Tradeoffs

07/11/2025

The U.S. is facing its largest measles outbreak since 2000, per the CDC.

For Katherine Wells, public health director in Lubbock, Texas, "it's frustrating."

"Because we have the solution, which is a very effective vaccine."

See the full interview:

Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas, describes her fight to stop the largest measles outbreak since 2000 despite a chaotic reorganization of federal health agencies.

07/10/2025

North Carolina’s former health secretary, Kody Kinsley, explains the heavy lift and hard choices ahead of states as they rush to put Republicans’ new health reforms in place.

North Carolina’s former health secretary explains the heavy lift and hard choices ahead of states as they rush to put Republicans' new health reforms in place.

07/07/2025

Health policy changes are happening fast.

Stay up to date with a clear, concise breakdown of one important health policy story each week — from urgent news to big-picture issues.

No noise. No jargon. Just the context you need — delivered free every Thursday morning.

Sign up now: tradeoffs.org/subscribe

07/05/2025

Harvard researcher Ari Ne’eman explains why the sharp policy shifts underway in Washington pose a unique threat to people with disabilities.

We talk with Harvard researcher Ari Ne’eman about why the sharp policy shifts underway in Washington pose a unique threat to people with disabilities.

07/03/2025

With the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on its way to President Trump for signing, significant cuts to critical health programs are now virtually assured.

In a June 18th webinar with economists and doctors from the University of Pennsylvania, we examined why this legislation could cost so many people their health coverage — or even their lives.

Their main takeaways?

▶ The legislation would significantly increase the amount of red tape many people must navigate to get and keep health insurance.

▶ The evidence proving the value of health insurance is much stronger today than it was just two decades ago.

▶ Harms to health from the proposed legislation would also arise from rollbacks of current regulation.

To better understand the health implications of this bill, give this full conversation a read or a listen at the link in our bio or at tradeoffs.org.

07/03/2025

The Supreme Court ended its term in June with three decisions that could reshape health care dramatically.

One decision, in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, opens the door for states to kick Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid, leaving millions of women to pay more or find somewhere else to get birth control, Pap smears and other reproductive health care.

The other ruling, in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, could embolden Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he clashes with scientists over his Make America Healthy Again agenda.

We spoke to Katie Keith at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University to understand what the court’s decisions mean and what’s ahead for health policy.

Read the takeaways from our conversation:

Health law expert Katie Keith helps us break down what a pair of big court decisions mean for RFK Jr.’s power and for people's access to abortion, cancer screening and many other kinds of care.

06/30/2025

As the Senate votes on the massive budget bill dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” top health policy experts are raising alarms, saying the proposal could leave millions without health insurance and lead to tens of thousands of avoidable deaths each year.

At a recent webinar hosted by Tradeoffs and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (Penn LDI), researchers estimated that Medicaid cuts, tighter enrollment periods for the ACA and new administrative barriers could increase the uninsured rate by 60%, resulting in over 51,000 additional deaths annually.

Watch the full conversation or read a recap here:

On June 18, Tradeoffs moderated an online event with economists and doctors examining why this legislation could cost so many people their health coverage — or even their lives.

06/23/2025

Tradeoffs reporters Melanie Evans and Ryan Levi are at the Aspen Ideas Festival this week to talk with health policy leaders about the future of health policy research.

We’ll be asking them the big questions, and we want to bring you along, too.

What do you want to know about where health policy research is headed?

06/21/2025

Trump’s Policies Could Undermine the Fight to End America’s HIV Epidemic

The White House is asking Congress to sharply roll back federal spending on HIV prevention, a reversal from President Trump’s first term, when he championed investment to end the epidemic in America within a decade.

06/19/2025

The White House is asking Congress to sharply roll back federal spending on HIV prevention, a reversal from President Trump’s first term, when he championed investment to end the epidemic in America within a decade.

Read more: https://tradeoffs.org/2025/06/19/trumps-policies-could-undermine-fight-end-americas-hiv-epidemic/

06/18/2025

Last week, RFK Jr. fired and replaced the experts guiding U.S. vaccines.

The Health and Human Services chief’s action is unprecedented, and quickly drew condemnation from medical groups who said his dismissal of the vaccine advisory committee put public health at risk.

Click here for more info on why this matters and what we can expect next: https://tradeoffs.org/2025/06/12/rfk-jr-just-replaced-experts-guiding-vaccines-now-what/

06/16/2025

The HHS chief’s latest action on vaccinations is unprecedented, and quickly drew condemnation from medical groups who said his dismissal of the vaccine advisory committee put public health at risk.

Here’s why the members of that committee are so important.

The Health and Human Services chief’s latest action on vaccinations is unprecedented, and quickly drew condemnation from medical groups who said his dismissal of the vaccine advisory committee put public health at risk. Here’s why the members of that committee are so important.