POLITICO's Pulse Check

Since becoming law in 1965, Medicaid has been shrouded in debate and misperceptions. It costs too much; the services are poor quality; it’s just a handout. In this special branded episode of Pulse Check at Work, we sought to set the record straight with Dr. Rod Hochman, president and CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH), and Dr. Rhonda Medows, executive vice president of Population Health at...

A "health coach" is just what it sounds like — a coach who’s there to help patients manage a problem, or make changes to their lifestyle. And thousands. On this episode, you'll hear from two. First, Michele Geraldi — a coach for Omada Health, which specializes in diabetes prevention — explains how she works to convince patients to be healthier. Then Ruth Wolever, who runs Vanderbilt's health coach...

Health care is awash in data. And we’re all being tracked, maybe in ways we don’t even realize, by a new class of analysts, armed with increasingly savvy tools. So who are these people — these data scientists — and what exactly do they do? That's what we'll answer on this episode of "Pulse Check: At Work." First, Jonathan Sung takes us inside his data-driven projects at the Department of Transport...

Overseas doctors are cheaper. Artificial intelligence could eventually be smarter. Patient safety concerns have multiplied. Are American radiologists' days numbered? These radiologists say no — and take listeners inside their work. First, Dr. Stefan Tigges of Emory University opens up about the highs and lows of the job, and how he uses his cartoons to teach the next generation of radiologists. Af...

Home health aide is one of the fastest-growing jobs in America — and the first job in our month-long series that will explain how different health care workers fit into the broader health policy picture. What's it like to be a home health aide — and why take such a demanding, low-paying job in the first place? Lisa Morris, a home health worker in New Jersey, joins POLITICO to explain. Meanwhile, H...

In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Paul Demko join Dan Diamond to preview this week's high-stakes hearings. Tuesday: The Senate Judiciary Committee begins grilling Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's latest nominee to the Supreme Court. Wednesday: Texas v. Azar gets underway, with the Affordable Care Act's protections at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

It’s no secret that President Donald Trump and his administration oppose the Affordable Care Act. But what's gone under the radar: a lawsuit that’s trying to use Trump’s own words to prove that his "sabotage" violates his constitutional responsibilities. On the podcast, Zach Klein — the attorney for Columbus, Ohio — explains to POLITICO's Dan Diamond why he decided to join the multi-city lawsuit a...

"I think rural health care is on life support...[and] we need to redesign all of that." Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says that states like hers are facing multiple health care challenges: Too few hospitals and doctors, and too many mothers dying early. The North Dakota senator joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss rural health care, tribal health and other issues often overlooked in Washington, D.C. Hei...

"I've been physically harassed. I've been sued as a way of getting me to shut up. I've had three death threats the FBI deemed credible... But doing the right thing isn't an easy thing." Paul Offit, a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, has stepped forward as one of the nation's leading defenders of vaccines — a role that's won him national praise and interviews with Stephen Co...

"The real, ultimate issue is not interoperability — it's unaffordability of American healthcare and lack of consistent health care product... You go to see somebody, and you don't know what it's going to cost." Don Rucker, the national coordinator for health information technology, explains how the Trump administration is building on — and departing from — the Obama administration's policies. POLI...

When conservative analyst Lanhee Chen joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast two years ago, he wasn't sure what to expect from then-candidate Donald Trump. Today, Lanhee's happy with the moves that the Trump administration has made, and he joins Dan Diamond to discuss what won him over. (Starts at the 15:00-minute mark.) But first, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn sits down to talk about the latest news o...

"It's not about how I feel — that's not really what this is about. What this is about is affordability, access, and quality of health care for millions of American people and families across the country." Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the former HHS secretary and current American University president, sits down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss her career, how she views the Trump administration's e...

POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn joins PULSE CHECK to trace the battle over abortion in America, from the courts to Congress and beyond. Some of Jen's recent reporting on abortion: How anti-abortion forces learned to love Trump: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/22/anti-abortion-forces-trump-561191 The next Supreme Court justice could weigh in on abortion quickly: https://www.politico.com/story/...

Washington has been consumed with fights over the Affordable Care Act, HHS' care of migrant kids and Donald Trump's promise to cut drug prices — and we'll get back to all of those issues on PULSE CHECK soon. But today's episode goes outside the Beltway for a look at a persistent public health problem: Brain cancer. POLITICO's Dan Diamond sat down with Ron DePinho, a famed researcher who led MD And...

It's official: Judge Brett Kavanaugh is President Donald Trump's choice to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. And his probable confirmation, and the Court's resulting shift to the right, raises serious questions for health care. What happens to the Affordable Care Act? Is Roe v. Wade doomed? And how does this change lawmakers' strategy ahead of the midterms? In a bonus...

A federal judge on June 26 ordered the Trump administration to reunite migrant families that it separated at the border. But days later, there's been little progress, and POLITICO's Paul Demko and Renuka Rayasam join Dan Diamond to discuss what has — and still hasn't — happened at HHS (starts at the 1:30 mark). Paul also discussed the latest enrollment numbers from the Affordable Care Act marketpl...

"What has been done to these children, to forcibly separate small children from a parent... it's what totalitarian regimes do as a form of torture... We all should be outraged." Bob Carey, who ran the Office of Refugee Resettlement between 2015 and 2017, talks with Dan Diamond about how the office works, why it belongs inside HHS and the looming challenges of trying to put families back together a...

Live from the Aspen Ideas Festival’s “Spotlight Health,” ex-Obama official Andy Slavitt and Arkansas health chief Cindy Gillespie address how HHS should quickly reunify separated families, look for common ground on Medicaid work requirements and debate the future of the ACA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2015, the Wall Street Journal's John Carreyrou revealed that the blood tests developed by Theranos — the $9 billion company led by Elizabeth Holmes — didn't work. Now John's out with "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," a book that offers new details about Holmes, her fraud and her efforts to kill his investigation. John joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how he got...

Tevi Troy helped lead the nation's health department under President George W. Bush. Now he's helping steer JUUL — the nation's most popular e-cigarette company — through the Washington policymaking process and public health scrutiny. "Using a JUUL is worse than doing nothing," Troy acknowledged on the podcast. But"if we can get people to switch away from [traditional] cigarettes… there's a potent...

For the past year, Sen. Bill Cassidy has played a pivotal role in Republicans’ health care strategy. The doctor-turned-lawmaker helped craft the Graham-Cassidy proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, sparking outrage from public health groups (and a certain talk show host) who warned that the legislation would lead to millions more people being uninsured. Now Cassidy’s out with a new package o...

Two years ago, anti-abortion leaders attacked then-candidate Donald Trump as a “pro-choice” liberal who couldn’t be trusted. This week, the movement's most prominent leader praised Trump as “the most pro-life president in history” as he spoke at the Susan B. Anthony List’s gala. How did Trump became an unlikely anti-abortion hero, and what has Trump actually accomplished? First, POLITICO’s Jennife...

One week ago, HHS Secretary Alex Azar joined President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden to announce his signature initiative: A long-awaited plan to lower drug prices. The secretary’s been on a tour to explain the plan — which has faced resistance from pharma and was panned by some Wall Street analysts — and POLITICO’s Dan Diamond joined Azar at HHS headquarters to review the latest developments. O...

President Donald Trump finally unveiled his plan to lower drug prices last week, and on this week’s episode, POLITICO looks closer at what’s in the strategy and how it builds (or doesn’t) on the Obama administration’s own efforts. First, POLITICO’s Sarah Karlin-Smith discusses her reporting on the Trump administration’s drug plan (starts at the 2:05 mark), what’s in the bill and how it’s being rec...

The health care safety net is rarely glamorous, but for tens of millions of Americans, it's often necessary. These low-income patients depend on Medicaid, public hospitals and other services for care — although safety-net resources have been increasingly strained in recent years, partly because of decisions made in Washington. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we meet one person trying to make the s...