Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Here Comes Reconciliation


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The expansion of health benefits is a major piece of the tentative budget deal reached this week by Democrats in Congress. They plan to press ahead — without Republican support — on a bill that could expand Medicare, extend the generous premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act and provide options for people with low incomes who have been shut out of coverage in states that didn’t expand Medicaid. It could be paid for, at least in part, by changes aimed at reducing prescription drug prices. But that assumes Democrats can reach an agreement on the details, because the bill cannot pass without every Democrat in the Senate and nearly every Democrat in the House.

Meanwhile, controversy continues over the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Aduhelm, a controversial — and expensive — drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease that has not yet demonstrated a clear benefit.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

Also this week, Rovner interviews Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a mother, daughter and a gigantic emergency room bill. If you have an outrageous medical bill you’d like to send us, you can do that here.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: The Los Angeles Times’ “Botched Surgeries and Death: How the California Medical Board Keeps Negligent Doctors in Business,” by Jack Dolan and Kim Christensen

Rachel Cohrs: Politico’s “Plugging Obamacare’s Biggest Hole Poses Dilemma for Democrats,” by Rachel Roubein and Alice Miranda Ollstein

Sarah Karlin-Smith: KHN’s “Government Oversight of Covid Air Cleaners Leaves Gaping Holes,” by Lauren Weber and Christina Jewett


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