POLITICO's Pulse Check

It's a moment of change in Washington. In January, Democrats will be out of the White House for the first time in eight years, and Republicans will have a free hand to enact their agenda. So this episode of PULSE CHECK is about influence: specifically, who's in position to influence that agenda — and what that means for health care. First, Ed Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation — which is playing a key role in shaping the Trump transition — joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond (starts at the 2:20 mark) to discuss his think tank's approach to health care, how Obamacare should be repealed and which conservative ideas should inform the ACA's replacement. Then, Henry Waxman joins the podcast (starts at the 25:10 mark) to share his perspective as a longtime liberal lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, how congressional Democrats should work with the Trump administration and what worries him about Republicans' looming health care reforms. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected].

President-elect Donald Trump wants to strike down Obamacare, and the GOP-led Congress is eager to do it. But what are the realistic next steps, when will they happen, and what shouldn’t be overlooked? Two leading conservative thinkers — including the author of an Obamacare replacement plan — explain Republicans' options and point to clues on what will happen next. First, Doug Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 2:55 mark) to discuss what it’s like to lose a presidential election, what an Obamacare repeal-and-replace strategy could look like, and how he thinks Trump could govern. Then, Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 28:45 mark) to talk about his dramatic year where he publicly broke with the Republican party, why he’s written his own Obamacare replacement plan, and what we shouldn’t overlook about Trump’s health policy. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected].

Donald Trump's historic victory will lead to sweeping changes in America's politics and policy. That may start with health care: Trump has repeatedly pledged to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare. And he's got a GOP-led Congress to help him do it. But two influential figures — on opposite sides of the political spectrum — say the president-elect's rhetoric is about to collide with harsh reality: Rolling back the law isn't going to be easy. First, AEI's James Capretta joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 1:35 mark) to discuss his reaction to Trump's policy-light campaign and stunning victory, why he's an advocate of Speaker Paul Ryan's repeal-and-replace plan — which is expected to be Trump's blueprint — and why he thinks the Affordable Care Act isn't totally going away. Then, Families USA's Ron Pollack joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 23:30 mark) to explain why he's declaring "total war" to keep Obamacare alive, why he thinks Gov. Matt Bevin's failure to completely roll back the ACA in Kentucky is a promising sign, and what happens to pro-Obamacare organizations like Enroll America. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected].

Vivek Murthy isn't your grandfather's Surgeon General. He's young, he's social media-savvy, and he's constantly breaking new ground — whether sending 2 million-plus letters to clinicians in an unprecedented appeal to stop prescribing opioids or partnering with Fitbit to get Americans moving. But for some critics, that's not enough — and they wonder if we need a Surgeon General at all.

Murthy joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast to discuss the role of the Surgeon General (starts at the 2:20 mark), why he's focused on getting Americans walking (10:10 mark), how he sees the nation's opioid problem (15:00), how he picks his priorities (24:00) and whether he thinks the Surgeon General can truly be independent on issues like gun violence (30:30). Also: Stay tuned for the lightning round that starts at 38:10.

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].

Twelve days before the election, and more than six years after it passed, Obamacare remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics. But why are voters so far apart, and where do opinions on health reform \*really\* stand? Harvard's Bob Blendon has the answers. Blendon, one of the most influential figures in public polling, is now working with POLITICO on a series of polls about health care, politics and more. He joined the "Pulse Check" podcast — along with POLITICO's Executive Editor for Health Joanne Kenen — to discuss takeaways from the latest POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll (starts at the 4:10 mark), why drug prices have emerged as a potential bipartisan reform (11:40), how voters rank certain health care priorities and why abortion is the ultimate "litmus test" issue (17:00), how polling has changed over time and why Brexit went wrong (26:50), and how much we should trust polling data at all (38:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 46:00. 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].

Andy Slavitt is one of the most influential people in health care. He's also one of the busiest: The head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a long to-do list — and just 93 days left to do it. Back on PULSE CHECK by popular demand, Slavitt talks about Medicare's landmark physician payment law, which was finalized on Friday (starts at the 5:00 mark), Obamacare open enrollment (20:50), the concern over rising ACA rates in his home state of Minnesota and elsewhere (26:15), President Obama and other Democrats' push for the public option (29:45), the fight over Medicare's innovation center and the Part B demo (31:45), and how he feels watching the election, given that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be choosing his successor (42:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 47:15. 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].

Bijan Salehizadeh enrolled at Columbia Medical School with the goal of becoming a hotshot cardiac surgeon. Just a few years later, he'd traded the operating room for the boardrooms of venture capital, where he became known as one of Silicon Valley's smartest health care investors. Now the managing director of Arlington, Va.-based NaviMed Capital — the rare "V.C. in D.C." — Bijan joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how he fell into this career and how investors evaluate opportunities (starts at the 2:10 mark), how he got pitched by a young Elizabeth Holmes, founder of a then-fledgling Theranos (10:30), whether digital health is delivering on its promise (25:00), and more. Also: Check out the lightning round that start at 41:35. 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].

Health Affairs is one of the most important platforms in health care. No health policy journal gets cited more often — just ask Chief Justice John Roberts, who referenced it when issuing his pivotal Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. And no journal has done more to chronicle the industry’s transformation, with a steady stream of blog posts, podcasts, and events that supplement its traditional peer-reviewed research. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, editor Alan Weil explains how it all comes together. Weil discusses how his career began as a 30-year-old in charge of a state Medicaid program (starts at the 2:15 mark), the importance of a “continuum of evidence” when making health policy (8:50), how he edits Health Affairs and decides what makes it in (15:45), how Health Affairs has become a bigger platform (28:00), and what he thinks of President Obama and other politicians publishing in academic journals (35:30). Also: Check out the abbreviated lightning round that starts at 38:15. 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].

More than 47,000 people died from opioid-related causes in 2014. More deaths than from gun violence. More deaths than from car crashes. And the top job of fighting opioid abuse — of setting the nation's drug policy — is on the shoulders of this week's guest, Michael Botticelli. Botticelli joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast to discuss how he approaches drug policy (starts at the 2:20 mark), who’s to blame for the opioid epidemic (7:10 mark), how the White House is working to combat the nation’s heroin and opioid problems (14:00), the connection between the aggressive war on drugs and unrest in black communities today (20:18) and how he thinks about addictions like craving exercise, sex and gambling (25:40). Also: Check out the combo lightning round and crowd-sourced questions that start at 30:20. 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].

Obamacare rates are going up 25 percent and insurers are dropping out. It's been a rough few months for the law — and pundits' doom-and-gloom predictions are only making Anne Filipic's job harder. Filipic is president of Enroll America, the non-profit group dedicated to boosting Obamacare enrollment, and she says that the reality on the ground is much more positive than the picture painted in D.C. And Filipic, who was then-Sen. Barack Obama's Iowa field manager in 2007, talks about how her team is again approaching Nov. 1 open enrollment like a national political campaign. Filipic joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast to discuss how she's thinking about Obamacare's looming open enrollment (starts at the 2:35 mark), whether she's worried about the future of the law (13:30 mark), how she shifted from White House official to health care leader (21:15), what Donald Trump means, and doesn't mean, for Obamacare (28:30) and how becoming a mom has changed her relationship with her work (35:20). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 39:10. 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].