Category: Biden Administration

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Record ACA Enrollment Puts Pressure on Congress

Temporary subsidies helped boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to a record 14.5 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But unless Democrats in Congress extend those subsidies, many of those new enrollees will be in for a rude surprise just ahead of midterm elections. Meanwhile, the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer further crowds an already tight legislative schedule. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion.”

CDC Tells Pharmacies to Give 4th Covid Shots to Immunocompromised Patients

The health agency and the White House acted in the wake of a KHN story about pharmacists refusing to give shots to patients with moderate to severe immune suppression.

Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests

The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic.

Biden Administration’s Rapid-Test Rollout Doesn’t Easily Reach Those Who Need It Most

Two rapid-testing initiatives the Biden administration released in the past week are inaccessible to some residents of multifamily housing, people who don’t speak English well, or those without internet access.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade’s (Possibly Last) Anniversary

Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.

5 Things You Should Know About ‘Free’ At-Home Covid Tests

Telling insurance companies to pay for rapid covid-19 tests is just the latest covid-related cost the federal government expects them to bear. But who really ends up paying for it?

Justices Block Broad Worker Vaccine Requirement, Allow Health Worker Mandate to Proceed

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices

Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Supreme Court Weighs Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Requirements

The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn’t be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Blows Up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dashed the hopes of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for passage of the giant “Build Back Better” bill before the end of […]