Affordability is top of mind for most voters this fall, and the high cost of healthcare is near the top of affordability complaints. And the news keeps getting worse: All indications are that insurance premiums will go up and benefits will go down in 2027.
Meanwhile, a U.S. appeals court this week heard arguments in a case that could severely limit the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone, not just in states with abortion bans but also in those where abortion is still legal.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News.
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- Inflation, rising rates of uninsured Americans, as well as industry consolidation are contributing to some of the steepest increases in healthcare costs since the early 2000s. Frustrations back then built momentum for passage of the Affordable Care Act. Today, they’re the backdrop for the midterm elections, though the GOP is focusing on fraud and most Democrats are campaigning on adjustments to existing programs such as the ACA and Medicaid.
- Several recent news stories have shed light on controversies at the intersection of health and politics. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a physician who could lead the Senate’s health committee next year, is facing scrutiny for suing hundreds of patients over unpaid medical debts, some of whom were arrested for missing court dates. Other stories document allegedly disparaging remarks by Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) to staff about meeting with representatives of a children’s hospital and, separately, a call by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be criminally investigated for allegedly lying to Congress.
- Meanwhile, a federal appeals court in Louisiana continues to consider a case challenging regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone as President Donald Trump’s latest nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration awaits confirmation.
- And the fallout continues from two measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania, leaving Americans with further mixed signals about how to protect themselves and their children.
Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month,” about when a preventive service isn’t preventive enough to qualify for zero-cost coverage. If you have a bill that’s baffling, infuriating, or indecipherable, you can share it with us here.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: NBC News’ “A Secretive Computer Algorithm Is Taking Caregiving Money Away From Disabled People,” by Mike Hixenbaugh.
Sandhya Raman: Bloomberg Government’s “Medicaid Cuts Leave Schools Pondering How To Serve Disabled Kids,” by Erin Durkin and Claire Hebert.
Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “Children in a Faith-Healing Sect Keep Dying. The State Lets It Happen,” by Audrey Dutton.
Amanda Seitz: KFF Health News’ “A NY Hospital Tried To Close Its Birthing Center. This City United To Fight Back,” by Noam N. Levey and Hannah Norman, and Stat’s “Hospitals Pursue Deals To Ensure Survival as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Loom,” by Daniel Payne.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- The Wall Street Journal’s “Why More Hospitals and Doctors Are Asking Patients to Pay First,” by Peter Loftus.
- The New York Times’ “A Doctor Sued 700 Patients for Debts; 81 Were Arrested. Now He’s a Senator,” by Sarah Kliff.
- The Wall Street Journal’s “Behind Closed Doors, John Fetterman Shows Little Interest in the Work of a Senator,” by Will Hobson and Siobhan Hughes.
- The Guardian’s “RFK Jr Lied In Senate Confirmation Hearings, Newly Revealed Documents Indicate,” by Michelle R Smith.
- Nature’s “Revealed: Inside the US Military’s Plan To Tap Huge Sums From the NIH,” by Max Kozlov.
- ProPublica’s “Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans,” by Andrea Suozzo and Agnel Philip.
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