Watch: Why Is Having a Baby So Expensive in the US?
51视频 Health News video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.
Reproductive Health
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Countdown to Government Shutdown
Episode 413With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥 report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
On Capitol Hill, RFK Defends Firings at CDC
Episode 412A combative Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, appeared before a Senate committee Thursday, defending his firing of the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other changes that could limit the availability of vaccines. Meanwhile, Congress has only a few weeks to complete work on annual spending bills to avoid a possible government shutdown and to ward off potentially large increases in premiums for Affordable Care Act health plans. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 Health News鈥 Tony Leys, who discusses his 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 report about a woman鈥檚 unfortunate interaction with a bat 鈥 and her even more unfortunate interaction with the bill for her rabies prevention treatment.
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Planned Parenthood Bets on Redistricting To Push Back Against GOP Funding Cuts
Alarmed at Republicans鈥 deep cuts to health care and restrictions on reproductive rights, advocates are supporting California鈥檚 effort to counter a mid-decade gerrymander by the Texas GOP to pad their party鈥檚 fragile U.S. House majority.
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Maryland Taps Affordable Care Act Fund To Help Pay for Abortion Care
The state is using an old source of funding to pay for a new money crunch: assisting out-of-state patients with the costs associated with abortion.
Kennedy Cancels Vaccine Funding
Episode 409The Health and Human Services secretary is winding down nearly $500 million in mRNA research funding, citing false claims that the technology is ineffective against respiratory illnesses 鈥 and notching a victory for critics of the covid vaccines. And President Donald Trump is demanding drugmakers drop their prices, quickly, but it鈥檚 unclear how he could make them comply. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 51视频 Health News鈥 Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes
Episode 407Medicaid may have monopolized Washington鈥檚 attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what鈥檚 in Trump鈥檚 big budget law, and polls suggest many don鈥檛 like what they see. Julie Appleby of 51视频 Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare鈥檚 60th anniversary.
The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding 鈥 For Now
Episode 406The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration鈥檚 request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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Doulas, Once a Luxury, Are Increasingly Covered by Medicaid 鈥 Even in GOP States
Even as states brace for significant reductions in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, conservative legislatures across the country are passing laws that grant doula access to Medicaid beneficiaries.
By Lauren Sausser and Katheryn Houghton Trump鈥檚 Bill Reaches the Finish Line
Episode 404The House on Thursday moved to approve the largest-ever cuts to federal safety net programs, the last step before the measure goes to President Donald Trump鈥檚 desk. After the Senate very narrowly passed the bill, House GOP leaders ushered it past resistance from conservatives wary of adding trillions to the federal debt and moderates concerned about its cuts to Medicaid. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to pursue his anti-vaccine agenda, despite promising that he would not. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
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HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk
The Trump administration eliminated the CDC team that developed national guidelines for prescribing contraception safely for millions of women with underlying medical conditions.
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Push To Move OB-GYN Exam Out of Texas Is Piece of AGs鈥 Broader Reproductive Rights Campaign
Following a petition from Democratic state attorneys general, the American Medical Association adopted a position that medical certification exams should not be required in person in states with restrictive abortion policies. The action鈥檚 success was hailed as a win for Democrats trying to regain ground after the fall of Roe.
Trump鈥檚 鈥極ne Big Beautiful Bill鈥 Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!
Episode 400The House鈥檚 gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office鈥檚 estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade won鈥檛 make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 Health News鈥 Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.
Bill With Billions in Health Program Cuts Passes House
Episode 398The House narrowly passed a budget reconciliation bill, including billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy along with billions of dollars in cuts to health program spending. But the Senate is expected to make major changes to the measure before it can go to President Donald Trump for his signature. This week鈥檚 panelists are Julie Rovner of 51视频 Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
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Rural Patients Face Tough Choices When Their Hospitals Stop Delivering Babies
More than 100 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2021, including a South Dakota hospital that serves small towns, farming communities, and a Native American reservation. Patients there now travel at least an hour to give birth.
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Even Where Abortion Is Still Legal, Many Brick-and-Mortar Clinics Are Closing
Some clinics that provide abortions are closing, even in states where voters have passed some of the nation's broadest abortion protections. It鈥檚 happening in places like New York, Illinois, and Michigan, as reproductive health care faces new financial pressures.
GOP Tries To Cut Billions in Health Benefits
Episode 397GOP-controlled House committees approved parts of President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渙ne big, beautiful bill鈥 this week, including more than $700 billion in cuts to health programs over the next decade 鈥 mostly from Medicaid, which covers people with low incomes or disabilities. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress for the first time since taking office and told lawmakers that Americans shouldn鈥檛 take medical advice from him. Julie Appleby of 51视频 Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Cutting Medicaid Is Hard 鈥 Even for the GOP
Episode 396Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade 鈥 as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 51视频 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51视频 Health News鈥 Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
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Despite Historic Indictment, Doctors Will Keep Mailing Abortion Pills Across State Lines
When a New York physician was indicted for shipping abortion medications to a woman in Louisiana, it stoked fear across the network of doctors and medical clinics who engage in similar work. But some physicians vowed not to stop.
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Trump Restores Title X Funding for Two Anti-Abortion States 鈥 While Wiping It Out Elsewhere
The Biden administration shut off federal family planning grants to Tennessee and Oklahoma after the states directed clinics not to provide abortion counseling. The Trump administration restored the money, claiming two lawsuits were settled. They weren鈥檛.