Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health “parity laws” that have failed to achieve their goals.

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Researchers Are Asking Why Some Countries Were Better Prepared for Covid. One Surprising Answer: Trust,” by Adam Taylor

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “Next Big Health Crisis: 15M People Could Lose Medicaid When Pandemic Ends,” by Megan Messerly

Margot Sanger-Katz: KHN’s “Faxes and Snail Mail: Will Pandemic-Era Flaws Unleash Improved Health Technology?” by Bram Sable-Smith

Rachel Cohrs: Stat’s “How a Decades-Old Database Became a Hugely Profitable Dossier on the Health of 270 Million Americans,” by Casey Ross

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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