POLITICO's Pulse Check

"I don't want anyone to think I'm against the harm-reduction potential of these devices for adults. But 3 percent of adults are using these devices — [and] 20 percent of high schoolers are using these devices."

Surgeon General Jerome Adams sits down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain why he's issuing an advisory on the risks of e-cigarettes for youth — just the second surgeon general advisory since 2005. (Starts at the 1:30 mark.) Adams also reviews what he thought of doctors' recent clash with the NRA on social media, how he's setting his 2019 priorities and even shares some personal details.

After the break, POLITICO's Sarah Owermohle joins Dan to discuss Adams' comments on e-cigarettes and the Trump administration's broader push on vaping. (Starts at the 21:30 mark.)

REFERENCED ON THE SHOW

The surgeon general's office has a resource guide for parents, providers and children on e-cigarettes.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb joined POLITICO's podcast in November to discuss his own concerns about vaping and his pending crackdown.

Physicians pushed back after the NRA said doctors should "stay in their lane" and not discuss gun violence.

Adams praised "Blue Zones," the work into why some communities appear to be healthier than others.

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy appeared on POLITICO's "Pulse Check" in 2016, discussing his own approach to the role.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Policy wonks are increasingly pessimistic about Affordable Care Act open enrollment this year, as sign-ups fall further behind last year's pace.

What's next for health coverage — in 2018 and beyond?

First, Noah Lang of Stride Health joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss Stride's new partnership with CMS to help workers for Uber, Etsy and other gig economy companies get covered.

Then, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Alice Miranda Ollstein review the ACA sign-up slowdown, Democrats' tricky policy fight over Medicare for All and why the Supreme Court turned down a chance to weigh in on abortion.

REFERENCED ON THE PODCAST

Sign-ups on HealthCare.gov are about 10 percent behind last year's pace, according to CMS data released Wednesday. There are many possible culprits.

Adam's story on progressives' looming dispute over Medicare for All.

Alice's story on the Supreme Court rejecting petitions to hear cases involving Planned Parenthood.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health care helped Democrats capture the House of Representatives. Now comes the hard part: Figuring out a path forward, with some progressives embracing proposals like Medicare for All — and centrists worried that the plan isn't feasible and a political loser.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who leads the House's Medicare for All Caucus, joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to defend the idea amid Republican attacks, explain why she thinks its time has come, and criticize the health care industry's attempts to stop it.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

POLITICO's Paul Demko, who's in for host Dan Diamond, speaks with reporters Alice Ollstein and Sarah Karlin-Smith about what to expect on the health care front from the lame-duck session of Congress (spoiler: not much). Plus, just as only Nixon could go to China, perhaps only Republicans can limit drug coverage in Medicare Part D -- a discussion of proposed changes from CMS and the seeming lack of opposition from Congressional Republicans, at least for the moment.

Reporting referenced in this episode:

GOP infighting delaying popular health bills

CMS takes on 'protected classes' in Part D

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Barber is a chef known for his radical take on food. He's appeared on the popular Netflix show Chef's Table and is the owner of Blue Hill Restaurant. He joins host Dan Diamond to talk about the future of food and nutrition, and why he thinks we should be using more of the foods we throw away.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"All the great gains that we've made in this country, reducing smoking rates ... all of that will be reversed or lost if we can't address the youth use of e-cigarettes."

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is planning a crackdown on sales of e-cigarettes — a story that broke on Thursday — and he sat down exclusively with POLITICO to talk about why the agency is making such a dramatic move.

Gottlieb joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his infamous "almonds don't lactate" comment and other nutrition news (starts at the 6:00 mark), explain his concerns about e-cigarettes and tease the FDA's pending crackdown (14:45), answer questions about the Trump administration's approach to science and vaccines (30:30), discuss FDA's new approach to approving opioids (35:30) and explain why the FDA's drug importation working group has been so low-profile (38:30).

And stick around for the lightning round of questions about Gottlieb's job, which starts at 42:30.

But first, POLITICO's Sarah Owermohle joins the podcast to put the e-cigarette news in context (starts at the 1:45 mark).

MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST

Gottlieb's infamous "an almond doesn't lactate" line at the POLITICO Pro summit.

TV host Stephen Colbert touting "An Almond Doesn't Lacate" line of t-shirts.

The FDA and Department of Agriculture's turf battle over lab-grown meat.

Gottlieb's reported plan to crack down on sales of e-cigarettes.

The fight over fetal tissue research inside HHS pitting "pro-life against pro-science."

Concerns about President Trump's inaccurate comments about vaccines.

FDA's formation of a working group to look at drug importation.

Gottlieb's announcement of a new approach to opioid approvals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Medicaid expansion to ACA repeal, health care was on the ballot on Tuesday night.

POLITICO's Rachel Roubein, Paul Demko and Adam Cancryn join Dan Diamond to discuss the key winners — and notable losers — and explain what to watch in Congress and the states in the coming months.

READING MATERIAL

Adam and Alice Miranda Ollstein looked at how Tuesday's results served as redemption for the Affordable Care Act.

POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Elana Schor examined the Senate GOP's strengthened hand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Need a guide to Election Day — and all of the health care storylines? POLITICO's health team has you covered this week, with a roundtable episode that explains what we're watching around the nation.

First, Victoria Colliver joins from California to discuss the record spending on the state's measure to cap dialysis clinic profits. (Starts at the 1:15 mark.) Then Adam Cancryn and Paul Demko sit down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to review key races and share insights from reporting trips to states like Ohio, Idaho and Kansas (Starts at the 7:30 mark.)

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Victoria's story on the record $111 million in spending over California's ballot measure to rein in dialysis clinics' profits. (The story is behind POLITICO's Pro firewall.)

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times looks at the spending fight over the dialysis ballot measure.

Paul's story on Idaho's ballot measure for Medicaid expansion.

Alice Miranda Ollstein's story on the Medicaid expansion debate in Georgia and other states led by GOP governors.

Avalere Health's projection that 2.7 million people could gain Medicaid coverage after this year's election.

Paul shadowed GOP Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on the campaign trail.

Adam's story about the controversial opioid ballot measure in Ohio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nora Volkow has run the National Institute on Drug Abuse for 15 years — long enough to serve three presidents, to see the science of addiction evolve and to witness the rise of the opioid crisis (and try to fight it).

Nora sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss her unusual background — a Mexican who ended up leading the U.S. agency that investigates drug abuse and addiction — as well as the causes of addiction, what the government is doing to fight it and which movie or TV show actually gets the problem right.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW AND FOR FURTHER REFERENCE

NIDA's work on addiction science, which informs international efforts.

Nora's own research, as a practicing scientist.

Brianna Ehley's recent POLITICO story on the rise of deaths from meth, cocaine and other drugs.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"What we were trying to do at the time was change the mindset of the executives running these large organizations. And I, for one, think we succeeded far beyond my wildest imagination, in putting enough things into the Affordable Care Act that the people out in the field said, 'Whoa, the world is changing and we’ve got to respond to it.'"

Peter Orszag is one of the intellectual godfathers of the Affordable Care Act, serving as President Barack Obama's top budget official during the health care fight. Now he's helping put together the health care giants of the future, advising on mega-deals like CVS-Aetna and Cigna-Express Scripts as a top investment banker at Lazard.

Peter sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to walk through his experience in the Obama White House, what he's learned on Wall Street and how he sees health care moving forward. (Starts at the 7:10 mark.)

But first, Dan runs through some of the big stories from the week, including the Trump administration's plan to require that drug companies post prices in ads and the choice of Mary Mayhew to serve as director of Medicaid.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

HHS Secretary Alex Azar's speech announcing new requirements for drug companies to post their prices.

PhRMA's pre-emptive move to announce they'll voluntarily disclosure about costs.

POLITICO's Sarah Karlin-Smith recaps the dueling moves on pharma prices.

The Trump administration chose Mary Mayhew to serve as director of Medicaid.

Mayhew's January 2017 letter to then-HHS Secretary nominee Tom Price on her Medicaid wish-list for Maine.

Peter Orszag's July 2013 defense of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

Vanderbilt's Melinda Buntin talked to POLITICO about Medicare's spending slowdown.

James Fallows' criticism of Orszag's move from the White House to Wall Street.

Sign up for Dan's special newsletter from the Milken Institute's "Future of Health" summit next week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices