The Gist Healthcare Podcast Friday, October 24, 2025
Oct 24, 2025
Moderate House Republicans are pushing for action on expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. Trust in health institutions is waning, with a new poll indicating rising skepticism towards agencies like the CDC and FDA. Meanwhile, Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are perceived to be impacting public health negatively. In exciting news, DocGo plans to acquire SteadyMD to enhance telehealth services, and Walmart is set to sell Abbott's Lingo glucose monitor, tapping into the booming biowearables market.
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Push For Temporary ACA Credit Extension
- Do urge congressional leaders to pass a short-term extension for enhanced ACA premium tax credits to avoid sharp premium spikes in 2026.
- Do pair extensions with reforms to make subsidies more fiscally responsible, as the GOP signers recommended.
Tradeoff Between Coverage Gains And Cost
- Enhanced ACA premium tax credits expanded eligibility and lowered costs, driving record marketplace enrollment.
- Making them permanent would raise the deficit substantially, with CBO estimating a $350 billion ten-year cost.
Declining Trust In Health Institutions
- Public trust in federal health agencies and vaccine policy has slipped since January, driven partly by political divides.
- Only about half of Americans now trust the CDC and FDA, and support for school vaccine requirements has declined.