What the Health? From KFF Health News
Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington, D.C.
The MAHA Metamorphosis
The “Make America Healthy Again” movement held a big shindig in Washington, D.C., this week. But rather than moms arguing to get pesticides and processing chemicals out of their kids’ food, the room was full of Trump administration officials and industry representatives looking to promote health-related products. Meanwhile, as the fiscal year ends, the administration for the second year in a row is refusing to spend money Congress appropriated — and basically daring the other two branches of government to stop it.
Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Healt...
Healthcare a Vague but Potent Issue for Election 2026
Healthcare in general, and health costs in particular, are a top issue for voters in 2026. But it remains unclear exactly how voters want lawmakers to fix the problem. As a result, candidates in both parties are offering a wide variety of possible solutions.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubled down on its fraud-fighting efforts, announcing that it is cutting off more than 750,000 enrollees in Affordable Care Act insurance plans who it alleges are defrauding the program.
Tami Luhby of CNN, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Ja...
The Health Risks of AI
Reports from a top artificial intelligence company that it found and stopped attempted uses of its product to manufacture a potential bioweapon caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington this week, although it is still unclear whether or when they will act to regulate the fast-moving industry.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump wants to send $500 checks to about a million enrollees in Affordable Care Act plans.
Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this...
Anger Over Health Costs Clouds Midterms
Amid a campaign already focusing on affordability, anxious voters are unlikely to be assuaged by headlines about healthcare costs rising even more next year.
And a lawsuit that could cut off access nationwide to the abortion pill mifepristone gets a hearing at a federal appeals court.
Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser...
Summer’s Health Policy Themes
As summer comes to a close, some of the season’s major health policy stories continue to simmer, including declining insurance coverage, increasing measles cases, and cuts to federal health programs.
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Dean Rosen about his work for former Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican and the first woman to lead a major Senate committee, who died last week at 94...
Headless FDA Gets a New Nominee
President Donald Trump is nominating Heidi Overton, a physician who is currently a White House policy adviser, to lead the FDA, which has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since May. Overton has a controversial history and may face some obstacles to winning confirmation, though Republicans have been reluctant to push back too strongly against most of the president’s picks.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also...
Trump’s Vaccine Agenda
President Donald Trump is trying to unilaterally change the number and schedule of childhood vaccines in the U.S., though it remains unclear how much of an impact his orders will have. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about a medical tourist who searched for a better price for surgery abroad before finding it out-of-state.
Visit our website for a tra...
The Return of ‘Medicare for All’
Michigan voters this week chose former Detroit public health director Abdul El-Sayed as the Democratic nominee for the state’s open Senate seat. El-Sayed has made “Medicare for All” a major part of his campaign and further elevated the issue.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.
Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J...
The Politics of Grant Cuts
The revelation in court documents that the Trump administration used politics alone to decide which grants to fund and which to cancel has provoked surprisingly little outcry from Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Republicans renewed their campaign against Anthony Fauci’s handling of covid.
Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read...
A Shrinking Safety Net
A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes.
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy...
States Start Their Medicaid Cuts
Most of the federal cuts to the Medicaid program don’t take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting their own budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but forward progress on legislative priorities remains slow.
Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell of the Purchaser Business Group on Health. ...
The Politics of Health at Midyear
About halfway through 2026 — and just a few months before the critical midterm elections — Democrats appear to be doubling down on healthcare as a campaign issue as costs rise and insurance coverage declines.
Meanwhile, Congress is taking aim at nonprofit hospitals. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” story, about a woman who changed Medicare Advantage plans and fo...
Supreme Court Makes Health Policy
The Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of its 2025-26 term this week, including in an immigration case that could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.
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 shou...
Trump Officials Still Delaying Funds
With the fiscal year mostly over, hundreds of millions of dollars in health-related grants approved by Congress still have not reached their designated recipients, with the Trump administration again delaying distribution. Meanwhile, on the fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to ban abortion, the number of abortions in the U.S. is actually rising.
Maya Goldman of Axios, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Visi...
Democrats Keep Healthcare at Fore
Senate Democrats hope to highlight rising healthcare prices by forcing a vote on the Trump administration’s changes to the Affordable Care Act before the midterm elections. Meanwhile, Alabama is the latest state to try to cut off residents’ access to medication abortion via telehealth.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute and Liz Fowler of the Johns Hopkins Bloomber...
The Drip, Drip, Drip of Declining Coverage
As predicted, the expiration of enhanced tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans is causing many people to lose coverage for failing to make premium payments.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded angrily to a New York Times article suggesting he’s not actively engaged in the work of his sprawling department.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF’s Tricia Ne...
Medicaid Work Rules Surprise States
Adult Medicaid enrollees with serious health conditions may not be automatically exempt from new work rules, according to a new regulation from the Trump administration — the opposite of what state officials were informally told would be the case.
Meanwhile, the administration is also proposing to give political appointees even more power over who gets health and science grant funding.
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this we...
More Kids Without Coverage
When Republicans passed their big budget bill in 2025, they thought the effects of cuts to health programs wouldn’t show up until after the 2026 midterms. They were wrong.
Meanwhile, the party is trumpeting its efforts to lower drug prices.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, Céline Gounder, to discuss the Ebola outbreak.
Visit our website for a transcrip...
Sen. Cassidy Unleashed
In just the first few days after losing his bid for reelection in Louisiana, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy has already started signaling that his loyalty to President Donald Trump has waned. But how much Cassidy will try to accomplish toward his health agenda in his remaining months in office remains to be seen.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and...
In Search of a New FDA Commissioner
In one of the most widely expected departures in recent memory, Marty Makary stepped down as head of the FDA this week.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is considering blocking telehealth prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) about health issues before Congress.
Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.
Plus...
Abortion Pill Politics
A federal court’s decision to override the FDA and restrict availability of the abortion pill mifepristone has launched abortion back into the national spotlight. It’s also raised new questions about the job security of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Andrew Jones, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about an emergency room bill for a visit that wasn’t an emergency...
The Peculiar Politics of Hospitals
Democrats and Republicans on one of the House committees that oversees the Medicare program had strong words about high hospital pricing at a hearing on Capitol Hill this week, but it remains unclear whether the reality will match their rhetoric when it comes to reining in those prices.
Meanwhile, some good health policy news: A study found the 988 suicide prevention hotline reduced suicides significantly in its first two years of operation.
Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Po...
RFK Jr. vs. Congress
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his whirlwind tour of House and Senate committees this week, ostensibly to promote President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for his department but also to answer for some of his more controversial positions, particularly on vaccines.
Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental health conditions and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ended a decades-old policy requiring members of the military to get annual flu shots.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and...
A New CDC Nominee, Again
President Donald Trump tapped a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director — a former deputy surgeon general and vaccine supporter. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the rounds on Capitol Hill to testify about the president’s budget request, though the topics lawmakers wanted to discuss ran the gamut.
Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Health News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rov...
Abortion Pills, the Budget, and RFK Jr.
This week, the Trump administration won a court battle to delay a ruling on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, angering its own anti-abortion allies. Meanwhile, the president’s budget arrived on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are unlikely to agree to its proposed cuts to Health and Human Services programs.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.
Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists...
GOP Mulls More Health Cuts
Despite public opposition to the cuts they made to federal health programs in 2025, Republicans reportedly are considering still more cuts to help pay for the war in Iran. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado cannot ban mental health professionals from using “conversion therapy” on LGBTQ+ minors.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the last two “Bill of the Month” stories.
Visit our we...
A Headless CDC
The Trump administration faces the challenge of naming a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who can both satisfy the Make America Healthy Again movement and get confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, a new Senate bill to rescind the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is again elevating the abortion debate, which some Republicans would prefer to stay on the back burner until after the midterm elections.
Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and...
RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Schedule Changes Blocked — For Now
A federal judge in Massachusetts this week sided with public health groups to block changes to the federally recommended schedule of childhood vaccines, dealing at least a temporary setback to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to remake the schedule. Meanwhile, Congress has put its debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act on the back burner, but the issue of rising health care costs is still front and center for the voting public.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of...
RFK Jr.'s Very Bad Week
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had another tough week. In addition to Kennedy having surgery on a torn rotator cuff, the nomination of his ally to become surgeon general is teetering in the Senate, the controversial head of the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine center is resigning next month, and a new survey shows Americans trust government health officials less than they do former Biden official Anthony Fauci.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration's fraud crackdown is reaching private Medicare insurance plans.
Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jo...
40 Years of Health Policy
This month is 40 years since host Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, began reporting on health policy in Washington. To mark the anniversary, Rovner is joined by two longtime sources to discuss what has — and has not — changed since 1986.
This week’s special guests are Chip Kahn, a former GOP House and Senate staffer and former head of the Federation of American Hospitals and the Health Insurance Association of America, and Chris Jennings, a former Democratic Senate staffer and a health policy adviser to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.
Visit our we...
What About the State of Health?
Health care got barely a mention in President Donald Trump’s record-long State of the Union address this week. Ahead of the midterms, the Trump administration has presented few concrete plans to address what Americans say is the biggest problem with health care: its skyrocketing costs.
Meanwhile, Trump’s pick to become U.S. surgeon general, Casey Means, got her long-delayed nomination hearing in the Senate, where she faced some skeptical questions from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Pol...
Turnarounds and Shake-Ups
The twists and turns continue at the nation’s health agency, where this week’s announcements included notice that the Food and Drug Administration will review Moderna’s new flu vaccine after all and that a handful of top agency officials are getting new jobs.
Those developments and others can be traced to a White House looking to shake things up before the midterms — and win over voters on health care. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories an...
New Flu Vax? FDA Says No Thanks
It’s been a busy week at the Food and Drug Administration, with a political appointee overruling agency scientists to reject an application for a new flu vaccine, a decision that’s reverberating through the drug industry.
Meanwhile, anti-abortion Republicans on Capitol Hill complain the agency is dragging its feet on reviewing the abortion pill mifepristone. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Jackie Fortiér of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner.
Visit our website for a transcript of the episode.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists sug...
HHS Gets Funding, But How Will Trump Spend It?
Congress has passed — and President Donald Trump has signed — the annual spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services. But it’s unclear whether the administration will spend the money as Congress directed.
In 2025, billions of dollars were stalled, disrupting patient care and scientific research, until federal judges ordered funding resumed.
Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Also this week, Rov...
The Hazards of ICE for Public Health
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is not just roiling politics but also directly affecting the provision of health care, medical groups say. Meanwhile, in Washington, federal spending bills on their way to passage have been stalled by the fight over immigration enforcement funding after the shooting death of a second person in Minneapolis this month.
Maya Goldman of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode.
Plus...
Health Spending Is Moving in Congress
Lawmakers appear on the brink of passing a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services and a bipartisan health policy bill delayed for over a year. But the outlook is considerably bleaker for the health care outline released by President Donald Trump last week.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel to discuss his new book, “Eat Your...
Culture Wars Take Center Stage
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned its attention to culture war issues, including abortion and gender-affirming care.
Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at the Department of Health and Human Services as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice.
Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Also th...
New Year, Same Health Fight
Congress returned from its holiday break facing a familiar question: whether to extend the expanded subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans that expired at the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke a promise to Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chairman of Senate health committee, by overhauling the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of diseases for which vaccines will be recommended.
Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to dis...
Rerun: Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!
This past year marked the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, the twin government programs that have shaped the health care system into what it is today. In this special episode, re-aired for the holidays, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews two experts on the history, significance, and future of these perennially popular programs. First up, Medicare historian and University of North Carolina health policy professor Jonathan Oberlander talks about Medicare. He’s followed by Sara Rosenbaum of the George Washington University, who has not only studied Medicaid since nearly its beginning but has helped shape Medicaid policy over the...
Time’s Up for Expanded ACA Tax Credits
A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January. That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot.
Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy Lawrence of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
Also this...
