2024-03-01 02:53:00
the host
Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner
Julie Rubner is the chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy, Julie is the author of the acclaimed non-fiction book Health Policy and Policy A to Z, now in its third edition.
The reverberations from the Alabama Supreme Court’s first-in-the-nation ruling that fetuses are legal children continued this week, both in the United States and in Washington. While lawmakers in Alabama struggled to find a way to protect IVF services without directly denying the “personhood” of fetuses, lawmakers in Florida postponed a vote on the state’s own “personhood” law. And in Washington, Republicans worked to find a way to satisfy two factions in their base: those who support IVF and those who believe embryos deserve full legal rights.
Meanwhile, Congress may finally be closing in on a funding deal for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. And while some bipartisan bills may catch a ride on the overall spending bill, a number of other priorities, including an overhaul of the pharmacy benefit manager industry. , failed to make the cut.
This week’s panelists are Julie Robner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenan of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Nursing and Public Health and Politico Magazine.
panel members
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- Lawmakers are preparing short-term deals to keep the government funded and running for at least a few more weeks, though some health priorities such as preparing for a future pandemic and keeping prescription drug prices in check may not mitigate the cuts.
- After the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people, Republicans find themselves divided over the future of IVF. The emotionally charged debate over the procedure — which many conservatives, including former Vice President Mike Pence, believe should remain available — is causing turmoil in the party. And Democrats will no doubt continue to remind voters of this, highlighting the implications of the conservative push for fertility medicine.
- A significant number of Idaho doctors are leaving the state or the reproductive care field altogether because of the strict abortion ban. With many hospitals struggling with the cost of labor and delivery services, the ban only makes it harder for women in some areas to receive care before, during and after birth – whether they need abortion care or not.
- A major cyberattack targeting the personal information of patients enrolled in a health plan owned by UnitedHealth Group is drawing attention to the increased risks of health care consolidation. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is separately investigating UnitedHealth for possible antitrust violations.
- “This Week in Health Misinformation”: Panelist Joanne Cannon explains how efforts to prevent misinformation about a new RSV vaccine have failed.
Also this week, Roebner interviews Greer Donnelly, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, about how a 150-year-old anti-miscegenation law still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide.
In addition, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they’ve read this week that they think are also worth reading:
Julie Rovner: “Their countries have banned abortions. Doctors now say they can’t give women potentially life-saving treatment,” by Kavitha Surana.
Rachel Kuhrs: “Billion-dollar endowment to provide free tuition at Bronx medical school” The New York Times, by Joseph Goldstein.
Joanne Cannon: “Unexpected Axios finding suggests full moons may be hard on hospitals,” by Tina Reid.
Riley Griffin: Bloomberg News’ “US Seeks to Limit China’s Access to Americans’ Personal Data” by Riley Griffin and Mackenzie Hawkins.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
Credits
- Francis Ying is an audio producer
- Emery Huatman editor
This article is reprinted from khn.org, a national newsroom that produces in-depth health journalism and is one of the core programs operating at KFF – the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
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