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The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and 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 about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt. 

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

Julie Rovner: The AP’s “At Westminster Dog Show, New Focus on Veterinarians’ Welfare,” by Jennifer Peltz

Joanne Kenen: Fern.org’s “Back Forty: How to Protect Farmworkers From Heat-Related Kidney Disease,” by Nancy Averett

Rachel Cohrs: The Markup’s “Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information From Hospital Websites,” by Todd Feathers, Simon Fondrie-Teitler, Angie Waller, and Surya Mattu

Click here for a transcript of the episode.



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The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising.

Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

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

Julie Rovner: Stat’s “The FTC Says It’s Getting Tougher on Hospital Consolidation. Antitrust Experts Aren’t Buying It,” by Tara Bannow

Shefali Luthra: Politico’s “Michigan’s Abortion Providers Brace for a Ban — Or a Surge,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein

Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Washington Post’s “You Agreed to What? Doctor Check-In Software Harvests Your Health Data,” by Geoffrey A. Fowler

Sandhya Raman: KHN’s “Race Is Often Used as Medical Shorthand for How Bodies Work. Some Doctors Want to Change That,” by Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.

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

Julie Rovner: KHN’s “Misinformation Clouds America’s Most Popular Emergency Contraception,” by Sarah Varney

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “How Many Covid Deaths Are Acceptable? Some Biden Officials Tried to Guess,” by Rachael Levy

Anna Edney: The 19th’s “Florida Could Be a Critical Access Point for Abortion, but the State’s Own Battle Is Just Starting,” by Shefali Luthra

Joanne Kenen: The Trace’s “In 2019, Congress Pledged Millions to Study Gun Violence. The Results Are Nearly Here,” by Chip Brownlee

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums.

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the ACA.

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

Julie Rovner: NPR Throughline’s “Before Roe: The Physicians’ Crusade,” by Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, Julie Caine, Laine Kaplan-Levenson, Lawrence Wu, Victor Yvellez, Casey Miner, Yolanda Sangweni, Anya Steinberg, and Deborah George

Rachel Cohrs: The Wall Street Journal’s “Baby-Formula Shortage Worsened by Drop in Breast-Feeding Rates,” by Jennifer Maloney

Margot Sanger-Katz: The Washington Post’s “Opinion: Breastfeeding Isn’t ‘Free.’ Here’s What It Cost Me,” by Alyssa Rosenberg

Sandhya Raman: News from the States’ “From Skepticism to Insurance Denials, Long COVID Patients Face More Than Only Health Challenges,” by Annmarie Timmins

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation. 

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

Julie Rovner: “Strangerville” podcast’s “Episode 203: Jacob,” by Jessica and Justin Van Wyen 

Joanne Kenen: NBC News’ podcast “Needle In/Tiffany Dover Is Dead*” by Brandy Zadrozny

Anna Edney: ProPublica’s “The Plot to Keep Meatpacking Plants Open During COVID-19,” by Michael Grabell

Rachana Pradhan: The Washington Post’s “We’re Ignoring a Major Culprit Behind the Teen Mental Health Crisis,” by Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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The nationwide shortage of baby formula, which has been simmering for months, finally burst into public consciousness as more parents become less able to find food for their babies, prompting a belated federal response. Meanwhile, covid-19 cases rise but prevention activities don’t, and abortion-rights backers ready their legal arsenal for a post-Roe world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: Fortune’s and KHN’s “The Frequently Long Waits for Insurance Prior Approvals Frustrate Doctors and Patients Needing Treatment,” by Michelle Andrews

Alice Miranda Ollstein: JAMA Health Forum’s “The Costs of Long COVID,” by David Cutler

Rachel Cohrs: ProPublica’s “The COVID Testing Company That Missed 96% of Cases,” by Anjeanette Damon 

Tami Luhby: KHN’s “States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities,” by Phil Galewitz, Lauren Weber, and Sam Whitehead

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldn’t know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror.

Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails — again — to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law.

Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

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

Julie Rovner: KHN’s “Travel Nurses See Swift Change of Fortunes as Covid Money Runs Dry,” by Hannah Norman

Joanne Kenen: Politico Magazine’s “How One Clinic in Texas Explains the Threat to Contraception,” by Joanne Kenen and Alice Miranda Ollstein

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “’It’s a Tsunami’: Legal Challenges Threatening Public Health Policy,” by Krista Mahr

Sandhya Raman: CQ Roll Call’s “End of COVID-19 Emergency Endangers Substance Use Treatment,” by Jessie Hellmann

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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The unprecedented early leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion-rights ruling Roe v. Wade has heated the national abortion debate to boiling. Meanwhile, the FDA, after years of consideration, moves to ban menthol flavors in cigarettes and cigars. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family whose medical debt drove them to seek care south of the border. 

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

Julie Rovner: Mother Jones’ “Meet Abortion Bans’ New Best Friend — Your Phone,” by Lil Kalish. 

Joanne Kenen: Stat’s “A Clash Over Online Adderall Prescriptions Is Raising New Questions About Telehealth,” by Mohana Ravindranath. 

Jessie Hellmann: Politico’s “Oregon, Kentucky Dust Off an Obama-Era Policy to Expand Health Insurance,” by Megan Messerly. 

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Argued Abortion Isn’t an Economic Issue. But Is That True?” by Chabeli Carrazana.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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Revisit our discussion of the Supreme Court arguments in the Mississippi abortion case, a draft opinion for which was leaked May 2, 2022. This episode originally aired Dec. 2, 2021. 

A Supreme Court majority appears ready to overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights, at least judging by the latest round of oral arguments before the justices. And a new covid variant, omicron, gains attention as it spreads around the world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.

Extra credit reads:

Julie Rovner: KHN and PBS NewsHour’s “How Unresolved Grief Could Haunt Children Who Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID,” by Sarah Varney and Jason Kane

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Washington Post’s “Long Overstretched, Abortion Funds in D.C., Maryland and Virginia Mobilize for an Uncertain Future,” by Rebecca Tan

Sarah Karlin-Smith: Axios’ “The Push to Revive an Industry-Backed Medical Device Rule,” by Bob Herman

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “’Am I Even Fit to Be a Mom?’ Diaper Need Is an Invisible Part of Poverty in America,” by Chabeli Carrazana

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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