President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts.

Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.

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 England Journal of Medicine’s “The Corporatization of U.S. Health Care — A New Perspective Series,” by Debra Malina, et al.  

Rachel Roubein: The AP’s “RFK Jr. Promoted a Food Company He Says Will Make Americans Healthy. Their Meals Are Ultraprocessed,” by Amanda Seitz and JoNel Aleccia.  

Rachel Cohrs Zhang: The Wall Street Journal’s “Prosecutors Question Doctors About UnitedHealth’s Medicare Billing Practices,” by Christopher Weaver and Anna Wilde Mathews.  

Tami Luhby: The Washington Post’s “A New D.C. Hospital Grapples With Too Many Patients and Too Few Nurses,” by Jenna Portnoy.

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