Reporting on health care’s toughest choices.
The U.S. Saved $1 Trillion on Health Care. Why Doesn’t It Feel Like It?
New research from leading health economist David Cutler explores what’s behind a historic slowdown in health spending, even as millions of Americans struggle to afford their care.
Listen Now
Call to Mind: The Fifth Branch
A collaboration with American Public Media’s Call to Mind highlighting how Durham, North Carolina, has reimagined its mental health crisis response system — and what it has learned.
Doctors Hated the No Surprises Act. Now Some Are Getting Rich Off of It.
Doctors are winning big paydays from insurers under a law intended to protect patients and rein in high prices.
New York Braces for Trump’s Big Medicaid Shakeup
The state’s Medicaid director Amir Bassiri shares his plans for blunting the effects of Republican health reforms — starting with work requirements.
Join Tradeoffs and Penn LDI on May 26, at 3 pm E.T., for a discussion about why the No Surprises Act has failed to deliver on its cost-cutting promise, what could be done to change things, and whether there are larger lessons for future policy change.
Newsletter
Understand health policy, quickly.
Our free weekly newsletter turns complex health policy into actionable insights — helping you stay ahead, make better decisions, and understand the stories behind the headlines.
Exploring Solutions
A Better Way to Care for Older Adults with Opioid Addiction
How one addiction clinic in Baltimore has found success combining addiction care with support for the many other health problems older Americans often face.
Homeless Camp Sweeps Can Harm Health. Some Cities Are Trying a New Way.
Several cities and counties are addressing street homelessness with a new approach, which experts say can clear encampments while protecting the health of people who are forced to move.
A New Kind of Primary Care Comes to America
A group of nurses in East Baltimore is piloting a bold plan to bring basic primary care to everybody no matter their age, income or insurance. Can this idea from abroad take root in the…
Support Tradeoffs
Independent reporting, powered by you.
Tradeoffs helps you cut through the noise with clear, deeply reported journalism on the forces driving the health care’s toughest choices — reporting you won’t find anywhere else.
If our work helps you stay informed, support it.
Health Care Affordability
Will Trump’s Prescription Drug Deals Really Lower Prices?
Facing unprecedented pressure from the Trump administration, some of the world’s top drugmakers promise to cut prices. But experts say the savings might not be what they seem.
‘It Sucks’: Spiking Health Insurance Costs Hit Small Businesses
An employer in Chicago describes how another year of rising premiums forced her to consider dropping her workers’ insurance.
Rising Costs, Fewer Choices: What’s Up with Medicare Drug Plans?
Facing mounting financial pressures, insurance companies are changing the prescription drug coverage available to many consumers in Medicare Part D.
Artificial Intelligence
‘We Can’t Afford All These Humans’: A Doctor’s Take on AI in Health Care
We talk with physician and writer Bob Wachter about why he’s cautiously optimistic that artificial intelligence will usher in a ‘golden age’ of medicine — and the questions he still has about these powerful new…
Should I Trust AI to Diagnose Me?
Physician and New Yorker writer Dhruv Khullar says artificial intelligence is a powerful tool to get quicker and more accurate diagnoses. But it can also be dangerous.
Lots of Hospitals Are Using AI. Few Are Testing For Bias
New research sheds light on how many hospitals are using artificial intelligence, what they’re using AI for, and what it means for patients and policymakers.
Podcast
Make sense of health care through powerful stories.
Tradeoffs tells clear, compelling stories about the forces shaping health care costs, coverage, and policy decisions. Each episode helps you cut through complexity and see what’s really going on.
Listen and subscribe wherever you get podcasts.
More From Tradeoffs
Should People Who Want GLP-1s Have to Work for Them?
As demand for new weight loss drugs soars, some employers are making workers track their diet and exercise in hopes of limiting use and keeping costs down.
Read more
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
You must be logged in to post a comment.