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What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Anger Over Health Costs Clouds Midterms

Episode 462

Sept. 10, 2026

Amid a campaign already focusing on affordability, anxious voters are unlikely to be assuaged by headlines about healthcare costs rising even more next year. And a lawsuit that could cut off access nationwide to the abortion pill mifepristone gets a hearing in federal court. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, and Amanda Seitz of ��ýҕ�l Health News join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Rovner also interviews Lauren Sausser, who wrote the latest ��ýҕ�l Health News “Bill of the Month.”
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Dead Zone

Rural Americans Wait After Judge Delivers Mixed Ruling on Digital Equity Dollars

A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump can’t unilaterally kill the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, but he also sided with the administration by saying using race as a factor in awarding the grants is unconstitutional. The split decision has halted digital-skills programs for ethnic and racial minorities.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

Sept. 10, 2026
The New Old Age

When a Friend Becomes a Caregiver

People outside the family frequently step into helping roles when older adults need assistance.

By Paula Span

Sept. 10, 2026
Nonprofits Are Helping Musicians Pay for Insurance in Austin, Texas, and Beyond

A nonprofit and a local public health agency are subsidizing marketplace health insurance for Austin music artists, even as shifting marketplace conditions make the program a more expensive proposition. It’s becoming a model for other cities and sectors.

By Olivia Aldridge, KUT

Sept. 9, 2026
Common Ground

A NY Hospital Tried To Close Its Birthing Center. This City United To Fight Back.

Democrats and Republicans in Troy, New York, joined together to challenge a national Catholic health system determined to close the last birthing center in the county.

By Noam N. Levey

Sept. 9, 2026
Data Grab

Democrats Demand Trump Administration Halt Collection of Patients’ ER Records

Senate and House Democrats say the Trump administration’s plan to collect patients’ medical data violates privacy and will discourage people from seeking medical care.

By Amanda Seitz, Maia Rosenfeld, and Darius Tahir

Sept. 8, 2026
‘It’s Triage’: California’s Next Governor Will Face Destabilizing Surge in Uninsured

The nation’s uninsured rate hit a historical low when Xavier Becerra was health secretary. Now he wants to be California’s next governor as states stare down the biggest rise in the uninsured rate in a generation.

By Christine Mai-Duc

Sept. 8, 2026
The Market Forces Quietly Adding Thousands to Patient Bills

The true cost of “vertical integration”: patients directed to a higher-priced location for procedures. Or forced to buy from their insurer’s wholly owned pharmacy, which may not stock the drug prescribed or provide it at the lowest price.

By Elisabeth Rosenthal

Sept. 8, 2026
��ýҕ�l Health News On Air

With Midterms Looming, Journalists Consider Measles, Food Recalls, and Obamacare

��ýҕ�l Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Aug. 29, 2026
The Week in Brief

Black and Latino Children Pay the Price for Florida’s Permissive Gun Policies

Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.

By Daniel Chang and Fred Clasen-Kelly

Aug. 28, 2026
High Fertility Costs Push Americans Abroad for IVF Treatment

Despite President Donald Trump’s promises to make fertility treatment more affordable, the overall costs for one IVF cycle in the U.S. remain in the tens of thousands of dollars. So more Americans than ever are going to Europe to seek IVF treatment for a fraction of the cost.

By LJ Dawson

Aug. 28, 2026
The New Old Age

Why Older Pedestrians Fare Worse in Car Crashes

People age 65 and up are more likely than other age groups to die after being hit by a vehicle.

By Paula Span

Aug. 28, 2026
Trump and Kennedy’s Health Industry Deals Haven’t Been Enforced and Are at Risk of Vanishing

The agreements, covering issues like drug pricing, reducing the use of synthetic food dyes, and cutting back on insurance prior authorization rules, were announced with fanfare and touted as victories. But it’s not clear whether they’ll result in lasting change.

By Stephanie Armour

Aug. 28, 2026
What the Health? From ��ýҕ�l Health News

Summer’s Health Policy Themes

Episode 461

Aug. 27, 2026

As summer wanes, some of the season’s major health policy stories continue to simmer, including declining insurance coverage, increasing measles cases, and cuts to federal health programs. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join ��ýҕ�l Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dean Rosen about his work for former Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, who died last week at 94.
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Rural Health Payout

$50B Rural Health Transformation Program Needs More Transparency, Groups Say

States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.

By Arielle Zionts

Aug. 27, 2026
A Camp for Children With Brain Injuries Zips Ahead, Despite Federal Uncertainty

Federal programs that support brain injury research and services are in flux, with lapsed legislation and a diminished injury-tracking workforce. Still, in rural Pennsylvania, children with acquired brain injuries gathered for a summer camp that emphasized community, confidence, and fun.

By Lydia McFarlane, WVIA

Aug. 27, 2026
Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

A State Gave Sheriffs 20% of Its Opioid Settlement Cash. We Followed the Money.

Opioid settlement cash was meant to abate the addiction crisis. But a new investigation reveals millions in Louisiana was spent on law enforcement gear and police technology instead of lifesaving treatment.

By Aneri Pattani

Aug. 27, 2026
In Toss-Up House District, Voters Crave Leadership To Fix Broken Healthcare

Voters in California’s 22nd Congressional District call healthcare a top priority in November’s midterm elections. Although challenger Randy Villegas has built a following among residents craving change, undecided voters say they want to hear more from the Democrat and from GOP incumbent Rep. David Valadao on their affordability plans.

By Samantha Rangel, KVPR

Aug. 26, 2026
Trump Puts Autistic Kids in the Spotlight and Cuts Agencies Built To Protect Them

Researchers and disability rights advocates warn that the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Education Department and its erosions of civil rights oversight risk widening the disparities autistic children face in diagnosis, school support, and discrimination protection.

By Claire Sibonney

Aug. 26, 2026
Bill of the Month

Her Breast MRI Was Approved, But That Didn’t Mean Her Insurance Would Pay

Stephanie Halver’s doctor recommended she get a breast MRI, partly because of her family’s cancer history. Her insurer approved the scan, but unlike mammograms, breast MRIs aren’t universally covered as zero-cost preventive care.

By Lauren Sausser

Aug. 26, 2026

Morning Briefing

Monday, Sept. 21, 2026 • 8:59 a.m. ET

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Noticias en español

Sobreviviente de cáncer esperaba trabajar, pero le sacaron su cobertura de Medicaid por discapacidad

By Katheryn Houghton

Sept. 15, 2026
Una generación de niños sufre mientras Trump desestabiliza a familias inmigrantes

By Claudia Boyd-Barrett

Sept. 14, 2026
Cuando un amigo se convierte en cuidador

By Paula Span

Sept. 13, 2026
El próximo gobernador de California enfrentará un aumento catastrófico de personas sin seguro de salud

By Christine Mai-Duc

Sept. 8, 2026
Por los altos costos, cada vez más estadounidenses realizan tratamientos de fertilidad en el extranjero

By LJ Dawson

Sept. 7, 2026