Health Affairs This Week

Latest Episodes:

Health Policy Roundup: ACA Reform, MedPAC & Conversion Therapy in the Courts Apr 10, 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.

Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss recent health policy developments, including a Supreme Court ruling on conversion therapy, renewed Democratic interest in Affordable Care Act reform, and key findings from MedPAC’s latest Medicare payment report.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Related Links:

2027 Medicare Advantage Final Payment Rule: Key Changes Explained | David Meyers (Health Affairs This Week)
Chiles v. Salazar (Conversion Therapy) (SCOTUSblog)
Senate Democrats lay out plans to overhaul health insurance after setbacks under Trump (STAT)
March 2026 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

2027 Medicare Advantage Final Payment Rule: Key Changes Explained | David Meyers Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

On an emergency pod episode, Health Affairs Publishing’s Jeff Byers welcomes Brown University's David Meyers to the pod to unpack the 2027 Medicare Advantage final payment rule, including the higher-than-anticipated rate increase, changes to risk adjustment models, what is V28, and the tradeoffs between market stability and long-term program sustainability.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Related Links:

Assessing Recent Regulatory Action On Medicare Advantage (Health Affairs Forefront)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Abandon High‑Deductible Health Plans Linked to Health Spending Accounts | Jeanne Lambrew Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs Publishing's Jeff Byers welcomes Jeanne Lambrew of The Century Foundation to discuss her recent Forefront article exploring whether high deductibles and health spending accounts achieve their intended goals and how alternative approaches could improve healthcare affordability and access.

On April 20th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event exploring the evolution of the Medicare Advantage market featuring Sachin Jain, David Meyers, and Grace Mackleby.

Also, check out our newest trend report focusing on the current state of prior authorization.

Become an Insider today.

Related Articles:

Abandon—Don’t Expand—High-Deductible Plans Linked To Spending Accounts (Health Affairs Forefront)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Innovation, Consumers, and How We Get to Better Health Care | Halle Tecco Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Halle Tecco, investor, founder of Rock Health and professor at Columbia Business School, to the pod to discuss her new book, Massively Better Healthcare: The Innovator's Guide to Tackling Healthcare's Biggest Challenges. Their conversation explores why consumers are becoming a powerful force in healthcare, how innovation happens within complex systems, and what it takes to align technology, evidence, and incentives to drive meaningful change.

Medicare Advantage Payment & Coding Fights Intensify Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Ben Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute to the pod to discuss the growing debate over Medicare Advantage (MA) payments and coding intensity. They break down why MA plans typically receive higher federal payments than traditional Medicare, how diagnostic upcoding factors into that gap, and what a new study in Health Affairs Scholar reveals about policy changes aimed at reducing inflated coding.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Related Articles:

An updated analysis of coding pattern differences in Medicare Advantage (Health Affairs Scholar)
The Trouble With MedPAC (Wall Street Journal)
The Higher Price Tag on Medicare Advantage (Wall Street Journal)
Aligning The MedPAC And CMS Estimates Of Coding Intensity: The Importance Of The Risk Model And Trend (Health Affairs Forefront)
Medicare Advantage growth decelerates as insurers shed members for 2026 (Healthcare Dive)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

FDA & Rare Disease Drugs: Why Policy and Politics Are Heating Up Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Deputy Editor Leslie Erdelack back to the pod to break down recent turbulence at the FDA following the departure of Vinay Prasad, whose decisions around rare‑disease gene therapies courted controversy. They explore the fast‑growing rare disease therapeutics market, why traditional clinical trials often don’t work for ultra‑rare genetic conditions, and the new FDA draft guidance for rare disease drug development.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Become an Insider to get access to this event, trend reports, cheat sheets, and exclusive newsletters.

Related Articles:

FDA vaccines chief who ran afoul of pharma to depart (Politico)
Rare Disease Therapeutics Market to Surpass US$ 495.27 Billion by 2033 as Gene Therapy, RNA-based Drugs, and Biologics Transform Patient Care (PR Newswire)
FDA NEWS RELEASE: FDA Launches Framework for Accelerating Development of Individualized Therapies for Ultra-Rare Diseases
FDA illuminates new approval pathway for bespoke gene editing therapies (Fierce Biotech)
One Pivotal Trial, the New Default Option for FDA Approval — Ending the Two-Trial Dogma (The New England Journal of Medicine)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

State of the Union Healthcare Policy Breakdown Mar 06, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Margaret Winchester to the pod to discuss Trump's recent State of the Union Address and unpacking its health care and health policy talking points, including most-favored nation drug pricing, health savings accounts, and if there's a path toward codification for either.

On March 24th, join us for our upcoming Insider exclusive event focusing on pharmacy benefit manager reform with Harvard Medical School's Benjamin Rome.

Related Articles:

National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 Percent In 2024 As Utilization Remained Elevated (Health Affairs)
Trump’s State of the Union trumpets healthcare greatest hits, but no new policies (Healthcare Dive)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Healthcare Storytelling and Digital Health Investment Trends | Christina Farr Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Christina Farr, CEO and editor-in-chief of Second Opinion Media, back to the pod to discuss her book, The Storyteller's Advantage: How Powerful Narratives Make Businesses Thrive. The conversation explores the value of storytelling in the health care and health policy space, how to invest in posting, the catch 22 of "spicy takes," recommendations for the reluctant poster, and Christina shares a quick look into what's interesting in the digital health investment space.

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Sweeping Affordable Care Act Changes Proposed for 2027 (Katie Keith) Feb 16, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs’ Jeff Byers welcomes Georgetown University’s Katie Keith back to the podcast to break down the newly proposed HHS rule that could bring major changes to the ACA beginning in 2027.

They discuss the proposal’s biggest shifts, including a major push toward expanding catastrophic plans, new marketplace eligibility restrictions tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and potential impacts on premiums, marketplace enrollment, insurers, and consumers.

Related Links:

HHS Proposes Sweeping Changes for 2027 Marketplace Plans (Part 1) (Health Affairs Forefront)
HHS Proposes Sweeping Changes for 2027 Marketplace Plans (Part 2) (Health Affairs Forefront)
Trump Team’s Planned ACA Rule Offers Its Answer to Rising Premium Costs: Catastrophic Coverage (KFF Health News)
CMS proposes sweeping ACA exchange rule (Healthcare Dive)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

2025 Dietary Guidelines: Protein, Policy, and the Ultra-Processed Foods Problem Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

This episode is brought to you by Semafor Healthcare.

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes dietitian Jenny Lo from Wellness and Sports Dietetics to discuss the recently revised dietary guidelines for Americans. They discuss what's changed, the emphasis on protein, the ambiguity over ultraprocessed foods, and the best advice she gives to new clients looking to make dietary changes.

Related Articles:

Panel behind new dietary guidelines had financial ties to beef, dairy industries (Stat News)
Experts Who Advised on Diet Guidelines Say RFK Jr.'s Version Is Full of Errors (MedPage Today)
A Multilayered Public Policy Approach To Ultraprocessed Foods (Health Affairs Forefront)
MAHA says its new food pyramid is affordable and healthy. We asked experts (Stat News)

Subscribe to Semafor Healthcare for free.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected