Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Care’s Back (In Court)

A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., has blocked work requirements for Medicaid recipients in Arkansas and Kentucky. Since the Arkansas program took effect in 2018, more than 18,000 people have lost health coverage because they failed to report their work hours to the state.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration changed its position in a lawsuit filed by Republican state officials challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The administration is now officially supporting cancellation of the entire health law in light of Congress’ elimination in the 2017 tax bill of the penalty for failing to have insurance.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner.

Also, Rovner interviews filmmaker Mike Eisenberg about his movie “To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary.”

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Ask Us Anything!

Do you have a health policy question you’d like the panelists to answer? You can send it to whatthehealth@kff.org. Please include where you’re from and how to pronounce your name.

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’ “My Friend’s Cancer Taught Me About a Hole in Our Health System,” by Aaron E. Carroll

Joanne Kenen: The Dallas News’ “Pain & Profit: Investigating Medicaid Managed Care in Texas,” by J. David McSwane and Andrew Chavez

Margot Sanger-Katz: Kaiser Health News’ “Medicaid Expansion Boosts Hospital Bottom Lines — And Prices,” by Phil Galewitz

Kimberly Leonard: CNN’s “The Inside Story of How John Roberts Negotiated to Save Obamacare,” by Joan Biskupic

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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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