Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Kathleen Haddad back to the pod to discuss the recently passed $1.2 trillion spending appropriations bill, its included reforms for pharmacy benefit managers, the latest round of drugs slated for the Medicare Drug Negotiation program, TrumpRx, the upcoming flat rate for Medicare Advantage plan rates, and more recent health policy news.

Related Articles:

• Congress Reins In Drug Middlemen In Effort to Lower Prescription Prices (The New York Times)
• Analyzing The Drugs Selected For The 2028 Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Cycle (Health Affairs Forefront)
• The No UPCODE Act: Considering A Simple Start To A Complex Problem (Health Affairs Forefront)
• PRESS RELEASE: CMS Announces Selection of Drugs for Third Cycle of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, Including First-Ever Part B Drugs

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Katie Keith of Georgetown Law and Deputy Editor Chris Fleming to the pod to discuss what to watch out for in 2026 for health policy. The conversation touches on Affordable Care Act subsidies, Medicaid eligibility, guidance for pharmacy benefit managers, drug price negotiations, and more.

This week, we announced that Health Affairs has become Health Affairs Publishing, LLC, a single-member limited liability company wholly owned by Project HOPE. To find out more about this exciting new chapter, check out this Forefront piece.

Join us for the following events:

• 2/17: The FDA and Its Changing Relationship to Industry
• 2/25: What Excites Insiders About Health Care in 2026?

Become an Insider today to get access to these exclusive events.

Related Links:

• Health Policy At A Crossroads: What To Watch In 2026 (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Prescription Drug Policy, 2025 And 2026: The Year In Review And The Year Ahead (Health Affairs Forefront)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Gabriel Perna, Deputy Editor of Digital Health Business & Technology at Modern Healthcare, to the pod to discuss Epic Systems, how they became one of the leading American health care EHR companies, a recent antitrust lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against Epic Systems, and even touch on ChatGPT's entrance into health care.

Related Articles:

• Texas files antitrust suit against Epic over health data (Modern Healthcare)
• Texas hits Epic with an antitrust suit: Here’s what to know (Modern Healthcare)

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)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers is joined by Michael Chernew from Harvard Medical School to explore the recent 2024 health care spending report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

To kick off the new year, we are offering podcast videos of A Health Podyssey. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch those episodes. Let us know what you think about the videos by emailing us at communications@healthaffairs.org.

Join us on January 21 for an exclusive Insider virtual event exploring the latest drug policies with the University of Utah’s Joey Mattingly. Become an Insider to get access to this event.

Related Articles:

• National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 Percent In 2024 As Utilization Remained Elevated (Health Affairs)
• Growth In National Health Expenditures: It’s Not The Prices, Stupid (Health Affairs Forefront)

In the wake of Medicare and Medicaid's 60th anniversary, Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Jamila Michener of Cornell University to the pod to discuss her recent Forefront article on organized power and its impact on the future of Medicaid.

Also, join us for these upcoming events:

• 8/26: Provider Prices in the Commercial Sector: Independent Dispute Resolution (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/3: Theme Issue Briefing: Insights About The Opioid Crisis (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events like the ones highlighted above.

Related Articles:

• Order Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press)
• Medicare and Medicaid at 60 Forefront Series

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Mark Fendrick of The University of Michigan's Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) to discuss the recent announcement from CMS that the Medicare Advantage VBID model would be ending after 2025, and what the future holds for VBID moving forward with the new Trump administration.

Check out a recently released Health Policy brief from Nathaniel Tran and Gilbert Gonzales exploring LGBTQI+ policies.

Join Health Affairs on February 25 for an exclusive Insider virtual event featuring Stacie Dusetzina and Laura Tollen discussing HHS’s announcement of the 15 additional drugs selected for Medicare drug price negotiations, including weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy.

Also, join a live recording of A Health Podyssey on March 12 featuring Rob Lott and Yashaswini Singh discussing her recent paper on the effect of private equity on physician turnover. Register for the live taping here.

Related Articles:

• The End Of The MA Value-Based Insurance Design Model: What Next? (Health Affairs Forefront)
• V-BID X: Creating A Value-Based Insurance Design Plan For The Exchange Market (Health Affairs Forefront)
• Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model to End after Calendar Year 2025 (CMS)

Health Affairs' Jeff Byers welcomes Senior Editor Leslie Erdelack back to the pod to discuss the proposed rule change to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2026, which includes payment conversion factors for doctors, alternative payment models, add-on codes for Advanced Primary Care Management services, a new mandatory value-based payment model, and more.

Order the August 2025 issue of Health Affairs.

Join us for a live taping of A Health Podyssey on Tuesday August 12 where Rob Lott will discuss recent findings about changes in clinician's participation across Medicare value-based payment models with Kenton Johnston.

Upcoming Events include:

• 8/20: 340B w/ Sayeh Nikpay (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)
• 8/26: Provider Prices in the Commercial Sector: Independent Dispute Resolution (FREE TO ALL)
• 9/23: Prior Authorization: Current State and Potential Reform (INSIDER EXCLUSIVE)

View all Upcoming Events.

Become an Insider today to get access to exclusive events like the ones highlighted above.

Related Articles:

• PRESS RELEASE: Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Proposed Rule (CMS-1832-P)
• CMS proposes rule aligning Medicare physician payment with ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ MACRA (Healthcare Dive)
• CMS proposes 3.6% pay bump for docs, takes aim at chronic conditions in physician fee schedule (Fierce Healthcare)
• Physicians will see Medicare payments rise in 2026 (AMA)
• Medicare proposes ‘efficiency’ pay cuts that would hit highly paid specialists the most (STAT News)