\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 Much of the hubbub in health care this year has been focused on Medicaid, which faces dramatically reduced federal funding as the result of the huge budget bill signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month. But now the attention is turning to the Affordable Care Act, which is facing some big changes that could cost many consumers their health coverage as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, changes to immigration policy under Trump could have an outsize impact on the nation\u2019s health care system, both by exacerbating shortages of health workers and by eliminating insurance coverage that helps keep some hospitals and clinics afloat.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.<\/p>\n \tJulie Appleby \t\t\t \t\t\t \tJessie Hellmann \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 Many Americans can expect their health insurance premiums to rise next year, but those rate hikes could be even bigger for the millions who rely on ACA health plans. To afford such plans, most consumers rely on enhanced federal government subsidies, which are set to expire \u2014 and GOP lawmakers seem loath to extend them, even though many of their constituents could lose their insurance as a result.<\/p>\n Congress included a $50 billion fund for rural health care in Trump\u2019s new law, aiming to cushion the blow of Medicaid cuts. But the fund is expected to fall short, especially as many people lose their health insurance and clinics, hospitals, and health systems are left to cover their bills.<\/p>\n Abortion opponents continue to claim the abortion pill mifepristone is unsafe, more recently by citing a problematic analysis \u2014 and some lawmakers are using it to pressure federal officials to take another look at the drug\u2019s approval. Meanwhile, many Planned Parenthood clinics are bracing for an end to federal funding, stripping money not only from busy clinics where abortion is legal but also from clinics that provide only contraception, testing for sexually transmitted infections, and other non-abortion care in states where the procedure is banned.<\/p>\n And as more states implement laws enabling doctors to opt out of treatments that violate their morals, a pregnant woman in Tennessee says her doctor refused to provide prenatal care, because she is unmarried.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews Jonathan Oberlander, a Medicare historian and University of North Carolina health policy professor, to mark Medicare\u2019s 60th anniversary later this month.<\/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> KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cRepublicans Call Medicaid Rife with Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice but To Break the Rules<\/a>,\u201d by Katheryn Houghton.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Julie Appleby:<\/strong> NPR\u2019s \u201cMany Beauty Products Have Toxic Ingredients. Newly Proposed Bills Could Change That<\/a>,\u201d by Rachel Treisman.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessie Hellmann:<\/strong> Roll Call\u2019s \u201cKennedy\u2019s Mental Health Drug Skepticism Lands at FDA Panel<\/a>,\u201d by Ariel Cohen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> The Associated Press\u2019 \u201cRFK Jr. Promoted a Food Company He Says Will Make Americans Healthy. Their Meals Are Ultraprocessed<\/a>,\u201d by Amanda Seitz and Jonel Aleccia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n KFF Health News\u2019 \u201cInsurers and Customers Brace for Double Whammy to Obamacare Premiums<\/a>,\u201d by Julie Appleby.<\/p>\n The Congressional Budget Office\u2019s \u201cEstimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 119-21, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Relative to CBO\u2019s January 2025 Baseline<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The CBO\u2019s \u201cHow Changes to Funding for the NIH and Changes in the FDA\u2019s Review Times Would Affect the Development of New Drugs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n KFF\u2019s \u201cKFF Health Tracking Poll: Public Views on Recent Tax and Budget Legislation<\/a>,\u201d by Grace Sparks, Shannon Schumacher, Julian Montalvo III, Ashley Kirzinger, and Liz Hamel.<\/p>\n The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cDigging Into the Math of a Study Attacking the Safety of the Abortion Pill<\/a>,\u201d by Glenn Kessler.<\/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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