What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: Culture Wars Take Center Stage
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, 鈥渃onfusion鈥 remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 report.
Medical Bills Can Be Vexing and Perplexing. Here鈥檚 This Year鈥檚 Best Advice for Patients.
As the crowdsourced investigative series from 麻豆女优 Health News approaches its eighth anniversary, 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 offers its top takeaways of 2025 to help patients manage, decipher, and even fight their medical bills.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: Time鈥檚 Up for Expanded ACA Tax Credits
A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January. That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy Lawrence of Stat join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tony Leys, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, and the panel discusses the year鈥檚 biggest developments in health policy.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: The Government Is Open
The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January 鈥 but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: Democrats Make This Shutdown About the ACA
The foreshadowed federal shutdown came after Congress failed to pass required spending bills, with Democrats demanding Republicans renew the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their votes. While a shutdown does not affect Medicare and Medicaid, it could eventually hinder activities from every corner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as Democrats and Republicans point fingers, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pursues policies and personnel that would undermine vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Cara Anthony, who wrote a recent 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about an out-of-network eye surgery that left one kindergartner鈥檚 family with a big bill.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC
A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Tony Leys, who discusses his 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 report about a woman鈥檚 unfortunate interaction with a bat 鈥 and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.
The House鈥檚 gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office鈥檚 estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade won鈥檛 make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: Cutting Medicaid Is Hard 鈥 Even for the GOP
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade 鈥 as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
What the Health? From 麻豆女优 Health News: American Health Gets a Pink Slip
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities. Altogether, the layoffs mean the federal government, in a single day, shed hundreds if not thousands of combined years of health and science expertise. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 麻豆女优 Health News鈥 Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
