What the Health? From 窪蹋勛圖厙 News

Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for 窪蹋勛圖厙 News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington.

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If you have a question for the podcast, you can send it to whatthehealth@kff.org.

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    The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding For Now

    Episode 406

    The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administrations request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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    Digesting Trumps Big Budget Law

    Episode 405

    President Donald Trumps big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News 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 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Bill of the Month feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.

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    Trumps Bill Reaches the Finish Line

    Episode 404

    The House on Thursday moved to approve the largest-ever cuts to federal safety net programs, the last step before the measure goes to President Donald Trumps desk. After the Senate very narrowly passed the bill, House GOP leaders ushered it past resistance from conservatives wary of adding trillions to the federal debt and moderates concerned about its cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to pursue his anti-vaccine agenda, despite promising that he would not. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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    Live From Aspen Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

    Episode 403

    In this special episode taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, three former governors one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services discuss how state and federal officials can work together to improve Americans health. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, former Kansas governor and HHS secretary under President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former New Hampshire governor; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former North Carolina governor, join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Gender-Affirming Care

    Episode 402

    The Supreme Court this week said Tennessee may continue to enforce its law banning most types of gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling is likely to greenlight similar laws in two dozen states. And the Senate is preparing to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that includes even deeper Medicaid cuts than the House version. Victoria Knight of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldnt

    Episode 401

    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.

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    Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!

    Episode 400

    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.

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    Live From AHCJ: Shock and Awe in Federal Health Policy

    Episode 399

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House

    Episode 398

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits

    Episode 397

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    Cutting Medicaid Is Hard Even for the GOP

    Episode 396

    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.

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    100 Days of Health Policy Upheaval

    Episode 395

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    Can Congress Reconcile Trumps Wishes With Medicaids Needs?

    Episode 394

    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.

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    On Autism, Its the Secretarys Word vs. the CDCs

    Episode 393

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    The Dismantling of HHS

    Episode 392

    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 […]

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    American Health Gets a Pink Slip

    Episode 391

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    The Ax Falls at HHS

    Episode 390

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    Federal Health Work in Flux

    Episode 389

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    The Cutting Continues

    Episode 388

    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.

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  • 窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?'

    The State of Federal Health Agencies Is Uncertain

    Episode 387

    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.

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