Top negotiators in Congress have agreed to a framework for government spending into next year, but there are details to iron out before a vote — such as the scheduled Medicare payment cuts that have providers worried.

Also, the Biden administration reopens its program allowing Americans to request free covid-19 home tests, as hopes for pandemic preparedness measures from Congress dim.

Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these topics and more.

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

Mary Agnes Carey: Scientific American’s “Kindness Can Have Unexpectedly Positive Consequences,” by Amit Kumar

Rachel Cohrs: The Washington Post’s “From Heart Disease to IUDs: How Doctors Dismiss Women’s Pain,” by Lindsey Bever

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Stat’s “Watch: With Little More Than a Typewriter, an Idaho Man Overturns the Entire State’s Policy on Hepatitis C Treatment in Prison,” by Nicholas Florko

Rebecca Adams: KHN’s “Mass Shootings Reopen the Debate Over Whether Crime Scene Photos Prompt Change or Trauma,” by Lauren Sausser

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

The New York Times’ “Two Decades After 9/11 Inquiry, a Similar Plan for Covid Stalls in Congress,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg
KHN’s “Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds,” by Aneri Pattani
The Washington Post’s “Cause of death: Washington faltered as fentanyl gripped America,” by Nick Miroff, Scott Higham, Steven Rich, Salwan Georges, and Erin Patrick O’Connor
STAT News’ “Congress has its sights set too low on addiction, advocates charge,” by Lev Facher
The Washington Post’s “Conservatives complain abortion bans not enforced, want jail time for pill ‘trafficking’,” by Caroline Kitchener

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

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