The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Well being Information
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Well being Information’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Well being?” A famous professional on well being coverage points, Julie is the creator of the critically praised reference e-book “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.
Congress returned from its vacation break to the identical query it confronted in December: whether or not to increase covid-era premium subsidies for well being plans bought underneath the Inexpensive Care Act. The expanded subsidies expired on the finish of 2025, leaving greater than 20 million People going through dramatically greater out-of-pocket prices for insurance coverage.
In the meantime, the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led Division of Well being and Human Companies introduced an overhaul of the federal vaccine schedule for kids, decreasing the variety of ailments for which vaccines are really useful from 17 to 11.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Submit.
Panelists
Sarah Karlin-Smith
Pink Sheet
@sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social
Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico
Lauren Weber
The Washington Submit
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- The conservative motion to finish abortion entry nationwide has ensnared a last-ditch effort in Congress to assist hundreds of thousands afford their well being plans. As lawmakers take into account a compromise to revive enhanced federal tax credit for ACA plans, some Republicans are arguing that the tax credit ought to be barred from subsidizing any plan that covers abortion care — regardless that the federal {dollars} wouldn’t be used to pay for abortions anyway. That change would pressure some states to decide on between dropping their necessities for insurance coverage protection for abortion care or forgoing that federal help.
- President Donald Trump this week urged Republicans in Congress to be “versatile” about abortion restrictions. In the meantime, his well being insurance policies to this point aren’t yielding notable advantages for People, with many of the financial savings from his high-profile pharmaceutical offers going to the federal and state Medicaid applications. And the $50 billion federal funding enhance for rural well being — supposed to counterbalance practically $1 trillion in anticipated Medicaid spending cuts — is unlikely to make a significant dent, in no small half as a result of rural amenities are barred from utilizing the cash for common bills.
- Whereas Kennedy introduced an overhaul of federal suggestions for childhood vaccines, the motion’s influence on vaccination charges and insurance coverage protection will rely largely on how varied states react, since states are those that impose mandates — equivalent to for varsity enrollment — and regulate some insurers. Nonetheless, it’s prone to lead to a patchwork of state insurance policies, which is problematic for public well being efforts.
- Federal well being officers additionally unveiled new dietary tips, turning the decades-old meals pyramid the wrong way up. A number of the suggestions adhere to scientific findings, equivalent to reducing added sugar from one’s food plan. Others are extra controversial, significantly the suggestion that People ought to eat extra pink meat and the softening of tips on saturated fat.
Plus, for “further credit score” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn (or wrote) this week that they assume it’s best to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: KFF Well being Information’ “Ads Promising Sufferers a ‘Dream Physique’ With Minimal Danger Get Little Scrutiny,” by Fred Schulte.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: SFGate’s “A Calif. Teen Trusted ChatGPT for Drug Recommendation. He Died From an Overdose,” by Lester Black and Stephen Council.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: ProPublica’s “The Finish of Help: Trump Destroyed USAID. What Occurs Now?” by Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy.
Lauren Weber: The Washington Submit’s “How RFK Jr. Upended the Public Well being System,” by Rachel Roubein, Lena H. Solar, and Lauren Weber.
Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:
Credit
Zach Dyer
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
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