What the Health? From KFF Health News

Crunch Time for ACA Tax Credits

December 15 is the deadline to sign up for Affordable Care Act plans that begin January 1. Congress remains at odds over letting expanded tax credits for the plans’ premiums expire, dramatically increasing the cost of insurance for millions of Americans.  Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to remake vaccine policy to reflect ideology rather than science.  Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Maya Goldman of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University professor Linda Blumberg about what the GOP’s health plans have in common.   Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-426-obamacare-aca-extension-rfk-vaccines-december-11-2025/] Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read (or wrote) this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Rural America Relies on Foreign Doctors. Trump’s Visa Fee Shuts Them Out [https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/08/h1b-visa-fees-rural-health/],” by David Ovalle.   Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “Abbott Fired a Warning Shot on Baby Formula — Then Launched a Lobbying Blitz [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-12-11/abbott-presses-congress-for-legal-shield-over-preemie-baby-formula-lawsuits],” by Anna Edney.   Sheryl Gay Stolberg: The New York Times’ “The Married Scientists Torn Apart by a Covid Bioweapon Theory [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/us/china-virologist-li-meng-yan-coronavirus.html],” by Katie J.M. Baker.   Maya Goldman: ProPublica’s “These Health Centers Are Supposed to Make Care Affordable. One Has Sued Patients for as Little as $59 in Unpaid Bills [https://www.propublica.org/article/federally-qualified-health-centers-unpaid-bills-lawsuits],” by Aliyya Swaby.

The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan

Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending the enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include.  Meanwhile, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are roiled by debates over vaccines.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project [https://kffhealthnews.org/opioid-settlements/] tracking the distribution of $50 billion in opioid legal-settlement payments.   Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-425-republicans-obamacare-aca-subsidies-cdc-fda-vaccines-december-4-2025/] Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “These Hospitals Figured Out How To Slash C-Section Rates [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/health/c-section-rate-decline-solutions.html?searchResultPosition=2],” by Sarah Kliff and Bianca Pallaro.   Joanne Kenen: Wired’s “A Fentanyl Vaccine Is About To Get Its First Major Test [https://www.wired.com/story/a-fentanyl-vaccine-is-about-to-get-its-first-major-test/?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=wired&utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_120325_PAID&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_content=WIR_Daily_120325_PAID&bxid=5be9eaa724c17c6adf09c3ce&cndid=49672811&hasha=b21b4feceda24123b2e753c8962bab90&hashc=a679ec997a2b31c66dc072cadd5c286354f9e0c38d35ead5c13b6cd1e8e3bf53&esrc=MARTECH_ORDERFORM&utm_term=WIR_DAILY_PAID],” by Emily Mullin.   Paige Winfield Cunningham: The New York Times’ “A Smartphone Before Age 12 Could Carry Health Risks, Study Says [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/well/family/early-smartphone-ownership-study.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share],” by Catherine Pearson.   Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Independent’s “Miscarriages, Infections, Neglect: The Pregnant Women Detained by ICE [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pregnant-women-detained-ice-miscarriage-b2859964.html],” by Kelly Rissman.

Trump Almost Unveils a Health Plan

Just weeks before some tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums expire, the Trump administration floated a plan to extend the enhanced aid — but it was met with immediate GOP pushback. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to revise its website to suggest childhood vaccines might be linked to autism.  Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.  Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein about their new book, “Information Sick: How Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.”  Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-424-trump-health-plan-almost-november-25-2025/] Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: The New Yorker’s “A Battle With My Blood [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/a-battle-with-my-blood],” by Tatiana Schlossberg.   Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNBC’s “Meta Halted Research Suggesting Social Media Harm, Court Filing Alleges [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/23/meta-internal-research-social-media-harm-court-filing.html],” by Jonathan Vanian.   Sarah Karlin-Smith: The Guardian’s “Influencers Made Millions Pushing ‘Wild’ Births — Now the Free Birth Society Is Linked To Baby Deaths Around the World [https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/nov/22/free-birth-society-linked-to-babies-deaths-investigation],” by Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne.   Sandhya Raman: KFF Health News’ “Kids and Teens Go Full Throttle for E-Bikes as Federal Oversight Stalls [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/electric-e-bike-regulation-federal-states-counties-cpsc-nhtsa-colorado-injuries/],” by Kate Ruder.

The GOP Circles the Wagons on ACA

Led by President Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress are solidifying their opposition to extending pandemic-era subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and seem to be coalescing around giving money directly to consumers to spend on health care.  Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to leave his mark on the agency, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention altering its website to suggest childhood vaccines could play a role in causing autism.  Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser and co-founder and chair of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.  Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode. [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-423-obamacare-aca-subsidies-rfk-cdc-november-20-2025/] Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:  Julie Rovner: CNBC’s “Cheaper Medicines, Free Beach Trips: U.S. Health Plans Tap Prescriptions That Feds Say Are Illegal [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/13/employer-health-plans-afp-prescriptions-feds-illegal.html],” by Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli, and Melissa Lee.   Paige Winfield Cunningham: The Wall Street Journal’s “Medicaid Insurers Promise Lots of Doctors. Good Luck Seeing One [https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/medicaid-insurers-doctor-networks-appointments-72f9c11f?mod=panda_wsj_author_alert],” by Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews, and Tom McGinty.   Joanne Kenen: ProPublica’s “What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic [https://www.propublica.org/article/bird-flu-airborne-usda-pandemic],” by Nat Lash.   Shefali Luthra: ProPublica’s “‘Ticking Time Bomb’: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas [https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-tierra-walker-preeclampsia],” by Kavitha Surana and Lizzie Presser.

The Government Is Open

The record-long federal shutdown is over after a small group of Democrats agreed to a deal with most Republicans that funds the government through January — but, notably, does not extend more generous Affordable Care Act tax credits.  Plus, new details are emerging about how the Trump administration is using the Medicaid program to advance its policy goals.  Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.  Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.  Visit our website to read a transcript of this episode. [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-422-government-shutdown-aca-tax-credits-november-13-2025/] 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’ “Immigrants With Health Conditions May Be Denied Visas Under New Trump Administration Guidance [https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/visa-public-charge-health-conditions-trump-state-department/],” by Amanda Seitz.  Anna Edney: Bloomberg News’ “Bayer Weighs Roundup Exit as Cancer Legal Bill Nears $18 Billion [https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-pesticides-us-bayer-roundup/],” by Tim Loh, Hayley Warren, and Julia Janicki.  Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “Detransition Is Rare, but It’s Driving Anti-Trans Policy Anyway [https://19thnews.org/2025/11/detransition-trangsender-politics-health/],” by Orion Rummler.  Sandhya Raman: BBC’s “Canada Loses Its Measles-Free Status, With US on Track To Follow [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7e2lv4r8xo],” by Nadine Yousif.