\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 President-elect Donald Trump has continued naming out-of-the-box choices to lead key federal health agencies. Three of those picks \u2014 Marty Makary, who would lead the FDA; Jay Bhattacharya, who would head the National Institutes of Health; and Dave Weldon, chosen to administer the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u2014 have something notable in common: All have proposed major changes to the organizations they would oversee.<\/p>\n \u00a0Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard a case challenging Tennessee\u2019s ban on transgender health care for minors, with the conservative justices seeming likely to support the state\u2019s law.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University\u2019s schools of public health and nursing and Politico, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.<\/p>\n \tSarah Karlin-Smith \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 In recent weeks, Trump has named his picks to lead key federal health agencies, including the FDA, NIH, and CDC. His selections suggest big changes could be in store. For instance, Weldon \u2014 a former congressman and a practicing physician \u2014 has often advocated against scientific consensus, including on vaccines.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court this week heard arguments on Tennessee\u2019s law barring transitional care for transgender minors, and from listening to the conservative majority\u2019s remarks, it seems likely they will uphold the law \u2014 with implications for those living in the more than 20 states with similar measures on the books. Plus, in a separate case on vaping, the court sounded sympathetic to the FDA\u2019s decisions to reject applications for flavored e-cigarettes that could put children at risk of addiction.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the incoming Trump administration is poised to take custody of some health-related lawsuits it could very well drop, as well as some big policies it could end \u2014 but it remains to be seen what actions it chooses to take. Medicare drug negotiations, for example, are a Biden administration policy, though Trump and his pick for Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have also advocated for cracking down on the drug industry.<\/p>\n In abortion news, a federal appeals court has cleared the way for Idaho to begin to enforce parts of its law making it a crime to help a minor obtain an abortion in another state. And officials in Texas and Georgia throttled state commissions studying maternal mortality after cases showed the states\u2019 abortion bans were responsible for at least some women\u2019s deaths.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News\u2019 Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post Well+Being \u201cBill of the Month<\/a>\u201d feature, about an emergency room bill for a visit that didn\u2019t make it past the waiting room. If you have an outrageous or inscrutable medical bill you\u2019d like to send us, you can do that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plus, for \u201cextra credit,\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:\u00a0<\/p>\n Julie Rovner:<\/strong> The New Yorker\u2019s \u201cThe Texas OB-GYN Exodus<\/a>,\u201d by Stephania Taladrid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Shefali Luthra:<\/strong> The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cPost Reports\u201d podcast\u2019s \u201cA Trans Teen Takes Her Case to the Supreme Court<\/a>,\u201d by Casey Parks, Emma Talkoff, Ariel Plotnick, and Bishop Sand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> ProPublica\u2019s \u201cFor Decades, Calls for Reform to Idaho\u2019s Troubled Coroner System Have Gone Unanswered<\/a>,\u201d by Audrey Dutton.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sarah Karlin-Smith:<\/strong> Stat\u2019s \u201cWhat YouTube Health Is Doing To Combat Misinformation and Promote Evidence-Based Content<\/a>,\u201d by Nicholas St. Fleur.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cWhat the Health?\u201d: Tennessee Seeks Medicaid Changes<\/a>,\u201d by Julie Rovner (featuring Marty Makary).<\/p>\n ProPublica\u2019s \u201cA Third Women Died Under Texas\u2019 Abortion Ban. Doctors Are Avoiding D&Cs and Reaching for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments<\/a>,\u201d by Lizzie Presser and Kavitha Surana.<\/p>\n ProPublica\u2019s \u201cGeorgia Dismissed All Members of Maternal Mortality Committee After ProPublica Obtained Internal Details of Two Deaths<\/a>,\u201d by Amy Yurkanin.<\/p>\n KXAN\u2019s \u201cTexas Maternal Mortality Committee To Skip Over Full Reviews in Years After Abortion Ban<\/a>,\u201d by Jala Washington.<\/p>\n The American Diabetes Association\u2019s \u201cStatement on Compounded Incretin Products<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \tLonnie Ro \tTaylor Cook \tEmmarie Huetteman 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\tPink Sheet<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@SarahKarlin\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Sarah’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
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\n\tEditor <\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n