Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Much Ado About Drug Prices


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Congressional Democrats are finding it harder to actually write legislation to lower drug prices than it is to make promises about it. But the drug price provisions of the $3.5 trillion social-spending bill are critical — not only to keep that promise to voters but to produce savings that will pay for many of the other promised improvements, like new dental and other benefits for Medicare patients.

Meanwhile, the abortion debate has been jolted by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow a highly restrictive law to take effect in Texas. And the Biden administration unveils a “Covid Control 2.0” strategy that includes more sticks and fewer carrots.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about two similar jaw surgeries with two very different price tags. If you have an outrageous medical bill you’d like to send us, you can do that here.

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

Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “A Medical Career, at a Cost: Infertility,” by Jacqueline Mroz

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “Phony Diagnoses Hide High Rates of Drugging at Nursing Homes,” by Katie Thomas, Robert Gebeloff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg

Rachel Cohrs: KHN’s “Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic,” by Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “’No One Wants to Get Sued’: Some Abortion Providers Have Stopped Working in Texas,” by Jennifer Gerson

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This story was produced by KHN (Kaiser Health News), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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