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It’s been a busy week at the FDA, with a political appointee overruling agency scientists to reject an application for a new flu vaccine. Meanwhile, anti-abortion Republicans on Capitol Hill complain the agency is dragging its feet on reviewing the abortion pill mifepristone. Jackie Fortiér of ϳԹ News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
PrEP has been available for more than a decade, but billing mistakes, lack of awareness, and lingering stigma keep many people from getting the lifesaving HIV prevention medication.
Many Americans are expected to lose ACA or Medicaid coverage in coming months and years as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of enhanced pandemic-era subsidies that helped people afford Obamacare plans. Doctors and researchers say there are still ways to find affordable care.
The federal government’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was supposed to help patients with their medical bills while protecting vaccine supply. But allies of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are routinely transferring cases from that program to launch lawsuits against drugmakers.
With abortions still on the rise nationwide despite widespread bans, curtailing the use of pregnancy-terminating medication is a top priority for abortion opponents — and they’re frustrated that the Trump administration isn’t doing more to limit its use.
Lawmakers appear on the brink of passing a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services and a bipartisan health policy bill delayed for over a year. But the outlook is bleaker for the health care outline released by President Trump last week. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel to discuss his new book, “Eat Your Ice Cream.”
The government is using sickle cell treatments to test a new strategy: paying only if the therapies benefit patients. With more expensive treatments on the horizon, the program — created by the Biden administration and continued under President Trump — could help Medicaid save money and treat more patients.
ϳԹ News' editor-at-large for public health recently took to the airwaves to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances.
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” 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 ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ϳԹ News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.
Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials advising diet and exercise instead. California and other states say the drugs are too costly, even as the Trump administration announces plans to lower prices.
In some studies, half of patients stopped taking GLP-1s within a year despite the benefits, citing the expense and side effects.
It’s been more than 10 years since the FDA first approved an HIV prevention drug. Today, people who could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis often struggle to access the lifesaving medicine or run into doctors without the education or empathy to offer affirming care. And those lapses can produce billing headaches.
Participants in an FDA panel discussion warned the public about risks from using antidepressants in pregnancy. But mental health issues, including suicide and overdoses, are the leading cause of maternal death in the United States. Antidepressants are a safe, well-studied way to help prevent those deaths, medical experts say.
A session of a vaccine panel dominated by skeptics was chaotically at odds with past practices of the CDC, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described as a “cesspool of corruption.” His crew voted to end a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B.
Drug industry officials and analysts praised the FDA’s plans to streamline regulation of “biosimilars,” which are cheaper alternatives to biologic drugs. But patents that block such drugs from the U.S. market are getting harder to fight.
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 — 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 ϳԹ News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner interviews ϳԹ News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have expanded access to hormone therapy, a top priority for the trans community. Advocates say it would have ensured continuity in gender-affirming care amid Trump administration attacks. Analysts say it’s another sign of the Democrat’s move to the center.
Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.
In Mississippi, a state with one of the highest obesity rates in the nation, Medicaid covers weight loss drugs, but few enrollees have signed up for the benefit.
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