\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 In a highly unusual White House news conference this week, President Donald Trump \u2014 without evidence \u2014 boldly blamed the painkiller Tylenol and a string of childhood vaccines for causing a recent rise in autism. That came just days after the newly reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, now populated with vaccine skeptics and opponents, voted to change long-standing recommendations. <\/p>\n Podcast host Julie Rovner interviews Demetre Daskalakis, who until last month was the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, about the reaction to these unprecedented actions.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as the government approaches a likely shutdown, with Congress at a standoff over funding for the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, the Trump administration is ordering federal agencies not to just furlough workers but to fire them if their jobs do not align with the president\u2019s priorities.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.<\/p>\n \tAnna Edney \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tSandhya Raman \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n The federal Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday night sent a memo to government agencies asking for contingency plans in the event of a government shutdown starting Oct. 1. Such a memo isn\u2019t unusual when it comes to pre-shutdown planning. This time around, it took an unprecedented turn in informing agency personnel that they should prepare for mass firings of employees whose programs lack alternative funding sources or who are working on a program whose mission doesn\u2019t directly align with Trump\u2019s priorities. Though federal RIFs, or reductions in force, and government shutdowns have each happened before, the combined RIF\/shutdown threat is a first.<\/p>\n It seems we are headed for a shutdown. Before adjourning until after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, the House approved a stopgap funding measure. But, because House members do not plan to return to Washington until Oct. 6, that leaves the Senate in a jam. If senators change anything in the bill, it would require another House vote, which, because of the House schedule, might not happen before the month ends.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also interparty strife. Republicans say they want a clean bill to provide short-term funding, while Democrats have other ideas. Their prevailing attitude is that they went along with this approach in March and got burned. This week, Trump also canceled a meeting with Democratic leaders. The bottom line is that both sides are jockeying for a position that would allow them to cast shutdown blame across the aisle. Some call it a game of three-dimensional chess, while others call it a game of chicken. Either way, there will be consequences.<\/p>\n Confusion and chaos have emerged as buzzwords to describe two recent events: last week\u2019s meeting of the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and this week\u2019s White House press conference about autism. Both were marked by mixed messages. At the White House event, for instance, Trump warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol. But the FDA information that shortly followed downplayed the Tylenol risk.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas could have an impact on health care. Such visas are often used by graduating medical students and other health professionals who come to the U.S. for training, then stay to practice. That $100,000 fee is steep and generated an almost immediate backlash from hospitals and health systems, especially those in rural areas \u2014 a reaction that caught administration officials off guard. Administration officials have suggested that health professionals would qualify for an exemption from this fee. What is not yet clear is what hoops the sponsoring hospitals would have to jump through to qualify for it.<\/p>\n Trump has given 17 drug companies a Sept. 29 deadline by which they will have to commit to adopting his \u201cmost favored nation\u201d pricing policy. It\u2019s intended to increase the cost drugmakers charge in other countries while lowering prices in the U.S. Talks between the administration and the drugmakers are ongoing. So far, indications are that Trump might end up with half a loaf. Some large drugmakers have announced they will raise the prices of specific medications in other countries but have not agreed to reduce prices in the U.S.<\/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> NBC News\u2019 \u201cRFK Jr. Has the Federal Vaccine Court in His Sights. Attacking It Could Threaten Vaccine Production in the U.S.<\/a>,\u201d by Liz Szabo.<\/p>\n Anna Edney:<\/strong> The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cDo State Abortion Laws Affect Women\u2019s Recruiting? That\u2019s Up to Athletes<\/a>,\u201d by Kevin B. Blackistone.<\/p>\n Sandhya Raman:<\/strong> ProPublica\u2019s \u201cPsychiatric Hospitals Turn Away Patients Who Need Urgent Care. The Facilities Face Few Consequences<\/a>,\u201d by Eli Cahan.<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n Axios\u2019 \u201cDrugmakers Meet Trump Only Halfway on Pricing Plan<\/a>,\u201d by Peter Sullivan.<\/p>\n Bloomberg Law\u2019s \u201cWhite House Says Doctors May Win Reprieve From H-1B Visa Fee<\/a>,\u201d by Rachel Cohrs Zhang, John Tozzi, and Jessica Nix.<\/p>\n \tFrancis Ying \tStephanie Stapleton 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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