POLITICO's Pulse Check

Obamacare repeal is dead — so long live Obamacare? POLITICO’s Paul Demko and Rachana Pradhan rejoin Dan Diamond to discuss the collapse of Republicans’ health bill, their reporting from the week, and where the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act goes from here. First, they marvel and recap the week that was (starts at the 7:30 mark),then talk about what’s next for the GOP (34:45), and run through a quick lightning round (47:15) in the final bonus episode of the short-lived American Health Care Act-era. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Zeke Emanuel got his third meeting with President Donald Trump this week — and Emanuel said he delivered his trademark "straight talk" to Trump as the GOP prepares to vote on the American Health Care Act. “Any rational person has to be worried about this bill,” Emanuel told POLITICO’s Dan Diamond about the GOP’s plan to repeal Obamacare. “It’s unacceptable.” Emanuel joined PULSE CHECK to answer questions about his meetings with Trump, discuss his own experiences helping craft the Affordable Care Act, explain why he’s so worried moving about health care moving forward, and even talk a bit about his famous brothers. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Speaker Paul Ryan is vowing that the House on Thursday will pass the American Health Care Act, Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Rachana Pradhan and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss the state of play around Republicans’ health bill, its chances of passage and their recent reporting on Medicaid issues and the insurance industry. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. And keep your ears peeled: A full episode of PULSE CHECK will be posted at the regular time this week.

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For four years, Rep. Joe Kennedy III has sought a deliberately low profile as a relatively young member of Congress with a famous last name. But after an epic 27-hour markup last week — and tens of millions of views on social media later — Kennedy has quickly emerged as a national face of resistance to Republicans' health bill and a rising Democrat to watch. Kennedy joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss what it was like to spend 27 hours straight arguing in Congress over health care (starts at the 1:45 mark), the key takeaways from his comments (8:00), whether Democrats' all-night resistance actually accomplished anything (14:30), his famous last name (18:45), the future of the Democratic party (25:00), and more. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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The Republican health care bill has landed — and largely with a thud. Two heavy hitters join POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to explain what they like (and don’t) about the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. First, Rick Pollack, head of the American Hospital Association, joins PULSE CHECK to discuss why the powerful lobbying group has come out strongly against the Republican health plan, why he’s also concerned about the travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries and how hospitals have performed under Obamacare. (Starts at the 1:40 mark.) Then after the break, Lisa Nelson, who leads the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC — a powerful conservative organization that played a key role in resisting the Affordable Care Act — explains why she endorsed Republicans’ decision to move forward on repeal, if not necessarily the details of their plan, and why she thinks the ACA has been so bad for the nation. (Starts at the 23:00 mark.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday night exhorted Congress to immediately repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, getting multiple standing ovations. Just one problem: Republicans still don’t have a clear blueprint to do it. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we look at the state of Obamacare repeal, with the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican party feuding over next steps. As of now, the party doesn't have the votes to move forward. First, Tevi Troy of the American Health Policy Institute — a former White House staffer and HHS deputy secretary under President George W. Bush — joins Dan Diamond to explain the strategy and power behind Trump’s speech, assess the administration’s progress after 40 days, and discuss whether Trump is the right president to take a 3 a.m. emergency phone call. (Starts at the 1:45 mark.) Then after the break, Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, explains why he’s thrilled that Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are making a stand against the House GOP’s repeal bill, which reforms that he wants to see in an ACA replacement, and how he views the Democrat-led town hall protests last week — a tactic that FreedomWorks helped pioneer for Republicans in 2009. (Starts at the 30:50 mark.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Liberal activists celebrated last week's raucous town halls — but did the pro-ACA chants actually change any Republican lawmakers' minds? What's in Speaker Paul Ryan's plan to repeal and replace the health law? And where does President Donald Trump's promise to strike down Obamacare actually stand? In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss their reporting from Iowa and Tennessee town halls, what's next for Trump's push and Paul's scoop from Friday — getting a first look at the House's ACA repeal bill. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. And keep your ears peeled: A full episode of PULSE CHECK will be posted at the regular time this week.

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One of the biggest controversies in health care: The price of the EpiPen, which soared from $57 in 2007 to more than $300 last year. Critics said Mylan's steady price hikes were a sign of corporate greed. But Mylan CEO Heather Bresch — who appears on this week's PULSE CHECK — argues her decisions were motivated by bigger problems in the health care system. Bresch joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to defend her side of the EpiPen pricing controversy, discuss the role of middlemen in U.S. drug pricing, and explain why she wants her experience to be a way to expose the deeper problems with the drug industry (starts at the 1:30 mark). Then after the break, Mark Merritt, the head of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, joined to share his diagnosis for high drug prices, argue why pharmacy benefit managers are more than just middlemen, and reveal what it was like testifying in front of Congress with Martin Shkreli (starts at the 13:30 mark). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Seema Verma isn't a household name in health care — but she's about to be. President Donald Trump's pick to run CMS has been a health policy consultant for multiple Republican governors, including then-Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana, and she's facing her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. So what's waiting for Verma, and what would her likely confirmation mean for the health care industry? We talked to two people who would know. First, Tom Scully — the irascible health care lawyer and investor who ran CMS under President George W. Bush — joins PULSE CHECK to discuss leading the agency, why one of his first decisions was to change the name to "CMS," the advice he's given Verma and what he thinks she needs to do to be successful (starts at the 1:40 mark). Then after the break, Joan Alker — the executive director of Georgetown's Center for Children and Families — talks with POLITICO's Dan Diamond about Republicans' plans to reform Medicaid, what Verma's track record suggests she'll pursue if confirmed and the impact on the social safety net (starts at the 29:25 mark). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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President Donald Trump says the drug industry is "getting away with murder" — but Stephen Ubl, the nation's top pharma lobbyist, says his industry's life-saving work has been overshadowed by a few bad actors. Ubl joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to share his thoughts on drug prices, his recent meeting with Trump, PhRMA's top priorities, and why Martin Shkreli and other controversial figures don't tell the whole story about the industry. (Starts at the 1:45 mark.) Then after the break, POLITICO's pharma reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith discusses her reporting on drug price reform. (Starts at 28:00.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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