The host
Julie Rovner Health News KFF
@julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A renowned expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically acclaimed reference work “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.
Congress is running out of time to avoid a dramatic increase in health care premiums for the millions of Americans who purchase insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Dec. 15 is the deadline to sign up for coverage that begins Jan. 1, and some consumers are waiting to see if the credits will be extended, allowing them to be able to afford coverage next year.
Meanwhile, a federal vaccine advisory committee, hand-picked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted last week to end the universal recommendation of one dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth. This is just the beginning of what are expected to be major changes in overall childhood vaccine recommendations.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times.
Panelists
Anna EdneyBloombergNews
@annaedney.bsky.social Read Anna’s stories. Maya Goldman Axios
@maya-goldman.bsky.social Read Maya’s stories. Sheryl Gay StolbergThe New York Times
Read Sheryl’s stories.
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- On Thursday morning, the Senate was preparing to vote on competing health care proposals, none of which were expected to pass: one, from Democrats, that would extend the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits and a second, from Republicans, that would instead add money to health savings accounts for some ACA enrollees. As credits expire and time runs out to enroll in plans, it is likely that coverage will be unaffordable for some Americans, leaving them without insurance.
- The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to end its recommendation that newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B is a major development in the federal government’s move away from vaccine promotion. While the panel focused on the claim that babies are more likely to contract hepatitis B from their mothers, the reality is that the virus can live on household items, posing a threat of chronic illness and death to unvaccinated children.
- In reproductive health, House Speaker Mike Johnson removed insurance coverage for fertility treatments for military members from the National Defense Authorization Act before the legislation passed, and anti-abortion groups are calling for the firing of Food and Drug Administration chief Marty Makary over reports that he is slow to change his policy on medication abortion.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University professor Linda Blumberg about what the GOP health care plans have in common.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy articles they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should also read:
Julie Rovner: “Rural America relies on foreign doctors. Trump’s visa fees exclude them” from the Washington Post, by David Ovalle.
Anna Edney: “Abbott fired a warning shot on baby formula – then launched a lobbying blitz” from Bloomberg News, by Anna Edney.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg: “Married Scientists Torn by a Covid Biological Weapons Theory,” from The New York Times, by Katie JM Baker.
Maya Goldman: “These health centers are supposed to make care affordable. One sued patients for as little as $59 in unpaid bills,” from ProPublica, by Aliyya Swaby.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
Credits
Taylor Cook Audio Producer Emmarie Huetteman Editor
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