KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’

Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington.

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If you have a question for the podcast, you can send it to whatthehealth@kff.org.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ What Just Happened To The ACA And What Happens Now? A Special Bonus Edition

A federal district judge in Texas ruled Friday that Congress’ 2017 elimination of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance rendered the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. What happens now? KHN’s Julie Rovner, along with panelists Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, discuss the bombshell decision and its potential fallout.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Insurance Enrollment Is Lagging — And There Are Lots Of Reasons Why

Sign-ups for insurance under the Affordable Care Act are still well behind last year’s mark with just a week until the end of open enrollment in most states. The Supreme Court declines a case that could have allowed states to defund Planned Parenthood. And the Trump administration gets hundreds of thousands of comments about its proposed changes to immigration rules that could penalize people who use government-funded health care and other social service programs. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Is Health Spending The Next Big Political Issue?

Diabetics dying because they can’t afford insulin. Organ transplant patients undergoing “wallet biopsies” to get on waiting lists. Are out-of-pocket costs going to dominate the health discussion in the next election? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this as well as new Trump administration rules giving states the ability to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. Also, lame-duck lawmakers in Wisconsin and Michigan try to cement health changes before Democrats take over.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Reading The Tea Leaves In Blue Wave’s Wake

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Ollstein of Politico and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss the impact of House Democratic leadership elections and their impact on health policy; as well as efforts by the Trump administration to address high drug prices and ensure the safety of medical devices. Plus, Julie Rovner interviews KHN’s Jay Hancock about the latest “Bill of the Month.”

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Nerd Books For The Holidays

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss the latest on open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act and Medicare; new moves by the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco and nicotine products; and whether House Democrats will pursue a “Medicare-for-all” bill in the next Congress. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy books for your holiday reading and gifting pleasure.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Doctors, Guns And Lame Ducks

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss how the Democrats’ takeover of the House and other results from the Nov. 6 elections might affect health care, and what Congress may have in store for the lame-duck session.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Split Decision On Health Care

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the Trump administration’s new birth control coverage rules and the potential impact of the midterm election results on health policy.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Open Enrollment And A Midterm Preview

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the start of open enrollment for individual health insurance plans for 2019 and preview what next week’s midterm elections might mean for health policy. Plus, Barbara Feder Ostrov of KHN and California Healthline talks to Julie about the latest NPR-KHN “Bill of the Month” feature.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on prices Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Republicans’ Preexisting Political Problem

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss how protections for people with preexisting conditions have become a top issue in the elections, Trump administration efforts to make prescription drug prices more public and the start of Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period. Plus, Rovner interviews California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Falling Premiums And Rising Political Tensions

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News discuss the Trump administration’s announcement that average premium prices are falling on the Obamacare marketplaces, the effort by Senate Democrats to reverse rules on short-term health insurance and the focus on protections for people with preexisting conditions in the run-up to midterm elections.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Some Things Old, Some Things New

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner discuss final action on bills in Congress to address the opioid epidemic and fund federal health agencies. They also look at new efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on teen nicotine use.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ (Almost) Live from Austin!

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about how health issues will play in midterm elections, the Trump administration’s move that could penalize legal immigrants who use government aid programs, and other topics. Due to technical difficulties, the original discussion taped Sept. 27 at the 2018 Texas Tribune Festival could not be broadcast, so the panelists reconvened from Austin and Washington on Sept. 28.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health On The Hill

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about a spate of health-related legislative action on Capitol Hill, including Senate passage of a bill to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ A Detour On A Smoking Off-Ramp

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about the Food and Drug Administration’s latest actions to address teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes, Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements and news about the uninsured from the latest federal Census report.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Policy Goes To Court

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about the latest court challenge to the Affordable Care Act, nomination hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and news from the reproductive health front. Plus, Rovner interviews Chad Terhune about the latest KHN/NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and consternation over expiration dates on EpiPens, the self-injected allergy remedy. Also, could an otter with asthma signal a potential public health crisis?

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ See You In Court!

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about a spate of lawsuits involving the Affordable Care Act, as well as the latest in state and federal efforts regarding the Medicaid program for the poor.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Coming Soon: ‘Long-Term Short-Term’ Plans

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner talk about the latest Trump administration efforts to address high drug prices, what’s next for short-term health insurance plans and insider trading charges against a New York GOP congressman.