American Well being Will get a Pink Slip
The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Well being Information
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 skilled on well being coverage points, Julie is the writer of the critically praised reference e-book “Well being Care Politics and Coverage A to Z,” now in its third version.
The Division of Well being and Human Companies underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as hundreds of staff from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, the FDA, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, and different businesses throughout the division have been fired, positioned on administrative go away, or supplied transfers to far-flung Indian Well being Service amenities in such locations as New Mexico, Montana, and Alaska. Altogether, the layoffs imply the federal authorities, in a single day, shed lots of if not hundreds of years of well being and science experience.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court docket heard a case about whether or not states can bar Deliberate Parenthood from offering non-abortion-related companies to Medicaid sufferers. However by the point the case is settled, it’s unclear how a lot of Medicaid or the Title X Household Planning Program will stay intact.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg Information, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Submit.
Panelists
Rachel Cohrs Zhang
Bloomberg Information
Sarah Karlin-Smith
Pink Sheet
Lauren Weber
The Washington Submit
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- As particulars trickle out in regards to the main staffing purge underway at HHS, long-serving and high-ranking well being officers are amongst those that have been proven the door: specifically, senior scientists at FDA, together with the highest vaccine regulator, and even the pinnacle veterinarian engaged on chook flu response.
- The Trump administration has additionally gutted complete workplaces, together with the FDA’s tobacco division — though the division’s elimination wouldn’t save taxpayer cash as a result of it’s not funded by taxpayers. Nonetheless, the tobacco trade stands to profit from much less regulatory oversight. Many well being businesses have their very own examples of federal jobs minimize below the auspices of saving taxpayer cash when the true impact will probably be undermining federal well being work.
- Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey set a document this week throughout a marathon, 25-hour-plus chamber ground speech railing in opposition to Trump administration actions, and he used a lot of his time discussing the dangers posed to Individuals’ well being care. With Republicans contemplating deep cuts that would hit Medicaid exhausting, it’s attainable that well being adjustments might be the realm that resonates most with Individuals and garner key help for Democrats come midterm elections.
- And the tariffs unveiled by President Donald Trump this week reportedly contact no less than some prescription drugs, leaving the drug trade scrambling to kind out the affect. It appears doubtless tariffs would elevate the costs Individuals pay for medication, as tariffs are anticipated to do for different shopper merchandise — leaving it unclear how Individuals stand to profit from the president’s determination to upend world commerce.
Additionally this week, Rovner interviews KFF Well being Information’ Julie Appleby, whose newest “Invoice of the Month” characteristic is a couple of short-term well being plan and a really costly colonoscopy. Do you may have a baffling, complicated, or outrageous medical invoice to share with us? You are able to do that right here.
Plus, for “further credit score,” the panelists counsel well being coverage tales they learn this week that they suppose you need to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: Stat’s “Uber for Nursing Is Right here — And It’s Not Good for Sufferers or Nurses,” by Katie J. Wells and Funda Ustek Spilda.
Sarah Karlin-Smith: MSNBC’s “Florida Considers Easing Baby Labor Legal guidelines After Pushing Out Immigrants,” by Ja’han Jones.
Lauren Weber: The Atlantic’s “Miscarriage and Motherhood,” by Ashley Parker.
Rachel Cohrs Zhang: The Wall Road Journal’s “FDA Punts on Main Covid-19 Vaccine Choice After Ouster of Prime Official,” by Liz Essley White.
Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:
Credit
Francis Ying
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
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