窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldnt
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week did something he had promised not to do: He fired every member of the scientific advisory committee that recommends which vaccines should be given to whom. And he replaced them, in some cases, with vaccine skeptics. Meanwhile, hundreds of employees of the National Institutes of Health sent an open letter to the agencys director, accusing the Trump administration of policies that undermine the NIH mission. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!
The Houses 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 Offices estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade wont make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest Bill of the Month feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Live From AHCJ: Shock and Awe in Federal Health Policy
This episode was taped live on Friday, May 30, at the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Los Angeles. Host Julie Rovner moderated a panel featuring Rachel Nuzum, senior vice president for policy at The Commonwealth Fund; Berenice N繳簽ez Constant, senior vice president of government relations and civic engagement at AltaMed Health Services; and Anish Mahajan, chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The panelists discussed the national, state, and local implications of funding cuts made over the first 100 days of the second Trump administration and the potential fallout of reductions that have been proposed but not yet implemented. The panelists also took questions from health reporters in the audience.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House
The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This weeks panelists are Julie Rovner of 窪蹋勛圖厙 News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits
GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trumps one big, beautiful bill this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldnt take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of 窪蹋勛圖厙 News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid Is Hard 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 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.s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest Bill of the Month feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': 100 Days of Health Policy Upheaval
Members of Congress are back in Washington, and Republicans are struggling to find ways to reduce Medicaid spending without cutting benefits. Meanwhile, confusion continues to reign at the Department of Health and Human Services. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Can Congress Reconcile Trumps Wishes With Medicaids Needs?
When Congress returns next week, it will be writing a budget reconciliation bill thats expected to cut taxes but also make deep cuts to Medicaid. But at least some Republicans are concerned about cutting a program that aids so many of their constituents. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Rae Ellen Bichell about her story on how care for transgender minors is changing in Colorado.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': On Autism, Its the Secretarys Word vs. the CDCs
Tensions between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his employees at the Department of Health and Human Services are mounting, as he made a series of claims about autism this week contradicting his agencys findings. Plus, President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order to lower drug prices as his administration explores tariffs that could raise them. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Plus, 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner interviews two University of California-San Francisco researchers about an upcoming Supreme Court case that could have major ramifications for preventive care.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': The Dismantling of HHS
A week into the reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services announced by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the scope of the staff cuts and program cutbacks is starting to become clear. Among the biggest targets for reductions were the nations premier public health agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the […]
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': 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 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest Bill of the Month feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': The Ax Falls at HHS
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a proposed reorganization for the department which, counting those who already have left the agency, amounts to about a 25% cut in its workforce. And its planned Administration for a Healthy America will collapse several existing HHS agencies into one. Meanwhile, the department continues to cut billions in health spending while the nation faces measles outbreaks in several states and the continuing possibility of another pandemic, such as bird flu. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss the news.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Federal Health Work in Flux
Its the Trump administration vs. the federal courts, as the Department of Government Efficiency continues to try to cancel federal contracts and programs and fire workers. But in the haste to cut things, jobs and programs are being eliminated even if they align with the new administrations goal to Make America Healthy Again. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': The Cutting Continues
The Trump administrations efforts to downsize the federal government continue, with both personnel and programs being cut at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration. Meanwhile, the fight over cuts to the Medicaid program for those with low incomes heats up, as Republicans worry that more of their voters than ever before are Medicaid beneficiaries. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jeff Grant, who recently retired from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services after 41 years in government service.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': The State of Federal Health Agencies Is Uncertain
The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Services public handling of Texas widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretarys less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of 窪蹋勛圖厙 News join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': House GOP Plan Targets Medicaid
The House passed a budget plan that likely would result in major cuts to the Medicaid program. But the plan now faces a battle in the Senate, where even Republicans seem reluctant to dramatically reduce a health program that covers roughly 1 in 5 Americans. Meanwhile, federal judges and the Trump administration continue to differ over whether the administration has the authority to unilaterally cancel programs approved and funded by Congress and to fire federal workers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Victoria Knight of Axios join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Medicaid in the Crosshairs, Maybe
President Donald Trump has said he wont support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the programs future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Courts Try To Curb Health Cuts
Some of the Trump administrations dramatic funding and policy shifts are facing major pushback for the first time not from Congress, but from the courts. Federal judges around the country are attempting to pump the brakes on efforts to freeze government spending, shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, eliminate access to health-related webpages and datasets, and limit grant funding provided by the National Institutes of Health. Meanwhile, Congress is off to a slow start in trying to turn President Donald Trumps agenda into legislation, although Medicaid is clearly high on the list for potential funding cuts. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Maya Goldman of Axios News join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Mark McClellan, director of the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy and a former health official during the George W. Bush administration, about the impact of cutting funding to research universities.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Chaos Continues in Federal Health System
The Senate has yet to confirm a Health and Human Services secretary, but things around the department continue to change at a breakneck pace to comply with President Donald Trumps executive orders. Payment systems have been shut down, webpages and entire datasets have been taken offline, and workers including those with civil service protections have been urged to quit or threatened with layoffs. Meanwhile, foreign and trade policy changes are also affecting health policy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Appleby, who reported the latest Bill of the Month feature, about a young woman, a grandfathered health plan, and a $14,000 IUD.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': RFK Jr. in the Hot Seat
President Donald Trumps choice to lead the vast Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced sharp questioning from senators this week, particularly over his history of vaccine denialism. Meanwhile, the Trump administrations second week has been even more disruptive than its first, with an on-again, off-again funding freeze that left many around the country scrambling to understand what was going on. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Nicholas Bagley, a University of Michigan law professor, who explains how the federal regulatory system is supposed to operate to make health policy.
