Podcast

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Republicans in COVID Disarray


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President Donald Trump’s pivot to a more serious view of the coronavirus pandemic didn’t last long. This week, he was again touting hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that has not been shown to work against the virus. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Republicans continue to struggle to come up with a proposal for the next round of COVID-19 relief even as earlier bills expire. That’s leaving millions of Americans without the ability to pay rent or meet other necessary expenses, as the economy continues to sink.

Also on the agenda, at least briefly, is the subject of high drug prices. Once considered a leading health issue for the 2020 elections, it has been all but wiped from the headlines by the pandemic. Trump issued a series of executive orders he said would produce an immediate impact, but experts point out they are mostly wish lists of things the president has already said he supports.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Markian Hawryluk, who reported the July NPR-KHN “Bill of the Month” installment, about a surprise bill from a surprise participant in the operating room: a surgical assistant. If you have an outrageous medical bill you would like to share with 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 New York Times’ “Disability Pride: The High Expectations of a New Generation,” by Joseph Shapiro

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “Pelosi Mandates Wearing Masks on the House Floor After Gohmert Case,” by Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris

Mary Ellen McIntire: The Atlantic’s “Why Can’t We Just Have Class Outside?” by Olga Khazan

Anna Edney: ProPublica’s “How to Understand COVID-19 Numbers,” by Caroline Chen


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