KFF Health News' 'What the Health?'

The unprecedented early leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion-rights ruling Roe v. Wade has heated the national abortion debate to boiling. Meanwhile, the FDA, after years of consideration, moves to ban menthol flavors in cigarettes and cigars. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family whose medical debt drove them to seek care south of the border.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: Mother Jones’ “Meet Abortion Bans’ New Best Friend — Your Phone,” by Lil Kalish.

Joanne Kenen: Stat’s “A Clash Over Online Adderall Prescriptions Is Raising New Questions About Telehealth,” by Mohana Ravindranath.

Jessie Hellmann: Politico’s “Oregon, Kentucky Dust Off an Obama-Era Policy to Expand Health Insurance,” by Megan Messerly.

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Argued Abortion Isn’t an Economic Issue. But Is That True?” by Chabeli Carrazana.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldn’t know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror.

Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails — again — to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law.

Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s 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.

Julie Rovner: KHN’s “Travel Nurses See Swift Change of Fortunes as Covid Money Runs Dry,” by Hannah Norman

Joanne Kenen: Politico Magazine’s “How One Clinic in Texas Explains the Threat to Contraception,” by Joanne Kenen and Alice Miranda Ollstein

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “’It’s a Tsunami’: Legal Challenges Threatening Public Health Policy,” by Krista Mahr

Sandhya Raman: CQ Roll Call’s “End of COVID-19 Emergency Endangers Substance Use Treatment,” by Jessie Hellmann

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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President-elect Donald Trump has made his choices to fill some top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. They include controversial figures who were vocal critics of the Biden administration’s handling of the covid pandemic and have proposed sweeping changes to the agencies they would lead. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard its first two health-related cases of the term, challenging a Tennessee law barring transgender medical care for minors and, separately, challenging the FDA’s handling of e-cigarettes.

Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University and Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post Well+Being “Bill of the Month” feature, about an emergency room bill for a visit that didn’t get past the waiting room.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: The New Yorker’s “The Texas OB-GYN Exodus,” by Stephania Taladrid.

Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post’s “Post Reports” podcast’s “A Trans Teen Takes Her Case to the Supreme Court,” by Casey Parks, Emma Talkoff, Ariel Plotnick, and Bishop Sand.

Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “For Decades, Calls for Reform to Idaho’s Troubled Coroner System Have Gone Unanswered,” by Audrey Dutton.

Sarah Karlin-Smith: Stat’s “What YouTube Health Is Doing To Combat Misinformation and Promote Evidence-Based Content,” by Nicholas St. Fleur.

Click here to find a transcript of the episode.

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Health is unlikely to be a top priority for the new GOP-led 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s likely to play a key supporting role, with an abortion bill already scheduled for debate in the Senate. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when and how the new Congress will deal with the bipartisan bills jettisoned from the previous Congress’ year-end omnibus measure — including a major deal to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers.

In this “catch up on all the news you missed” episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: The Wall Street 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 Times’ “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 Post’s “Laws Restrict U.S. Shipping of Vape Products. Many Companies Do It Anyway,” by David Ovalle and Rachel Roubein.

Visit our website for a transcript of the episode.

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President Donald Trump has said he won’t support major cuts to the Medicaid health insurance program for people with low incomes, but he has endorsed a House budget plan that calls for major cuts, leaving the program’s future in doubt. Meanwhile, thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services were fired over the holiday weekend, from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with possibly more cuts to come.

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’” by Brett Kelman.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Washington Post’s “U.S. Reverses Plan To Shut Down Free Covid Test Program,” by Lena H. Sun and Carolyn Y. Johnson.

Joanne Kenen: Wired’s “The Ketamine-Fueled ‘Psychedelic Slumber Parties’ That Get Tech Execs Back on Track,” by Elana Klein.

Sarah Karlin-Smith: Fortune’s “The Dietary Supplements You Think Are Improving Your Health May Be Damaging Your Liver, Research Warns,” by Lindsey Leake.

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