Tradeoffs

12/29/2025

The Trump administration is handing out $50 billion to help states make health care better and easier to access in rural America.

But many experts worry that this funding will fail to deliver meaningful results for rural communities.

In the next Decoding the Moment event cohosted by Tradeoffs and the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, we’ll explore evidence-based solutions to rural America’s health care challenges, and how states and the federal government are looking to use this new pot of money.

Join us on Tuesday, January 6th at 12-1 p.m. ET for a live virtual conversation with national rural health experts.

Discussing the challenges facing health care access in rural America, evidence-based solutions to those issues, and how states and the federal government are looking to use the RHTF.

12/26/2025

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick founded Grapevine Health, a startup to help people better understand their health care. Grapevine creates short videos featuring Black and other doctors of color explaining everything from kidney disease to how to sign up for Medicaid.

Yvonne Smith is one person who said Fitzpatrick and Grapevine’s videos helped her control her diabetes and take more control of her health care.

“Grapevine Health and Dr. Lisa are the best kept secret that I wish everyone knew about,” Smith said.

Learn more about why Fitzpatrick believes plainspoken information from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities, and why some insurers are buying in.

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes plainspoken information from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities, and some insurers are buying in.

12/25/2025

In the spirit of the holiday season, Tradeoffs has been featuring people with innovative fixes to some of health care's most stubborn challenges.

People like Lisa Fitzpatrick, who almost seven years ago walked away from a prestigious 20-year career in government, academia and medicine to launch a health literacy startup to improve health outcomes — particularly among Black Americans — by offering plainspoken information from trusted messengers.

Her company Grapevine Health creates videos for social media breaking down health issues like diabetes management and Medicaid enrollment.

In the age of artificial intelligence, widespread medical misinformation and looming changes to Medicaid enrollment rules, listen to the episode or read the transcript to learn about Fitzpatrick’s efforts to improve people’s health literacy

And if you can, please consider donating $5 or $50 to help us continue this kind of solutions-focused journalism in 2026. tradeoffs.org/donate

https://tradeoffs.org/2023/02/02/health-literacy-disparities-lisa-fitzpatrick/

Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes plainspoken information from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities, and some insurers are buying in.

12/24/2025

Have you signed up yet for our virtual event about the challenges facing health care access in rural America?

🗓️ Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 6 from 12-1 p.m. ET for our talk with national experts, co-hosted with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

🔗 Register here:

Discussing the challenges facing health care access in rural America, evidence-based solutions to those issues, and how states and the federal government are looking to use the RHTF.

12/23/2025

Millions of kids every year are victims of or witnesses to violence.

Decades of research shows that youth who are exposed to high levels of trauma are more likely to struggle with depression, addiction and su***de. They’re also more likely to perpetrate violence and end up incarcerated.

“Violence and particularly gun violence, it’s the number one threat to their health and their lives,” said Charles Branas, an epidemiologist and gun violence expert at Columbia University.

In recent years, several rigorous studies have shown that therapy — specifically cognitive behavioral therapy — can substantially lower the chance that kids exposed to lots of violence will go on to commit violent acts themselves. But delivering those services to some of the highest-risk kids is tough.

Take a listen to learn about how Chicago may be breaking this cycle of violence among some of its most at-risk young people, and whether this model can be a solution nationwide.

A Chicago violence prevention program is pairing cognitive behavioral therapy with intensive mentoring and wraparound support to help high-risk teens avoid incarceration.

12/22/2025

This year, everything in health policy felt like it hit all at once. Major Medicaid changes, agency shakeups at the CDC and FDA, the largest measles outbreak in decades, the far-reaching impacts of the “Big Beautiful Bill."

The pressure, the stakes, the pace — it was enormous. And with that came a responsibility for us at Tradeoffs: to go beyond the speculation and noise and bring you reporting grounded in data and research.

But here’s the part you don’t always hear: less than 1% of listeners donate to support our independent newsroom.

Their generosity made it possible for us to cover these seismic changes with clarity and rigor. But as we head into 2026 — with just as many unknowns ahead — we need more people to step up.

Right now, when 200 new listeners give, we unlock a $5,000 match. Even $10 helps us keep this work free and available to everyone.

🔗

Support smarter health policy conversations.

12/21/2025

Tradeoffs Executive Editor Dan Gorenstein joined CNN this morning to discuss what’s at stake as President Donald Trump considers meeting with health insurance companies this week to address rising health care costs.

As Dan explained, the consequences of being uninsured are well-documented, not just for individuals, but for the entire health care system:

"The literature is pretty clear, that when they don't have insurance, they delay or forgo needed care and end up in worse health. Some people will die sooner than they need to, and, people are also more likely to face medical debt or bankruptcy. And at the same time, people still get sick even if they're uninsured. And someone has to pick up the cost. And that affects all of us."

12/20/2025

Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 6 for our latest virtual event co-hosted with the University of Pennsylvania's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

We'll be talking with national experts about the challenges facing health care access in rural America, evidence-based solutions to those issues, and how states and the federal government are looking to use a new pot of federal money.

Register and learn more:
https://tradeoffs.org/event/50-billion-rural-health-transformation-program/

12/20/2025

There are only a few hours left to donate to Tradeoffs by midnight for our $2,000 matching challenge, where every amount donated will be matched, dollar for dollar.

As an independent nonprofit newsroom, listener support is a crucial part of how we sustain this work.

Give a gift to help continue to make our reporting possible during a turbulent time for health policy.

Tradeoffs.org/donate

Support smarter health policy conversations.

12/19/2025

Today is the last day to raise $2,000 to unlock a matching gift from our Audience Match Fund.

Donate by midnight to Tradeoffs so each dollar you give can be doubled, increasing the effect of your support.

Less than 1% of our audience donates to support our reporting. If our work has been valuable to you, this is a powerful moment to pitch in.

Even $10 makes a difference.

Tradeoffs.org/donate

Support smarter health policy conversations.

12/18/2025

Violence is one of the biggest threats to the health of American children. Millions of kids every year are victims of violence or witness it in their communities — fights, assaults and shootings.

Research shows that young people who are exposed to high levels of this sort of trauma are more likely to struggle with depression, addiction and su***de. They’re also more likely to perpetrate violence and end up incarcerated.

With a tragic school shooting in Rhode Island and the Trump administration cutting funding to violence prevention programs, we wanted to revisit our episode about a program in Chicago called Choose to Change that’s having success using therapy to prevent violence among kids who are most at risk.

Listen to the story, co-published with The Marshall Project, to learn about the program and hear from a young man who has experienced the benefits of Choose to Change firsthand.

We want to do more solutions-focused reporting in 2026, so please consider supporting Tradeoffs with a donation. For the next two days, every dollar you give to Tradeoffs will be matched, up to $2,000, by our Audience Match Fund. Your support helps keep our reporting independent, rigorous and accessible to all. http://tradeoffs.org/donate

https://tradeoffs.org/2025/06/05/treating-teens-trauma-stopping-violence-chicago/

A Chicago violence prevention program is pairing cognitive behavioral therapy with intensive mentoring and wraparound support to help high-risk teens avoid incarceration.

12/18/2025

We need to raise $2,000 by midnight Friday to unlock a matching gift from our Audience Match Fund.

Less than 1% of our listeners support this podcast financially. As an independent nonprofit newsroom, listener support is a big part of what makes this reporting possible.

For the next two days, every dollar you give will be matched, up to $2,000, doubling the impact of your support for reporting on what’s broken in our health care system — and what it will take to fix it.

Help us get there by donating now:

Support smarter health policy conversations.