• Medical Debt After Hospitalization: The Financial Fallout
    Feb 10 2026

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews John Scott of the University of Washington about his recent paper exploring findings on the financial fallout from traumatic injuries, highlighting persistent medical debt burdens and the policy gaps that leave many patients unprotected.

    Order the February 2026 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    19 mins
  • Will AI Fix Health Care? Robert Wachter Weighs In
    Feb 3 2026

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Dr. Robert Wachter, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, about his new book A Giant Leap: How AI Is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future. Wachter reflects on his own daily use of AI as a clinician, the reasons he has grown optimistic about its potential, and the challenges of regulating fast‑evolving technologies.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    29 mins
  • Medicaid vs. 340B: A Drug Pricing Clash (Sayeh Nikpay)
    Jan 27 2026

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Sayeh Nikpay of the University of Minnesota about her recent paper exploring how The Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and the 340B Program interact in ways that can unintentionally increase costs, the adoption of cost-saving strategies to mitigate these interactions, and how policymakers can act to balance Medicaid savings with revenue impacts on 340B-participating safety-net providers.

    Order the January 2026 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    29 mins
  • How Oregon’s Hospital Payment Cap Brought Stability Amid Change
    Jan 20 2026

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Roslyn Murray of Brown University to discuss her paper exploring how Oregon’s 2019 hospital payment cap saved $50 million annually while having little impact on hospital finances, operations, or patient care.

    Order the December 2025 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    24 mins
  • US Health Care Spending 2009–2019: What Changed? (Sherry Glied)
    Jan 13 2026

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Sherry Glied of New York University on her paper that explores how U.S. health spending growth slowed to less than half its historical rate, driven by lower utilization, slower price growth, and shifts in care delivery and administration.

    Order the January 2026 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    27 mins
  • BEST OF: J. Michael McWilliams on the Effects of Patient Survey Data on Risk Adjustment
    Dec 30 2025

    Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews J. Michael McWilliams of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital on his recent paper that explores opportunities for the use of patient health survey data for risk adjustment to limit distortionary coding incentives in Medicare.

    Order the January 2025 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

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    37 mins
  • BEST OF: Steven Lieberman on The Meteoric Rise Of Medicare Advantage
    Dec 23 2025

    Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Steven M. Lieberman of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles on his recent paper that explores how Medicare Advantage has seen significant enrollment growth and what reform efforts can be attempted to rebalance traditional Medicare and MA.

    Order the August 2025 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast

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    28 mins
  • BEST OF: Zirui Song on Private Equity’s Effect on Hospital Costs and Utilization
    Dec 16 2025

    Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott interviews Zirui Song of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital on his recent paper that explores how private equity acquisition impacts hospital costs and utilization and what variations were seen throughout 2005–19.

    Order the February 2025 issue of Health Affairs.

    Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support, we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcasts free for everyone.

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    23 mins