\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, \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 After narrowly passing in the House in May, President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d has now arrived in the Senate, where Republicans are struggling to decide whether to pass it, change it, or \u2014 as Elon Musk, who recently stepped back from advising Trump, is demanding \u2014 kill it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adding fuel to the fire, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill as written would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by nearly 11 million over the next decade. That number would grow to approximately 16 million should Republicans also not extend additional subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which expire at year\u2019s end.\u00a0<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post.<\/p>\n \tJessie Hellmann \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tAlice Miranda Ollstein \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tLauren Weber \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n Even before the CBO released estimates of how many Americans stand to lose health coverage under the House-passed budget reconciliation bill, Republicans in Washington were casting doubt on the nonpartisan office\u2019s findings \u2014 as they did during their 2017 Affordable Care Act repeal effort.<\/p>\n Responding to concerns about proposed Medicaid cuts, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, this week stood behind her controversial rejoinder at a town hall that \u201cwe\u2019re all going to die.\u201d The remark and its public response illuminated the problematic politics Republicans face in reducing benefits on which their constituents rely \u2014 and may foreshadow campaign fights to come.<\/p>\n Journalists revealed that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s report on children\u2019s health may have been generated at least in part by artificial intelligence. The telltale signs in the report of what are called \u201cAI hallucinations\u201d included citations to scientific studies that don\u2019t exist and a garbled interpretation of the findings of other research, raising further questions about the validity of the report\u2019s recommendations.<\/p>\n And the Trump administration this week revoked Biden-era guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Regardless, the underlying law instructing hospitals to care for those experiencing pregnancy emergencies still applies.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News\u2019 Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest \u201cBill of the Month<\/a>\u201d feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an emergency in another state and the big bill he got for his troubles. If you have an infuriating, outrageous, or baffling 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:<\/p>\n Julie Rovner:<\/strong> KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cNative Americans Hurt by Federal Health Cuts, Despite RFK Jr.\u2019s Promises of Protection<\/a>,\u201d by Katheryn Houghton, Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, and Arielle Zionts.<\/p>\n Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> Politico\u2019s \u201c\u2018They\u2019re the Backbone\u2019: Trump\u2019s Targeting of Legal Immigrants Threatens Health Sector<\/a>,\u201d by Alice Miranda Ollstein.<\/p>\n Lauren Weber:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201cTake the Quiz: Could You Manage as a Poor American?<\/a>\u201d by Emily Badger and Margot Sanger-Katz.<\/p>\n Jessie Hellmann:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201cA DNA Technique Is Finding Women Who Left Their Babies for Dead<\/a>,\u201d by Isabelle Taft.<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n NOTUS.org\u2019s \u201cThe MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don\u2019t Exist<\/a>,\u201d by Emily Kennard and Margaret Manto.<\/p>\n The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cWhite House MAHA Report May Have Garbled Science by Using AI, Experts Say<\/a>,\u201d by Lauren Weber and Caitlin Gilbert.<\/p>\n \tFrancis Ying \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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