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 writer of the critically praised reference e-book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third version.
The Department of Health and Human Services is funded for the remainder of the fiscal 12 months. But lawmakers stay involved about whether or not the Trump administration will spend the cash as directed.
Meanwhile, negotiations over extending expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans have damaged down within the Senate, principally over a perennial problem — abortion. The subsidies’ expiration on the finish of 2025 has left hundreds of thousands of Americans unable to afford their medical health insurance premiums.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.
Panelists
Anna Edney
Bloomberg News
Joanne Kenen
Johns Hopkins University and Politico
Sandhya Raman
CQ Roll Call
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
President Donald Trump signed authorities spending laws that gives for HHS, in addition to a separate measure that addresses pharmacy profit managers and a few Medicare applications. Meanwhile, Trump has but to place out his personal funds — historically a president’s want listing of priorities. On the well being facet, that’s more likely to embody acquainted “Make America Healthy Again” concepts, akin to funding for a brand new company, proposed final 12 months, that may be referred to as the Administration for a Healthy America.
In Congress, negotiations over renewing more-generous ACA premium tax credit have collapsed. While lawmakers are more likely to proceed listening to from constituents in regards to the excessive price of well being care, now Senate negotiators are signaling that the probabilities of renewing the expired tax credit are low.
A brand new examine in JAMA finds that most cancers sufferers lined by high-deductible well being plans had decrease charges of survival. The analysis suggests that top out-of-pocket prices discourage preventive and needed care — and it comes as little shock in an surroundings the place many Americans can not afford surprising payments for a number of hundred {dollars}, not to mention four- or five-figure deductibles.
And a brand new interview reveals a really completely different mandate for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s remade vaccine advisory panel: to scrutinize the dangers of immunizations, quite than stability their dangers and advantages. The interview with the panel’s chair, revealed by Politico, quoted him saying Americans ought to view them “more as a safety committee,” including, “Efficacy will be secondary.” The notion that the panel will now not stability a vaccine’s doubtlessly health- and lifesaving results towards its attainable unwanted effects flies towards a long time of presidency finest practices.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Renuka Rayasam a couple of new reporting mission, “Priced Out,” which explores the growing unaffordability of insurance coverage and well being care. If you may have a narrative you’d prefer to share with us, you can do that here.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose it is best to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: Politico’s “DeSantis’ Canadian Drug Import Plan in Florida Goes From Campaign Trail to Tough Realities,” by Arek Sarkissian.
Sandhya Raman: The Washington Post’s “Free HIV Drugs Save Lives. Why One State Is Restricting Access for Thousands,” by David Ovalle.
Anna Edney: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Associated Press’ “Forever Stained: Inside America’s Carpet Capital: An Empire and its Toxic Legacy,” by Dylan Jackson, Jason Dearan, and Justin Price.
Joanne Kenen: Inside Climate News’ “‘Toxic Colonialism’ on the Bay of Bengal,” by Johnny Sturgeon.
Also talked about on this week’s episode:
Credits
Francis Ying
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
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