An Unlikely Alliance to Lower Healthcare Costs — Public Health On Call

About this episode:

Two health policy experts could not disagree more about the Affordable Care Act. Yet they're working together to tackle what they see as a root cause of unaffordability. In this episode: A 1954 change to federal tax code made employer-provided health benefits tax-free, incentivizing employers to cover workers' health insurance—but this policy is one explanation for high healthcare costs for Americans today.

Guests:

Michael F. Cannon, JM, MA, is the director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.

Elizabeth Fowler, PhD, JD, is a distinguished scholar in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009.

Show links and related content:

This policy is at the root of unaffordable health care—Washington Post
The New Reality Facing Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA—Public Health On Call (August 2025)

Transcript information:

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