the host
Julie Rovner KFF Health News
Read Julie's story. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News' weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” Julie is a renowned expert on health policy issues, and she is the author of the critically acclaimed reference book Health Politics and Policy A to Z, now in its third edition.
President Joe Biden is working to develop a health agenda for his second term as Congress races to complete a spending bill that is past its deadline for the fiscal year that began last October.
Meanwhile, Alabama lawmakers are attempting to reopen the state's fertility clinics following protests from abortion opponents, and pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens say they are ready to begin selling the federally regulated abortion drug mifepristone. Announced.
This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Carlin Smith of The Pink Sheets, Alice Miranda Olstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.
panelists
sarah carlin smith pink sheet
Read Sarah's story.Alice Miranda Olstein Politico
Read Alice's story.Sandhya Raman CQ Roll Call
Read Sandhya's story.
Here are our takeaways from this week's episode.
- Lawmakers in Washington are completing work on the first round of spending bills to avert a government shutdown. The package includes a bare-bones health care bill and omits certain bipartisan proposals being developed on drug prices and pandemic preparedness. Doctors received some relief in the Medicare cuts bill that took effect in January, but the pay cuts have not been reversed.
- The White House is releasing drug pricing proposals that include expanding Medicare negotiations to more drugs. Applying negotiated prices early in a drug's market life. And it would cap drug out-of-pocket costs for all patients, not just the elderly, at $2,000. At least some of the ideas have been proposed before, but failed to pass even in the Democratic-controlled Congress. But the pharmaceutical industry is challenging the government in court and continues to put pressure on the industry as voting day approaches.
- Many public health officials are expressing frustration after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased quarantine guidelines for the coronavirus. This change points to the need for a national dialogue on social support for best practices in public health, particularly by expanding access to paid leave and child care.
- Meanwhile, CVS and Walgreens announced that their pharmacies will distribute the abortion drug mifepristone, the first over-the-counter drug, amid questions about how patients will pay the higher-than-expected list price of $20 a month. Enthusiasm for certain contraceptives is waning.
- Alabama's governor signed legislation protecting access to in vitro fertilization, granting health care providers immunity from the state Supreme Court's recent “fetal personhood” ruling. But given opposition from conservatives, will the new law be bound by the Alabama Supreme Court?
Also this week, Rovner interviewed White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden about Biden's health issues.
Plus, as an “additional credit,” our panelists will suggest health policy articles they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Julie Rovner: NPR's “Can States That Give Rights to Unborn Children Bring State Lawsuits Over Abortion,” by Regan McCarthy.
Sarah Carlin Smith: Stat's “Recovery War” by Lev Futcher.
Alice Miranda Olstein: “Why Public Health Experts Have Limited Insights on Stopping Gun Violence in America,” by Christine Sporer, KFF Health News.
Sandhya Raman: The same magazine's “'My Son's No Longer': How a Mentally Young Man Gets Into the Corner” (written by Orla Ryan).
Also mentioned in this week's podcast:
credit
Frances Ying Audio Producer Emmalie Hüttemann Editor
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