KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown

The Host

Julie Rovner
KFF Health News

@jrovner

@julierovner.bsky.social

Read Julie’s stories.

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.

Health programs are feeling the pinch of the ongoing government shutdown. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and the food program for women, infants, and children, WIC, is likely to run out in November, and cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are keeping the agency from carrying out some of its primary public health functions.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is also leading to health consequences, and the Department of Homeland Security is trying to bolster its medical staff to cope with the large number of people in its custody.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post.

Panelists

Shefali Luthra
The 19th

@shefali.bsky.social

Read Shefali’s stories.

Alice Miranda Ollstein
Politico

@AliceOllstein

@alicemiranda.bsky.social

Read Alice’s stories.

Rachel Roubein
The Washington Post

@rachel_roubein

Read Rachel’s stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• As the federal shutdown continues, some are facing the startling possibility that their SNAP and WIC benefits soon will be cut off. Lawmakers remain in a stalemate over renewing the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire, and the roughly 24 million people with such plans — about 90% of whom benefit from the subsidies — are starting to learn what they will owe next year without them.
• With a key weekly government report on morbidity and mortality halted amid the shutdown, the New England Journal of Medicine and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy announced they will team up to publish public health alerts. While others are stepping in to fill the gap left by the Trump administration’s pullback from public health, the federal government’s data and ability to access information are not easily replaced.
• It’s unclear whether the Trump administration’s plan to make in vitro fertilization more accessible will yield a substantial improvement in access to fertility treatments. Some employers already offer supplemental IVF benefits, and so far there are few details, such as how generous the Trump proposal would require coverage to be.

Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about a broken elbow and a nearly six-figure bill.

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: ProPublica’s “The Shadow President,” by Andy Kroll.

Shefali Luthra: The 19th’s “More People Are Freezing Their Eggs — But Most Will Never Use Them,” by Shalini Kathuria Narang, Rewire News Group.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Brown University’s “New Study: AI Chatbots Systematically Violate Mental Health Ethics Standards.”

Rachel Roubein: The Washington Post’s “Errors in New Medicare Plan Portal Mislead Seniors on Coverage,” by Dan Diamond and Akilah Johnson.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

• Politico’s “ICE Is Hiring Dozens of Health Workers as Lawsuits, Deaths in Custody Mount,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Ruth Reader.
• The 19th’s “ICE Keeps Detaining Pregnant Immigrants — Against Federal Policy,” by Shefali Luthra and Mel Leonor Barclay.
• The Associated Press’ “Anti-Science Bills Hit Statehouses, Stripping Away Public Health Protections Built Over A Century,” by Michelle R. Smith and Laura Ungar.

Credits

Francis Ying
Audio producer

Emmarie Huetteman
Editor

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KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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