KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip
January 19, 2023
Podcast
The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation’s health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Listen: Battling The Coronavirus While Reopening The Economy
April 17, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s Julie Rovner discusses the Trump administration’s blueprint for reopening the economy and its effect on public health on WBUR’s “On Point.”
‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
By April Dembosky, KQED
October 21, 2020
KFF Health News Original
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
Oklahoma House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill Like Texas’, Only Stricter
May 20, 2022
Morning Briefing
Under the new law, “fertilization” is defined as the moment egg and sperm meet, and it also prohibits medicine-induced abortions (beyond when Plan B pills work). The bill moved to the desk of Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is expected to sign it. For more longer-read stories about abortion and the current threat to reproductive health in the U.S., scroll down to our Weekend Reading section.
Sex Abuse Survivors Reject Boy Scouts’ $2.7B Payout Offer
January 5, 2022
Morning Briefing
Seventy-five percent of the nearly 54,000 claimants in the case needed to approve the payout, but just 73% did. Meanwhile, as the surprise medical billing law comes into effect, some lawmakers are already pushing for changes to the process, to “line up” with what they say was Congress’ intent.
As Drug Prices Keep Rising, State Lawmakers Propose Tough New Bills to Curb Them
By Harris Meyer
February 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The measures would impose taxes on increases in the price of drugs that don’t reflect improved clinical value and set the rates paid by state-run and commercial health plans to a benchmark based on prices in Canada.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Little Good News and Some Bad on COVID-19
October 22, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Glimmers of hope are beginning to appear in the fight against the coronavirus, such as a decreasing death rate. But there’s not-so-good news, too, including a push for “herd immunity,” which could result in millions more deaths. Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubles down on work requirements for Medicaid. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Listen: Why It Takes So Long To Get COVID-19 Test Results
April 1, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s Julie Appleby talks about the behind-the-scenes steps that can add time to the process of testing for the coronavirus.
In Search of the Shot
February 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN readers detail their frustrations and successes as they hunt for a scarce covid-19 vaccine.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Alabama’s IVF Ruling Still Making Waves
February 29, 2024
Podcast
Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures are scrambling to react to the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are legally children. Abortion opponents are divided among themselves, with some supporting full “personhood” for fertilized eggs, while others support IVF as a moral way to have children. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews University of Pittsburgh law professor Greer Donley, who explains how a 150-year-old anti-vice law that’s still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Financial Self-Defense School Is Now in Session
By Dan Weissmann
August 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Starting in August 2020, a new episode every other week. No time like a pandemic to learn more about how to fight the high cost of health care.
Watch: Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A conversation about how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Democrats May Lose on SCOTUS, But Hope to Win on ACA
October 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Barring something unexpected, Democrats in the Senate appear to lack the votes to block the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. So, instead they used the high-profile confirmation hearings to hammer on Republicans for again putting the Affordable Care Act in peril. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, about public health challenges in dealing with COVID-19.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Senators Have Mental Health Crises, Too
February 23, 2023
Podcast
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It’s a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Adults Under 60 Should Get Hepatitis B Vaccine, CDC Panel Recommends
November 4, 2021
Morning Briefing
Tens of millions of people, mainly in the 30 to 59 age group, may be advised to get hepatitis B shots (with people below 30 largely covered, after a 1991 decision to vaccinate kids). Separately, scientists uncover why some people have Alzheimer’s-risk brain chemistry, but no dementia.
Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not an ‘Excuse’ for Current Medical Racism.
By April Dembosky, KQED
March 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Tuskegee syphilis study is often cited as a reason Black Americans might hesitate to take the covid-19 vaccine. But many people say that current racism in health care and lack of access deserve more attention to move more Black Americans toward vaccine protection.
Proposed 340B Rule Retracted That Would Have Jolted Community Clinics
October 1, 2021
Morning Briefing
The Health Resources and Services Administration pulled back a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have required community health clinics to pass savings from reduced 340B pricing on insulin and Epi-Pens directly to patients instead of reinvesting in local services.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Plans To Add $3.4B For Health Care Research
December 8, 2021
Morning Briefing
The Facebook founder and his wife are adding the money to their charitable foundation over 15 years. In other health industry news, United Healthcare loses a $60 million lawsuit, and Centene settles with the state of Kansas with a $28 million payment.
2022 Medicare Advantage Sign Ups Jump 9% On Last Year
January 18, 2022
Morning Briefing
Reports say that there’s been an 8.8% rise in Medicare Advantage enrollments, as of Jan. 1, over the same period last year. But while most beneficiaries in Parts A and B are expected to join Advantage plans by next year, the spending may still outpace traditional paid health costs.