An Arm and a Leg: How a Surprise Bill Can Hitch a Ride to the Hospital
The No Surprises Act has helped rein in out-of-network medical bills, but ground ambulances are a costly exception. Hear why this service can still hit patients with big bills and what to do if you get one.
In the early 1970s, public health workers buoyed by the motto 鈥渮ero pox!鈥 worked across India to achieve 100% vaccination against smallpox. This episode is about what happened when these zealous young people encountered hesitation.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': On Abortion Rights, Ohio Is the New Kansas
Nearly a year to the day after Kansas voters surprised the nation by defeating an anti-abortion ballot question, Ohio voters defeated a similar, if cagier, effort to limit access in that state. This week, they rejected an effort to raise the threshold for approval of future ballot measures from a simple majority, which would have made it harder to protect abortion access with yet another ballot question come November. Meanwhile, the number of Americans without health insurance has dropped to an all-time low, though few noticed. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Emmarie Huetteman of 蘑菇影院 Health News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, about how the 鈥淢edicaid unwinding鈥 is going, as millions have their eligibility for coverage rechecked.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Is Out. The Presidential Campaign Is In.
Congress is in recess until after Labor Day, and lawmakers won鈥檛 have much time when they return to get the government funded before the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Republican campaign for president has begun in earnest, and while repealing the Affordable Care Act is no longer the top promise, some candidates have lively ideas about what to do with federal health programs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Phil Galewitz, who reported the latest 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month,鈥 about how a bill that should never have been sent created headaches for one patient.
Who gets credit for wiping smallpox from the planet? American men have been widely recognized while the contributions of South Asian public health workers have been less celebrated. Episode 2 of the 鈥淓radicating Smallpox鈥 podcast tells the story of Mahendra Dutta, an Indian public health leader, whose political savvy helped usher in a transformative approach to finding and containing smallpox cases.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Another Try for Mental Health 鈥楶arity鈥
President Joe Biden is kicking off his reelection campaign in part by trying to finish a decades-long effort to establish parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to add abortion and other contentious amendments to must-pass spending bills. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 C茅line Gounder about her podcast 鈥淓pidemic.鈥 The new season focuses on the successful public health effort to eradicate smallpox.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Let鈥檚 Talk About the Weather
It鈥檚 been the summer of broken weather records around the world 鈥 for heat, rain, and wildfire smoke 鈥 advertising the risks of climate change in a big way. But, apparently, it鈥檚 not enough to break the logjam in Washington over how to address the growing climate crisis. Meanwhile, in Texas, women who were unable to get care for pregnancy complications took their stories to court, and Congress gears up to 鈥 maybe 鈥 do something about prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join Julie Rovner, 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Meena Seshamani, the top administrator for the federal Medicare program.
Epidemic: The Goddess of Smallpox
To defeat smallpox in South Asia, public health workers had to navigate the region鈥檚 layered cultural ideas about the virus. They also dreamed big. In Episode 1, host C茅line Gounder wonders how the U.S. might tap into similar 鈥渕oral imagination鈥 to prepare for the next public health crisis.
Timeline: The Final Years of the Campaign to End Smallpox
Many people working in global health thought eradicating smallpox was impossible. They were wrong. Season 2 of the Epidemic podcast, 鈥淓radicating Smallpox,鈥 is a journey to South Asia during the last days of variola major smallpox. Explore the timeline to learn about significant dates in the final push to end the virus.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': The Long Road to Reining In Short-Term Plans聽
President Biden made good on a campaign promise this week with a proposal that would limit short-term health insurance plans that boast low premiums but also few benefits. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to outlaw affirmative action programs could set back efforts to diversify the nation鈥檚 medical workforce. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Bram Sable-Smith, who reported the latest 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 about how a hospital couldn鈥檛 track down a patient, but a debt collector could.
An Arm and a Leg: Wait, What’s a PBM?
Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are companies that negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. Hear about their role in raising drug prices and the ongoing efforts to regulate this complex industry.
An Arm and a Leg: Credit Card, Please
What do you do when a medical provider asks you to provide a credit card upfront? In this episode, we hear advice about your options in this situation.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': A Year Without Roe
It鈥檚 been a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, with it, the nationwide right to abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization set off widespread uncertainty in government and the courts about the legality or illegality of the procedure. But the decision has had other consequences too, including affecting where health professionals choose to locate. In this special episode of 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院鈥檚 Alina Salganicoff about the organization鈥檚 research and other work on women鈥檚 health policy over the past year.
What does a day in the life of the nation鈥檚 top health official really look like? And how much of their agenda is set by the White House? In this special episode of 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 鈥 taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado 鈥 host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former U.S. secretaries of Health and Human Services. Secretary Xavier Becerra and former secretaries Kathleen Sebelius and Alex Azar talk candidly about what it takes to run a department with more than 80,000 employees and a budget larger than those of many countries.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Slow Your Disenroll
More than a million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended. The Biden administration is asking states to slow disenrollment, but that does not mean states must listen. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court decision gives Medicaid beneficiaries the right to sue over their care, and a new deal preserves coverage of preventive services nationwide as a Texas court case continues. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner interviews Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, a new unit of JPMorgan Chase, about employers鈥 role in insurance coverage.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact
The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government鈥檚 borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program鈥檚 new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.
An Arm and a Leg: A ‘Payday Loan’ From a Health Care Behemoth
UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this 鈥渂ehemoth鈥 company.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Our 300th Episode!
When 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 鈥淲hat the Health?鈥 podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to 鈥渞epeal and replace鈥 the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast鈥檚 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent 鈥渂ig thinkers鈥 in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who鈥檚 opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.
蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': The Abortion Pill Goes Back to Court
A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDA鈥檚 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 蘑菇影院 Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
