\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 Incoming President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration is Monday, yet the new GOP-led Congress is already rushing to work his priorities into legislation, eyeing cuts to Medicaid to pay for new tax and immigration priorities. But even in its waning days, the Biden administration continues to make big policy moves, including a possible order for tobacco companies to dramatically decrease the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the fires in Los Angeles are drawing new attention to the health dangers of not just smoke from organic matter, but also toxic substances released by burning plastic and other man-made materials \u2014 as well as the threat posed to both air and water quality.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.<\/p>\n \tAnna Edney \t\t\t \t\t\t \tJoanne Kenen \t\t\t \t\t\t \tSandhya Raman \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n Republican lawmakers are weighing options to cut federal spending on Medicaid, the nearly $900-billion-a-year government program that covers 1 in 5 Americans. They could use the savings to bolster Trump priorities, such as extending the 2017 tax cuts. The GOP made splashy but unsuccessful attempts to cut Medicaid when Trump first took office and the party held a larger House majority \u2014 though the party seems more aligned with Trump today than it was then.<\/p>\n Congress has gotten down to business on messaging bills: It advanced legislation this week that would ban trans athletes from girls\u2019 school sports and, separately, a measure to detain and even deport immigrants who are living in the U.S. without legal status and have been charged with, though not convicted of, minor crimes such as shoplifting.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case later this year about the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force \u2014 an independent body of experts that issues recommendations in disease prevention and medicine. A ruling against its authority could strip coverage for key preventive health services from not just those with Affordable Care Act coverage, but also those on employer-sponsored health plans. The question stands: If not this task force, who would make the determinations about what preventive care should be covered?<\/p>\n And the outgoing Biden administration issued a slew of health regulations this week, including a ban on the dye Red No. 3 in food and other ingested products, as well as an early regulation limiting the amount of nicotine in tobacco products. The incoming Trump administration could upend these and more regulations, though some do align with its policy interests.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News \u201cBill of the Month<\/a>\u201d feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated. If you have a mystifying or outrageous medical bill you\u2019d like to share with us, you can do that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n Plus, for \u201cextra credit,\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too:\u00a0<\/p>\n Julie Rovner:<\/strong> KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cCan Medical Schools Funnel More Doctors Into the Primary Care Pipeline?<\/a>\u201d by Felice J. Freyer.<\/p>\n Anna Edney:<\/strong> Bloomberg News\u2019 \u201cIt\u2019s Not Just Sunscreen. Toxic Products Line the Drugstore Aisles<\/a>,\u201d by Anna Edney.<\/p>\n Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> The Atlantic\u2019s \u201cA Secret Way To Fight Off Stomach Bugs<\/a>,\u201d by Daniel Engber.<\/p>\n Sandhya Raman:<\/strong> Nature\u2019s \u201cNew Obesity Definition Sidelines BMI To Focus on Health<\/a>,\u201d by Giorgia Guglielmi.<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n MedPage Today\u2019s \u201cABIM Revokes Certification of Another Doctor Who Made Controversial COVID Claims<\/a>,\u201d by Kristina Fiore.<\/p>\n The Atlantic\u2019s \u201cWhat Happens When a Plastic City Burns<\/a>,\u201d by Zo\u00eb Schlanger.<\/p>\n ProPublica\u2019s \u201cThe Second Trump White House Could Drastically Reshape Infectious Disease Research. Here\u2019s What\u2019s at Stake<\/a>,\u201d by Anna Maria Barry-Jester.<\/p>\n The New York Times\u2019 \u201cDon\u2019t Call Kennedy a Vaccine Skeptic. Call Him What He Is: A Cynic<\/a>,\u201d by Paul A. Offit.<\/p>\n The Federal Trade Commission\u2019s \u201cPharmacy Benefit Managers: The Powerful Middlemen Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \tTaylor Cook \tLonnie Ro \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
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\n\t\t\t\tRead Julie’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tPanelists\t<\/h3>\n
\n\tBloomberg<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@annaedney\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Anna’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\tCQ Roll Call<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@SandhyaWrites\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Sandhya’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tCredits\t<\/h3>\n
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