President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the vast Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced sharp questioning from senators this week, particularly over his history of vaccine denialism. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s second week has been even more disruptive than its first, with an on-again, off-again funding freeze that left many around the country scrambling to understand what was going on.

Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Nicholas Bagley, a University of Michigan law professor, who explains how the federal regulatory system is supposed to operate to make health policy.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: 404 Media’s “Medical Device Company Tells Hospitals They’re No Longer Allowed to Fix Machine That Costs Six Figures,” by Jason Koebler.

Sandhya Raman: ProPublica’s “Dozens of People Died in Arizona Sober Living Homes as State Officials Fumbled Medicaid Fraud Response,” by Mary Hudetz and Hannah Bassett.

Sarah Karlin-Smith: CBS News’ “Wind-Blown Bird Poop May Help Transmit Bird Flu, Minnesota’s Infectious Disease Expert Warns,” by Mackenzie Lofgren.

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President Donald Trump was sworn in Monday and by Wednesday had virtually stopped scientific policymaking at the Department of Health and Human Services. While incoming administrations often pause public communications, the acting HHS head ordered an unprecedented shutdown of all outside meetings, travel, and publications. Meanwhile, Trump issued a broad array of mostly nonbinding executive orders, but notably none directly concerning abortion.

Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rodney Whitlock, a former congressional staffer, who explains the convoluted “budget reconciliation” process Republicans hope to use to enact Trump’s agenda. 

Visit our website to read 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: CNN’s “With Bird Flu Cases Rising, Certain Kinds of Pet Food May Be Risky for Animals — And People,” by Brenda Goodman.  

Rachel Roubein: The Washington Post’s “Antiabortion Advocates Look for Men To Report Their Partners’ Abortion,” by Caroline Kitchener.  

Rachel Cohrs Zhang: The Washington Post’s “In Florida, a Rebellion Against Fluoride Is Winning,” by Fenit Nirappil.  

Alice Ollstein: The Los Angeles Times’ “Now That You Can Return Home After the Fires, How Do You Clean Up Safely?” by Karen Garcia and Tony Briscoe. 

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With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content.

Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.  

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: KFF Health News’ “Can Medical Schools Funnel More Doctors Into the Primary Care Pipeline?” by Felice J. Freyer.  

Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “It’s Not Just Sunscreen. Toxic Products Line the Drugstore Aisles,” by Anna Edney.  

Joanne Kenen: The Atlantic’s “A Secret Way To Fight Off Stomach Bugs,” by Daniel Engber.  

Sandhya Raman: Nature’s “New Obesity Definition Sidelines BMI To Focus on Health,” by Giorgia Guglielmi.  

Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.

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Health is unlikely to be a top priority for the new GOP-led 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s likely to play a key supporting role, with an abortion bill already scheduled for debate in the Senate. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when and how the new Congress will deal with the bipartisan bills jettisoned from the previous Congress’ year-end omnibus measure — including a major deal to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers.

In this “catch up on all the news you missed” episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. 

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: The Wall Street Journal’s “UnitedHealth’s Army of Doctors Helped It Collect Billions More From Medicare,” by Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, and Tom McGinty.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “Ozempic, Lego Bricks and Hearing Aids: What Trump’s Greenland Plan Could Hit,” by Ana Swanson and Jenny Gross.  

Shefali Luthra: Vox.com’s “Gigantic SUVs Are a Public Health Threat. Why Don’t We Treat Them Like One?” by David Zipper.  

Lauren Weber: The Washington Post’s “Laws Restrict U.S. Shipping of Vape Products. Many Companies Do It Anyway,” by David Ovalle and Rachel Roubein.

Visit our website for a transcript of the episode.

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Francis Collins led the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, under three presidents. During the Biden administration, he added White House science adviser to his long list of roles. Now he runs his own lab on the NIH campus, and his latest book, “The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust,” came out in September. In this special holiday episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” Collins joins host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss health misinformation, the Trump administration’s plans for the NIH, and bringing together a fractured society. 

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient.

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: Vox.com’s “The Deep Roots of Americans’ Hatred of Their Health Care System,” by Dylan Scott.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: KFF Health News’ “Native American Patients Are Sent to Collections for Debts the Government Owes,” by Katheryn Houghton and Arielle Zionts.

Jessie Hellmann: KFF Health News’ “How a Duty To Spend Wisely on Worker Benefits Could Loosen PBMs’ Grip on Drug Prices,” by Arthur Allen.

Victoria Knight: Bloomberg News’ “The Weight-Loss Drug Gold Rush Has a Dangerous Prescription Problem,” by Madison Muller.

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The shocking shooting death of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive in Midtown Manhattan prompted a public outcry about the problems with the nation’s health care system, as stories of delayed and denied care filled social media. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump continues to avoid providing specifics about his plans for the Affordable Care Act and other health issues.

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Francis Collins, who was the director of the National Institutes of Health and a science adviser to President Joe Biden.  

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: KFF’s “Medicare Spending was 27% More for People Who Disenrolled From Medicare Advantage Than for Similar People in Traditional Medicare,” by Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Alex Cottrill, Nolan Sroczynski, and Tricia Neuman.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNN’s “Most Women in the US Aren’t Accessing Family Planning Services, Even as Abortion Restrictions Grow,” by Deidre McPhillips.  

Sandhya Raman: Stat’s “Spending Less, Living Longer: What the U.S. Can Learn From Portugal’s Innovative Health System,” by Usha Lee McFarling.  

Rachel Cohrs Zhang: ProPublica’s “‘Eat What You Kill,’” by J. David McSwane. 

Visit our website for a transcript of the episode.

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President-elect Donald Trump has made his choices to fill some top jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services. They include controversial figures who were vocal critics of the Biden administration’s handling of the covid pandemic and have proposed sweeping changes to the agencies they would lead. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard its first two health-related cases of the term, challenging a Tennessee law barring transgender medical care for minors and, separately, challenging the FDA’s handling of e-cigarettes.

Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University and Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post Well+Being “Bill of the Month” feature, about an emergency room bill for a visit that didn’t get past the waiting room. 

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: The New Yorker’s “The Texas OB-GYN Exodus,” by Stephania Taladrid.  

Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post’s “Post Reports” podcast’s “A Trans Teen Takes Her Case to the Supreme Court,” by Casey Parks, Emma Talkoff, Ariel Plotnick, and Bishop Sand.  

Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “For Decades, Calls for Reform to Idaho’s Troubled Coroner System Have Gone Unanswered,” by Audrey Dutton.  

Sarah Karlin-Smith: Stat’s “What YouTube Health Is Doing To Combat Misinformation and Promote Evidence-Based Content,” by Nicholas St. Fleur. 

Click here to find a transcript of the episode.

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Public health, one of the more misunderstood concepts in the health world, is about the health of entire populations, rather than individuals. As a result, public health is closely tied to things like the environment, nutrition, and safety. With major concerns such as bird flu looming, President-elect Donald Trump’s priorities could translate into efforts that undermine those of public health workers.

In this special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?”, chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner is joined by Healthbeat editor-in-chief Charlene Pacenti, KFF Health News public health correspondent Amy Maxmen, and Healthbeat New York City reporter Eliza Fawcett. 

Read a transcript of the episode on kffhealthnews.org.

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Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year.

Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.  

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 “How Lincare Became a Multibillion-Dollar Medicare Scofflaw,” by Peter Elkind.  

Sandhya Raman: ProPublica’s “How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk,” by Annie Waldman.  

Riley Ray Griffin: The New York Times’ “A.I. Chatbots Defeated Doctors at Diagnosing Illness,” by Gina Kolata.  

Rachel Cohrs Zhang: CNBC’s “Dental Supply Stock Surges on RFK’s Anti-Fluoride Stance, Activist Involvement,” by Alex Harring.  

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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