The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Health News
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Health?” A famous knowledgeable on well being coverage points, Julie is the creator of the critically praised reference ebook “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third version.
The capturing dying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York City prompted a shocking wave of sympathy for the perpetrator, slightly than the sufferer, from Americans who say they’ve been wronged by their well being insurers. It stays to be seen whether or not backlash from the killing will end in a extra severe dialog about what ails the well being care system.
Meanwhile, in a few of his first prolonged interviews because the election, President-elect Donald Trump continued to be noncommittal about his plans for well being care normally and the Affordable Care Act specifically.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.
Panelists
Rachel Cohrs Zhang
Stat News
Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico
Sandhya Raman
CQ Roll Call
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
The killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief govt has amplified simmering anger and mistrust over the nation’s well being care system. Many individuals are upset about the price of care, limitations of protection, gaps in entry — and far more. While Democratic policymakers have pushed lately to insure as many Americans as attainable, insurance coverage protection is simply a part of the equation in resolving the system’s ills.
There’s not a lot time left for this Congress. Still on the agenda is passing funding for some well being priorities. Extending telehealth entry, as an illustration, is a small however key situation for which lawmakers might want to discover cash to offset the price of an costly program. And cultural points proceed to play a task, with the House passing a protection spending package deal this week that might minimize protection for gender-affirming look after minor dependents of these within the armed forces.
And Trump’s current interviews with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” and Time journal supplied little readability on his well being care plans. He referred to creating modifications to the ACA and never making modifications to abortion tablet availability — however it’s clear that such points aren’t amongst his high issues and that insurance policies will rely largely on the personnel inside the well being businesses.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Francis Collins, who was the director of the National Institutes of Health and a science adviser to President Joe Biden.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose you must learn, too:
Julie Rovner: KFF’s “Medicare Spending was 27% More for People Who Disenrolled From Medicare Advantage Than for Similar People in Traditional Medicare,” by Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Alex Cottrill, Nolan Sroczynski, and Tricia Neuman.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNN’s “Most Women in the US Aren’t Accessing Family Planning Services, Even as Abortion Restrictions Grow,” by Deidre McPhillips.
Sandhya Raman: Stat’s “Spending Less, Living Longer: What the U.S. Can Learn From Portugal’s Innovative Health System,” by Usha Lee McFarling.
Rachel Cohrs Zhang: ProPublica’s “‘Eat What You Kill,’” by J. David McSwane.
Also talked about on this week’s podcast:
Credits
Taylor Cook
Audio producer
Lonnie Ro
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
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