The host

Julie Rovner KFF Well being Information @jrovner

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Well being Information’ weekly well being coverage information podcast, “What the Well being?” A famous professional on well being coverage points, Julie is the creator of the critically praised reference e book “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.

Reverberations from the Alabama Supreme Courtroom’s first-in-the-nation ruling that embryos are legally kids continued this week, each within the states and in Washington. As Alabama lawmakers scrambled to discover a method to shield in vitro fertilization companies with out instantly denying the “personhood” of embryos, lawmakers in Florida postponed a vote on the state’s personal “personhood” regulation. And in Washington, Republicans labored to discover a method to fulfill two factions of their base: those that help IVF and those that imagine embryos deserve full authorized rights.

In the meantime, Congress might lastly be nearing a funding deal for the fiscal 12 months that started Oct. 1. And whereas a number of bipartisan well being payments might catch a experience on the general spending invoice, a number of different priorities, together with an overhaul of the pharmacy profit supervisor trade, didn’t make the lower.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg Information, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins College’s faculties of nursing and public well being and Politico Journal.

Panelists

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Lawmakers are readying short-term offers to maintain the federal government funded and operating for not less than a number of extra weeks, although some well being priorities like making ready for a future pandemic and conserving down prescription drug costs might not make the lower.
• After the Alabama Supreme Courtroom’s determination that frozen embryos are folks, Republicans discover themselves divided over the way forward for IVF. The emotionally charged debate over the process — which many conservatives, together with former Vice President Mike Pence, imagine ought to stay obtainable — is inflicting turmoil for the get together. And Democrats will little doubt hold reminding voters about it, highlighting the repercussions of the conservative push into reproductive well being care.
• A big variety of physicians in Idaho are leaving the state or the sector of reproductive care fully due to its strict abortion ban. With many hospitals fighting the price of labor and supply companies, the ban is just making it tougher for girls in some areas to get care earlier than, throughout, and after childbirth — whether or not they want abortion care or not.
• A serious cyberattack focusing on the private info of sufferers enrolled in a well being plan owned by UnitedHealth Group is drawing consideration to the heightened dangers of consolidation in well being care. In the meantime, the Justice Division is individually investigating UnitedHealth for doable antitrust violations.
• “This Week in Well being misinformation”: Panelist Joanne Kenen explains how efforts to stop flawed details about a brand new vaccine for RSV have been lower than profitable.

Additionally this week, Rovner interviews Greer Donley, an affiliate professor on the College of Pittsburgh Faculty of Legislation, about how a 150-year-old anti-vice regulation that is nonetheless on the books may very well be used to ban abortion nationwide.

Plus, for “additional credit score” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose it is best to learn, too:

Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “Their States Banned Abortion. Docs Now Say They Cannot Give Ladies Potential Lifesaving Care,” by Kavitha Surana.

Rachel Cohrs: The New York Instances’ “$1 Billion Donation Will Present Free Tuition at a Bronx Medical Faculty,” by Joseph Goldstein.

Joanne Kenen: Axios’ “An Surprising Discovering Suggests Full Moons Could Truly Be Powerful on Hospitals,” by Tina Reed.

Riley Griffin: Bloomberg Information’ “US Seeks to Restrict China’s Entry to People’ Private Information,” by Riley Griffin and Mackenzie Hawkins.

Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:

Credit

• Francis Ying Audio producer
• Emmarie Huetteman Editor