KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Struggle Over Who Gets the Last Word
February 1, 2024
Podcast
As science skepticism pervades politics, the Supreme Court will soon consider two cases that seek to define the power of “experts.” Meanwhile, abortion opponents are laying out plans for how Donald Trump, if reelected as president, could effectively curtail abortion even in states where it remains legal. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a husband and wife who got billed for preventive care that should have been fully covered.
Surprise-Billing Rule ‘Puts a Thumb on the Scale’ to Keep Arbitrated Costs in Check
By Julie Appleby
October 14, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Patients soon will not have to worry about the prospect of these often-costly unexpected bills, a federal law promises. Some experts say the new policy could also slow the growth of health insurance premiums.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Pill’s Legal Limbo Continues
August 17, 2023
Podcast
A federal appeals court issued a split decision on whether the abortion pill mifepristone should remain on the market — rejecting a lower court’s decision to effectively cancel the drug’s FDA approval in 2000, while ordering the rollback of more recent rules that made the drug easier to obtain. Nothing changes immediately, however, as the Supreme Court blocked the lower court’s ruling in the spring. It will be up to the high court to determine whether the pill remains available in the U.S. and under which conditions. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ 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 they think you should read, too.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Year Without Roe
June 29, 2023
Podcast
It’s been a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, with it, the nationwide right to abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization set off widespread uncertainty in government and the courts about the legality or illegality of the procedure. But the decision has had other consequences too, including affecting where health professionals choose to locate. In this special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF’s Alina Salganicoff about the organization’s research and other work on women’s health policy over the past year.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': More Medicaid Messiness
September 27, 2023
Podcast
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.
Omicron and Other Coronavirus Variants: What You Need to Know
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
November 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
This new variant has set off alarm bells in the public health community, but much remains to be learned about it.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Health-Heavy State of the Union
February 9, 2023
Podcast
President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address leaned heavily on health care issues. Biden took a victory lap for recent accomplishments like capping prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare. He also urged Congress to make permanent the boosted premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and he sparred with Republicans on threats to cut Social Security and Medicare. Also this week, both sides in the abortion debate are bracing for a court decision out of Texas that could, at least temporarily, make the abortion pill mifepristone illegal nationwide. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate Baicker of the University of Chicago about a possible middle ground in the effort to get universal health insurance coverage.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Health Funding in Question in a Speaker-Less Congress
October 12, 2023
Podcast
A bitterly divided Congress managed to keep the federal government running for several more weeks, while House Republicans struggle — again — to choose a leader. Meanwhile, many people removed from state Medicaid rolls are not finding their way to Affordable Care Act insurance, and a major investigation by The Washington Post attributes the decline in U.S. life expectancy to more than covid-19 and opioids. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews physician-author-playwright Samuel Shem about “Our Hospital,” his new novel about the health workforce in the age of covid.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda
November 30, 2023
Podcast
Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
Battle Lines Are Drawn Over California Deal With Kaiser Permanente
By Bernard J. Wolfson
April 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A controversial proposal to grant HMO giant Kaiser Permanente a no-bid statewide Medicaid contract is headed for its first legislative hearing amid vocal opposition from a coalition of counties, competing health plans, community clinics, and a national health care labor union.
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.
Ask KHN-PolitiFact: How Can Covid Vaccines Be Safe When They Were Developed So Fast?
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
March 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Experts say there’s nothing new about the research underpinning the covid vaccines and that they were tested in more participants than many other approved vaccines.
Though Millions Are at Risk for Diabetes, Medicare Struggles to Expand Prevention Program
By Harris Meyer
July 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Medicare has proposed revamping its payment rules to get more people into a diabetes prevention plan that helps them eat better, exercise more and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Out of an estimated 16 million Medicare beneficiaries whose excess weight and other risk factors make them eligible, only 3,600 have participated since 2018.
An Arm and a Leg: Attack of the Medicare Machines
By Dan Weissmann
April 10, 2024
Podcast
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann tells a horror story. Instead of monsters and aliens, it’s about private health insurance companies and algorithms that call the shots on patient care.
Racism a Strong Factor in Black Women’s High Rate of Premature Births, Study Finds
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
October 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Paula Braveman, director of UCSF’s Center on Social Disparities in Health, shares her insights on a provocative new study that identifies racism as a decisive factor in the gap in preterm birth rates between Black and white women.
Targeted by Politicians, Trans Youth Struggle With Growing Fear and Mental Health Concerns
By Sandy West
February 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Transgender young people and their parents have stepped up to testify against legislation targeting them. But as rhetoric escalates in the political fray, what does the anti-trans legislative push mean for their mental health?
The White House Says Boosters for All. Here’s What You Need to Know.
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Updated August 18, 2021
Originally Published August 18, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials are preparing to offer those who received Pfizer or Moderna covid vaccines a third dose in September. But the FDA and CDC are still reviewing the data for final clearance.
From ‘Physician Assistant’ to Medicare, Readers and Tweeters Mince No Words
December 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Hospitals, Insurers Invest Big Dollars to Tackle Patients’ Social Needs
By Phil Galewitz
June 22, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Eager to control costs, health systems and insurers are trying to address patients’ social needs such as food insecurity, transportation and housing. Yet, after years of testing, there’s slim evidence these efforts pay off.
New Research Finds J&J Vaccine Has Muscle Against Covid’s Delta Variant
By Victoria Knight
July 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The data is reassuring to people who got this shot.