Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ New Year, New Health Proposals

The new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives took its first steps on health care — voting to intervene in the appeal of a Texas-led lawsuit that found the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional in December. And around the country, Democratic governors and mayors unveiled new initiatives aimed at making health care cheaper and more accessible.

In Washington, the partial shutdown of the government has left most health agencies untouched but shuttered major parts of the Food and Drug Administration and the Indian Health Service.

This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Also this week, Julie Rovner interviews KHN senior correspondent Jordan Rau, who investigated and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature for Kaiser Health News and NPR. It’s about a skiing accident that required repeat surgeries — and bills for the patient, although she did nothing wrong. You can read the story here, and its update 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: Rewire.News’ “There’s Almost No Data About What Happens When Catholic Hospitals Deny Reproductive Care,” by Amy Littlefield

Rebecca Adams: The Washington Post Magazine’s “Life, Death and Insulin,” by Tiffany Stanley

Margot Sanger-Katz: Vox.com’s “A $20,243 Bike Crash: Zuckerberg Hospital’s Aggressive Tactics Leave Patients With Big Bills,” by Sarah Kliff

Anna Edney: The Washington Post’s “The FDA Is Still Letting Doctors Implant Untested Devices Into Our Bodies,” by Jeanne Lenzer and Shannon Brownlee

To hear all our podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to What the Health? on iTunesStitcher or Google Play.


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

Exit mobile version