\tJulie Rovner
\n\tKFF Health News<\/p>\n
\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\tJulie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News\u2019 weekly health policy news podcast, \u201cWhat the Health?\u201d A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book \u201cHealth Care Politics and Policy A to Z,\u201d now in its third edition.\t\t<\/p>\n As part of a media blitz aimed at women voters, Vice President Kamala Harris this week rolled out a plan for Medicare to provide in-home long-term care services. It\u2019s popular, particularly for families struggling to care for both young children and older relatives, but its enormous expense has prevented similar plans from being implemented for decades.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, President Joe Biden called out former President Donald Trump by name for having \u201cled the onslaught of lies\u201d about the federal efforts to help people affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton. Even some Republican officials say the misinformation about hurricane relief efforts is threatening public health.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing and Politico.<\/p>\n \tJessie Hellmann \t\t\t \t\t\t \tJoanne Kenen \t\t\t \t\t\t \tShefali Luthra \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 plan to expand Medicare to cover more long-term care is popular but not new, and in the past has proved prohibitively expensive.<\/p>\n Former President Donald Trump has abandoned support for a drug price policy he pursued during his first term. The idea, which would lower drug prices in the U.S. to their levels in other industrialized countries, is vehemently opposed by the drug industry, raising the question of whether Trump is softening his hard line on the issue.<\/p>\n Abortion continues to be the biggest health policy issue of 2024, as Republican candidates \u2014 in what seems to be a replay of 2022 \u2014 try to distance themselves from their support of abortion bans and other limits. Voters continue to favor reproductive rights, which creates a brand problem for the GOP. Trump\u2019s going back and forth on his abortion positions is an exception to the tack other candidates have taken.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court returned from its summer break and immediately declined to hear two abortion-related cases. One case pits Texas\u2019 near-total abortion ban against a federal law that requires emergency abortions to be performed in certain cases. The other challenges a ruling earlier this year from the Alabama Supreme Court finding that embryos frozen for in vitro fertilization have the same legal rights as born humans.<\/p>\n The 2024 KFF annual employer health benefits survey, released this week, showed a roughly 7% increase in premiums, with average family premiums now topping $25,000 per year. And that\u2019s with most employers not covering two popular but expensive medical interventions: GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and IVF.<\/p>\n Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with \u201cShark Tank\u201d panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues.<\/p>\n Plus, for \u201cextra credit,\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n Julie Rovner:<\/strong> KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cA Boy\u2019s Bicycling Death Haunts a Black Neighborhood. 35 Years Later, There\u2019s Still No Sidewalk<\/a>,\u201d by Renuka Rayasam and Fred Clasen-Kelly.<\/p>\n Shefali Luthra:<\/strong> The 19th\u2019s \u201cArizona\u2019s Ballot Measure Could Shift the Narrative on Latinas and Abortion<\/a>,\u201d by Mel Leonor Barclay.<\/p>\n Jessie Hellmann:<\/strong> The Assembly\u2019s \u201cHelene Left Some NC Elder-Care Homes Without Power<\/a>,\u201d by Carli Brosseau.<\/p>\n Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201cHer Face Was Unrecognizable After an Explosion. A Placenta Restored It<\/a>,\u201d by Kate Morgan.<\/p>\n Also mentioned on this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n The New York Times\u2019 \u201cBiden Accuses Trump of \u2018Outright Lies\u2019 About Hurricane Response<\/a>,\u201d by Michael D. Shear.<\/p>\n The Miami Herald\u2019s \u201cFlorida Threatens To Prosecute TV Stations Over Abortion Ad. FCC Head Calls It \u2018Dangerous,\u2019<\/a>\u201d by Claire Healy and Ana Ceballos.<\/p>\n KFF\u2019s \u201c2024 Employer Health Benefits Survey<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \tFrancis Ying \tStephanie Stapleton To hear all our podcasts,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n And subscribe to KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cWhat the Health?\u201d on\u00a0Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@jrovner\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Julie’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tPanelists\t<\/h3>\n
\n\tCQ Roll Call<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@jessiehellmann\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Jessie’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\tJohns Hopkins University and Politico<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@JoanneKenen\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Joanne’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\tThe 19th<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@shefalil\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Shefali’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tCredits\t<\/h3>\n
\n\tAudio producer<\/p>\n
\n\tEditor <\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n