Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Life After ‘Roe’ Is … Confusing


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The Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal constitutional right to abortion has left confusion in its wake. State abortion laws are in constant flux, patients and providers are unsure what services are legal where, and employers struggling to accommodate workers face privacy and, potentially, legal obstacles.

Meanwhile, Congress is back from its July Fourth recess, with time running out if lawmakers are to pass legislation that will continue expanded subsidies for insurance purchased under the Affordable Care Act. Without the subsidies, premiums will jump and voters will start getting those notices right before the midterm elections. Congressional Democrats have also resumed talks on some of President Joe Biden’s agenda items, including efforts to lower Medicare drug costs.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

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

Julie Rovner: KHN-NPR’s “In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease” by Noam N. Levey

Alice Miranda Ollstein: NiemanLab’s “Unimaginable Abortion Stories Will Become More Common. Is American Journalism Ready?” by Laura Hazard Owen

Sandhya Raman: The Atlantic’s “The Great Veterinary Shortage,” by Sarah Zhang

Tami Luhby: The Wall Street Journal’s “Medical Debt Is Being Wiped Off Credit Reports. What That Means for You,” by Ayse Kelce

Also mentioned on this week’s podcast:

KHN’s “Three Things to Know About Insurance Coverage for Abortion,” by Julie Appleby

KHN’s “How Much Health Insurers Pay for Almost Everything Is About to Go Public,” by Julie Appleby

CNN’s “HHS Unlawfully Varied Hospital Reimbursement Rates, Supreme Court Says,” by Tierney Sneed, Ariane de Vogue, and Tami Luhby

The Los Angeles Times’ “Post-Roe, Many Autoimmune Patients Lose Access to ‘Gold Standard’ Drug,” by Sonja Sharp

Politico’s “FDA Weighs First-Ever Application for Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pills in the Wake of Roe’s Fall,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein


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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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