\tJulie Rovner
\n\tKFF Health News<\/p>\n
\t\t\t \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, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.\t\t<\/p>\n The Trump administration this week missed a deadline to nominate a new director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Without a nominee, current acting Director Jay Bhattacharya \u2014 who is also the director of the National Institutes of Health \u2014 has to give up that title, leaving no one at the helm of the nation\u2019s primary public health agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a week after one federal judge blocked changes to the childhood vaccine schedule made by the Department of Health and Human Services, another blocked a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.<\/p>\n \tRachel Cohrs Zhang \t\t\t \tLizzy Lawrence \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tShefali Luthra \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration\u2019s declaration intended to limit trans care for minors, though the ruling\u2019s practical effects will depend on whether hospitals resume such care. And a key member of the remade federal vaccine advisory panel resigned as the panel\u2019s activities \u2014 and even membership \u2014 remain in legal limbo.<\/p>\n Two senior administration health posts remain unfilled, after President Donald Trump missed a deadline to fill the top job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u2014 and the Senate made little progress on confirming his nominee for surgeon general.<\/p>\n The percentage of international graduates from foreign medical schools who match into U.S. residency positions has dropped to a five-year low. That\u2019s notable given immigrants represent a quarter of physicians, many of them in critical but lower-paid specialties such as primary care \u2014 particularly in rural areas. Meanwhile, new surveys show that more than a quarter of labs funded by the National Institutes of Health have laid off workers and that federal research funding cuts have had a disproportionate effect on women and early-career scientists.<\/p>\n And new data shows the number of abortions in the United States stayed relatively stable last year, for the second straight year \u2014 largely due to telehealth access to abortion care. And a vocal opponent of abortion in the Senate, with his eyes on a presidential run, introduced legislation to effectively rescind federal approval for the abortion pill mifepristone.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown Law Center\u2019s Katie Keith about the state of the Affordable Care Act on its 16th anniversary.<\/p>\n\n Plus, for \u201cextra credit,\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n Julie Rovner:<\/strong> Stat\u2019s \u201cThe Potential Loophole in Trump\u2019s Plan To Get Other Countries To Pay More for Drugs<\/a>,\u201d by John Wilkerson.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shefali Luthra:<\/strong> NPR\u2019s \u201cYep. A Mom\u2019s COVID Shot During Pregnancy Protects Her Baby, a Large Study Finds<\/a>,\u201d by Tara Haelle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lizzy Lawrence:<\/strong> The Atlantic\u2019s \u201cThe Meme-Washing of RFK Jr.<\/a>,\u201d by Nicholas Florko.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rachel Cohrs Zhang: <\/strong>The Boston Globe\u2019s \u201c\u2018We\u2019re on the Inside Now\u2019: Meet the Man Building a Political Empire Behind RFK Jr.<\/a>\u201d by Tal Kopan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n Stat\u2019s \u201cNational Survey of NIH-Funded Researchers Shows Precarious State of U.S. Science \u2014 \u2018This Is Like the Titanic<\/a>,\u2019\u201d by Jonathan Wosen.<\/p>\n KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cRising Health Costs Push Some Middle-Aged Adults To Skip the Doc Until Medicare<\/a>,\u201d by Sam Whitehead.<\/p>\n Guttmacher\u2019s \u201cFull-Year 2025 Estimates Show Overall Stability in Abortion Incidence, Decreased Travel and Increased Telehealth Provision<\/a>,\u201d by Isaac Maddow-Zimet and Kimya Forouzan.<\/p>\n United for Medical Research\u2019s \u201c2026 Update: NIH\u2019s Role in Sustaining the U.S. Economy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \tFrancis Ying \tEmmarie Huetteman Click here to find all our podcasts.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n And subscribe to \u201cWhat the Health? From KFF Health News\u201d on Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, the NPR app<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n\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
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