What the Health? From KFF Health News

With the fiscal year mostly over, hundreds of millions of dollars in health-related grants approved by Congress still have not reached their designated recipients, with the Trump administration again delaying distribution. Meanwhile, on the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to ban abortion, the number of abortions in the U.S. is actually rising.  Maya Goldman of Axios, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  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 Washington Post’s “Tennessee To Restrict Medical Aid for Critically Ill Undocumented Children,” by Silvia Foster-Frau.   Maya Goldman: Stat’s “Trump Administration Targets Disability Integration Mandate in DOJ Memo,” by O. Rose Broderick.   Rachana Pradhan: KFF Health News’ “Arrests of Immigrant Parents Create Mental Health Crisis for Children,” by Claudia Boyd-Barrett.   Joanne Kenen: The Washington Post’s “Why Trump’s Algae Problem Is Much Bigger Than the Reflecting Pool,” by Sarah Kaplan.  

Senate Democrats hope to highlight rising healthcare prices by forcing a vote on the Trump administration’s changes to the Affordable Care Act before the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Alabama is the latest state to try to cut off residents’ access to medication abortion via telehealth.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute and Liz Fowler of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to discuss the idea of ending the employer health insurance tax exclusion.   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: KFF Health News’ “Trump Bought Tobacco Stocks and Raked In Industry Donations as FDA Eased Standards,” by Darius Tahir.   Sheryl Gay Stolberg: KFF Health News’ “Tennessee Pharmacies Sell Potent Ivermectin, Led by Anti-Vaccine Doctor Who’s Taken ‘Bucketloads,’” by Brett Kelman and Rachana Pradhan.   Anna Edney: Politico Magazine’s “Inside Trump’s Reversal on HIV,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly.   Lauren Weber: The Atlantic’s “AI Is Taking Over Hospitals,” by Benjamin Mazer.  

As predicted, the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans is causing many people to lose coverage for failing to make premium payments.  Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded angrily to a New York Times article suggesting he’s not actively engaged in the work of his sprawling department.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF’s Tricia Neuman, who is retiring this month as a senior vice president and the executive director of the Program on Medicare Policy.  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Anguished Parents. Doctors in Tears. Utah’s Long Measles Outbreak Takes a Toll,” by Amy Maxmen.  Sandhya Raman: CIDRAP’s “Two Sisters, One Virus: A Family Devastated by HPV,” by Liz Szabo.  Lizzy Lawrence: The Chicago Tribune’s “One Plastic Surgeon. Eight Women Dead,” by Christy Gutowski and Gregory Royal Pratt.  Lauren Weber: ProPublica’s “The Milkman,” by Annie Waldman. 

Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration — the opposite of what state officials were informally told would be the case.  Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding.  Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News reporter Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about a patient with a temporary memory problem and a less forgettable $59,000 hospital bill.  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: KFF Health News and The Associated Press’ “Festering Infections to Untreated Cancer: ICE Detainees Describe Medical Neglect Across US,” by Rae Ellen Bichell, Claire Galofaro, Maia Rosenfeld, Renuka Rayasam, Aaron Kessler, and Byron Tau.  Liz Essley Whyte: The Wall Street Journal’s “The Autism-Therapy Business Is Booming — And So Is the Billing Abuse,” by Christopher Weaver and Anna Wilde Mathews.  Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “The Return of Blaming and Shaming in Public Health,” by Simar Bajaj.  Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “‘No One Is Watching’: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown on Gun Trafficking,” by Alec MacGillis and Ken B. Morales. 

When Republicans passed their big budget bill in 2025, they thought the effects of cuts to health programs wouldn’t show up until after the 2026 midterms. They were wrong.  Meanwhile, the party is trumpeting its efforts to lower drug prices.  Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, Céline Gounder, to discuss the Ebola outbreak.  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: ProPublica’s “She Faced a Life-Threatening Miscarriage. Under Arkansas’ Abortion Ban, Even Calls to the Governor’s Office Didn’t Help,” by Kavitha Surana.   Lauren Weber: The New York Times’ “Short Naps, Long Hours: How Autism Clinics Squeeze Medicaid Dollars Out of Preschoolers,” by Sarah Kliff and Margot Sanger-Katz.   Shefali Luthra: The New York Times’ “Nine Months of Medical Attention. Then Almost Nothing,” by Sejal Hathi.   Maya Goldman: The Texas Tribune’s “Texas Children’s Hospital Must Create Country’s First ‘Detransition Clinic’ Under Legal Settlement With State,” by Terri Langford and Colleen DeGuzman.