The MAHA Metamorphosis
The Host
The big “Make America Healthy Again” summit at a glitzy Washington, D.C., hotel this week highlighted a split in the movement between moms who want pesticides and artificial ingredients out of their kids’ food and wellness entrepreneurs who want to promote their products to government regulators.
Meanwhile, as the new fiscal year begins, the Trump administration is refusing for the second year in a row to spend hundreds of millions of dollars Congress approved for the Department of Health and Human Services — and daring lawmakers or the courts to try to do something about it.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post.
Panelists
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- The transformation of the Make America Healthy Again movement was on display at a MAHA Institute meeting in Washington this week. The gathering featured wellness companies hawking their wares and largely steered clear of the movement’s core issues, such as vaccines and pesticides. Many MAHA adherents have expressed disillusionment with the Trump administration, seeing it as favoring corporate interests over their priorities, and some progressives are starting to make a play for the support of these disaffected activists.
- The Trump administration is again attempting to cancel some congressionally appropriated health funding via a controversial strategy known as a pocket rescission. The 2026 fiscal year concluded this week, effectively running out the clock for Congress to force the Trump administration to distribute that money — and with the House already recessed until after the midterm elections.
- And the Hyde Amendment turned 50 this week. The legislative measure prohibits federal funding from being used to pay for abortions, effectively banning Medicaid funding of pregnancy termination unless states opt to spend their own money to offer that benefit for those who are low-income or disabled.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll, president and CEO of AcademyHealth, to discuss the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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’ “U. of Michigan Halts New Grading Plan After Backlash From Critics,” by Madaleine Rubin.
Shefali Luthra: The Atlantic’s “The Babies Left Behind in America,” by Caitlin Dickerson.
Rachana Pradhan: KFF Health News’ “US Poised To Boot Legal Immigrants From Medicaid, Including Refugees and Sex-Trafficking Victims,” by Phil Galewitz, Andrew Jones, and Claudia Boyd-Barrett.
Rachel Roubein: Stat’s “Once Described as Obesity Medications for ‘Patients,’ GLP-1s Are Increasingly Lifestyle Drugs for ‘Customers,’” by Elaine Chen.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- The Washington Post’s “This Senate Democratic Candidate Is Making a Play for RFK Jr.’s MAHA Supporters,” by Rachel Roubein.
- The Washington Post’s “White House Has Not Acted on RFK Jr.’s Push for Proof Ultra-Processed Foods Are Safe,” by Rachel Roubein.
- The New York Times’ “‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles To Fulfill Scientific Mission,” by Apoorva Mandavilli.
Credits
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