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Doctors say they are reluctant to practice in abortion-banned states, where making the best decision for a patient could run afoul of the law. Even former President Donald Trumpās surgeon general is concerned about the repercussions for womenās health, writes Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner.
Sen. Bernie Sandersā broad statement that some U.S. drug prices are 10 times those of other nations doesnāt paint the full picture. Studies we examined generally found that U.S. prices were two to four times those in other countries, not 10.
A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDAās 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?
Sparing veterans and defense spending, as Republicans promise, would be extremely difficult, requiring cuts of more than 20% in other parts of the budget. The Republicansā Limit, Save, Grow Act already proposes a $2 billion cut to the Department of Veterans Affairs by taking back unspent covid relief funding.
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nationās debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News-NPR āBill of the Monthā feature, about a specialistās demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a womanās serious pregnancy complication.
The federal governmentās ambitious plan to end the HIV epidemic, launched in 2019, has generated new ways to reach at-risk populations in targeted communities across the South. But health officials, advocates, and people living with HIV worry significant headwinds will keep the program from reaching its goals.
The Supreme Court is considering the future of the abortion pill mifepristone, after GenBioPro sued the FDA over limitations that effectively block generic production of the drug, a major part of the market. Congress is considering proposals that would impose Medicaid work requirements, crack down on pharmacy benefit managers, and more. And President Joe Biden moved to expand health coverage to young immigrants known as āDreamers.ā Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health Newsā Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more.
The legality and availability of the abortion pill mifepristone is in question after a federal judge in Texas canceled the FDAās approval of the first drug used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel overruled that decision in part, saying the pill should remain available, but only under the onerous restrictions in place before 2016. Meanwhile, another federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling in a separate case that conflicts with the Texas decision, ordering the FDA not to roll back any of its restrictions on the drug. Victoria Knight of Axios, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
A federal lawmaker has introduced a House bill that would close one of a laundry list of oversight gaps revealed in a recent KHN investigation of the system regulators use to ban fraudsters from billing government health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
The Vermont independent and former presidential candidate was all fire and brimstone at his first hearing on drug prices as head of the Senate HELP Committee. He also pursued a more modest goal of covid vaccine price reductions. It isnāt clear whether Sanders will succeed in even that, but he has put affordability front and center.
Mobile clinics that provided covid-19 testing and vaccines at the peak of the pandemic are now being used to provide a range of health services in hard-to-reach communities. A law passed late last year allows qualified health care centers to use federal grants to expand the fleets.
Last year, state lawmakers adopted the countryās toughest online privacy restrictions. The law offers Congress a path forward on federal protections even as it serves as a cautionary tale for taking on Big Tech.
As many lower-income Americans prepare to lose pandemic-era access to Medicaid, President Joe Biden vowed to stop Republicans from making deeper cuts to lower the national debt. Other changes may still be up for discussion.
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. Itās a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for āextra credit,ā the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Politicians are again pointing fingers over who wants to cut Medicare. As past Washington brawls show, the party accused of threatening popular entitlements tends to lose elections ā although itās the beneficiaries relying on lawmakers to fund it who stand to lose the most.
The Senateās top health committee focused on the worsening health care workforce shortage during its first hearing Thursday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, its new chair, boldly promising bipartisan solutions.
Hundreds of physicians came to Washington this week to lobby Congress about their ārecovery planā for physicians, which includes a Medicare pay boost and an end to some frustrating insurance company requirements.
President Joe Bidenās 2023 State of the Union address leaned heavily on health care issues. Biden took a victory lap for recent accomplishments like capping prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare. He also urged Congress to make permanent the boosted premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and he sparred with Republicans on threats to cut Social Security and Medicare. Also this week, both sides in the abortion debate are bracing for a court decision out of Texas that could, at least temporarily, make the abortion pill mifepristone illegal nationwide. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate Baicker of the University of Chicago about a possible middle ground in the effort to get universal health insurance coverage.
Our partners at PolitiFact fact-checked a range of President Joe Bidenās statements, including key health-related comments.
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