KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Health Agenda Still on Hold
October 1, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Negotiations continue on Capitol Hill over President Joe Biden’s health agenda — along with a long list of other items. With Republicans on the sidelines, liberal Democrats delayed a House vote on a Senate-passed infrastructure bill to extract moderates’ support for a social-spending bill that includes expansions of benefits for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s new rules to prevent “surprise” medical bills pleases some health stakeholders and angers others. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Anna Flagg of the Marshall Project about how a century-old report on medical education contributed to racial inequities that persist today.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Very Good Night for Abortion Rights Backers
November 9, 2023
Podcast
Abortion rights backers won major victories in at least five states in the 2023 off-year elections Nov. 7, proving the staying power of abortion as a political issue in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health finally has a new director, after Democrats temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s nominee over a mostly unrelated fight about prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
How Pfizer Won the Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit and Influence
By Arthur Allen
July 5, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The drugmaker has the best-selling vaccine to prevent covid and the most effective drug to treat it. Its success has overshadowed the government’s covid-fighting strategy.
Readers and Tweeters Remain Vigilant on Masking and Billing
By Terry Byrne
March 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Florida Limits Abortion — For Now
April 4, 2024
Podcast
The Florida Supreme Court handed down dual abortion rulings this week. One said voters will be allowed to decide in November whether to create a state right to abortion. The other ruling, though, allows a 15-week ban to take effect immediately — before an even more sweeping, six-week ban replaces it in May. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is doubling down on his administration’s health care accomplishments as he kicks off his general election campaign. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health care analyst Jeff Goldsmith about the growing size and influence of UnitedHealth Group in the wake of the Change Healthcare hack.
Birx Joins Air-Cleaning Industry Amid Land Grab for Billions in Federal Covid Relief
By Christina Jewett and Lauren Weber
March 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Air-cleaning companies with limited oversight are targeting a growing market of schools desperate for covid-19 protection. Donald Trump’s former covid adviser lands with one that built its business, in part, on ozone-emitting technology.
As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, One Hard-Hit County Grapples With Unthinkable Loss
By Phil Galewitz
April 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from covid — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community, with over 300 dead, is coping.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court vs. the Bureaucracy
January 18, 2024
Podcast
The Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in a case that could radically alter the way federal agencies — including the Department of Health and Human Services — administer laws passed by Congress. A decision in the case is expected this spring or summer. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is struggling over whether to ban menthol cigarettes — a move that could improve public health but also alienate Black voters, the biggest menthol users. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Darius Tahir, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a lengthy fight over a bill for a quick telehealth visit.
Collins’ Skillful Piloting Helped NIH Steer Clear of Political Minefields
By Julie Rovner
October 6, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Francis Collins, who announced he is stepping down as chief of the National Institutes of Health, used his communication skills and political insights to help protect the highly acclaimed federal research institutes through difficult times.
Black Students Experiencing Racism on Campus Lack Mental Health Support
By Melba Newsome
April 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Black students at many predominantly white colleges are speaking out about the racial hostility they’ve experienced, which contributes to depression, elevated stress levels, and anxiety. But the students are often not getting the mental health help they need on campus.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer
July 29, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.
Abortion Bans Skirt a Medical Reality: For Many Teens, Childbirth Is a Dangerous Undertaking
By Sarah Varney
October 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The laws criminalizing abortion in many conservative U.S. states are expected to boost birth rates among teens, whose bodies often aren’t built for safe childbirth. For adolescents, the emotional and physical challenges of carrying a pregnancy to term can be daunting.
2+2=? Senate Uses Murky Math as It Shelves Drug Pricing Rule to Fund Infrastructure
By Michael McAuliff
August 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Medicare rule, designed by the Trump administration to take money away from drug industry brokers and provide refunds to patients, has not been implemented. But budget analysts say if it were, it would cost the government money. So senators are pushing the rule aside and claiming to save billions of dollars, which they want to use instead on new projects.
Why Cheap, Older Drugs That Might Treat Covid Never Get Out of the Lab
By Arthur Allen
April 19, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin fiascoes have soured many doctors on repurposing drugs for covid. A few inexpensive old drugs may be as good as some of the new antivirals, but they face complex obstacles to get to patients.
Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers
By Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
July 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
Biden’s First Order of Business May Be to Undo Trump’s Policies, but It Won’t Be Easy
By Julie Rovner
January 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump made substantial changes to the nation’s health care system using executive branch authority. But reversing policies that Democrats oppose would take time and personnel resources, competing with other priorities of the new administration.
The Vaccine Rollout Was a Success. But Events Within and Beyond Biden’s Control Stymied Progress.
By Victoria Knight
December 20, 2021
KFF Health News Original
There were variants, vaccine hesitancy and messaging mix-ups. And, despite campaign promises, Biden and his administration sometimes took actions or made statements without waiting for full scientific evidence to back them up.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona
May 2, 2024
Podcast
A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Trump’s Executive Order on Preexisting Conditions Lacks Teeth, Experts Say
By Jon Greenberg, PolitiFact
September 28, 2020
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump’s executive order says that people with preexisting conditions can get affordable insurance. But it doesn’t explain how.
Pence Said Biden Copied Trump’s Pandemic Response Plan. Pants on Fire!
By Victoria Knight
October 14, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The vice president went on to point out the underlying philosophical differences between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden regarding their approaches to COVID-19.