The recently fired head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told senators that health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered her to fire top officials and agree to approve changes to national vaccine recommendations — before the recommendations were made and regardless of what the science says. Meanwhile, Congress heads toward a government shutdown, with expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans in the balance.

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news.

Also, Rovner interviews Troyen Brennan, former chief medical officer at Aetna and CVS, about his new book on primary care.

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: The New York Times Magazine’s “Trump Is Shutting Down the War on Cancer,” by Jonathan Mahler.  

Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push,” by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “I Have Dental Insurance. Why Do I Pay So Much for Care?” by Erica Sweeney.  

Joanne Kenen: Politico Magazine’s “Why Voters Will Feel the Impact of GOP Health Cuts Before the Midterms,” by Joanne Kenen.  

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