\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 Millions of people in Republican-dominated states are among those seeing their Affordable Care Act plan premiums spike for 2026 as enhanced, pandemic-era subsidies expire. Yet Republicans in the White House and on Capitol Hill are firming up their opposition to extending those additional payments \u2014 at least for now.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Democrats may not have achieved their shutdown goal of renewing the subsidies, but they have returned health care \u2014 one of their top issues with voters \u2014 to the national agenda.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.<\/p>\n\n \tPaige Winfield Cunningham \t\t\t \t\t\t \tJoanne Kenen \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \tShefali Luthra \t\t\t \t\t\t Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n Democrats\u2019 focus on insurance costs has pushed health care back into the national spotlight. But far from a bipartisan compromise, lawmakers remain split over how to address the issue, with the enhanced premium ACA subsidies still set to expire and top Republicans musing about instead putting that money into health savings accounts.<\/p>\n A new change to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website suggests a link between vaccines and autism, amplifying the unsubstantiated claim championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is facing blowback over a major report on transgender health that was written by critics of such care \u2014 and without peer review.<\/p>\n And some Republicans are seeking to tie ACA subsidies to abortion restrictions, providing only the latest example of how the issue regularly becomes tangled in government spending battles. Democrats are unlikely to agree to such changes, especially if Republicans push to direct subsidies into health savings accounts \u2014 meaning, theoretically, that any abortion limitations there would be targeting citizens\u2019 private funds.<\/p>\n Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser and co-founder and chair of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.<\/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> CNBC\u2019s \u201cCheaper Medicines, Free Beach Trips: U.S. Health Plans Tap Prescriptions That Feds Say Are Illegal<\/a>,\u201d by Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli, and Melissa Lee.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Paige Winfield Cunningham: <\/strong>The Wall Street Journal\u2019s \u201cMedicaid Insurers Promise Lots of Doctors. Good Luck Seeing One<\/a>,\u201d by Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, and Tom McGinty.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> ProPublica\u2019s \u201cWhat the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic<\/a>,\u201d by Nat Lash.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Shefali Luthra: <\/strong>ProPublica\u2019s \u201c\u2018Ticking Time Bomb\u2019: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn\u2019t Get an Abortion in Texas<\/a>,\u201d by Kavitha Surana and Lizzie Presser.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n The Washington Post\u2019s \u201cFight Over Abortion Could Doom Congress\u2019s Health Care Plans<\/a>,\u201d by Riley Beggin and Theodoric Meyer.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal\u2019s \u201cRFK Jr. Discussed Curbing FDA Head\u2019s Role After Complaints About Management Style<\/a>,\u201d by Liz Essley Whyte.<\/p>\n \tFrancis Ying \tEmmarie Huetteman Click here to find all our podcasts.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n And subscribe to \u201cWhat the Health? From KFF Health News\u201d on Apple Podcasts<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, the NPR app<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n\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
\n\t\t\t\t@jrovner\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@julierovner.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Julie’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tPanelists\t<\/h3>\n
\n\tThe Washington Post<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@pw_cunningham\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Paige’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\t@joannekenen.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Joanne’s bio.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\tThe 19th<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t@shefali.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tRead Shefali’s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t\tCredits\t<\/h3>\n
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