The host
Julie Rovner KHN @jrovner. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KHN’s weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Health?” A famous skilled on well being coverage points, Julie is the writer of the critically praised reference ebook “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third version.
President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2024 funds proposal contains new insurance policies and funding boosts for most of the Democratic Party’s vital constituencies, together with advocates for folks with disabilities and reproductive rights. It additionally proposes methods to shore up Medicare’s dwindling Hospital Insurance Trust Fund with out slicing advantages, principally daring Republicans to match him on the politically potent difficulty.
Meanwhile, 5 ladies in Texas who had been denied abortions when their pregnancies threatened their lives or the viability of the fetuses they had been carrying are suing the state. They cost that the language of Texas’ abortion ban makes it unattainable for medical doctors to offer wanted care with out concern of huge fines or jail sentences.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Shefali Luthra of The nineteenth, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times.
Panelists
Victoria Knight Axios @victoriaregisk Shefali Luthra The nineteenth @Shefalil Margot Sanger-Katz The New York Times @sangerkatz
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- Biden’s funds manages to toe the road between preserving Medicare and protecting the Medicare belief fund solvent whereas advancing progressive insurance policies. Republicans have but to suggest a funds, however it appears seemingly any GOP plan would lean closely on cuts to Medicaid and subsidies supplied below the Affordable Care Act. Democrats will combat each of these.
- Even although the president’s funds contains one thing of a Democratic “want record” of social coverage priorities, the proposals are much less sweeping than these made final yr. Rather, many — reminiscent of extending to personal insurance coverage the $35 month-to-month Medicare value cap for insulin — construct on achievements already realized. That places new give attention to issues the president has completed.
- Walgreens, the nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain, is caught up within the abortion wars. In January, the chain stated it will apply for certification from the FDA to promote the abortion capsule mifepristone in states the place abortion is authorized. However, final week, below threats from Republican attorneys common in states the place abortion continues to be authorized, the chain wavered on whether or not it will search to promote the capsule there or not, which induced a backlash from each abortion rights proponents and opponents.
- The 5 ladies suing Texas after being denied abortions amid harmful being pregnant issues usually are not asking for the state’s ban to be lifted. Rather, they’re searching for clarification about who qualifies for exceptions to the ban, so medical doctors and hospitals can present wanted care with out concern of prosecution.
- Although anti-abortion teams have for many years insisted that those that have abortions shouldn’t be prosecuted, payments launched in a number of state legislatures would do precisely that. In South Carolina, those that have abortions might even be topic to the demise penalty. So far none of those payments have handed, however the wave of measures might herald a significant coverage change.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the two newest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” options. Both had been about households going through sudden payments after childbirth. If you may have an outrageous or exorbitant medical invoice you need to share with us, you are able to do that right here.
Plus, for “further credit score,” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose you need to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: KHN’s “Girls in Texas Could Get Birth Control at Federal Clinics, Until a Christian Father Objected,” by Sarah Varney
Shefali Luthra: The nineteenth’s “Language for Treating Childhood Obesity Carries Its Own Health Risks to Kids, Experts Say,” by Jennifer Gerson
Victoria Knight: KHN’s “After People on Medicaid Die, Some States Aggressively Seek Repayment From Their Estates,” by Tony Leys
Margot Sanger-Katz: ProPublica’s “How Obamacare Enabled a Multibillion-Dollar Christian Health Care Grab,” by J. David McSwane and Ryan Gabrielson
Also talked about on this week’s podcast:
Credits
Francis Ying Audio producer Stephanie Stapleton Editor
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