The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Well being Information
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Well being Information’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Well being?” A famous professional on well being coverage points, Julie is the creator of the critically praised reference e-book “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.
The brand new, GOP-led, 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump have huge legislative plans for the 12 months — which largely don’t embody well being coverage. However well being is more likely to play an necessary supporting function in efforts to resume tax cuts, revise immigration insurance policies, and alter commerce — if solely to assist pay for some Republican initiatives.
In the meantime, the outgoing Biden administration is racing to complete its well being coverage to-do record, together with finalizing a coverage that bars credit score bureaus from together with medical debt on people’ credit score reviews.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Shefali Luthra of The nineteenth, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Put up.
Panelists
Shefali Luthra
The nineteenth
Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico
Lauren Weber
The Washington Put up
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- The 119th Congress is now in session. Well being care doesn’t make the record of priorities as lawmakers lay the desk for the incoming Trump administration — although Republicans have floated Medicaid work necessities to chop federal spending.
- Plenty of well being laws hit the cutting-room ground in December, together with a bipartisan proposal concentrating on pharmacy profit managers — which might have saved the federal authorities and sufferers billions of {dollars}. And talking of bipartisan efforts, a congressional report from the Senate Price range Committee provides to proof that non-public fairness involvement in care is related to worse outcomes for sufferers — notably, lawmakers’ constituents.
- Because the nation bids a last farewell to former President Jimmy Carter, his world well being work, specifically, is being celebrated — particularly his efforts to eradicate such devastating illnesses as Guinea worm illness and river blindness.
- In the meantime, the Biden administration finalized the rule barring medical debt from showing on credit score reviews. The surgeon normal cautions that alcohol ought to include warning labels noting most cancers danger. And the brand new Senate Republican chief is elevating abortion-related laws to require lifesaving look after all infants born alive — but these protections exist already.
Plus, for “additional credit score,” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose you need to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: The Wall Avenue Journal’s “UnitedHealth’s Army of Doctors Helped It Collect Billions More From Medicare,” by Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, and Tom McGinty.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Instances’ “Ozempic, Lego Bricks and Hearing Aids: What Trump’s Greenland Plan Could Hit,” by Ana Swanson and Jenny Gross.
Shefali Luthra: Vox.com’s “Gigantic SUVs Are a Public Health Threat. Why Don’t We Treat Them Like One?” by David Zipper.
Lauren Weber: The Washington Put up’s “Laws Restrict U.S. Shipping of Vape Products. Many Companies Do It Anyway,” by David Ovalle and Rachel Roubein.
Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:
The Senate Price range Committee’s “Profits Over Patients: The Harmful Effects of Private Equity on the U.S. Health Care System.”
Credit
Taylor Cook dinner
Audio producer
Lonnie Ro
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
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