The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Health News
@jrovner
@julierovner.bsky.social
Read Julie’s stories.
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s effort to change how the federal government recommends vaccines against childhood diseases was dealt at least a temporary setback in federal court this week. A judge in Massachusetts sided with a coalition of public health groups arguing that changes to the vaccine schedule violated federal law. The Trump administration said it would appeal the judge’s ruling.
Meanwhile, some of the same public health groups continue to worry about the slow pace of grantmaking at the National Institutes of Health, which, for the second straight year, is having trouble getting money appropriated by Congress out the door to researchers.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post.
Panelists
Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico
@AliceOllstein
@alicemiranda.bsky.social
Read Alice’s stories.
Margot Sanger-Katz
The New York Times
@sangerkatz
Read Margot’s stories.
Lauren Weber
The Washington Post
@LaurenWeberHP
Read Lauren’s stories.
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
The latest decision on potential changes to the federal childhood vaccine schedule, even if ultimately reversed by a higher court, may re-elevate the vaccine issue as midterm campaigns kick into gear — and just as the Trump administration is trying to downplay it.
A new survey of Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollees from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, illuminates how many people are struggling to afford health insurance after the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits. A large majority of respondents say their costs are higher this year, with half saying their costs are “a lot higher.”
A dip in the number of health care jobs last month could suggest medical facilities and other providers are bracing for the impact of federal funding cuts. A reduction in the number of people with health insurance — an expected outcome of the expiration of enhanced ACA tax credits and, soon, stricter eligibility limits for Medicaid — would probably mean more unpaid bills that hospitals and others must abs
