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Theater companies and musical ensembles are restarting live performances after a crippling pandemic pause. In some conservative states, artists find creative ways to get around state laws that go against public health recommendations.
Congress is making slow progress toward completing its ambitious social spending bill, although its Thanksgiving deadline looks optimistic. Meanwhile, a new survey finds the average cost of an employer-provided family plan has risen to more than $22,000. Thatâs about the cost of a new Toyota Corolla. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Rebecca Love, a nurse academic and entrepreneur, about the impending crisis in nursing.
The infrastructure bill passed Friday funnels $15 billion into lead pipe remediation. Water quality experts say the cost of getting rid of all lead pipes could ultimately cost $60 billion. Still, some health advocates say the new funding will be transformative in allowing communities such as Houstonâs Fifth Ward to fix its pipes.
But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the lawâs effects.
Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Bidenâs social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.
The latest iteration of President Joe Biden's social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.
The arguments before the justices did not deal directly with the stateâs ban on abortions after six weeks. Instead, they centered on the unique mechanism in the law that gives state officials no role in enforcing the ban.
The Supreme Court justices, who accepted the case only 10 days before the arguments will be made, may skirt the issue of abortion and concentrate instead on the legality of the lawâs unusual tack to let private citizens enforce it.
President Joe Biden unveiled a compromise âBuild Back Betterâ framework shortly before taking off for key meetings in Europe, but itâs unclear whether the framework can win the votes of all Democrats in the House and Senate, and it leaves out some of the partyâs health priorities, notably significant provisions to lower prescription drug prices. Meanwhile, younger children may soon be eligible for covid vaccines. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The pandemic has so seriously strained already tight state psychiatric hospitals in Georgia, Virginia, Texas and elsewhere that these facilities for the poorest and most vulnerable people with mental illness struggle to admit new patients.
Like almost everything else associated with the covid-19 pandemic, partisans are taking sides over whether vaccines should be mandated. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are still struggling to find compromise in their effort to expand health insurance and other social programs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews best-selling author Beth Macy about her book âDopesick,â and the new Hulu miniseries based on it.
Federally qualified health centers from California to Michigan are mired in a bureaucratic mess over how they should be paid under Medicaid for each dose of covid vaccine given. In California alone, clinics await reimbursement for at least 1 million shots, causing a âmassive cash flow problem.â
The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress in March, provides $130 billion to cities, counties and tribes â with few restrictions on how the money can be spent.
Efforts to give 2.2 million Americans health insurance hang in the balance as Congress debates a massive spending bill. The so-called Medicaid gap is felt most acutely in Texas, where about half of those who stand to gain coverage live.
The pandemic is devastating rural America, where lower vaccination rates are compounding the already limited medical care.
A patient from Dallas got a PCR test in a free-standing suburban emergency room. The out-of-network charge: $54,000.
Congress is back in session with a short time to finish a long to-do list, including keeping the government operating and paying its bills. Hanging in the balance is President Joe Bidenâs entire domestic agenda, including major changes proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the new Texas abortion law that bans the procedure early in pregnancy is prompting action in Washington. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about his new book on the covid-19 pandemic.
Capitol Hill lawmakers mobilize to support a bill that would write abortion protections into federal law. Unlikely to succeed, the exercise follows a tactic that proved unsuccessful in 1992.
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall â moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measureâs health benefit improvements. Meanwhile, the new abortion restrictions in Texas have moved the divisive issue back to the political front burner. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviewâs KHNâs Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Hereâs a collection of their appearances.
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