Podcast

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: ACA Still Under A Cloud After Court Ruling


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The fate of the Affordable Care Act continues to be in doubt after a federal appeals court ruling in New Orleans. By a 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel ruled that the “individual mandate” provision of the health law — which requires people to have health coverage — is unconstitutional now that Congress has reduced the penalty to zero. But the judges sent the case back to the lower court to determine how much else of the law can remain in light of that finding.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are preparing to leave for the year having finished a gigantic spending bill that includes many changes to health policy. However, the two biggest health priorities of the year — doing something about “surprise” medical bills and prescription drug prices — remain undone.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

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’ “In France, Dying at Home Can Mean a Long Wait for a Doctor,” by Norimitsu Onishi

Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “What Happens When a Health Plan Has No Limits? An Acupuncturist Earns $677 a Session,” by Marshall Allen

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Nature’s “US Biomedical Agency Has Investigated Hundreds of Claims of Inappropriate Conduct This Year,” by Nidhi Subbaraman

Kimberly Leonard: BuzzFeed News’ “The Last Decade Was Disastrous for Abortion Rights. Advocates Are Trying to Figure Out What’s Next,” by Ema O’Connor


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