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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Health Agenda Still on Hold


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Democrats on Capitol Hill missed their deadline to finish two huge bills that constitute the bulk of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, but negotiations continue over expansions to major health programs, as well as ways to rein in prescription drug costs.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued regulations to implement last year’s law to limit “surprise” medical bills to patients who get care outside their insurance networks. Health providers — doctors and hospitals — are already complaining that they will be asked to pick up too much of the bill to protect patients.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Insider.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

Also this week, Rovner interviews Anna Flagg, a data journalist for the Marshall Project, about a story she wrote on how a major medical education report from 1910 inadvertently contributed to racial inequities in health care that persist today.

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

Julie Rovner: Science’s “Top Secret: U.S. National Academy of Medicine Keeps Expulsions Quiet,” by Meredith Wadman

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “‘Mandates Are Working’: Employer Ultimatums Lift Vaccination Rates, So Far,” by Shawn Hubler

Tami Luhby: The Wall Street Journal’s “Vaccination Status Is the New Must-Have on Your Resume,” by Patrick Thomas

Kimberly Leonard: Insider’s “Walmart’s Health Clinics Are Struggling With Basic Functions Like Billing, Imperiling the Company’s Push to Upend Care,” by Shelby Livingston


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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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