Abortion

Abortion Bans Are Repelling the Nation鈥檚 Future Doctors

蘑菇影院 Health News Original

Ash Panakam is about to graduate from Harvard Medical School. She鈥檚 from Georgia and always assumed she would return to the South for her residency. But the Supreme Court鈥檚 2022 decision overturning the nationwide right to abortion changed everything. 鈥淯ltimately I shifted my selection pretty drastically,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was struggling to find a residency […]

Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay for Threats to Reproductive Rights

蘑菇影院 Health News Original

Democrats running for office are using abortion rollbacks to galvanize voters, with abortion rights ballot initiatives amplifying their lines of attack. In Missouri, the leading Democratic candidate for the Senate also blames Republican Sen. Josh Hawley for threatening access to IVF.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Newly Minted Doctors Are Avoiding Abortion Ban States

Podcast

For the second year in a row, medical school graduates across specialties are shying away from applying for residency training in states with abortion bans or significant restrictions, according to a new study. Meanwhile, Medicare鈥檚 trustees report that the program will be able to pay its bills longer than expected 鈥 which could discourage Congress from acting to address the program鈥檚 long-term financial woes. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona

Podcast

A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation鈥檚 third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of 蘑菇影院 Health News join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion 鈥 Again 鈥 At the Supreme Court

Podcast

For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho鈥檚 near-total abortion ban. Meanwhile, the federal government, for the first time, will require minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Too Big To Fail? Now It鈥檚 ‘Too Big To Hack’

Podcast

Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Arizona Turns Back the Clock on Abortion Access

Podcast

A week after the Florida Supreme Court said the state could enforce an abortion ban passed in 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state could enforce a near-total ban passed in 1864 鈥 over a half-century before Arizona became a state. The move further scrambled the abortion issue for Republicans and posed an immediate quandary for former President Donald Trump, who has been seeking an elusive middle ground in the polarized debate. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Molly Castle Work, who reported and wrote the latest 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about an air-ambulance ride for an infant with RSV that his insurer deemed not medically necessary.

Becerra Joins the Fray Over Reproductive Rights

蘑菇影院 Health News Original

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is racking up frequent-flier miles as he hopscotches the country to highlight health issues the White House hopes will become pivotal for voters this year 鈥 none more so than reproductive rights.  鈥淣o woman today should fear [not having] access to the care that she needs. President Biden […]

As Republicans Wrestle With IVF, the Biden Administration Expands Benefits

蘑菇影院 Health News Original

While Republican lawmakers try to walk a fine line on in vitro fertilization 鈥 expressing support for the popular procedure, even as some of their supporters argue life begins at conception 鈥 the federal government expanded fertility benefits for millions of workers this year, including up to $25,000 a year for IVF. Many employers have […]

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': Florida Limits Abortion 鈥 For Now

Podcast

The Florida Supreme Court handed down dual abortion rulings this week. One said voters will be allowed to decide in November whether to create a state right to abortion. The other ruling, though, allows a 15-week ban to take effect immediately 鈥 before an even more sweeping, six-week ban replaces it in May. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is doubling down on his administration鈥檚 health care accomplishments as he kicks off his general election campaign. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health, and Tami Luhby of CNN join 蘑菇影院 Health News鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health care analyst Jeff Goldsmith about the growing size and influence of UnitedHealth Group in the wake of the Change Healthcare hack.

Feds Join Ranks of Employers with Generous Fertility Benefits

蘑菇影院 Health News Original

Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures. At the same time, politics around IVF and reproductive health have become a central issue in the current election-year debate.

蘑菇影院 Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill

Podcast

The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act 鈥 all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post 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鈥 Tony Leys, who wrote a 蘑菇影院 Health News-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.