POLITICO's Pulse Check

Republicans' health bill is back, and so is the PULSE CHECK podcast. There’s a lot up in the air as of Thursday — the White House wants a quick vote on the bill before the president’s first 100 days are up, but the House GOP appears to lack the votes. Meanwhile, President Trump is still threatening to stop paying crucial subsidies, which could lead to health insurers pulling out of the Affordable...

Republicans remain divided on the future of their stalled repeal effort, and President Donald Trump is signaling he’s not ready to give up the fight just yet. In the meantime, Obamacare insurance marketplaces are facing tight deadlines ahead the next enrollment season. Starting this month, insurers in some states will have to start filing 2018 rates amid uncertainty about whether Congress will rep...

There's a lot of fuss around the House GOP's health care plan — but how real is it? POLITICO's Paul Demko talks with Dan Diamond about Republicans' latest push and whether there's any "there" there. (Starts at the 1:30 mark.) Then after the break, Austin Frakt — a well-known health care economist, blogger and New York Times "Upshot" contributor — joins PULSE CHECK to discuss the state of health ca...

Conservatives are feuding with the White House over health care. House Speaker Paul Ryan is warning President Trump against doing a deal with Democrats. If there's a path to health reform, it may run through moderate Republicans — and on this PULSE CHECK, you’re going to hear from two of the most prominent in Congress. First, Rep. Charlie Dent — a leader of the center-right Tuesday Group — joins t...

Obamacare repeal is dead — so long live Obamacare? POLITICO’s Paul Demko and Rachana Pradhan rejoin Dan Diamond to discuss the collapse of Republicans’ health bill, their reporting from the week, and where the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act goes from here. First, they marvel and recap the week that was (starts at the 7:30 mark),then talk about what’s next for the GOP (34:45), and run thr...

Zeke Emanuel got his third meeting with President Donald Trump this week — and Emanuel said he delivered his trademark "straight talk" to Trump as the GOP prepares to vote on the American Health Care Act. “Any rational person has to be worried about this bill,” Emanuel told POLITICO’s Dan Diamond about the GOP’s plan to repeal Obamacare. “It’s unacceptable.” Emanuel joined PULSE CHECK to answer qu...

Speaker Paul Ryan is vowing that the House on Thursday will pass the American Health Care Act, Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Rachana Pradhan and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss the state of play around Republicans’ health bill, its chances of passage and their recent reporting on Medicaid issues and the insurance i...

For four years, Rep. Joe Kennedy III has sought a deliberately low profile as a relatively young member of Congress with a famous last name. But after an epic 27-hour markup last week — and tens of millions of views on social media later — Kennedy has quickly emerged as a national face of resistance to Republicans' health bill and a rising Democrat to watch. Kennedy joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond t...

The Republican health care bill has landed — and largely with a thud. Two heavy hitters join POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to explain what they like (and don’t) about the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. First, Rick Pollack, head of the American Hospital Association, joins PULSE CHECK to discuss why the powerful lobbying group has come out strongly against the Republican health p...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night exhorted Congress to immediately repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, getting multiple standing ovations. Just one problem: Republicans still don’t have a clear blueprint to do it. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we look at the state of Obamacare repeal, with the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican party feuding over next steps. As of no...

Liberal activists celebrated last week's raucous town halls — but did the pro-ACA chants actually change any Republican lawmakers' minds? What's in Speaker Paul Ryan's plan to repeal and replace the health law? And where does President Donald Trump's promise to strike down Obamacare actually stand? In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss their...

One of the biggest controversies in health care: The price of the EpiPen, which soared from $57 in 2007 to more than $300 last year. Critics said Mylan's steady price hikes were a sign of corporate greed. But Mylan CEO Heather Bresch — who appears on this week's PULSE CHECK — argues her decisions were motivated by bigger problems in the health care system. Bresch joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to d...

Seema Verma isn't a household name in health care — but she's about to be. President Donald Trump's pick to run CMS has been a health policy consultant for multiple Republican governors, including then-Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana, and she's facing her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. So what's waiting for Verma, and what would her likely confirmation mean for the health care industry? We ta...

President Donald Trump says the drug industry is "getting away with murder" — but Stephen Ubl, the nation's top pharma lobbyist, says his industry's life-saving work has been overshadowed by a few bad actors. Ubl joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to share his thoughts on drug prices, his recent meeting with Trump, PhRMA's top priorities, and why Martin Shkreli and other controversial figures don't tel...

President Donald Trump has talked about putting 'America First.' Who better to weigh in on the implications for global health than Ashish Jha, who leads Harvard's Global Health Institute and is a leader in U.S. health care research too. Jha joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his work on global health issues (starts at the 1:30 mark), his deep concerns about Trump's immigration ban and his ow...

One week ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president — and within hours, he was making moves to weaken the Affordable Care Act. After a frenetic week of news, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn joins Dan Diamond for an impromptu podcast to discuss President Trump's order and statements on the ACA, the state of the GOP's push to repeal and replace the law, how HHS Secretary-designate Tom Price's nominatio...

Rep. Tom Price — Donald Trump’s pick to run HHS — needs to undergo a pair of Senate hearings before being confirmed. But he’s under attack from Democrats, after a series of stories linking Price’s stock trades to legislation that he’s written. As of Tuesday afternoon, Price’s initial hearing on Wednesday is still on. One reason why the timing matters: Trump has said that he won’t release his healt...

Obamacare repeal, drug price reform — and vaccine investigations? President-elect Donald Trump has pushed all three health care priorities this week, and Senate Republicans just advanced his agenda by voting to begin striking down the Affordable Care Act. First, POLITICO's pharma reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith joins Dan Diamond (starts at the 2:15 mark) to explain Republicans' early-morning vote on T...

The Obamacare repeal battle is THE story in health care, but it's not the only one. On a special edition of PULSE CHECK, five POLITICO health care reporters talk about what they're seeing ahead for the Affordable Care Act, and also drill down on other recent industry news. First, Pro's Jen Haberkorn and Rachana Pradhan (starts at the 2:15 mark) join Dan Diamond to discuss whether GOP plans to repe...

One man is trying to repeal Obamacare. The other is trying to save it. As Congress returns and the health reform battle begins, this week's PULSE CHECK features two key figures on opposite sides of the Affordable Care Act. First, Rep. Phil Roe joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond (starts at the 1:40 mark) to explain his new ACA replacement proposal, which is backed by the Republican Study Committee, why h...

Steve Case made his fortune by founding AOL. A decade ago, he took a shot at fixing health care's problems with Revolution Health, a massively hyped startup. Now he's looking at health care as an investor and believes the 2016 election showed why those investments should be distributed around the country — and not just in Silicon Valley and the East Coast. Case joined PULSE CHECK to discuss how a...

Seven years ago, the nation's biggest health care associations endorsed Obamacare. Now they're throwing their support behind Rep. Tom Price, who President-elect Donald Trump picked to run HHS — and lead the effort to take Obamacare apart. What does it mean to be an advocacy organization in the Trump era, and how do those groups pick their battles? First, AAMC's Atul Grover joins PULSE CHECK (start...

Rep. Tom Price is President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the trillion-dollar cabinet agency that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare and much more. But is Price ready to take on the enormous job — and what will he find when he gets there? A former HHS Secretary nominee and a well-regarded policy analyst break down what comes next. First, former S...

It's a moment of change in Washington. In January, Democrats will be out of the White House for the first time in eight years, and Republicans will have a free hand to enact their agenda. So this episode of PULSE CHECK is about influence: specifically, who's in position to influence that agenda — and what that means for health care. First, Ed Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation — which is playin...

President-elect Donald Trump wants to strike down Obamacare, and the GOP-led Congress is eager to do it. But what are the realistic next steps, when will they happen, and what shouldn’t be overlooked? Two leading conservative thinkers — including the author of an Obamacare replacement plan — explain Republicans' options and point to clues on what will happen next. First, Doug Holtz-Eakin of the Am...