This episode spotlights health insurance in the U.S. – and why an estimated 15 million Medicaid enrollees are at risk of losing their health insurance coverage and access to care.  In 2020, Congress enacted legislation that gave states extra Medicaid funds to help address the raging pandemic, but they attached a condition that prevented states from disenrolling individuals during the public health emergency. On March 31, 2023, the requirement expired and states began to return to normal eligibility and enrollment operations. Referred to as “the Medicaid unwinding,” this represents the biggest health insurance coverage event since the Affordable Care Act. Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, discusses the unprecedented transition with Kate McEvoy, Executive Director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, and Dr. Kemi Alli, a pediatrician and Chief Executive Officer of Henry J. Austin Health Center, a federally qualified health center in Trenton, New Jersey. They talk about strategies for maximizing continuity of coverage for consumers -- along with who is most likely to slip through the cracks, the role of state health officials and health care providers, and the potential impact on public health.Read how Princeton University’s State Health & Value Strategies (SHVS) program, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is helping states navigate the transition by visiting the SHVS website.Visit the Henry J. Austin Health Center website to learn more about its efforts to help patients “stay covered.”Read Kate McEvoy’s discussion of Medicaid stability with Health Affairs here.The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and produced by Aimee Bronfeld, with support from Eden Teshome, Dan Quiyu, and Kayce West. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

This episode takes on vaccine hesitancy and climate change. What do these seemingly diverse problems have in common? More than you might think. Although they are distinct challenges, both imperil global health, are perpetuated by social behaviors, and, according to a recent study, could be solved with a similar playbook.Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, confronts these problems and potential solutions with Princeton Professor Simon Levin, who has conducted research on the topic, and Nicholas Silitch, former chief risk officer for Prudential Financial, who speaks to the role of corporations in addressing these issues. They discuss a path forward that highlights collective action based on the common good, and a plan driven by resources, effective policy, and strategies for influencing health attitudes. Read Simon Levin's published research paper: Vaccination-hesitancy and global warming: distinct social challenges with similar behavioral solutionsThe Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and produced by Aimee Bronfeld, with support from Eden Teshome, Dan Quiyu, and Kayce West. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

This episode is about measuring “The Good Life.” Gross domestic product, or GDP, has been the longstanding indicator for evaluating a country’s performance and prosperity. But there is a growing movement to look beyond GDP, which only accounts for goods and services. Economists and other stakeholders argue the need for a better metric – one that considers health, access to education, happiness, and other dimensions of human welfare to provide a more complete picture.Host Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, discusses the issue with two guests: Professor Ori Heffetz, a Princeton alum and visiting research scholar from Cornell and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician at the United Nations Development Programme and proponent of the Human Development Index, an alternative approach to assessing human welfare and rating a country’s wellbeing.Their conversation addresses the shortcomings of GDP (as a metric for national wellbeing), how to construct a more accurate and useful index, and the vital role of data-based policymaking.Learn more about Ori Heffetz's work:Interview: Spotlight on Ori HeffetzArticle: Measuring the Essence of the Good LifeLearn more about The Human Development Index.The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and produced by Aimee Bronfeld, with support from Eden Teshome, Dan Quiyu, and Kayce West. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

This episode of The Princeton Pulse explores the effectiveness of levies on sugar-sweetened beverages, comparing experiences from South Africa and Philadelphia. Sometimes called soda or sugar taxes, they are used as a policy tool to address rising rates of obesity and other non-communicable diseases, and the related social and economic costs.Studies show that drinking too much sugar contributes to obesity and increases risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other serious illnesses. With that evidence in mind, more than 45 countries have implemented sugary beverage taxes on a national or subnational level. The taxes are designed to reduce demand for the beverages, promoting healthier choices and ultimately better health. At the same time, the levies can generate revenue to support other aspects of community health and wellbeing.  Do these taxes actually make people healthier? Can a regressive tax be progressive in its design and impact?  Host Heather Howard, a Princeton University professor and former NJ Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, addresses these issues with Dr. Karen Hofman, a pediatrician and research professor at the University of Witwatersrand, who helped South Africa become the first Sub-Saharan African country to implement this kind of tax; and Dwayne Wharton, a health equity advocate behind Philadelphia’s beverage tax.They explore lessons learned from public health interventions in multiple jurisdictions, including policy design questions, equity considerations, and the role of research in policy development.Learn more about Dr. Hofman’s work:Evidence That a Tax on Sugar Sweetened Beverages Reduces the Obesity Rate: A Meta-AnalysisDaily Maverick: Karen Hofman, the Professor Leading the Fight for Healthy Eating ChoicesRead an article by Dwayne Wharton:The Philadelphia Inquirer: Opinion | Tax on Sugary Beverages is a Good Thing----The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and produced by Aimee Bronfeld, with support from Eden Teshome, Dan Quiyu, and Kayce West. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

The inaugural episode of The Princeton Pulse Podcast addresses maternal and infant health disparities, a serious and often overlooked public health crisis. The facts are startling. In the United States, Black mothers are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white women, and Black babies are twice as likely as white babies to die before their first birthdays. Those statistics have captured the attention of both researchers and policymakers, especially in New Jersey, where the gaps are even more stark. What is causing such dire outcomes? How can we close the racial divide?In this episode, New Jersey's First Lady Tammy Murphy discusses how the Garden State is tackling the issue head-on through policy and Nurture New Jersey, a collaborative endeavor aimed at making New Jersey the safest, most equitable place in the nation to deliver and raise a baby. She is joined by Princeton Professor Elizabeth Armstrong, who explores how racism drives maternal and infant health disparities and leads to adverse outcomes. ---------------------------------------The Princeton Pulse Podcast is a production of Princeton University's Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW). The show is hosted by Heather Howard, a professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and produced by Aimee Bronfeld, with support from Eden Teshome, Dan Quiyu, and Kayce West. You can subscribe to The Princeton Pulse Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.