
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?'
Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington, D.C. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Latest episodes

Apr 5, 2018 • 51min
Episode 40: Alive And Limping: ACA In The Age Of Trump
In this special episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo take a deep dive into the state of the federal health law, what happened in 2017 and the Affordable Care Act's viability going forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 29, 2018 • 33min
Episode 39: VA Secretary Out, Privatization In?
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss President Trump’s firing of David Shulkin, secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Shulkin’s claim that he was forced out by those who would privatize VA health care for profit. They also discuss state efforts to sidestep rules set out under the Affordable Care Act, both for individual insurance and for Medicaid. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 23, 2018 • 48min
Episode 38: Health Law Fix Misses The Spending Bill Train
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the apparent demise of bipartisan legislation aimed at shoring up parts of the Affordable Care Act. They also discuss aggressive new efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 15, 2018 • 32min
Episode 37: Rocky Road Ahead In Congress For Insurance Market Bills
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the problems that are making congressional efforts to pass legislation to stabilize the individual insurance market a long shot. They also discuss a new study showing that while U.S. residents use about the same amount of health services as people in other wealthy countries, Americans pay far higher prices for those services. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 8, 2018 • 40min
Episode 36: HHS Leaders Take To The Stump
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and new podcast panelist Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss this week’s spate of speeches by the leaders of the Department of Health and Human Services. They also discuss the slow progress on health legislation on Capitol Hill intended to fund the government and stabilize the individual insurance market. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 1, 2018 • 38min
Episode 35: The ACA Heads Back To Court. Again.
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Sarah Kliff of Vox discuss the latest lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. They also explore how your health care system increasingly depends on the state you live in. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 22, 2018 • 36min
Episode 34: The Long Wait Ends For Short-Term Plan Rules
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News discuss the Trump administration’s proposed regulation that would allow the expansion of short-term health insurance policies that do not comply with all the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The panelists also talk about federal funding (or not) of public health research around guns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 15, 2018 • 44min
Episode 33: What Do The Budget, Idaho And FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Have In Common?
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield-Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss President Donald Trump’s budget plan and how some states are trying to stabilize the Affordable Care Act, while others are trying to violate it. Also, Julie and KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble interview Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Plus, for extra credit, the panel reads their favorite “health policy valentines.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 9, 2018 • 45min
Episode 32: There’s a Really Big Health Bill in that Budget Deal
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss health policy changes in the just-concluded bipartisan budget deal on Capitol Hill. The panelists talk about the final enrollment numbers for individual insurance purchased under the Affordable Care Act, and possible drug price proposals in President Trump’s upcoming budget. Plus Julie interviews Andy Slavitt, who this week launched a health care advocacy group called "The United States of Care." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 31, 2018 • 27min
Episode 31: The State of the (Health) Union
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, and Julie Appleby and Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News discuss President Trump’s drug price promises in his first State of the Union Address. The panelists also discuss the departure of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after conflict-of-interest reports and efforts by some states to flout the Affordable Care Act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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