Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’ Debate: Who’s Going To Pay

House Democrats, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), have formally introduced their “Medicare-for-all” legislation. The bill, which would ensure coverage for almost every medical service most people need, did not come with any suggestions for financing. But it will likely reflect the far-left end of the Democratic debate in progress.

Meanwhile, the CEOs of seven of the largest pharmaceutical companies testified before the Senate Finance Committee, where both Democrats and Republicans decried the high cost of drugs but did not specifically say what they plan to do about it.

And the Trump administration has issued final regulations intended to evict Planned Parenthood from the federal Title X family planning program. But advocates and state officials are readying lawsuits to stop the new rules.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby, who investigated and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature for Kaiser Health News and NPR. It’s about a wildlife biologist who was bitten by a feral cat — and got a big bill for a rabies shot. You can read the story here.

If you have a medical bill you would like NPR and KHN to investigate, you can submit it here.

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

Julie Rovner: Kaiser Health News’ “Talk About Déjà Vu: Senators Set To Re-Enact Drug Price Hearing Of 60 Years Ago,” by Jay Hancock

Margot Sanger-Katz: The Washington Post’s “Anti-Vaxxers Face Backlash as Measles Cases Surge,” by Lena Sun, and The New York Times’ “After a Debacle, How California Became a Role Model on Measles,” by Emily Oster and Geoffrey Kocks

Paige Winfield Cunningham: Kaiser Health News’ “Cancer’s Complications: Confusing Bills, Maddening Errors And Endless Phone Calls,” by Anna Gorman

Jennifer Haberkorn: The New York Times’ “Build Your Own ‘Medicare for All’ Plan. Beware: There Are Tough Choices,” by Austin Frakt and Aaron E. Carroll

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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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