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.
Republicans remain divided on how to deal with the looming expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s more generous tax credits, which will send premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans starting in January if no further action is taken. The Trump administration introduced a proposal this weekend that included a two-year extension of the appropriations as well as some restrictions imposed by Republicans, but the plan met strong resistance on Capitol Hill and its unveiling was delayed.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education has declared that a long list of health care careers are not “professions,” meaning that students who pursue those tracks — including as nurses, physical therapists and physician assistants — will no longer be eligible for federal student loans large enough to cover their tuition costs.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.
Panelists
Sarah Karlin-Smith Pink sheet
@sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social Read Sarah’s stories. Alice Miranda Ollstein Politics
@alicemiranda.bsky.social Read Alice’s stories. Sandhya Raman QC Roll Call
@sandhyawrites.bsky.social Read Sandhya’s stories.
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- News of Trump’s health care plan broke as Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was working on a separate Republican Party proposal to direct the money into health savings accounts. Congressional Republicans have suggested they are excluded from Trump’s plan and, among other things, opposed his proposal to extend the ACA’s limited premium tax credits.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed that he ordered the modification of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to make the false claim that vaccines could cause autism. The development puts Republicans in a difficult situation — particularly Cassidy, a doctor who voted for Kennedy’s confirmation after saying he had secured an agreement that Kennedy would not make changes to the CDC’s vaccine policy.
- Three states have revived the lawsuit challenging the approval of mifepristone, adding to the case the FDA’s recent approval of another generic version. The Supreme Court threw out the first case, ruling that the plaintiffs – who were doctors – lacked standing to prove harm. Yet the revived case could very well end up before the Supreme Court again.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about their new book, Information Sick: How the decline of journalism and the rise of misinformation are harming our health – and what we can do about it.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy articles they read this week that they think you should also read:
Julie Rovner: “A Battle With My Blood” from The New Yorker, by Tatiana Schlossberg.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNBC’s “Discontinued Meta Search Suggesting Social Media Damage, Allegations Filed in Court,” by Jonathan Vanian.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: “Influencers Made Millions Pushing ‘Wild’ Births – Now the Free Birth Society Is Linked to Baby Deaths Worldwide,” by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne.
Sandhya Raman: KFF Health News, “Kids and teens go full throttle on e-bikes as federal oversight winds down,” by Kate Ruder.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
Credits
Francis Ying Audio Producer Emmarie Huetteman Editor
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