Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Virginia, The VA, And Military Medicine

After a five-year fight, the Virginia legislature voted this week to expand the Medicaid program to an estimated 400,000 low-income residents who are not currently eligible for health coverage. And New Jersey became the second state to impose a state-level “individual mandate” requiring most residents to have health insurance or pay a fine, following last year’s repeal of the federal penalty.

Meanwhile, Congress has quietly passed a major bipartisan bill to overhaul and streamline health programs provided to the nation’s veterans. The bill includes an expansion of veterans’ ability to get private care paid for outside the Department of Veterans Affairs system, in certain cases.

Also this week, an interview with Dr. Arthur Kellerman, dean of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the military’s medical school in Bethesda, Md.

This week’s panelists for KHN’s “What the Health?” are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call.

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: Bloomberg News’ “Is There a Doctor Aboard? Airlines Often Hope Not,” by Ivan Levingston

Joanne Kenen: The Atlantic’s “Ambien Doesn’t Cause Racism,” by Olga Khazan

Rebecca Adams: ProPublica’s “Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills,” by Marshall Allen

Paige Winfield Cunningham: The New York Times’ “Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew Its Opioids Were Widely Abused,” by Barry Meier

Also: The New Yorker’s “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,” by Patrick Radden Keefe

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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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