The Inform of the Union Is … Busy

Hear on:

President Joe Biden is working to lay out his health agenda for a 2d time duration, even as Congress races to complete its past due spending funds for the fiscal yr that started closing October.

In the meantime, Alabama lawmakers strive and reopen the notify’s fertility clinics over the protests of abortion opponents, and pharmacy giants CVS and Walgreens affirm they are in a position to birth up federally regulated gross sales of the abortion tablet mifepristone.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Crimson Sheet, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Lawmakers in Washington are ending work on the main batch of spending funds to avert a government shutdown. The kit entails a bare-bones health bill, leaving out certain bipartisan proposals which were in the works on drug costs and pandemic preparedness. Scientific doctors manufacture salvage some relief in the bill from Medicare cuts that took invent in January, but the pay cuts are no longer canceled.
• The White Home is floating proposals on drug costs that consist of expanding Medicare negotiations to extra capsules; making use of negotiated costs earlier in the market existence of gear; and capping out-of-pocket maximum drug funds at $2,000 for all sufferers, no longer gorgeous seniors. At the least a pair of of the guidelines were proposed earlier to and couldn’t certain even a Democratic-managed Congress. But they additionally retain strain on the pharmaceutical change as it challenges the federal government in court — and as Election Day nears.
• Many in public health are expressing frustration after the Facilities for Illness Hold watch over and Prevention softened its covid-19 isolation guidance. The alternate map to the need for a nationwide dialogue about societal toughen for most appealing practices in public health — especially by expanding salvage admission to to paid disappear and child care.
• In the meantime, CVS and Walgreens announced their pharmacies will distribute the abortion tablet mifepristone, and enthusiasm is waning for the main over-the-counter contraception tablet amid questions about how sufferers will pay its greater-than-anticipated list label of $20 per 30 days.
• Alabama’s governor signed a law conserving salvage admission to to in vitro fertilization, granting suppliers immunity from the notify Supreme Court docket’s most fresh “embryonic personhood” decision. But with opposition from conservative groups, is the current law additionally drag for the Alabama Supreme Court docket?

Also this week, Rovner interviews White Home domestic coverage adviser Neera Tanden about Biden’s health agenda.

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists imply health coverage reviews they study this week that they have it’s essential study, too:

Julie Rovner: NPR’s “How States Giving Rights to Fetuses Would possibly presumably Build Up a Nationwide Case on Abortion,” by Regan McCarthy.

Sarah Karlin-Smith: Stat’s  “The War on Recovery,” by Lev Facher.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: KFF Health News’ “Why Even Public Health Experts Absorb Restricted Insight Into Stopping Gun Violence in The US,” by Christine Spolar.

Sandhya Raman: The Journal’s “‘My Son Is No longer There Anymore’: How Younger Folk With Psychosis Are Falling Thru the Cracks,” by Órla Ryan.

Also talked about on this week’s podcast:

• NBC News’ “CDC Updates Covid Isolation Guidelines for Folk Who Take a look at Particular,” by Erika Edwards.
• Fresh York Journal’s “Did Trump In actuality Sigh to Defund Colleges With Vaccine Mandates?” by Margaret Hartmann.

To hear all our podcasts, click on here.

And subscribe to KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you hear to podcasts.