New Year, Same Health Fight

Congress returned from its holiday break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025.  Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Advertisements Promising Patients a ‘Dream Body’ With Minimal Risk Get Little Scrutiny,” by Fred Schulte.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: SFGate’s “A Calif. Teen Trusted ChatGPT for Drug Advice. He Died From an Overdose,” by Lester Black and Stephen Council.  Sarah Karlin-Smith: ProPublica’s “The End of Aid: Trump Destroyed USAID. What Happens Now?” by Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Brett Murphy.  Lauren Weber: The Washington Post’s “How RFK Jr. Upended the Public Health System,” by Rachel Roubein, Lena H. Sun, and Lauren Weber.  

This past year marked the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, the twin government programs that have shaped the health care system into what it is today. In this special episode, re-aired for the holidays, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews two experts on the history, significance, and future of these perennially popular programs. First up, Medicare historian and University of North Carolina health policy professor Jonathan Oberlander talks about Medicare. He’s followed by Sara Rosenbaum of the George Washington University, who has not only studied Medicaid since nearly its beginning but has helped shape Medicaid policy over the past four decades.Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January. That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy Lawrence of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tony Leys, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, and the panel discusses the year’s biggest developments in health policy. Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. Plus, for a special year-end “extra-credit” segment, the panelists suggest what they consider 2025’s biggest health policy themes: Julie Rovner: The future of the workforce in biomedical research and health care. Lizzy Lawrence: The politicization of science. Tami Luhby: The systemic impacts of cuts to the Medicaid program. Alice Miranda Ollstein: The resurgence of infectious diseases. 

December 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin January 1. Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire, dramatically increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science. Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University professor Linda Blumberg about what the GOP’s health plans have in common.  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Rural America Relies on Foreign Doctors. Trump’s Visa Fee Shuts Them Out,” by David Ovalle.  Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “Abbott Fired a Warning Shot on Baby Formula — Then Launched a Lobbying Blitz,” by Anna Edney.  Sheryl Gay Stolberg: The New York Times’ “The Married Scientists Torn Apart by a Covid Bioweapon Theory,” by Katie J.M. Baker.  Maya Goldman: ProPublica’s “These Health Centers Are Supposed to Make Care Affordable. One Has Sued Patients for as Little as $59 in Unpaid Bills,” by Aliyya Swaby.  

Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending the enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking the distribution of $50 billion in opioid legal-settlement payments.  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “These Hospitals Figured Out How To Slash C-Section Rates,” by Sarah Kliff and Bianca Pallaro.  Joanne Kenen: Wired’s “A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About To Get Its First Major Test,” by Emily Mullin.  Paige Winfield Cunningham: The New York Times’ “A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says,” by Catherine Pearson.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Independent’s “Miscarriages, Infections, Neglect: The Pregnant Women Detained by ICE,” by Kelly Rissman.  

Just weeks before some tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums expire, the Trump administration floated a plan to extend the enhanced aid — but it was met with immediate GOP pushback. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to revise its website to suggest childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein about their new book, “Information Sick: How Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.” Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The New Yorker’s “A Battle With My Blood,” by Tatiana Schlossberg.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNBC’s “Meta Halted Research Suggesting Social Media Harm, Court Filing Alleges,” by Jonathan Vanian.  Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Guardian’s “Influencers Made Millions Pushing ‘Wild’ Births — Now the Free Birth Society Is Linked To Baby Deaths Around the World,” by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne.  Sandhya Raman: KFF Health News’ “Kids and Teens Go Full Throttle for E-Bikes as Federal Oversight Stalls,” by Kate Ruder.  

Led by President Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism. 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 join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. 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. Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: CNBC’s “Cheaper Medicines, Free Beach Trips: U.S. Health Plans Tap Prescriptions That Feds Say Are Illegal,” by Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli, and Melissa Lee.  Paige Winfield Cunningham: The Wall Street Journal’s “Medicaid Insurers Promise Lots of Doctors. Good Luck Seeing One,” by Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, and Tom McGinty.  Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic,” by Nat Lash.  Shefali Luthra: ProPublica’s “‘Ticking Time Bomb’: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas,” by Kavitha Surana and Lizzie Presser.  

The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January — but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits. Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature. Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Emmarie Huetteman: KFF Health News’ “Immigrants With Health Conditions May Be Denied Visas Under New Trump Administration Guidance,” by Amanda Seitz. Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “Bayer Weighs Roundup Exit as Cancer Legal Bill Nears $18 Billion,” by Tim Loh, Hayley Warren, and Julia Janicki. Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Detransition Is Rare, but It’s Driving Anti-Trans Policy Anyway,” by Orion Rummler. Sandhya Raman: BBC’s “Canada Loses Its Measles-Free Status, With US on Track To Follow,” by Nadine Yousif. 

November 1 marked the start of open enrollment for 2026 health plans bought from Affordable Care Act marketplaces in most states. But this sign-up season is like no other in the health law’s 15-year history. It remains unclear, even at this late date, whether expanded tax credits launched during the pandemic in 2021 will be continued or allowed to expire, exposing millions of Americans to much higher out-of-pocket costs. In this special episode of “What the Health?” from KFF Health News and WAMU, host Julie Rovner interviews KFF vice president Cynthia Cox about the past, present, and possible future of the health law and how those who purchase ACA coverage should proceed during this time of uncertainty. Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.

A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the federal government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats have refused to vote on spending until Republicans agree to extend more generous ACA premium tax credits, but so far there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports, after killing a Biden-era effort to end the practice nationwide. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Many Fear Federal Loan Caps Will Deter Aspiring Doctors and Worsen MD Shortage,” by Bernard J. Wolfson. Alice Miranda Ollstein: ProPublica’s “Citing Trump Order on ‘Biological Truth,’ VA Makes It Harder for Male Veterans With Breast Cancer To Get Coverage,” by Eric Umansky.  Paige Winfield Cunningham: The Washington Post’s “Study Finds mRNA Coronavirus Vaccines Prolonged Life of Cancer Patients,” by Mark Johnson.  Maya Goldman: KFF Health News’ “As Sports Betting Explodes, States Try To Set Limits To Stop Gambling Addiction,” by Karen Brown, New England Public Media.