In my nearly 15 years reporting on the U.S. health care system, 2025 was one of the most unpredictable and consequential years I’ve experienced. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress made major changes to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, vaccine policy, health care research funding and more.
I’m proud of the way that Tradeoffs has covered these events.
We’ve grounded our reporting in rigorous research and evidence. We’ve told deeply personal stories about the impact these changes are having on everyday Americans.
We’ve talked with policymakers and experts from across the political and ideological spectrum. And we’ve done more than report on problems — we’ve highlighted solutions.
We could not have predicted all that we would cover last year, and the same is true for 2026. But I can guarantee a few things that you will hear in our podcast feed and see on our digital offerings this year:
- We are tracking how states are implementing the sweeping changes to Medicaid passed last year by Congress.
- We will continue reporting on potential solutions to the mental health and addiction challenges that so many Americans face. (We’ll do this with the help of Julie Wernau, the newest member of our reporting team, who has covered this beat for the Wall Street Journal.)
- As the price of care rises and the federal government cuts funding for Medicaid and debates what’s next for the Affordable Care Act, health care affordability will be a central focus of our work — including the role it plays in the 2026 midterm elections.
Regardless of the topic, Tradeoffs will continue to do what we’ve always done: cut through the noise, the politics and the alleged silver bullet solutions to provide you with clear and engaging reporting on the toughest choices in health care.