Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Medicare-For-All’? More? Some?

Democrats have officially launched their debate over “Medicare-for-all,” with lots of ideas on how to expand health insurance coverage (and lower costs) for Americans. Chances of any bill becoming law in the next two years are extremely slim, with Republicans still in control of the Senate and White House. But the debate is important in the run-up to the 2020 presidential primaries for Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to give states the ability to add work requirements to their expanded Medicaid programs — Arizona is the latest. And it is reportedly considering ways to allow states more flexibility in exchange for limited Medicaid funding.

This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Ollstein of Politico.

A note for interested listeners: On Jan. 31, the podcast will tape before a live audience at the Kaiser Family Foundation in downtown Washington, D.C. If you would like to attend, you can register here.

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 “Suicides Among Veterinarians Become a Growing Problem,” by David Leffler

Stephanie Armour: Politico’s “’I’m Trying Not to Die Right Now’: Why Opioid-Addicted Patients Are Still Searching for Help,” by Brianna Ehley and Rachel Roubein

Paige Winfield Cunningham: The Washington Post’s “Anonymous ‘Ghost Ship’ Is Among Groups Flooding Drug Pricing Debate,” by Christopher Rowland and Jeff Stein

Alice Ollstein: The Washington Post’s “They Went to Mexico for Surgery. They Came Back With a Deadly Superbug,” by Lena H. Sun


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

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