Tradeoffs

10/23/2025

Over the last few months, President Donald Trump has gone after the price of prescription drugs. He has signed 17 letters to pharmaceutical company CEOs, setting a 30-day deadline for companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

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.

Tradeoffs senior producer Leslie Walker spoke with 10 health policy experts — including health economists, drug policy scholars and industry insiders — who helped explain what this flurry of moves might actually mean for the prices that we pay for the medicines we need.

Listen to the latest episode to hear why experts warn we shouldn’t expect most of these moves to deliver substantive savings — at least not yet.

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.

10/22/2025

Tradeoffs is hiring a Managing Director of Growth & Partnerships to lead our newsrooms’ efforts to grow and diversify revenue across all development streams.

The Managing Director will play a critical role in expanding our award-winning newsroom’s capacity and impact and help support our mission of helping America have smarter, more honest conversations about health policy.

Salary is $125K to $155K and candidates can be based anywhere in the continental US.

Visit our website to learn more and apply:

Join our small and mighty team dedicated to producing impactful and engaging health care journalism.

10/21/2025

We want to hear from you.

Every year, we survey our audience to understand how we’re doing, where we can improve, and how our reporting makes a difference.

Your feedback helps guide our editorial decisions and shape the future of Tradeoffs.

Take the survey 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5TZRDMG

10/20/2025

The New York Times columnist Paula Span is on a mission to help equip older adults and their loved ones with the evidence — and the confidence — to grapple with difficult choices.

Span told Tradeoffs she looks for different ways to “let readers know that they have more choices than they think they may have — medically and otherwise.”

For example, while doctors often present dialysis as inevitable when kidneys start to fail, recent studies suggest some older people could do nearly as well with a different, less exhausting regimen at home.

“This is a very individual decision,” Span told us, “but you can't make that decision if no one has told you that there is an alternative.” Don’t worry about sounding cantankerous with your doctor, Span advised. Whether discussing dialysis or other treatments for other problems, “become knowledgeable and have [the] conversation.”

Listen to the full episode here:

Journalist Paula Span, who writes The New Old Age column for the New York Times, shares what she’s learned about how to age well.

10/19/2025

Today is the last day to apply for our open reporter/producer role!

$100K starting salary and fully remote.

Learn more about the role and apply here:

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.

10/16/2025

This week, we’re revisiting a conversation we had last fall with Paula Span, who writes “The New Old Age” column for The New York Times.

Span covers everything from the challenges of caregiving, to when to say no to a medical test, to the pros and cons of cannabis gummies for insomnia.

She’s on a mission to help equip older adults of all political stripes and their loved ones with the evidence — and the confidence — to better handle decisions about the kinds of health care they want and don’t want.

Listen to or read our full conversation to hear Span’s advice and why she thinks we shouldn’t fear getting older:

Journalist Paula Span, who writes The New Old Age column for the New York Times, shares what she’s learned about how to age well.

10/14/2025

It's a big week for Tradeoffs! 🎉

Yesterday, members of our team gathered in New York City to accept a national Edward R. Murrow Award for The Fifth Branch, our three-part series exploring how one community is transforming its response to people experiencing mental health crises.

And this Thursday, our podcast turns six years old.

We’re so proud of what our small newsroom has accomplished and grateful to everyone who’s listened, shared, and supported our work along the way.

Your support makes in-depth, award-winning journalism like this possible.

Help us keep going strong by donating today: tradeoffs.org/donate

10/13/2025

What happens if President Trump cuts billions of dollars from research on how to make our health care system work better?

Tradeoffs spoke with Aaron Carroll, the president and CEO of AcademyHealth about what we could lose by cutting this research.

Listen to or read the transcript of the latest episode: https://tradeoffs.org/2025/10/09/future-of-health-care-research-federal-funding-really-is-irreplaceable/

10/11/2025

Last week, we checked in this week with Hemi Tewarson, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, to hear how states are starting to adapt to the fallout from the megabill that Republicans passed in July.

Listen to the episode or read the transcript:

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.

10/10/2025

Reporter and producer Ryan Levi has been promoted to become Tradeoffs’ first-ever managing editor, a new leadership position within the organization.

Reporter and producer Ryan Levi has been promoted to become Tradeoffs’ first-ever managing editor, a new leadership position within the organization.

10/09/2025

The Trump administration has spent the year slashing billions in federal grants for health research and calling for 40% cuts in funding for the National Institutes of Health.

What will those cuts mean to the type of research that makes our health care system less costly, more effective and safer?

Tradeoffs spoke with Aaron Carroll, the president and CEO of AcademyHealth, the nonpartisan professional organization that represents the folks who do this research on health services.

“Federal funding really is irreplaceable,” Carroll said. “Arbitrary cuts don't raise quality. All they do is wipe out whole areas of inquiry and drive talent out of the field because people get scared.”

Listen to today's episode to hear why Carroll feels this research is so important, what we could lose by cutting it, and what changes he thinks would make the field better.

What happens if President Trump cuts billions of dollars from research on how to make our health care system work better?

10/08/2025

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill epidemiologist and street drug scientist Nabarun Dasgupta has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" for his harm reduction work that combines data and community engagement.

Earlier this year, Tradeoffs spoke with Dasgupta — about how the memory of a friend who died drives his work, and why he believes giving data on the drug supply to people on the street is more important than using it to inform national drug policy.

Read excerpts from our conversation or listen here:

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 inform national drug policy.