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.

The Senate is scheduled to vote in the coming days on a Democrat-led plan to extend the temporary additional subsidies that have lowered out-of-pocket costs for Affordable Care Act health plans. But even with the vote approaching, Republicans in the House and Senate are divided over what, if any, alternative plan they should offer.

Meanwhile, anti-vaccine forces at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have both agencies in disarray.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Panelists

Paige Winfield Cunningham The Washington Post @pw_cunningham Read Paige's stories. Joanne Kenen Johns Hopkins University and Politico @JoanneKenen @joannekenen.bsky.social Read Joanne's bio. Alice Miranda Ollstein Politico @AliceOllstein @alicemiranda.bsky.social Read Alice's stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Republican lawmakers are struggling to reach consensus on a health care plan as the Senate prepares to vote on the fate of enhanced ACA premium subsidies. Many broadly oppose Obamacare and argue Democrats deserve the blame for the rising cost of health care, while some Republicans facing tough reelection fights next year are advocating for renewing the more generous subsidies. New polling shows that even most supporters of President Donald Trump favor keeping the subsidies.
• It’s not just ACA plan-holders who are learning their out-of-pocket costs will rise next year. Premium payments for those who rely on the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program are going up again, with those plans among the many reporting out-of-pocket cost increases.
• The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting this week. Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced the panel’s members, adding noted vaccine critics. At this meeting, the panel is discussing past recommendations on the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine and on the childhood vaccine schedule.

Also this week, Rovner interviews Aneri Pattani of KFF Health News about her project tracking the distribution of $50 billion in opioid legal-settlement payments.

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 York Times’ “These Hospitals Figured Out How To Slash C-Section Rates,” by Sarah Kliff and Bianca Pallaro.

Joanne Kenen: Wired’s “A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About To Get Its First Major Test,” by Emily Mullin.

Paige Winfield Cunningham: The New York Times’ “A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says,” by Catherine Pearson.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Independent’s “Miscarriages, Infections, Neglect: The Pregnant Women Detained by ICE,” by Kelly Rissman.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

• Politico’s “Why Republicans Aren’t Eager To Cut an Obamacare Deal,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Robert King.
• KFF’s “2025 KFF Marketplace Enrollees Survey,” by Lunna Lopes, Grace Sparks, Mardet Mulugeta, Isabelle Valdes, and Ashley Kirzinger.
• KFF Health News’ “After Shutdown, Federal Employees Face New Uncertainty: Affording Health Insurance,” by Phil Galewitz.
• The Washington Post’s “Why Health Savings Accounts Aren’t the Fix Republicans Hope For,” by Paige Winfield Cunningham.
• KFF Health News’ “Trump Wants Americans To Make More Babies. Critics Say His Policies Won’t Help Raise Them.” By Stephanie Armour and Amanda Seitz.

Credits

Francis Ying Audio producer Emmarie Huetteman Editor

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