KFF Health News

What the Health? From KFF Health News

News EN ↓ 459 episodes

Join Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, along with top health policy reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and other media outlets to discuss the latest news and explain what the health is going on here in Washington, D.C.

Author

KFF Health News

Category

News

Podcast website

kffhealthnews.org

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

A ‘Healthy’ State Of The Union 07.02.2019

Health was a featured player in President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. The president set goals to bring down prescription drug prices, end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and cure childhood cancer, among other things. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra...

Live From D.C.: A Look Ahead At Health Policy In 2019 31.01.2019

Congress and President Donald Trump are starting to wrestle with health policy issues, and health is already a key debate point in the early run-up to the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Might any major health policy legislation be passed and signed this year? Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Kimberly Leonard of The Washington Examiner, along with special guest To...

‘Medicare-For-All’? More? Some? 24.01.2019

“Medicare-for-all” has become the rallying cry for Democrats in the new Congress. But there is a long list of other ways to increase insurance coverage. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to chip away at the Medicaid program for the poor, and new rules could mean higher costs for individual health insurance in 2020. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal...

Drug Prices Are Rising Again. Is Someone Going To Do Something About It? 17.01.2019

As drugmakers hike prices, interest to rein them in is growing on Capitol Hill. Next week marks the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion decision, and both the House, whose leaders back abortion rights, and the Senate, controlled by abortion foes, are holding statement votes. And the government shutdown is still affecting health programs. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger...

New Year, New Health Proposals 10.01.2019

Democratic governors and mayors are unveiling new ideas to control costs and expand coverage. The federal government shutdown has spared most health agencies, but not all. And learn the latest on that lawsuit out of Texas, which is threatening the Affordable Care Act once again. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Juli...

Ask Us Anything! 03.01.2019

From Medicare dental coverage to drug prices to fetal tissue research, the panelists answer listeners’ questions. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More On That Texas Lawsuit, And The Best And Worst Health Policy Stories Of The Year 20.12.2018

The fallout continues from that Texas court decision that ruled Congress’ 2017 elimination of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance rendered the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Meanwhile, enrollment for 2019 at healthcare.gov was down, but far less than many predicted. KHN’s Julie Rovner, along with panelists Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Kimberly...

What Just Happened To The ACA In Texas And What Happens Now? Special Bonus Edition 17.12.2018

A federal district judge in Texas ruled Friday that Congress’ 2017 elimination of the tax penalty for failing to have insurance rendered the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. What happens now? KHN’s Julie Rovner, along with panelists Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, discuss the bombshell decision...

Insurance Enrollment Is Lagging — And There Are Lots Of Reasons Why 13.12.2018

Sign-ups for insurance under the Affordable Care Act are still well behind last year’s mark with just a week until the end of open enrollment in most states. The Supreme Court declines a case that could have allowed states to defund Planned Parenthood. And the Trump administration gets hundreds of thousands of comments about its proposed changes to immigration rules that could penalize people who...

Is Health Spending The Next Big Political Issue? 06.12.2018

Diabetics dying because they can’t afford insulin. Organ transplant patients undergoing “wallet biopsies” to get on waiting lists. Are out-of-pocket costs going to dominate the health discussion in the next election? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this as well as new Trump administration rules...

Episode 74: Reading The Tea Leaves In Blue Wave’s Wake 29.11.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Ollstein of Politico and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss the impact of House Democratic leadership elections and their impact on health policy; as well as efforts by the Trump administration to address high drug prices and ensure the safety of medical devices. Pl...

Episode 73: Health Nerd Books For The Holidays 20.11.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss the latest on open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act and Medicare; new moves by the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco and nicotine products; and whether House Democrats will pursue a “Medic...

Episode 72: Doctors, Guns and Lame Ducks 15.11.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What The Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss how the Democrats’ takeover of the House and other results from the Nov. 6 elections might affect health care, and what Congress may have in store for the lame-duck session. Plus, for extra credit, the pane...

Episode 71: Split Decision On Health Care 08.11.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the Trump administration’s new birth control coverage rules and the potential impact of the midterm election results on health policy. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health storie...

Episode 70: Open Enrollment And A Midterm Preview 01.11.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the start of open enrollment for individual health insurance plans for 2019 and preview what next week’s midterm elections might mean for health policy. Plus, Barbara Feder Ostrov of KHN and California Healthline...

Episode 69: Trump, GOP Fight Back On Health Care 25.10.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Ollstein of Politico discuss a flurry of proposals from the Trump administration on what Medicare pays for drugs and the Affordable Care Act. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week. Hos...

Episode 68: Republicans’ Preexisting Political Problem 18.10.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss how protections for people with preexisting conditions have become a top issue in the elections, Trump administration efforts to make prescription drug prices more transparent and the start of Medicare’s annu...

Episode 67: Falling Premiums And Rising Political Tensions 11.10.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News discuss the Trump administration’s announcement that average premium prices are falling on the Obamacare marketplaces, the effort by Senate Democrats to reverse rules on short-term health insurance and the focus on p...

Episode 66: Some Things Old, Some Things New 04.10.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner discuss final action on bills in Congress to address the opioid epidemic and fund federal health agencies. They also look at new efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on teen nicot...

Episode 65: (Almost) Live from Austin! 28.09.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about how health issues will play in midterm elections, the Trump administration’s move that could penalize legal immigrants who use government aid programs and other topics. Due to technical difficulties, the original discussion...

Episode 64: Health On The Hill 20.09.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about a spate of health-related legislative action on Capitol Hill, including Senate passage of a bill to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy st...

Episode 63: A Detour On A Smoking Off-Ramp 13.09.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call talk about the Food and Drug Administration’s latest actions to address teenagers’ use of e-cigarettes, Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirements and news about the uninsured from the latest feder...

Episode 62: Health Policy Goes To Court 06.09.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about the latest court challenge to the Affordable Care Act, nomination hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and news from the reproductive health front. Plus, Julie interviews Chad Terhune...

Episode 61: Ask Us Anything! 30.08.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 60: Opioids, EpiPens And Health Funding 23.08.2018

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about Senate action on health funding and opioid legislation, the state of the individual insurance market and the news about the allergy remedy EpiPen. Also, how an otter with asthma could signal a potenti...

Listen to the What the Health? From KFF Health News podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.