KFF Health News' 'What the Health?'

The recently fired head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told senators that health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered her to fire top officials and agree to approve changes to national vaccine recommendations — before the recommendations were made and regardless of what the science says. Meanwhile, Congress heads toward a government shutdown, with expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans in the balance.Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news.Also, Rovner interviews Troyen Brennan, former chief medical officer at Aetna and CVS, about his new book on primary care.Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: The New York Times Magazine’s “Trump Is Shutting Down the War on Cancer,” by Jonathan Mahler.  Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push,” by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “I Have Dental Insurance. Why Do I Pay So Much for Care?” by Erica Sweeney.  Joanne Kenen: Politico Magazine’s “Why Voters Will Feel the Impact of GOP Health Cuts Before the Midterms,” by Joanne Kenen.  Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.

With less than three weeks to go before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items.Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: NPR’s “What Kind of Dairy Does a Body Good? Science Is Updating the Answer,” by Will Stone.  Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “The Implants Were Supposed to Dissolve. They Didn’t,” by Anna Edney and Tanaz Meghjani.  Sandhya Raman: The Texas Tribune’s “Texas’ New Parental Consent Law Leaves School Nurses Confused About Which Services They Can Provide to Students,” by Jaden Edison.  Lauren Weber: ProPublica’s “‘Just Let Me Die,’” by Duaa Eldeib.  

A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans.  Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who discusses his “Bill of the Month” report about a woman’s unfortunate interaction with a bat — and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “Gutted: How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies,” by Brandon Roberts, Annie Waldman, and Pratheek Rebala. Jessie Hellmann: KFF Health News’ “When Hospitals and Insurers Fight, Patients Get Caught in the Middle,” by Bram Sable-Smith.  Sarah Karlin-Smith: NPR’s “Leniency on Lice in Schools Meets Reality,” by Blake Farmer.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: Vox’s “Exclusive: RFK Jr. and the White House Buried a Major Study on Alcohol and Cancer. Here’s What It Shows,” by Dylan Scott.  

This summer marks the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, the twin government programs that have shaped the health care system into what it is today. In this special episode, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews two experts on the history, significance, and future of these perennially popular programs. First up, Medicare historian and University of North Carolina professor Jonathan Oberlander. He’s followed by George Washington University professor Sara Rosenbaum, who not only has studied Medicaid since nearly its beginning but also has helped shape Medicaid policy over the past four decades.

President Donald Trump’s latest executive order about science and medicine seeks to take funding decisions out of the hands of career scientists and give them to political appointees instead. And a gunman, reportedly disgruntled over covid vaccines, shoots at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, killing a law enforcement officer.Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of the health services research group AcademyHealth, about how to restore the public’s trust in public health.  Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, 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.  Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.

The Health and Human Services secretary is winding down nearly $500 million in mRNA research funding, citing false claims that the technology is ineffective against respiratory illnesses — and notching a victory for critics of the covid vaccines. And President Donald Trump is demanding drugmakers drop their prices, quickly, but it’s unclear how he could make them comply. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too: Emmarie Huetteman: KFF Health News’ “New Medicaid Federal Work Requirements Mean Less Leeway for States,” by Katheryn Houghton and Bram Sable-Smith. Sarah Karlin-Smith: Slate’s “Confessions of a Welfare Queen,” by Maria Kefalas. Sandhya Raman: CQ Roll Call’s “Sweden’s Push for Smokeless Products Leads Some To Wonder About Risks,” by Sandhya Raman. Lauren Weber: The New York Times’ “‘Hot Wasps’ Found at Nuclear Facility in South Carolina,” by Emily Anthes. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, is eyeing an overhaul of two more key entities as part of his ongoing effort to reshape health policy. And President Donald Trump signed an executive order last week that would enable localities to force some homeless people into residential treatment.Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sara Rosenbaum, one of the nation’s leading experts on Medicaid, to mark Medicaid’s 60th anniversary this week.  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Cosmetic Surgeries Led to Disfiguring Injuries, Patients Allege,” by Fred Schulte. Anna Edney: The Washington Post’s “Morton Mintz, Post Reporter With a Muckraker Spirit, Dies at 103,” by Stefanie Dazio. Joanne Kenen: ScienceAlert’s “New Kind of Dental Floss Could Replace Vaccine Needles, Study Finds,” by David Nield. Shefali Luthra: The New Yorker’s “Mexico’s Molar City Could Transform My Smile. Did I Want It To?” by Burkhard Bilger. 

Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well.Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in the big budget bill President Donald Trump signed into law this month, and polls suggest many of them don’t like what they see.Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Julie Appleby of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.Also this week, Rovner interviews historian and University of North Carolina health policy professor Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Republicans Call Medicaid Rife with Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice but To Break the Rules,” by Katheryn Houghton.  Jessie Hellmann: Roll Call’s “Kennedy’s Mental Health Drug Skepticism Lands at FDA Panel,” by Ariel Cohen.  Julie Appleby: NPR’s “Many Beauty Products Have Toxic Ingredients. Newly Proposed Bills Could Change That,” by Rachel Treisman.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Associated Press’ “RFK Jr. Promoted a Food Company He Says Will Make Americans Healthy. Their Meals Are Ultraprocessed,” by Amanda Seitz and Jonel Aleccia.  

The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for humanitarian foreign aid projects and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. The House has a Friday deadline to approve the rescissions bill, or the funding remains in place.Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other drugs approved by the FDA.Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “UnitedHealth’s Campaign to Quiet Critics,” by David Enrich.  Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker’s “Can A.I. Find Cures for Untreatable Diseases — Using Drugs We Already Have?” by Dhruv Khullar.  Shefali Luthra: The New York Times’ “Trump Official Accused PEPFAR of Funding Abortions in Russia. It Wasn’t True,” by Apoorva Mandavilli.  Sandhya Raman: The Nation’s “‘We’re Creating Miscarriages With Medicine’: Abortion Lessons from Sweden,” by Cecilia Nowell.  Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.