KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Campaign’s Final Days

The Host

Emmarie Huetteman KFF Health News Emmarie Huetteman, senior editor, oversees a team of Washington reporters, as well as “Bill of the Month” and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” She previously spent more than a decade reporting on the federal government, most recently covering surprise medical bills, drug pricing reform, and other health policy debates in Washington and on the campaign trail. 

With the 2024 election campaign in its final days, House Speaker Mike Johnson this week floated “massive” health care reform if former President Donald Trump wins — changes that are also dependent, of course, on whether Republicans control Congress next year.

Meanwhile, new reporting uncovers more maternal deaths under state abortion bans, plus at least one case in which a woman was jailed after a miscarriage. Plus, other investigations are shining a light on a reality of American health care, regardless of who wins on Tuesday: the consequences of health industry profiteering.

This week’s panelists are Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Health News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call.

Panelists

Jessie Hellmann CQ Roll Call @jessiehellmann Read Jessie's stories. Shefali Luthra The 19th @shefalil Read Shefali's stories. Lauren Weber The Washington Post @LaurenWeberHP Read Lauren's stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Trump has called for reopening the fight over the Affordable Care Act, and given enough votes in Congress, Johnson suggested this week that he’s ready to back the former president’s play. To be sure, the expiration next year of enhanced ACA premium subsidies will put the health law back on the agenda — though given the law’s popularity, changes may be a hard sell even to some Republicans.
• Trump also unveiled his own proposal to address the long-term care crisis: a tax credit for family caregivers. His plan follows Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal weeks ago to create a new Medicare benefit that pays for home health care.
• New reporting is out this week on women suffering miscarriages being denied reproductive health care — or even being charged with manslaughter and incarcerated. While many abortion opponents say they have no intention of harming or punishing women, the consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade are coming into clearer focus.

Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Irving Washington, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Emmarie Huetteman: KFF Health News’ “‘Dreamers’ Can Enroll in ACA Plans This Year — But a Court Challenge Could Get in the Way,” by Julie Appleby.

Lauren Weber: The New York Times’ “What Drugmakers Did Not Tell Volunteers in Alzheimer’s Trials,” by Walt Bogdanich and Carson Kessler.

Shefali Luthra: NBC News’ “They’re Middle Class and Insured. Childbirth Still Left Them With Crippling Debt,” by Aria Bendix.

Jessie Hellmann: ProPublica’s “‘Not Medically Necessary’: Inside the Company Helping America’s Biggest Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Care,” by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica; Patrick Rucker, The Capitol Forum; and David Armstrong, ProPublica.

Also mentioned on this week’s podcast:

• KFF Health News’ “Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Drug Prices in Winning Halloween Haikus.”
• ProPublica’s “A Woman Died After Being Told It Would Be a ‘Crime’ To Intervene in Her Miscarriage at a Texas Hospital,” by Cassandra Jaramillo and Kavitha Surana.
• The Washington Post’s “She Said She Had a Miscarriage — Then Got Arrested Under an Abortion Law,” by Caroline Kitchener.
• The 19th’s “Anti-Abortion Centers Are Stepping Into Electoral Politics,” by Shefali Luthra.
• The New York Times’ “How Taxpayers Are Helping Health Insurers Make Even Bigger Profits,” by Chris Hamby.
• KFF’s Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative, a program aimed at tracking health misinformation in the U.S., analyzing its impact on the American people, and mobilizing media to address the problem.

Credits

Francis Ying Audio producer Stephanie Stapleton Editor

To hear all our podcasts, click here.

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KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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