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 guide “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third version.
A brand new govt order from President Donald Trump has doubtlessly broad implications for the way forward for the federal analysis enterprise by transferring direct funding selections away from profession professionals to political appointees.
And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, attacked the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, highlighting how more and more inflammatory rhetoric from well being critics endangers the general public well being workforce.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Shefali Luthra of The nineteenth, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
Panelists
Sarah Karlin-Smith
Pink Sheet
@sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social
Shefali Luthra
The nineteenth
Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
Trump’s govt order highlights the strain between how Congress has directed federal science funding and what the administration can do to change that course. Congress has historically set the parameters and consultants have made the judgments for transferring ahead. The National Institutes of Health, thought of an American crown jewel, particularly has remained apolitical. But this step opens the door to issues about grant cancellation and provides to rising uncertainty in scientific analysis. Even buyers are beginning to maintain again. The ripple results could possibly be a lot greater than the Trump administration anticipates.
Many CDC staffers blame Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and different company leaders for stoking the detrimental local weather that led to final week’s assault. Kennedy seems to have doubled down on his language, nevertheless, asserting selections and insurance policies that proceed to gas vaccine opposition and hesitation.
This week, Kennedy additionally made the unprecedented transfer of calling on the Annals of Internal Medicine, a medical journal, to retract a examine that discovered that the aluminum adjuvant in lots of childhood vaccines didn’t trigger hurt. The journal refused to retract the examine primarily based on Kennedy’s scientifically unsubstantiated claims that the additive was damaging.
More fallout is rising in regards to the GOP-backed sweeping funds legislation enacted this summer season. Republicans have argued that its cuts to Medicaid — most of which is not going to kick in till after the midterm elections — would contact solely waste, fraud, abuse, and individuals who weren’t entitled to the protection. In actuality, the sprawling nature of Medicaid is already turning into clear as establishments — starting from hospitals to neighborhood well being facilities — put together for cuts that would restrict their skill to supply providers.
The CDC reported this week that Americans are consuming much less ultra-processed meals however that it’s nonetheless a giant a part of the American weight-reduction plan. The Trump administration has talked a giant sport about addressing this public well being problem but has appeared loath to require the meals trade to do something. Much of the administration’s efforts have targeted on “voluntary” adjustments. Former FDA chief David Kessler this week highlighted a regulatory, authorized approach the administration might compel extra motion.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the well being providers analysis group AcademyHealth, about how one can restore the general public’s belief in public well being.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week they assume it is best to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “Veterans’ Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals,” by David Armstrong, Eric Umansky, and Vernal Coleman.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times-KFF Health News’ “Why Young Americans Dread Turning 26: Health Insurance Chaos,” by Elisabeth Rosenthal and Hannah Norman.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: The New York Times’ “This Ohio Farm Community Is a Mecca for the ‘MAHA Mom,’” by Caroline Kitchener.
Shefali Luthra: Stat’s “Inside the American Medical Association’s Sudden Strategy Shift in Washington,” by Theresa Gaffney.
Also talked about on this week’s podcast:
Credits
Francis Ying
Audio producer
Stephanie Stapleton
Editor
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