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A Health Podyssey: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Health Affairs
Each week, Health Affairs' Rob Lott brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry.A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.
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- 6 days ago30 min
How Stimulants Are Reshaping the Overdose Crisis | SPONSORED
THIS SPONSORED PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COBRE ON OPIOIDS AND OVERDOSE AT RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL.The US overdose crisis is changing. While opioid-related overdose deaths have begun to decline, researchers are seeing a growing role for stimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine, in overdose risk.In this sponsored episode, Leslie Erdelack speaks with Dr. Jaclyn White Hughto from Brown University about what researchers are learning from the evolving overdose epidemic. They discuss findings from the POINTS (Preventing Overdoses Involving Stimulants) study, a CDC-funded project examining stimulant-involved overdoses in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.The conversation explores:How the US overdose epidemic has evolved, from prescription opioids to fentanyl and stimulant involvementWhy stimulant-involved overdoses differ from opioid overdosesThe rise of stimulant-only overdose deathsWhat researchers learned from interviews with people who use drugsMisconceptions about fentanyl contamination in the stimulant supplyHow people who use stimulants perceive and manage overdose riskThe role of fentanyl test strips, naloxone, and other harm-reduction toolsCommunity-driven strategies to improve overdose preventionChallenges surrounding Good Samaritan laws and emergency responseWhy surveillance data and public health monitoring remain criticalNew research examining potent stimulants and opportunities for earlier interventionDr. Hughto also discusses ongoing NIH-funded research aimed at understanding rising stimulant-only overdoses and identifying ways policymakers, clinicians, and communities can respond more effectively.RELATED LINKS:The Center of Biomedical Research Excellence on Opioids and OverdoseThe POINTS (Preventing Overdoses Involving Stimulants) study
- 1 weeks ago18 min
Medicare Is Moving Surgeries Out of Hospitals (And Possibly Saving Billions) | David Howard
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.What happens when Medicare stops requiring certain surgeries to be performed in hospitals? In this episode of A Health Podyssey, host Rob Lott speaks with David H. Howard about new research estimating that removing procedures from Medicare’s inpatient-only list shifted care to outpatient settings and reduced spending by billions of dollars. The paper raises important questions about patient care, hospital incentives, and the future of Medicare payment policy.Order the November 2026 issue of Health Affairs.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- 2 weeks ago22 min
Do Provider-Owned Health Plans Lower Healthcare Costs? New Evidence on Vertical Integration | Mitchell Mead
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.Hospital systems are increasingly becoming both providers and insurers, but what does that mean for healthcare prices? In this episode of A Health Podyssey, host Rob Lott speaks with University of Michigan's Mitchell Mead about his new Health Affairs research examining whether provider-sponsored health plans negotiate healthcare prices differently than traditional insurers.Drawing on hospital price transparency data and national health system datasets, Mead explains how vertically integrated payer-provider organizations have grown since the Affordable Care Act and why Medicare Advantage has become a major driver of that trend. The discussion explores the finding that provider-sponsored health plans negotiated lower prices for 44 of 46 healthcare services studied.The conversation also examines what these findings mean for policymakers grappling with healthcare affordability, consolidation, antitrust oversight, and the future of vertically integrated healthcare organizations.Order the October 2026 issue of Health Affairs.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- 3 weeks ago21 min
The Real Savings From Generic Drugs: What Medicare Part D Data Reveals | CBO's Scott Laughery
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Scott Laughery of the Congressional Budget Office about new research examining how generic drug entry affects net prescription drug prices and spending in Medicare Part D. Their conversation explores the often-hidden role of rebates, how generic competition reshapes drug markets, and what newly available data reveal about savings after loss of exclusivity.Order the October 2026 issue of Health Affairs.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- 3 weeks ago34 min
Why Prior Authorization Still Frustrates Everyone: DrFirst's Colin Banas on What's Changing | SPONSORED
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.THIS SPONSORED PODCAST EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY DrFIRST.In this sponsored episode, Dr. Colin Banas, chief medical officer at DrFirst, joins Health Affairs Publishing's Rob Lott to discuss prior authorization, why the process continues to create delays and administrative burden, and the future of prior authorization in the health care ecosystem.Colin Banas joined DrFirst in 2019 after spending 17 years as CMIO at VCU Health System, where he also practiced as an internal medicine hospitalist. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on health IT and meaningful use and previously served as a health IT Fellow at the ONC. At DrFirst, Dr. Banas drives innovation in medication workflows, focusing on non-disruptive decision support that creates better experiences for providers and patients, including how AI can reduce clinical burnout and improve patient outcomes. This conversation explores the root causes of prior authorization challenges, from fragmented workflows and outdated technology to the competing incentives facing providers and payers. Dr. Banas and Lott also discuss how automation, interoperability, and artificial intelligence are beginning to reshape prior authorization and help organizations reduce friction while maintaining appropriate oversight of care. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- 4 weeks ago16 min
Diagnosing Dementia: Confidence Gaps Across the Health Care Workforce
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.Health Affairs Publishing’s Rob Lott speaks to Sumedha Gupta of Indiana University about new research on the dementia care workforce and how clinician experiences vary across provider types. They examine what those differences could mean for access, diagnosis, and care as dementia prevalence increases in the years ahead.Order the October 2026 issue of Health Affairs.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- Oct 7, 202627 min
Building Forefront: 20 Years of Shaping Health Policy Conversations
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.This month marks a major milestone for Health Affairs. In October 2006, the Health Affairs Blog was launched as a new experiment in health policy dialogue. Twenty years later, that platform has evolved into Health Affairs Forefront, publishing hundreds of articles annually and serving as a leading venue for evidence-based analysis, commentary, and debate.On this special anniversary episode of A Health Podyssey, host Rob Lott sits down with Chris Fleming, Editor of Forefront, to reflect on two decades of growth, innovation, and influence. Together, they discuss the origins of the publication, its transformation from a fledgling blog into a respected policy forum, and the editorial principles that have guided its success.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to catch all the latest Forefront articles. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
- Oct 6, 202623 min
Dr. Alister Martin on the Future of Public Health in New York City
This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.Delivered weekly from David Lim, Semafor Healthcare connects the dots between decisions in government, business, and technology to reveal how they impact the future of healthcare. Each edition will provide the analysis you need to understand and stay ahead of a rapidly changing landscape. Subscribe for free.A Health Podyssey host Rob Lott chats with Dr. Alister Martin, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, about his path from emergency medicine to public health leadership, his vision for improving health outcomes across New York City, and how the city's lessons in public health can be applied to other locales. Their conversation explores the local response to federal health policy changes, efforts to protect Medicaid coverage and reduce medical debt, and the public health challenges shaping New York City's future.Sign up for our free Health Affairs newsletters to stay up to date on health policy news and analysis. Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.
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About A Health Podyssey
Each week, Health Affairs' Rob Lott brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry.A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.
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