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Host Dan Weissmann talks with Julie Rovner, 51Ƶ Health News chief Washington correspondent and host of the “What the Health?” podcast, about how cuts to federal programs are reshaping American healthcare.
The revelation in court documents that the Trump administration used politics alone to decide which grants to fund and which to cancel has provoked surprisingly little outcry from Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Republicans renewed their campaign against Anthony Fauci’s handling of covid. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Liz Essley Whyte of The Wall Street Journal join 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
When surgery became unavoidable, a man with no insurance shopped around for the best price for a hernia repair — and saved thousands by traveling out of state.
51Ƶ Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana chairs the Senate’s health committee. In an interview with 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner, he discusses the drug supply, his proposal to defray out-of-pocket costs, and his controversial vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
A growing network of home-sharing programs is helping people find compatible housemates. And demand is rising, driven by housing shortages, rising rents, and sales prices that affect both the old and the young.
51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell, the president and CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health, about systemic healthcare changes backed by large employers, which cover millions of Americans.
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains commonplace, and there's no evidence the government is trying to hold insurers to account.
Most of the federal Medicaid cuts don’t take effect until 2027, but many states are already cutting budgets in anticipation of getting fewer health dollars from Washington. Meanwhile, Congress is back from break, but progress on legislative priorities remains slow. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law join 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. And as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Elizabeth Mitchell of the Purchaser Business Group on Health.
51Ƶ Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri’s income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
New Medicaid work requirements could make a complex system even harder for farmworkers to navigate.
Washington state has launched the first program to help cover home care and other supports. Several other states are paying attention.
Just a few months before the midterm elections, Democrats appear to be doubling down on healthcare as a campaign issue as costs rise and insurance coverage declines. Meanwhile, Congress is taking aim at nonprofit hospitals. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 51Ƶ Health News’ Samantha Liss, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month.”
Insurers that sell plans in Obamacare marketplaces across 16 states and the District of Columbia have asked regulators to approve a 14% median premium increase for 2027, according to a new Peterson-51Ƶ analysis.
Many Americans are shopping around for affordable options as the cost of health insurance soars. But some who hope to keep the same doctors and medications face a thicket of red tape and disruption after they switch plans.
Drugmakers provide financial assistance to help patients afford increasingly expensive medications. But some insurers do not count those payments toward a plan’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum and make patients pay instead.
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again until 2027.
51Ƶ Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The Supreme Court handed down its last decisions of its 2025-26 term this week, including in an immigration case that could result in the loss of hundreds of thousands of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Amanda Seitz of 51Ƶ Health News join 51Ƶ Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more.
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