Tradeoffs
@tradeoffs.org
1.9K followers 360 following 200 posts
Journalism that explores the complicated, costly, and often counterintuitive world of health care. New podcast episodes every Thursday, hosted by Dan Gorenstein. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: tradeoffs.org/subscribe
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tradeoffs.org
Street drug scientist Nabarun Dasgupta has been awarded a @macfound.org "genius grant" for his harm reduction work that combines data and community engagement.

Earlier this year, we spoke with Dasgupta about his work and what drives him.

Listen to the interview:
tradeoffs.org/2025/07/31/s...
One Scientist's Mission to Change How We Prevent Overdoses
A leading addiction expert explains how he’s driven by the memory of a friend who died, and why he believes giving data on the drug supply to people on the street is more important than using it to in...
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Tradeoffs is hiring a reporter/producer!

We’re looking for an experienced health care journalist ready to contribute to our distinct footprint at a moment of audience and impact growth for our newsroom.

Learn more about the position and how to apply: tradeoffs.org/reporter-pro...
Reporter/Producer
We're looking for an experienced health care journalist ready to contribute to Tradeoffs' distinct footprint at a moment of audience and impact growth for our newsroom.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Listen to this week's bonus episode for excerpts of a live conversation with two top health economists about how extra federal support has helped millions of Americans access health insurance, and what would happen if that aid went away.
BONUS: What Happens if Obamacare Subsidies Shrink?
Excerpts of a live conversation with two top health economists about how extra federal support has helped millions of Americans access health insurance, and what would happen if that aid went away.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
We checked in this week with Hemi Tewarson, executive director of @nashphealth.bsky.social, to hear how states are starting to adapt to the fallout from the megabill that Republicans passed in July.

Listen:
How States Are Reckoning with Republican Health Reforms
It's been 90 days since Congress passed Trump’s megabill slashing health care spending and reshaping the Medicaid program. States are already knee-deep in dealing with the fallout.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
It's been 90 days since Congress passed Trump’s megabill slashing health care spending and reshaping the Medicaid program. States are already knee-deep in dealing with the fallout.

Listen to the episode:
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Tradeoffs is a nonprofit news organization on a mission to help America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
How can a podcast build audiences and catalyze impact?

At the Health Podcast Summit, Tradeoffs’ @dgorenstein.bsky.social and Jessica Silverman explain how our multi-platform strategy is helping us reach decision-makers and drive impact.

Watch for free: summit.healthpodcast.co
Health Podcast Summit! Elevate, Amplify and Demystify Health Podcasting
Free virtual event Oct 1-2 uniting healthcare marketers, medical affairs teams, podcast experts and more to elevate health communication.
summit.healthpodcast.co
tradeoffs.org
Tradeoffs spoke with Sarah Stillman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at the @newyorker.com, who was shocked and horrified when she started looking into reports of people with mental illness starving to death in jails.

Listen to the episode: tradeoffs.org/2025/09/18/j...
Why Are People With Mental Illness Starving to Death in Jail?
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sarah Stillman explains why so many people with mental illness are starving to death in U.S. jails, who is profiting, and what can be done to prevent it.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Every year, millions of people’s medical care runs into the roadblock of prior authorization, which requires an insurer to sign off on services before they can proceed. Who does this process help, who does it hurt & how could it work better for everyone?
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Tradeoffs is a nonprofit news organization on a mission to help America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Join us Sept. 24 for a timely virtual discussion co-hosted by @pennldi.bsky.social unpacking the history, value and future of ACA subsidies with national experts Katherine Baicker and Jonathan Gruber, moderated by Tradeoffs' Dan Gorenstein.

Learn more and register:
Decoding the Moment: Obamacare Subsidies at a Crossroads
Penn LDI and Tradeoffs’ “Decoding the Moment” event discusses potential implications if Congress does not extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire.
ldi.upenn.edu
tradeoffs.org
Journalist Sarah Stillman documented more than 50 cases of people dying of starvation, dehydration or other medical crises in U.S. jails in recent years, almost all of whom had been arrested as a result of a mental health crisis.

Listen:
Why Are People With Mental Illness Starving to Death in Jail?
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sarah Stillman explains why so many people with mental illness are starving to death in U.S. jails, who is profiting, and what can be done to prevent it.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sarah Stillman explains why so many people with mental illness are starving to death in U.S. jails, who is profiting, and what can be done to prevent it.

Listen to the episode:
Page not found - Tradeoffs
Tradeoffs is a nonprofit news organization on a mission to help America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Medicaid agencies in 16 states & Washington, D.C., have partnered with the federal government in an experiment designed to give people in crisis better places to go.

The hundreds of millions in funding is funneling into mental institutions. Will it work?
This Federal Experiment Is Pouring Money into Mental Hospitals. Will It Work?
As states struggle to meet the needs of people with serious mental illness, some are signing on to a federal pilot project that’s pouring new funding into institutional care.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
As states struggle to meet the needs of people with serious mental illness, some are signing on to a federal pilot project that’s funneling new funding into institutional care.

Listen here:
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Tradeoffs is a nonprofit news organization on a mission to help America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
Health care workers say the shock and awe campaign of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy is already threatening patients’ health.

Listen to the episode here:
tradeoffs.org/2025/02/20/g...
tradeoffs.org
Worrying about deportation can literally make people sick. Health care providers are scrambling to cut through their undocumented patients’ panic about President Trump’s new immigration policies.

Listen here:
Getting Health Care to Undocumented Immigrants in Trump's America
Health care providers are scrambling to cut through their undocumented patients’ panic about President Trump’s new immigration policies.
tradeoffs.org
tradeoffs.org
What if, instead of making decisions about workers' health insurance behind closed doors, companies invited employees to weigh in? That’s the unusual approach taken by one company.

tradeoffs.org/2024/09/05/g...
tradeoffs.org
President Trump is revisiting one of the signature health policies of his first administration: making health care prices public.

Listen to the episode to hear why this effort to empower consumers with better pricing data has proved so vexing:
tradeoffs.org/2024/12/19/t...