Tradeoffs

Next month, Tradeoffs Founder & Executive Editor Dan Gorenstein will join Farzad Mostashari at HLTH Inc.'s ViVE 2026 conference to discuss what it really takes to bring AI into everyday clinical use, unpacking the “AI chasm” between concept and clinical reality. Drop us a comment to let us know if you'll be there! #ViVEvent

Do you work in intimate partner violence / domestic violence? I want to dig in to this issue in my public health reporting at Tradeoffs. What are the most innovative programs right now? Who should I be following? jwernau@tradeoffs.org Signal JWernau.45 ... or👇

Hey all, I’m so proud of the episode Tradeoffs published today, a look at the hard choices and ambitious plans that went into Maryland’s application for a share of a new $50 billion fund for rural health care. I hope you’ll listen, and if you want to know more about this huge cash infusion for rural America, I've got a few recommendations: From Tradeoffs: My colleague Ryan Levi has a helpful overview of the Rural Health Transformation Program out today. It’s a great place to start. We also held a live event earlier this month with experts in rural health. It’s a smart conversation and worth your time. You'll find links to both (and lots of other great stories) at tradeoffs.org. KFF Health News is covering this new rural money extensively, and you can find all their stellar work here: https://lnkd.in/e8CGNZAm

This month marks the start of a nationwide experiment to give health care in rural America a $50 billion makeover. Here’s what you need to know about the Rural Health Transformation Program — from why it was created, the amount of money states will receive, how the funding will be used, and more. https://lnkd.in/gnJ-BbVJ

Hey all, I’m so proud of the episode Tradeoffs published today, a look at the hard choices and ambitious plans that went into Maryland’s application for a share of a new $50 billion fund for rural health care. I hope you’ll listen, and if you want to know more about this huge cash infusion for rural America, I've got a few recommendations: From Tradeoffs: My colleague Ryan Levi has a helpful overview of the Rural Health Transformation Program out today. It’s a great place to start. We also held a live event earlier this month with experts in rural health. It’s a smart conversation and worth your time. You'll find links to both (and lots of other great stories) at tradeoffs.org. KFF Health News is covering this new rural money extensively, and you can find all their stellar work here: https://lnkd.in/e8CGNZAm

For seven weeks late last year, you could say Elizabeth Kromm had one job: figure out how to ask the White House for $1 billion for rural health care in Maryland. "It’s a little bit of there’s a game to be played, and we have to figure out how to play it and then how to win it," she said. The federal government gave states 52 days to apply for new rural funding. $50 billion that Republicans in Congress set aside last summer to soften the blow from their health spending cuts. Plus, the Trump administration threw in a twist: it’s a competition that pits state against state. Listen to the latest episode of Tradeoffs as we follow Kromm and her team as they try to take advantage of this rare chance to make a big investment and maybe change lives. https://lnkd.in/gjZaft29

The Trump administration recently announced how much money each state will receive under an ambitious 5-year initiative known as the Rural Health Transformation Program. Research shows people are more likely to die younger in rural communities compared to cities, and the disparity has grown over the last three decades. States were given just 52 days to pull together applications for how they would use the funding to improve outcomes, grow the rural health care workforce and drive innovation.  Read our article breaking down why the program was created, how much money each state received, how they plan to use it, and whether new rural funding will make up for expected federal Medicaid cuts. https://lnkd.in/gnJ-BbVJ

States will soon get their first payout from a new $50 billion fund that Congress created last year to bolster rural health care. This week’s episode of Tradeoffs takes you along as we try to understand what this opportunity means for one state: Maryland. Since last fall, Elizabeth Edsall Kromm, PhD — one of Maryland’s top health officials — and her team have been rushing to pull together a thoughtful proposal for these new rural health funds. All 50 states got at least some money from the new fund, but the Trump administration pitted state against state for additional money, with larger awards going to proposals federal officials liked best. The key takeaways? 1️⃣ There’s a lot of excitement about this new funding. 2️⃣ There wasn’t a lot of time. Having just 52 days to prepare their applications limited what states could pull off. 3️⃣ States risk losing money if their projects don’t deliver. 4️⃣ The new money comes at the same time as states brace for major Medicaid cuts. Listen to the episode or read the transcript to learn about the tough decisions Kromm had to make and the people in rural Maryland hoping to get a share of this new money. https://lnkd.in/gjZaft29

Over the past few weeks, we've been looking back at Race to the Bottom, a special series from Tradeoffs examining the problems undermining the generic drugs we all rely on — and how we could fix them. Will affordable, high-quality generic drugs continue to be there when we need them? For decades, we’ve counted on generics as an escape hatch from America’s very high drug prices. But for a new wave of incredibly expensive drugs, copycat competitors are struggling to deliver that same relief. Listen to the final episode of the series to learn why this system that’s worked so well for so long is now stalling out, and what could be done to bring down the prices of these newer drugs. https://lnkd.in/e2YYazyC

2025 was an unpredictable and consequential year. Tradeoffs Founder and Executive Editor Dan Gorenstein shared a message about why he's proud of the work Tradeoffs has done covering the U.S. health care system. "We’ve grounded our reporting in rigorous research and evidence," Gorenstein said. "We’ve told deeply personal stories about the impact these changes are having on everyday Americans." Read the letter from the editor to learn more about what new reporting you can expect from us this year. https://lnkd.in/gEp8nu83