What the Health? From KFF Health News

KFF Health News
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Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington, D.C.

  1. 5d ago

    Anger Over Health Costs Clouds Midterms

    Amid a campaign already focusing on affordability, anxious voters are unlikely to be assuaged by headlines about healthcare costs rising even more next year.  And a lawsuit that could cut off access nationwide to the abortion pill mifepristone gets a hearing at a federal appeals court.  Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about when a preventive service isn’t preventive enough to qualify for zero-cost coverage.  Visit our website for 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: NBC News’ “A Secretive Computer Algorithm Is Taking Caregiving Money Away From Disabled People,” by Mike Hixenbaugh.   Sandhya Raman: Bloomberg Government’s “Medicaid Cuts Leave Schools Pondering How To Serve Disabled Kids,” by Erin Durkin and Claire Hebert.   Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “Children in a Faith-Healing Sect Keep Dying. The State Lets It Happen,” by Audrey Dutton.   Amanda Seitz: KFF Health News’ “A NY Hospital Tried To Close Its Birthing Center. This City United To Fight Back,” by Noam N. Levey and Hannah Norman, and Stat’s “Hospitals Pursue Deals To Ensure Survival as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Loom,” by Daniel Payne.

  2. Aug 27

    Summer’s Health Policy Themes

    As summer comes to a close, some of the season’s major health policy stories continue to simmer, including declining insurance coverage, increasing measles cases, and cuts to federal health programs.  Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews Dean Rosen about his work for former Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican and the first woman to lead a major Senate committee, who died last week at 94.  Visit our website for 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: The Washington Post’s “Why We Should Stop Eating Lettuce, Cyclospora or Not,” by Tamar Haspel.   Margot Sanger-Katz: Stat’s “Comments on OMB Research Rule Mysteriously Removed From Federal Website,” by Anil Oza.   Rachel Roubein: The New York Times’ “Americans Encounter Risks at Psychedelic Clinics Abroad,” by Noah Daly and Andrew Jacobs.   Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post and KFF Health News’ “Why Some Couples Are Combining a European Vacation With Their IVF Treatments,” by LJ Dawson.

  3. Aug 20

    Headless FDA Gets a New Nominee

    President Donald Trump is nominating Heidi Overton, a physician who is currently a White House policy adviser, to lead the FDA, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since May. Overton has a controversial history and may face some obstacles to winning confirmation, though Republicans have been reluctant to push back too strongly against most of the president’s picks.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, who has already reshaped the generic drug market and now has his eye on the rest of the healthcare system.   Visit our website for 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: Mother Jones’ “The Orwellian Company Behind ICE’s New Electric Shock Gloves,” by Sophie Hurwitz.   Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Tik Tok’s Fake GLP-1 Market Preys on Women Trying To Lose Weight,” by Barbara Rodriguez.   Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Texas Observer’s “Texas Maternal Mortality Committee’s Next Report Will Skip Post-‘Roe’ Deaths. Lawmakers Suspect Political Influence,” by Mary Tuma.   Joanne Kenen: Politico’s “AI Slop Is Swamping a House Office That Drafts US Laws,” by Owen Dahlkamp.

  4. Aug 13

    Trump’s Vaccine Agenda

    President Donald Trump is trying to unilaterally change the number and schedule of childhood vaccines in the U.S., though it remains unclear how much of an impact his orders will have. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about a medical tourist who searched for a better price for surgery abroad before finding it out-of-state.  Visit our website for 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: Health Affairs’ “Remembering Bob Blendon, an Essential Professor, Teacher, and Mentor,” by Mollyann Brodie.   Anna Edney: CBS News’ “Farm Linked to Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Hadn’t Been Inspected in 7 Years as FDA Lags on Foreign Inspection Targets,” by Julia Ingram.   Sandhya Raman: NOTUS’ “An Antidote to the Anti-Vaccine Movement Lives in Rural West Virginia,” by Margaret Manto.   Maya Goldman: The New York Times’ “To Improve Student Mental Health, University of Michigan Eases Grading,” by Mark Arsenault.

  5. Aug 6

    The Return of ‘Medicare for All’

    Michigan voters this week chose former Detroit public health director Abdul El-Sayed as the Democratic nominee for the state’s open Senate seat. El-Sayed has made “Medicare for All” a major part of his campaign and further elevated the issue.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.  Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who has a new bill that would provide universal health coverage for children.   Visit our website for 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: The New York Times’ “Spotlight on Fauci Said To Boost Book Sales for Kennedy and His Publisher,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg.   Alice Miranda Ollstein: NOTUS’ “Rand Paul’s Fauci Diary Dump Exposed People’s Medical Histories,” by Margaret Manto.   Joanne Kenen: The New York Times Magazine’s “The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids,” by Helen Ouyang.   Amanda Seitz: The Wall Street Journal’s “A Florida Surrogate, a Father in China, and the Babies Caught Between,” by Katherine Long.

  6. Jul 30

    The Politics of Grant Cuts

    The revelation in court documents that the Trump administration used politics alone to decide which grants to fund and which to cancel has provoked surprisingly little outcry from Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Republicans renewed their campaign against Anthony Fauci’s handling of covid.  Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Visit our website for 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: The Arkansas Times’ “Postpartum Women Go Without Care as Arkansas Holds Out as Lone State To Deny Them Medicaid,” by Byron Tate.   Rachel Cohrs Zhang: KFF Health News’ “Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records,” by Amanda Seitz, Maia Rosenfeld, and Darius Tahir.   Liz Essley Whyte: Stat’s “E-Bikes, E-Scooters Are a Burgeoning Pediatric Public Health Emergency,” by J. Todd R. Lawrence and Madison A. Kesler.   Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post’s “The Problem With RFK Jr.’s Crusade Against Antidepressants,” by Aaron E. Carroll.

  7. Jul 23

    A Shrinking Safety Net

    A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes.  Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.   Visit our website for 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: The New York Times’ “The Fake Influencers Selling Wellness on Your Feed,” by Arijeta Lajka, Isabelle Niu, Mark Boyer, James Surdam and Dan T. Peters.  Joanne Kenen: Stat’s “A Most-Wanted Fugitive Appears To Have Been Secretly Working as a Biotech Executive,” by Adam Feuerstein.  Margot Sanger-Katz: NPR’s “Amid Nurse Shortage, a University Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for Men,” by Andrea Hsu.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: Roll Call’s “Trump Administration Puts Kibosh on HIV Prevention Funding,” by Ariel Cohen.

  8. Jul 16

    States Start Their Medicaid Cuts

    Most of the federal cuts to the Medicaid program don’t take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting their own budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but forward progress on legislative priorities remains slow.  Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell of the Purchaser Business Group on Health.   Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: Mississippi Today’s “Mississippi is getting hotter. Experts say it’s hurting moms and babies,” by Sophia Paffenroth and Joanne Kenen.   Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “Almost $1 Billion Later, the US Still Can’t Make a Medical Glove,” by Anna Edney.   Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “Fraud investigations are crumbling this state’s Medicaid system,” by Amanda Chu and Robert King.   Sandhya Raman: Bloomberg Law’s “Unverified GLP-1-Related Claims Flood Food, Supplement Markets,” by Nyah Phengsitthy and Skye Witley.

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Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington, D.C.

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