Health Affairs This Week

Latest Episodes:

When Academic Research Meets The Attention Economy Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

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.

On this episode, Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers gets meta and invites Kent Anderson and Joy Moore, authors of the new book How The Internet Disrupted Science, onto the podcast to discuss how media trends have affected academic authors' research and get their work noticed and distributed in The Attention Economy.

Both Kent and Joy are currently consultants. Kent was the co-founder of The Scholarly Kitchenand current author at The Geyser. Joy has worked at Silverchair and The American Medical Association.

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

BEST OF: Future of Primary Care: Bright or Broken? w/ Troyen Brennan Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs This Week is on vacation in July. We will return with new episodes in August 2026.

This episode originally aired on October 25, 2025.

Health Affairs This Week will return with new episodes next week.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Troyen A. Brennan of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and former CMO at CVS Health to the pod to discuss his new book, Wonderful and Broken: The Complex Reality of Primary Care in the United States. The conversation touches on themes within the book, including the current state of primary care, the diffusion of ideas in the health care space, the paradox of value-based care driven by Medicare Advantage, innovation in the Medicaid space, and what opportunities there could be to improve health care outcomes.

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Health Research Funding Suddenly Cut: Dr. Aaron Carroll Explains Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

We interrupt the summer break for this special "emergency pod" episode.

Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Dr. Aaron Carroll, President and CEO of AcademyHealth, back to the pod to examine the sudden discontinuation of over $100 million in ongoing Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) grant funding, raising questions about transparency, federal priorities, and the future of health services research.

Related Links:

AcademyHealth's Situation Report (Substack)
HHS research agency ends funding for dozens of health studies (Roll Call)
AHRQ Is Being Dismantled and the Consequences Will Reach Every Part of American Health Care (Academy Health Situation Report)
U.S. judge rejects Trump’s justification for terminating thousands of grants (Science)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

BEST OF: The Great Health Care Vision Board (Stacie Dusetzina) Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs This Week is on vacation in July. We will return with new episodes in August 2026.

This episode originally aired on January 21, 2026.

On an emergency pod episode, Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Stacie Dusetzina of Vanderbilt University Medical Center to breakdown the recently unveiled The Great Healthcare Plan from the Trump administration.

Related Articles:

The Great Healthcare Plan (White House)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

BEST OF: CMS's 10-Year Value-Based Primary Care Experiment Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs This Week is on vacation in July. We will return with new episodes in August 2026.

This episode originally aired on June 23, 2023.

Health Affairs' Marianne Amoss and Michael Gerber break down CMS's new primary care model, the Making Care Primary (MCP) Model.

Check out the first issue of Health Affairs Scholar.

Related Links:

The Changing Landscape of Primary Care: Effects of the ACA and Other Efforts Over the Past Decade (Health Affairs Forefront)
Making Care Primary Model Summary (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
CMS Launches New Pilot Program to Test Out Value-Based Primary Care in 8 States (FierceHealthcare)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

BEST OF: Is Value-Based Payment Failing U.S. Healthcare? | Andrew Ryan Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

This episode originally aired on February 27, 2026.

Health Affairs’ Jeff Byers welcomes Brown University's Andrew Ryan to the pod to discuss his recent Forefront article that explores whether value-based payment and managed care can lead to addressing the core drivers of spending.

Related Links:

Value-Based Payment And Managed Care Will Not Solve The Affordability Crisis (Health Affairs Forefront)
“All I Do Is Win”: Why Beating Benchmarks Doesn’t Mean That ACOs Are Reducing Costs (Health Affairs Forefront)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Why Healthcare Costs Are Rising in America: The $9 Trillion Outlook for 2025 and Beyond Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs Publishing’sJeff Byers welcomes Michael Chernew, professor at Harvard Medical School, back to the pod to discuss the recently released National Health Expenditures Projections for 2025–34 from the Office of the Actuary (OACT) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Related Links:

National Health Expenditure Projections, 2025–34: Strong Utilization Growth Initially, Legislative Impacts Later (Health Affairs)
The NHE Projections Through 2034: Growth Assumptions, Policy Consequences (Health Affairs Forefront)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Medicaid Work Requirements: Who’s Affected and What’s at Stake Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs Publishing’sJeff Byers welcomes Alison Barkoff of George Washington University to the pod to explore the evolving landscape of Medicaid work requirements.

They break down who is impacted by these policies, how the requirements are structured across states, and the real-world challenges of implementation. The conversation also explores concerns about administrative burden, potential coverage losses, and what these changes mean for beneficiaries, policymakers, and providers.

Topics covered:

What Medicaid work requirements are and how they work
Who qualifies—and who may lose coverage
State-level variations and policy design
Administrative complexity and compliance challenges
Potential impacts on access to care and health outcomes

Join us on June 23 for an exclusive Insider virtual event examining how antitrust policy in health care is evolving at both the federal and state levels, featuring insights from Katherine Gudiksen, Leemore Dafny, and Nathan Hostert.

Related Links:

Medical Frailty Rule Contravenes HR 1, Burdens The Health Care System, And Threatens Public Health (Health Affairs Forefront)
States balk at the high price of Medicaid work requirements amid budget crunch (POLITICO PRO)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Will the Rural Health Transformation Fund Deliver? Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs Publishing’sJeff Byers welcomes Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF Health News to the pod to discuss the Rural Health Transformation Fund, highlighting how it aims to improve infrastructure and access in rural communities amid ongoing challenges like hospital closures, workforce shortages, and Medicaid cuts.

To learn more about the Rural Health Transformation Fund, join us on June 8 for a free event featuring Kate Sapra and Katherine Ornstein highlighting state initiatives focusing on improving care for older adults.

Related Links:

Rural Health Payout Series (KFF Health News)
Rural America at a Glance (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Federal Budget Cuts Won’t Hit All Hospitals Equally: How States Can Better Analyze Hospital And Health System Financial Data (Health Affairs Forefront)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Inside CVS Caremark: The Role of PBMs in Drug Costs & Access | SPONSORED Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

THIS SPONSORED PODCAST EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CVS HEALTH.

In this sponsored episode, James Margiotta, Chief Growth Officer at CVS Caremark, joins Health Affairs Publishing's Jessica Bylander to unpack the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), their impact on prescription drug costs, and the value PBMs bring to the health care system.

James has nearly 35 years of experience driving innovation, operational excellence, and enterprise value across the healthcare system. In his current role, James leads the team responsible for partnering with clients to identify their unique needs and bringing forward strategic solutions to meet their objectives.

Throughout his career at CVS Health, James has scaled businesses across CVS Caremark, CVS Accountable Care, Minute Clinic, Aetna, and CVS Pharmacy — each with its own challenges, cultures, and market dynamics.

James and Jessica's conversation explores how PBMs help employers, health plans, governments, and unions manage rising prescription drug costs while balancing affordability, transparency, and member experience. James explains CVS Caremark’s approach to controlling costs, dives into the growing demands for price transparency, and how artificial intelligence may transform pharmacy benefits and member navigation services.

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected