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Harris in the Spotlight
Episode 357For the 2024 campaign, Joe Biden is out, and Kamala Harris is in. As the vice president makes moves toward the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, health policy is resurging as a campaign issue. Meanwhile, Congress tries — and again fails — to make timely progress on the annual government spending bills as abortion issues cause delays. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of ϳԹ News, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Anthony Wright, the new executive director of Families USA, about his plans for the organization and his history working with Harris on health topics.
At GOP Convention, Health Policy Is Mostly MIA
Episode 356After an assassination attempt last weekend sent former President Donald Trump to the hospital with minor injuries, the Republican National Convention went off with little mention of health care issues. And Trump’s newly nominated vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has barely staked out a record on health during his 18 months in office — aside from being strongly opposed to abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ϳԹ News’ Renuka Rayasam, who wrote June’s installment of ϳԹ News-NPR “Bill of the Month,” about a patient who walked into what he thought was an urgent care center and walked out with an emergency room bill.
The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee
Season 12, Episode 1In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.
GOP Platform Muddies Abortion Waters
Episode 355As Donald Trump prepares to be formally nominated as the GOP’s candidate for president next week, the platform he will run on is taking shape. And in line with Trump’s approach, it aims to simultaneously satisfy hard-core abortion opponents and reassure more moderate swing voters. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on pharmacy benefits management firms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join ϳԹ News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, about the Biden administration’s policies to ensure access to reproductive health care.
SCOTUS Term Wraps With a Bang
Episode 354The Supreme Court has issued its final opinions for the 2023-24 term, including decisions affecting abortion access, the opioid epidemic, and how the federal government functions. In this special episode, Sarah Somers , legal director of the National Health Law Program, joins ϳԹ News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss how the justices disposed of the term’s health-related cases and what those decisions could mean going forward.
SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies
Episode 353In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has overruled a 40-year-old precedent that gave federal agencies, rather than judges, the power to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. Administrative experts say the decision will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. Also, the court decided not to decide whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Meet the Middleman’s Middleman
Season 11, Episode 8Why are patients facing bigger bills than they expect for out-of-network care? In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” the show explains the hidden mechanics of MultiPlan, a data firm that helps health insurers set these rates and make bigger returns.
Live From Aspen: Health and the 2024 Elections
Episode 352Health policy may not be the top issue in this year’s presidential and congressional elections, but it’s likely to play a key role. President Joe Biden and Democrats intend to hold Republicans responsible for the Supreme Court’s unpopular ruling overturning the right to abortion, and former President Donald Trump aims to take credit for government efforts to lower prescription drug prices — even in cases in which he played no role. Meanwhile, some critical health care issues, such as those involving Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, are unlikely to get discussed much, even though the party in power after the elections would control the future of those programs. This week, in an episode taped before a live audience at the Aspen Ideas: Health festival in Aspen, Colorado, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
SCOTUS Rejects Abortion Pill Challenge — For Now
Episode 351The Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, ruling unanimously that the anti-abortion doctor group that filed the suit lacked standing. But abortion opponents are expected to pursue other strategies to ban or restrict the medication. Meanwhile, the Biden administration moves to stop the inclusion of medical debt on individual credit reports, and former President Donald Trump tries to claim credit for $35 insulin. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachana Pradhan of ϳԹ News, and Emmarie Huetteman of ϳԹ News join ϳԹ News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF president and CEO Drew Altman about KFF’s new “Health Policy 101” primer.
Nursing Home Staffing Rules Prompt Pushback
Episode 350The nursing home industry — as well as a healthy number of Congress members — are all pushing back on the Biden administration’s new rules on nursing home staffing. Industry officials say that there are not enough workers to meet the requirements and that the costs would be prohibitive. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to force Republicans to explain their exact positions on assuring access to contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ϳԹ News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest ϳԹ News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but.
Medicaid Recipients Struggle To Stay Enrolled
Season 11, Episode 7In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” the show takes its first look at Medicaid. The program has dropped more than 22 million people since spring 2023, when covid-era protections ended.
Waiting for SCOTUS
Episode 349June is when the Supreme Court typically issues rulings in the major cases it hears during that year’s term. This year, those interested in health policy are awaiting decisions in two abortion-related cases and one that could reshuffle the way health policies (and all other federal policies) are made. In this special episode, KFF’s Laurie Sobel, associate director for women’s health policy, joins Julie Rovner for a review of the cases and a preview of how the court might rule.
Anti-Abortion Hard-Liners Speak Up
Episode 348While Republican candidates in many states downplay their opposition to abortion, the most vehement wing of the movement, which helped overturn Roe v. Wade — those who advocate prosecuting patients, outlawing contraception, and banning IVF — are increasingly outspoken. Meanwhile, some state legislatures continue to advance new restrictions, like a proposal moving in Louisiana to include abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol on the list of the most dangerous drugs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Shefali Luthra of The 19th about her new book on abortion in post-Roe America, “Undue Burden.”
Bird Flu Lands as the Next Public Health Challenge
Episode 347Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions.
Digging Into Facility Fees
Season 11, Episode 6“An Arm and a Leg” is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project.
Newly Minted Doctors Are Avoiding Abortion Ban States
Episode 346For the second year in a row, medical school graduates across specialties are shying away from applying for residency training in states with abortion bans or significant restrictions, according to a new study. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trustees report that the program will be able to pay its bills longer than expected — which could discourage Congress from acting to address the program’s long-term financial woes. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona
Episode 345A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of ϳԹ News join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
The Hack
Season 11, Episode 5In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care.
Abortion — Again — At the Supreme Court
Episode 344For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. Meanwhile, the federal government, for the first time, will require minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’
Episode 343Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join ϳԹ News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.