The Impact is a show about how policy affects people. In Washington, the story often ends when Congress passes a law. For us, that’s where the story begins. We follow the choices that legislators, leaders, and researchers make out into the real world where they have human consequences — both positive and negative, expected and unexpected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Impact is a show about how policy affects people. In Washington, the story often ends when Congress passes a law. For us, that’s where the story begins. We follow the choices that legislators, leaders, and researchers make out into the real world where they have human consequences — both positive and negative, expected and unexpected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Introducing The Impact

How does a Band-Aid wind up costing so much money? Why are American health care prices so incredibly high? Vox’s new podcast, the Impact, explores how policy affects real lives. This season, we’re focusing on healthcare, and we wanted to begin with one of thorniest questions in the American healthcare system: prices. In this episode, we look at how the American decision not to regulate health care prices leads to $629 Band Aids and $3,170 fees just for visiting the emergency room. We talk to doctors who think these prices are totally justified – and a health economist who doesn’t buy it. And we take a trip to the drug store to find out how much a Band-Aid should really cost. Email us your feedback to impact@vox.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a Band-Aid wind up costing so much money? Why are American health care prices so incredibly high? Vox’s new podcast, the Impact, explores how policy affects real lives. This season, we’re focusing on healthcare, and we wanted to begin with one of thorniest questions in the American healthcare system: prices. In this episode, we look at how the American decision not to regulate health care prices leads to $629 Band Aids and $3,170 fees just for visiting the emergency room. We talk to doctors who think these prices are totally justified – and a health economist who doesn’t buy it. And we take a trip to the drug store to find out how much a Band-Aid should really cost. Email us your feedback to impact@vox.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

The curious case of the $629 Band-Aid

Central line infections can be deadly. And they used to be extremely common: just a decade ago, hundreds of thousands of patients got them every year. Now, that number is closer to 9,000 annually. That's still high, but it's a dramatic drop in just ten years. So how did that happen? On this episode of the Impact, we talk to the doctor who discovered that central line infections are, in nearly all cases, completely preventable. Physicians just need to follow a checklist to make sure the line stays safe and sterile. And we’ll explore why, if this infection is preventable, some hospitals still have several cases of them each year. This episode includes content that might be upsetting for listeners, so please be aware. Many thanks to Vox's Johnny Harris, who originally recorded footage for this story. For more on this topic, read Sarah’s story on central line infections from 2015. Please subscribe, leave us a rating and a review, and email us your feedback at impact@vox.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Central line infections can be deadly. And they used to be extremely common: just a decade ago, hundreds of thousands of patients got them every year. Now, that number is closer to 9,000 annually. That's still high, but it's a dramatic drop in just ten years. So how did that happen? On this episode of the Impact, we talk to the doctor who discovered that central line infections are, in nearly all cases, completely preventable. Physicians just need to follow a checklist to make sure the line stays safe and sterile. And we’ll explore why, if this infection is preventable, some hospitals still have several cases of them each year. This episode includes content that might be upsetting for listeners, so please be aware. Many thanks to Vox's Johnny Harris, who originally recorded footage for this story. For more on this topic, read Sarah’s story on central line infections from 2015. Please subscribe, leave us a rating and a review, and email us your feedback at impact@vox.com.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Car crash hospitals vs. plane crash hospitals

Why are fax machines still such a staple of American health care? We talk to a pair of policy makers who hatched a plan to replace paper files and fax machines with electronic medical records. We explain why that plan backfired. And we go into clinics to understand why the fax's continued use isn't just annoying, but also sometimes harmful for patients' health. For even more fax facts, check out Sarah's text version of this story. You can send us feedback at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why are fax machines still such a staple of American health care? We talk to a pair of policy makers who hatched a plan to replace paper files and fax machines with electronic medical records. We explain why that plan backfired. And we go into clinics to understand why the fax's continued use isn't just annoying, but also sometimes harmful for patients' health. For even more fax facts, check out Sarah's text version of this story. You can send us feedback at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

It’s time to face the fax

There's a well-known narrative about the opioid epidemic: pharmaceutical companies and dirty doctors pushed misinformation and addictive drugs on patients. But there's also a policy story here, about well-meaning doctors who tried to find the best solution for their patients in pain. These doctors developed and spread new policies that urged their peers to treat pain as a vital sign and measure it at every visit. That policy change helped create the nationwide opioid epidemic we’re dealing with today.  Please, subscribe and leave us a review! You can email us at impact@vox.com, or send an ER bill at erbills.vox.com Music in this episode by Podington Bear and Chris Zabriskie, with sound effects from Berlin Atmospheres.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's a well-known narrative about the opioid epidemic: pharmaceutical companies and dirty doctors pushed misinformation and addictive drugs on patients. But there's also a policy story here, about well-meaning doctors who tried to find the best solution for their patients in pain. These doctors developed and spread new policies that urged their peers to treat pain as a vital sign and measure it at every visit. That policy change helped create the nationwide opioid epidemic we’re dealing with today.  Please, subscribe and leave us a review! You can email us at impact@vox.com, or send an ER bill at <a href="http://erbills.vox.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">erbills.vox.com</a> Music in this episode by Podington Bear and Chris Zabriskie, with sound effects from Berlin Atmospheres.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

The policies that created the opioid epidemic

On this episode of The Impact, we’re looking at a possible future for pain treatment. It’s an idea known as “pain acceptance,” and in the wake of the opioid epidemic, it is gaining traction among American doctors. Music from Podington Bear, Kevin MacLeod and Chris Zabriskie.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode of The Impact, we’re looking at a possible future for pain treatment. It’s an idea known as “pain acceptance,” and in the wake of the opioid epidemic, it is gaining traction among American doctors. Music from Podington Bear, Kevin MacLeod and Chris Zabriskie.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

The controversial way doctors fight pain without opioids

American women are changing up their birth control. The use of IUDs and implants has increased 6000% in the United States since 2002.  That's the result of specific policy choices made in Washington and in state houses. These policies have reduced the teen pregnancy rate. They have cut the abortion rate. But they’re also at risk right now.  In this episode, we’re going to tell you how those policies came to be, how they're helping women access birth control -- and why, at this very moment, they are facing serious threats. Music in this episode by Podington Bear and Kevin MacLeod.  Email us feedback! We're at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American women are changing up their birth control. The use of IUDs and implants has increased 6000% in the United States since 2002.  That's the result of specific policy choices made in Washington and in state houses. These policies have reduced the teen pregnancy rate. They have cut the abortion rate. But they’re also at risk right now.  In this episode, we’re going to tell you how those policies came to be, how they're helping women access birth control -- and why, at this very moment, they are facing serious threats. Music in this episode by Podington Bear and Kevin MacLeod.  Email us feedback! We're at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

This robotic pelvis reduces teen pregnancy

What is the best way to care for patients with severe mental illness? The United States has struggled with this question for decades. In 1963, President Kennedy signed a law that was supposed to transfer patients with severe mental illness out of hospitals and back into their communities -- into outpatient treatment. That effort hasn't really worked. A lot these patients end up homeless. Many are in prison or jail. One recent study found that more than half of all inmates have some kind of mental illness. Summit County, Ohio, thinks it has a solution: court-ordered outpatient treatment. It’s often called Assisted Outpatient Treatment, or AOT for short. That’s sort of what President Kennedy hoped for: treatment outside of the hospital, in the community. But the treatment is enforced by the courts -- and that’s what makes it so controversial. We had music on this episode from Blue Dot Sessions, Chris Zabriske, Kevin MacLeod, and Poddington Bear. Please email us your feedback to impact@vox.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is the best way to care for patients with severe mental illness? The United States has struggled with this question for decades. In 1963, President Kennedy signed a law that was supposed to transfer patients with severe mental illness out of hospitals and back into their communities -- into outpatient treatment. That effort hasn't really worked. A lot these patients end up homeless. Many are in prison or jail. One recent study found that more than half of all inmates have some kind of mental illness. Summit County, Ohio, thinks it has a solution: court-ordered outpatient treatment. It’s often called Assisted Outpatient Treatment, or AOT for short. That’s sort of what President Kennedy hoped for: treatment outside of the hospital, in the community. But the treatment is enforced by the courts -- and that’s what makes it so controversial. We had music on this episode from Blue Dot Sessions, Chris Zabriske, Kevin MacLeod, and Poddington Bear. Please email us your feedback to impact@vox.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

The black robe effect

The United States has an astoundingly high maternal death rate. It is three times higher than the UK, eight times higher than Norway, and still climbing. But California does way better than the rest of the country. Over the last decade, doctors in the state have banded together and worked to bring their maternal death rate down. Today on The Impact, we'll tell you the story of that effort, and show you how it helped save one woman's life. One of our health care reporters, Julia Belluz, has done some amazing in-depth reporting on this issue. You can read her story here. Music in this episode from Chris Zabriskie. This is the last episode of this first season of The Impact. Please send us your thoughts, and your ideas for next season. We can be reached at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The United States has an astoundingly high maternal death rate. It is three times higher than the UK, eight times higher than Norway, and still climbing. But California does way better than the rest of the country. Over the last decade, doctors in the state have banded together and worked to bring their maternal death rate down. Today on The Impact, we'll tell you the story of that effort, and show you how it helped save one woman's life. One of our health care reporters, Julia Belluz, has done some amazing in-depth reporting on this issue. You can read her story here. Music in this episode from Chris Zabriskie. This is the last episode of this first season of The Impact. Please send us your thoughts, and your ideas for next season. We can be reached at impact@vox.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

How California saves moms from dying in childbirth

We're making season 2, and we need your help! We want to know about local policy experiments from around the country. These can be at the state, county, or city level, and can cover any kind of policy—environmental or housing or criminal justice.  Send us your suggestions at bit.ly/voximpact  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're making season 2, and we need your help! We want to know about local policy experiments from around the country. These can be at the state, county, or city level, and can cover any kind of policy—environmental or housing or criminal justice.  Send us your suggestions at <a href="http://bit.ly/voximpact" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bit.ly/voximpact</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Help us make season 2!

In Washington, DC, the story often ends when Congress passes a law. For us, that’s where the story begins. We examine the consequences of what happens when powerful people act — or fail to act. This season, Jillian Weinberger explores the big ideas from the 2020 presidential candidates: how their ideas worked, or didn’t work, in other places or at other times. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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The Impact

Denmark gives new parents nearly a year off work after they have a baby. Most of that time can be taken by either parent — but dads take barely any time at all.  That has consequences for Danish men and women at work and at home. For the final episode of season two, the Impact travels to Denmark to find out why Danish dads are thumbing their nose at paid leave. We also discover a solution in another country, where more dads are enjoying time off with their new babies. We always want to hear from you. Send us your thoughts and questions at impact@vox.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Denmark gives new parents nearly a year off work after they have a baby. Most of that time can be taken by either parent — but dads take barely any time at all.  That has consequences for Danish men and women at work and at home. For the final episode of season two, the Impact travels to Denmark to find out why Danish dads are thumbing their nose at paid leave. We also discover a solution in another country, where more dads are enjoying time off with their new babies. We always want to hear from you. Send us your thoughts and questions at impact@vox.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Denmark’s paternity leave problem

All across the country, it seems like a given: places with more expensive houses have nicer schools because they can pay higher taxes. That’s just how education seems to work. Except in Vermont. Two decades ago, the state passed a radical law to equalize education funding. On this episode of the Impact.... we’ll tell you how that law came about. It’s the story of one woman, Carol Brigham, her young daughter, Amanda, and their fight to save the tiny school that is the heart of their small Vermont town.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All across the country, it seems like a given: places with more expensive houses have nicer schools because they can pay higher taxes. That’s just how education seems to work. Except in Vermont. Two decades ago, the state passed a radical law to equalize education funding. On this episode of the Impact.... we’ll tell you how that law came about. It’s the story of one woman, Carol Brigham, her young daughter, Amanda, and their fight to save the tiny school that is the heart of their small Vermont town.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

What schools look like when we fund them fairly

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for president with a plan to fight the opioid epidemic. Her legislation would dramatically expand access to addiction treatment and overdose prevention, and it would cost $100 billion over 10 years. Addiction experts agree that this is the kind of money the United States needs to fight the opioid crisis. But it’s a really expensive idea, to help a deeply stigmatized population. How would a President Warren get this through Congress? It’s been done before, with the legislation Warren is using as a blueprint for her proposal. In 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, the first national coordinated response to the AIDS crisis. In the decades since, the federal government has dedicated billions of dollars to the fight against AIDS, and it’s revolutionized care for people with this once-deadly disease. But by the time President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law, hundreds of thousands of people in the US already had HIV/AIDS, and tens of thousands had died. In this episode: how an epidemic begins, and how it ends. We look at what it took to get the federal government to finally act on AIDS, and what that means for Warren’s plan to fight the opioid crisis, today. We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to impact@vox.com.Further listening and reading:   When We Rise: My Life in the Movement, Cleve Jones’s book about his work for LGBTQ rights and against AIDS  And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, by Randy Shilts Vox’s German Lopez on Elizabeth Warren’s plan to fight the opioid epidemic Vox’s guide to where 2020 candidates stand on policy  Subscribe to The Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app to automatically get new episodes of the latest season each week.Host:Jillian Weinberger, @jbweinzAbout Vox:Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us:Vox.com Newsletter: Vox Sentences Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for president with a plan to fight the opioid epidemic. Her legislation would dramatically expand access to addiction treatment and overdose prevention, and it would cost $100 billion over 10 years. Addiction experts agree that this is the kind of money the United States needs to fight the opioid crisis. But it’s a really expensive idea, to help a deeply stigmatized population. How would a President Warren get this through Congress? It’s been done before, with the legislation Warren is using as a blueprint for her proposal. In 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, the first national coordinated response to the AIDS crisis. In the decades since, the federal government has dedicated billions of dollars to the fight against AIDS, and it’s revolutionized care for people with this once-deadly disease. But by the time President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law, hundreds of thousands of people in the US already had HIV/AIDS, and tens of thousands had died. In this episode: how an epidemic begins, and how it ends. We look at what it took to get the federal government to finally act on AIDS, and what that means for Warren’s plan to fight the opioid crisis, today. We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to <a href="mailto:impact@vox.com">impact@vox.com</a>.Further listening and reading: <ul> <li> <a href="https://www.clevejones.com/when-we-rise/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">When We Rise: My Life in the Movement</a>, Cleve Jones’s book about his work for LGBTQ rights and against AIDS</li> <li> <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-00994-6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic</a>, by Randy Shilts</li> <li>Vox’s German Lopez on Elizabeth Warren’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/2/19/18214179/elizabeth-warren-opioid-epidemic-president-trump" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">plan</a> to fight the opioid epidemic</li> <li>Vox’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/23/18304657/vox-guide-2020-democratic-policy-primary" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">guide</a> to where 2020 candidates stand on policy </li> </ul> Subscribe to The Impact on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-impact/id1294325824" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zS4NZ0ifzivJGmtaMqJwv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Spotify</a>, or<a href="https://pod.link/1294325824" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> your favorite podcast app</a> to automatically get new episodes of the latest season each week.Host:Jillian Weinberger,<a href="https://twitter.com/jbweinz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> @jbweinz</a>About Vox:Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.Follow Us:<a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vox.com</a> Newsletter:<a href="https://confirmsubscription.com/h/d/B1596399BA377946" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Vox Sentences</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

How to stop an epidemic

22% of New Yorkers are obese. In Chicago it is more than a quarter of the city. Obesity puts people at risk of diabetes, heart disease, even certain kinds of cancer. A couple of years ago, both cities decided to do something about it. But the policies they implemented were incredibly different. New York made healthy food more accessible. Chicago made sugary beverages more expensive. On this episode of the Impact: Which approach works best?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22% of New Yorkers are obese. In Chicago it is more than a quarter of the city. Obesity puts people at risk of diabetes, heart disease, even certain kinds of cancer. A couple of years ago, both cities decided to do something about it. But the policies they implemented were incredibly different. New York made healthy food more accessible. Chicago made sugary beverages more expensive. On this episode of the Impact: Which approach works best?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Food fight!

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