Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House
05/23/25 • 43 min
1 Listener
After an unusual all-night session, the House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, along with billions of dollars in spending cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the food stamp program. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Trump for his signature.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services has made some significant changes affecting the availability of covid-19 vaccines.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, 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 University of California-Davis School of Law professor and abortion historian Mary Ziegler about her new book on the past and future of the “personhood” movement aimed at granting legal rights to fetuses and embryos.
Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “White House Officials Wanted To Put Federal Workers ‘in Trauma.’ It’s Working,” by William Wan and Hannah Natanson.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: NPR’s “Diseases Are Spreading. The CDC Isn’t Warning the Public Like It Was Months Ago,” by Chiara Eisner.
Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “The Potential Cancer, Health Risks Lurking in One Popular OTC Drug,” by Anna Edney.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Farmingdale Observer’s “Scientists Have Been Studying Remote Work for Four Years and Have Reached a Very Clear Conclusion: ‘Working From Home Makes Us Happier,’” by Bob Rubila.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
After an unusual all-night session, the House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, along with billions of dollars in spending cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the food stamp program. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Trump for his signature.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services has made some significant changes affecting the availability of covid-19 vaccines.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, 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 University of California-Davis School of Law professor and abortion historian Mary Ziegler about her new book on the past and future of the “personhood” movement aimed at granting legal rights to fetuses and embryos.
Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “White House Officials Wanted To Put Federal Workers ‘in Trauma.’ It’s Working,” by William Wan and Hannah Natanson.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: NPR’s “Diseases Are Spreading. The CDC Isn’t Warning the Public Like It Was Months Ago,” by Chiara Eisner.
Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “The Potential Cancer, Health Risks Lurking in One Popular OTC Drug,” by Anna Edney.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Farmingdale Observer’s “Scientists Have Been Studying Remote Work for Four Years and Have Reached a Very Clear Conclusion: ‘Working From Home Makes Us Happier,’” by Bob Rubila.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Presenting: ‘First Opinion Podcast’
Today we’re sharing something different with you: an episode of the “First Opinion Podcast” from our friends at Stat. In this episode, host and Stat opinion editor Torie Bosch talks to a veterinarian and epidemiologist about what cats have to do with H5N1 bird flu.
Every week, Bosch goes in depth with newsmakers and leading experts, such as politicians, researchers, and health care providers. These conversations cover anything from health policy, to using comedy to critique medicine, to the use of AI scribes.
If you like this episode, please give the podcast a follow. Learn more about “First Opinion Podcast” here.
KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” will be back with a new episode Friday.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Live From AHCJ: Shock and Awe in Federal Health Policy
This episode was taped live on Friday, May 30, at the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Los Angeles. Host Julie Rovner moderated a panel featuring Rachel Nuzum, senior vice president for policy at The Commonwealth Fund; Berenice Núñez Constant, senior vice president of government relations and civic engagement at AltaMed Health Services; and Anish Mahajan, chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The panelists discussed the national, state, and local implications of funding cuts made over the first 100 days of the second Trump administration and the potential fallout of reductions that have been proposed but not yet implemented. The panelists also took questions from health reporters in the audience.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Featured in these lists
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/kff-health-news-what-the-health-33124/bill-with-billions-in-health-program-cuts-passes-house-91739047"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to bill with billions in health program cuts passes house on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy