Guest
Julie Rovner KFF Health News
@julirovner.bsky.social
Read Julia's stories.
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News' weekly health policy podcast, “What the Health?” A renowned health policy expert, Julie is the author of the highly acclaimed A to Z of Health Policy and Politics, now in its third edition.
Open enrollment for health plans under the Affordable Care Act began Nov. 1, but it remains unclear how much the roughly 24 million Americans who shop through the ACA marketplaces will pay in premiums starting in January. Unless Congress acts to extend the tax credits added to the program in 2021, most consumers are expected to contribute much more out of pocket; in some cases double or triple what they will pay in 2025.
The politics of fighting the ACA this year are also complex. Democrats are using the only leverage they have – the government shutdown – to try to force Republicans to negotiate over the expiring ACA tax breaks. However, many, if not most, of the people facing much higher insurance premiums in 2026 come from GOP-dominated states like Texas and Florida and belong to occupations that tend to be more Republican than Democratic, such as farmers and ranchers or small business owners.
In this special edition of “What the Health?” from KFF Health News and WAMU, host Julie Rovner speaks with Cynthia Cox, KFF vice president and director of its ACA program. Cox explains what the nation's health care system looked like before the health law, how it helped lower health care costs and improve insurance coverage, and the idiosyncratic politics of the current fight.
Guest
Cynthia Cox KFF
Loans
Taylor Cook Audio Producer Stephanie Stapleton Editor
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