin Fuse Brown, professor of health services, policy and practice, director of the health policy and law lab, Brown University Aimee Carlock, Grapevine, Texas, resident, patient Jill Horwitz, Trobman Innovation professor of law, professor of emergency medicine, Northwestern University Neale Mahoney, professor of economics, Trione Director of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University Dr. Tom Oliverson, Texas Representative Anna Stelter, vice president of policy, Texas Hospital Association Rebecca Wahl, Houston resident, patient Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website. Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today. This episode was reported by Melanie Evans and Dan Gorenstein, edited by Ryan Levi, and mixed by Andrew Parrella. Haley Lerner contributed to this report. The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Special thanks to Joe Amditis, Big Local News, Jason Buxbaum, Fred Cerise, Elizabeth Colvin, Hacks/Hackers, Keith Hearle, Arthur Hong, Jake Kara, Ray Kluender, Luke Messac, Brian Mittendorf, Paige Moody, Dilcia Mercedes, Charles Minshew, Matthew Notowidigdo, Eva Stahl and Derek Willis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
31 MIN
SEP 30, 2026
With Millions Expected to Lose Coverage, States Look for New Ways to Prevent Medical Debt
As millions of Americans are expected to lose health insurance coverage following federal cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, states are searching for new ways to prevent medical debt before it starts. In this episode of Tradeoffs, economist Neale Mahoney explains the research into strategies for relief from high healthcare costs and evaluates policy fixes to protect consumers. Guest: Neale Mahoney, professor of economics, Trione Director of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University. Learn more: Read the full reporting and explore additional resources on our website. Want more Tradeoffs? Join more than 5,500 readers who trust Tradeoffs for clear, deeply reported health policy insights. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving health care's toughest choices — reporting you won't find anywhere else. If our work helps you stay informed, support it with a donation today. This episode was produced by Melanie Evans, edited by Ryan Levi and Dan Gorenstein, and mixed by Andrew Parrella. The Tradeoffs theme song was composed by Ty Citerman. Additional music this episode from Blue Dot Sessions and Epidemic Sound. Tradeoffs reporting for this story was supported, in part, by Arnold Ventures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
23 MIN