Guest
Republicans remain divided over how to handle the looming expiration of more generous tax breaks under the Affordable Care Act, which, unless further action is taken, will skyrocket for millions of Americans starting in January. The Trump administration put forward a proposal over the weekend that included a two-year extension of the loans as well as some restrictions pushed by Republicans, but the plan was met with harsh criticism on Capitol Hill and its unveiling was delayed.
Meanwhile, the Education Department has said that a long list of health professions are not “occupations,” meaning that students working in those occupations — including as nurses, physical therapists and physician assistants — will no longer be eligible for federal student loans large enough to cover their tuition.
This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sara Carlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Alice Miranda Allstein of Politico and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.
Among the takeaways from this week's episode:
- News of Trump's health care plan came as Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was working on a separate GOP proposal to direct money to health savings accounts. Republicans in Congress suggested they were left out of Trump's plans and, among other things, opposed his proposed extension of the ACA's limited premium tax breaks.
- Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed that he ordered changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website to substantiate the false claim that vaccines can cause autism. The development puts Republicans in a difficult position, especially Cassidy, the physician who voted to confirm Kennedy after saying he had secured an agreement that Kennedy would not make changes to the CDC's vaccine policy.
- Three states have renewed a lawsuit challenging the approval of mifepristone, making matters worse with the FDA's recent approval of another generic version. The Supreme Court rejected the first case, then ruling that the plaintiffs, who were doctors, had no standing to prove harm. However, the reopened case could very well end up back in the Supreme Court.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Joan Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health about their new book: Information pain: how the decline of journalism and the rise of misinformation are harming our health—and what we can do about it.
Also, as an “extra assessment,” the panelists offer stories about health care policy that they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: New Yorker”Battle with my blood“, Tatyana Schlossberg.
Alice Miranda Olstein: CNBC”Meta-studies halted, suggesting harms of social media, court alleges» Jonathan Vanian.
Sarah Carlin-Smith: “The Guardian”Influential people have made millions by promoting 'wild' births – now the free birth society is linked to infant mortality around the world“Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne.
Sandhya Raman: KFF health news”Kids, teens turn to electric bikes entirely as federal oversight stops them» Keith Ruder.
Also mentioned in this week's podcast:
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