KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Deciphering The Democrats’ Health Debate


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Twenty Democratic candidates for president debated health care at length over two nights in Detroit this week. But countless 30-second charges and counter-charges from “Medicare for All” backers and those who want a more gradual approach to universal coverage may have left the audience more confused than ever about the best way to make the health system better and more affordable.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration sought to counter-program against the debates, unveiling plans to allow states to potentially purchase cheaper prescription drugs from Canada and requiring hospitals to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Caitlin Owens of Axios.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

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

Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Driven to the end: Olympic cyclist Kelly Catlin could do it all. Until it all became too much,” by Kent Babb.

Alice Ollstein: The New York Times’ “Need Extra Time on Tests? It Helps to Have Cash,” by Dana Goldstein and Jugal Patel.

Kimberly Leonard: The San Francisco Chronicle’s “One Day, One City, No Relief: 24 Hours Inside the city’s crisis,” by Kevin Fagan and Chronicle Staff.

Caitlin Owens: Bloomberg News’ “Drugmakers’ Alleged Price-Fixing Pushed a Needed Pill Out of Reach,” by Ben Elgin.

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This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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