The Host

Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @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 noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.

Republicans remain divided over how to address the impending expiration of more generous Affordable Care Act plan tax credits, which will send premiums spiraling for millions of Americans starting in January if no further action is taken. The Trump administration floated a proposal over the weekend that included a two-year extension of the credits as well as some restrictions pushed by Republicans, but the plan was met with strong pushback on Capitol Hill and its unveiling was delayed. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has declared that a long list of health careers are not “professions,” meaning that students pursuing 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. 

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.

Panelists

Sarah Karlin-Smith Pink Sheet @SarahKarlin @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social Read Sarah's stories. Alice Miranda Ollstein Politico @AliceOllstein @alicemiranda.bsky.social Read Alice's stories. Sandhya Raman CQ Roll Call @SandhyaWrites @sandhyawrites.bsky.social Read Sandhya's stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• The news of Trump’s health care plan landed as Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was working on a separate GOP proposal to direct money into health savings accounts. Congressional Republicans suggested they were left out of Trump’s planning and, among other things, opposed his proposed extension of limited ACA premium tax credits.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has confirmed that he ordered the change to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to assert the false claim that vaccines may cause autism. That development puts Republicans in a tough spot — particularly Cassidy, a physician who voted for Kennedy’s confirmation after saying he’d 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 then that the plaintiffs — who were doctors — lacked standing to prove harm. Yet the revived case may very well end up at 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 Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: The New Yorker’s “A Battle With My Blood,” by Tatiana Schlossberg.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNBC’s “Meta Halted Research Suggesting Social Media Harm, Court Filing Alleges,” by Jonathan Vanian.  

Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Guardian’s “Influencers Made Millions Pushing ‘Wild’ Births — Now the Free Birth Society Is Linked To Baby Deaths Around the World,” by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne.  

Sandhya Raman: KFF Health News’ “Kids and Teens Go Full Throttle for E-Bikes as Federal Oversight Stalls,” by Kate Ruder.  

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

• The Center for Law and Social Policy’s “Tracking the Harm of DOGE Cuts.” 
• The New York Times’ “Kennedy Says He Told C.D.C. To Change Website’s Language on Autism and Vaccines,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg.
• The Atlantic’s “RFK Jr.’s Miasma Theory of Health Is Spreading,” by Katherine J. Wu.
•  NPR’s “‘Nobody Wants To Come’: What If the U.S. Can No Longer Attract Immigrant Physicians,” by Yuki Noguchi.
•  Campaign for Accountability’s “AI Chatbots Point Women to Unproven and Unethical ‘Abortion Pill Reversal,’ Report Shows.”

Credits

Francis Ying Audio producer Emmarie Huetteman Editor

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