KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC

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Julie Rovner
KFF Well being Information

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Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Well being Information’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Well being?” A famous professional on well being coverage points, Julie is the writer of the critically praised reference e book “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.

Simply days after his firing of the brand-new director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, a defiant Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. secretary of well being and human companies, defended that motion and others earlier than a generally skeptical Senate Finance Committee. Criticism of Kennedy’s more and more anti-vaccine actions got here not simply from Democrats on the panel however from some Republicans who’re additionally medical medical doctors.

In the meantime, members of Congress have just a few weeks left to finish work on spending payments or danger a authorities shutdown, and time can also be operating out to go off the big will increase in premiums for Reasonably priced Care Act well being plans more likely to happen with further Biden-era authorities subsidies set to run out.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Name, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Panelists

Jessie Hellmann
CQ Roll Name

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@jessiehellmann.bsky.social

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Sarah Karlin-Smith
Pink Sheet

@SarahKarlin

@sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social

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Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico

@AliceOllstein

@alicemiranda.bsky.social

Learn Alice’s tales.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

The FDA authorised this yr’s covid booster for individuals older than 65 and for youthful individuals with critical sicknesses. Beforehand, it had been really helpful extra broadly. All eyes will now flip to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to satisfy Sept. 18. Often this panel would endorse these suggestions and maybe provide extra steering on the booster’s use for particular populations. However it isn’t clear whether or not it’ll accomplish that — or whether or not it would even impose extra limitations.
Kennedy’s firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez and the next resignation of a number of senior scientists is elevating questions in regards to the company’s future. Many staffers who had been already on the fence about staying now are more and more more likely to go away. Many of those profession scientists affiliate Kennedy’s historical past of harsh criticisms of public well being staff with the current CDC taking pictures in Atlanta. However because the taking pictures, Kennedy appears to have doubled down on his place.
On the listening to earlier than the Senate Finance Committee, even these Republicans who had been important of Kennedy had been cautious to not criticize President Donald Trump. There’s some hypothesis that this duality is supposed to drive a wedge between Kennedy and the White Home, and to speak that the HHS secretary could possibly be politically damaging.
With vaccine coverage in flux, pink and blue states alike appear to be doing their very own factor. Some, like California, Oregon, and Washington — which fashioned what they’re calling the West Coast Well being Alliance — seem like taking steps to guard entry to vaccines. Crimson states may transfer within the different path. For example, this week, Florida Surgeon Normal Joseph Ladapo introduced an effort to undo all statewide vaccine mandates, together with those who require sure vaccines for kids to attend faculty. If extra states comply with swimsuit, it may result in a geographic patchwork through which vaccine availability and necessities range extensively.
This month is lawmakers’ final probability to reup the federal ACA tax subsidies. If Congress doesn’t act to increase them, an estimated 24 million individuals — a lot of whom dwell in GOP-controlled states like Georgia and Florida — will see important will increase of their medical insurance premium prices. There’s some speak that Congress may go for a short-term or restricted extension that may postpone the pocketbook impression till after the midterm elections. However insurers are already factoring within the uncertainty as they set charges for the upcoming plan yr.
The Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers introduced a Medicare pilot program starting subsequent yr that can use synthetic intelligence to grant prior authorization selections for sure procedures. There’s irony right here. United Healthcare and different non-public plans have already gotten into plenty of hassle for doing this, with AI programs usually denying wanted care.

Additionally this week, Rovner interviews KFF Well being Information’s Tony Leys, who discusses his “Invoice of the Month” report a couple of lady’s unlucky interplay with a bat — and her much more unlucky interplay with the invoice for her rabies prevention remedy.

Plus, for “additional credit score” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose it is best to learn, too:

Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “Gutted: How Deeply Trump Has Lower Federal Well being Businesses,” by Brandon Roberts, Annie Waldman, and Pratheek Rebala.

Jessie Hellmann: KFF Well being Information’ “When Hospitals and Insurers Battle, Sufferers Get Caught within the Center,” by Bram Sable-Smith.

Sarah Karlin-Smith: NPR’s “Leniency on Lice in Colleges Meets Actuality,” by Blake Farmer.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Vox’s “Unique: RFK Jr. and the White Home Buried a Main Examine on Alcohol and Most cancers. Right here’s What It Exhibits,” by Dylan Scott.

Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:

The Washington Submit’s “Florida Strikes To Finish All College Vaccine Mandates, First in Nation To Do So,” by David Ovalle and Lori Rozsa.
The nineteenth’s “Texas Passes Invoice Banning Abortion Tablets From Being Mailed to the State,” by Shefali Luthra.
The New York Instances’ “Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Sure Procedures,” by Reed Abelson and Teddy Rosenbluth.

Credit

Francis Ying
Audio producer

Stephanie Stapleton
Editor

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