\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 Early Thursday afternoon, the House approved a budget reconciliation bill that not only would make permanent many of President Donald Trump\u2019s 2017 tax cuts, but also impose deep cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and, indirectly, Medicare.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, those appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a key vaccine advisory panel used their first official meeting to cast doubt on a preservative that has been used in flu vaccines for decades \u2014 with studies showing no evidence of its harm in low doses.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet.<\/p>\n \tMaya Goldman \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tSarah Karlin-Smith \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tAlice Miranda Ollstein \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n This week the GOP steamrolled toward a major constriction of the nation\u2019s social safety net, pushing through Trump\u2019s tax and spending bill. The legislation contains significant changes to the way Medicaid is funded and delivered \u2014 in particular, through imposing the program\u2019s first federal work requirement on many enrollees. Hospitals say the changes would be devastating, potentially resulting in the loss of services and facilities that could touch all patients, not only those on Medicaid.<\/p>\n Some proposals in Trump\u2019s bill were dropped during the Senate\u2019s consideration, including a ban on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care and federal funding cuts for states that use their own Medicaid funds to cover immigrants without legal status. And for all the talk of not touching Medicare, the legislation\u2019s repercussions for the deficit are expected to trigger spending cuts to the program that covers those over 65 and some with disabilities \u2014 potentially as soon as the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n The newly reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met last week, and it looked pretty different from previous meetings: In addition to new members, there were fewer staffers on hand from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \u2014 and the notable presence of vaccine critics. The panel\u2019s vote to reverse the recommendation of flu shots containing a mercury-based preservative \u2014 plus its plans to review the childhood vaccine schedule \u2014 hint at what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\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> The Lancet\u2019s \u201cEvaluating the Impact of Two Decades of USAID Interventions and Projecting the Effects of Defunding on Mortality up to 2030: A Retrospective Impact Evaluation and Forecasting Analysis<\/a>,\u201d by Daniella Medeiros Cavalcanti, et al.<\/p>\n Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201c\u2018I Feel Like I\u2019ve Been Lied To\u2019: When a Measles Outbreak Hits Home<\/a>,\u201d by Eli Saslow.<\/p>\n Maya Goldman:<\/strong> Axios\u2019 \u201cNew Docs Get Schooled in Old Diseases as Vax Rates Fall<\/a>,\u201d by Tina Reed.<\/p>\n Sarah Karlin-Smith:<\/strong> Wired\u2019s \u201cSnake Venom, Urine, and a Quest to Live Forever: Inside a Biohacking Conference Emboldened by MAHA<\/a>,\u201d by Will Bahr.<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n NBC News\u2019 \u201cCrisis Pregnancy Centers Told To Avoid Ultrasounds for Suspected Ectopic Pregnancies<\/a>,\u201d by Abigail Brooks.<\/p>\n ProPublica\u2019s \u201cA \u2018Striking\u2019 Trend: After Texas Banned Abortion, More Women Nearly Bled to Death During Miscarriage<\/a>,\u201d by Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser, and Andrea Suozzo.<\/p>\n The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cDOGE Loses Control Over Government Grants Website, Freeing Up Billions<\/a>,\u201d by Dan Diamond and Hannah Natanson.<\/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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