Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health On The Hill

As the start of the fiscal year draws near — along with pivotal midterm elections — Congress is picking up its pace on legislation. This week alone the Senate passed a comprehensive bill aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic and a nearly final bill to fund the Department of Health and Human Services.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled draft legislation aimed at helping patients who receive “surprise” medical bills after inadvertently receiving medical care outside their insurance carrier’s network.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico.

On Sept. 27, the podcast will tape in front of a live audience at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas. Details are here. Also on Sept. 27, KHN is hosting a live event to discuss medical overtreatment and its health consequences. More information on that event is here.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

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

Julie Rovner: Politico’s “Obamacare Lawsuit Boosts Democrats in State AG Races,” by Alice Ollstein

Rebecca Adams: The Wall Street Journal’s “Behind Your Rising Health-Care Bills: Secret Hospital Deals That Squelch Competition,” by Anna Wilde Mathews

Joanne Kenen: The New York Times’ “23andMe Said He Would Lose His Mind. Ancestry Said The Opposite. Which Was Right?” by Laura Hercher

Margot Sanger-Katz: The New York Times’ “Manchin Counts on Health Care to Stave Off Republican Tide in West Virginia,” by Trip Gabriel

To hear all our podcasts, click here.

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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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