Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending the enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. 

Meanwhile, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are roiled by debates over vaccines. 

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. 

Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking the distribution of $50 billion in opioid legal-settlement payments.  

Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “These Hospitals Figured Out How To Slash C-Section Rates,” by Sarah Kliff and Bianca Pallaro.  

Joanne Kenen: Wired’s “A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About To Get Its First Major Test,” by Emily Mullin.  

Paige Winfield Cunningham: The New York Times’ “A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says,” by Catherine Pearson.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Independent’s “Miscarriages, Infections, Neglect: The Pregnant Women Detained by ICE,” by Kelly Rissman.