Public Health Experts Flabbergasted That Biden Still Hasnt Picked an FDA Chief
The Food and Drug Administration has been mired in controversies related to drug approvals and covid vaccines, all without a permanent leader.
U.S. Congress
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Congress Cites KHN Investigation in Probe of National Academies
The House oversight committee is requesting conflict-of-interest disclosure forms from a National Academies committee studying organ transplants. KHN previously reported onapparent conflicts among members of a committee studying drug waste.
By Christina Jewett and JoNel Aleccia -
KHNs What the Health?: Much Ado About Drug Prices
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measures health benefit improvements. Meanwhile, the new abortion restrictions in Texas have moved the divisive issue back to the political front burner. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNs Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR Bill of the Month installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.
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KHNs What the Health?: The Future of Public Health
The covid pandemic has spotlighted the often-unseen role of public health in Americans daily lives. And the picture has not all been pretty. What is public health and why is it so important and controversial? Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, explains the basics. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Lauren Weber of KHN join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss what could happen next.
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Telehealths Limits: Battle Over State Lines and Licensing Threatens Patients Options
Televisits took off during the worst days of the pandemic, but states are now rolling back the temporary rules that facilitated them. Thats adding fuel to debates about states authority over medical licensing.
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KHNs What the Health?: Vaccine Approval Moves the Needle on Covid
The FDAs formal approval of the first vaccine to prevent covid-19 may or may not prompt doubters to go out and get shots, but it has clearly prompted employers to make vaccination a work requirement. Meanwhile, moderates and liberals in the U.S. House put aside their differences long enough to keep a giant social-spending bill on track, at least for now. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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KHNs What the Health?: Booster Time
As the delta variant continues to spread around the U.S., the Biden administration is taking steps to authorize covid vaccine boosters, require nursing home workers to be vaccinated and protect school officials who want to require masks despite state laws banning those mandates. Meanwhile, the U.S. House is returning from its summer break early to start work on its giant budget bill, which includes a long list of health policy changes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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KHNs What the Health?: The Senate Acts
The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill covering key health priorities to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Why Doesnt Medicare Cover Services So Many Seniors Need?
When the program began half a century ago, backers believed the benefits would expand over time, but politics and concerns about money have stymied most efforts. Now congressional Democrats are looking to add vision, dental and hearing care.
By Julie Rovner -
KHNs What the Health?: Delta Blues
Covid is back with a vengeance, with some people clamoring for booster shots while others harden their resistance to getting vaccinated at all. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing hard on drugmaker Pfizers request to upgrade the emergency authorization for its vaccine and give it final approval. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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2+2=? Senate Uses Murky Math as It Shelves Drug Pricing Rule to Fund Infrastructure
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.
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At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeons Bill for $1,040
The Biden administration is weighing how to treat urgent care clinics as part of broad regulations banning surprise, out-of-network medical bills. At the heart of the matter: What counts as an emergency?
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Sign-Up Window for Free COBRA Coverage for Many Laid-Off Workers Closes This Week
The most recent covid relief law offered federal funding to pay insurance premiums for workers who lost their jobs and opted to keep their workplace insurance through COBRA. But the window to take advantage of the subsidized coverage is closing: Many workers would need to enroll in the program by July 31.
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KHNs What the Health?: Delta Changes the Covid Conversation
With covid cases on the upswing again around the country, partisan division remains over how to address the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration proposes bigger penalties for hospitals that fail to make their prices public as required. Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Tami Luhby of CNN join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Sen. Wyden: $3.5T Budget May Have to Trim but It Can Set a Path to Ambitious Goals
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who is helping to negotiate the health care spending framework for the Democrats' budget plan, said lawmakers may have to settle for very basic versions of programs deployed in the package. But the key, he added, is to get the "architecture of these changes, bold changes," started and show people what is possible.
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KHNs What the Health?: Here Comes Reconciliation
Democrats in Congress reached a tentative agreement to press ahead on a partisan bill that would dramatically expand health benefits for people on Medicare, those who buy their own insurance and individuals who have been shut out of coverage in states that didnt expand Medicaid. Meanwhile, controversy continues to rage over whether vaccinated Americans will need a booster to protect against covid-19 variants, and who will pay for a new drug to treat Alzheimers disease. Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHNs Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR Bill of the Month episode about a mother and daughter who fought an enormous emergency room bill.
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As Congress Wrestles With Plans to Expand Medicare, Becerra Says Any One Will Do
In an interview for KHNs What the Health? podcast, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says the administration is eager for Congress to make changes to Medicare that will provide more benefits and make more older adults eligible for the program. He also said a priority will be making permanent the enhanced premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
By Julie Rovner -
KHNs What the Health?: Becerra Urges Congress to Expand Medicare, Address Rx Prices
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is the special guest for this bonus episode of KHNs What the Health? podcast. He and host Julie Rovner discuss a breadth of topics the secretary oversees, including covid-19, prescription drug prices, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
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Drugmakers Spending on Stock, Dividends and Executive Pay Exceeds Research, Democrats Say
The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.
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KHNs What the Health?: Un-Trumping the ACA
The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimers disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.