KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Public Health Further Politicized Under the Threat of More Firings

The Host

Julie Rovner
KFF Health News

@jrovner

@julierovner.bsky.social

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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.

In a highly unusual White House news conference this week, President Donald Trump — without evidence — boldly blamed the painkiller Tylenol and a string of childhood vaccines for causing a recent rise in autism. That came just days after the newly reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, now populated with vaccine skeptics and opponents, voted to change long-standing recommendations.

Podcast host Julie Rovner interviews Demetre Daskalakis, who until last month was the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, about the reaction to these unprecedented actions.

Meanwhile, as the government approaches a likely shutdown, with Congress at a standoff over funding for the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, the Trump administration is ordering federal agencies not to just furlough workers but to fire them if their jobs do not align with the president’s priorities.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.

Panelists

Anna Edney
Bloomberg News

@annaedney

@annaedney.bsky.social

Read Anna’s stories.

Sandhya Raman
CQ Roll Call

@SandhyaWrites

@SandhyaWrites.bsky.social

Read Sandhya’s stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• The federal Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday night sent a memo to government agencies asking for contingency plans in the event of a government shutdown starting Oct. 1. Such a memo isn’t unusual when it comes to pre-shutdown planning. This time around, it took an unprecedented turn in informing agency personnel that they should prepare for mass firings of employees whose programs lack alternative funding sources or who are working on a program whose mission doesn’t directly align with Trump’s priorities. Though federal RIFs, or reductions in force, and government shutdowns have each happened before, the combined RIF/shutdown threat is a first.

• It seems we are headed for a shutdown. Before adjourning until after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, the House approved a stopgap funding measure. But, because House members do not plan to return to Washington until Oct. 6, that leaves the Senate in a jam. If senators change anything in the bill, it would require another House vote, which, because of the House schedule, might not happen before the month ends.

• There’s also interparty strife. Republicans say they want a clean bill to provide short-term funding, while Democrats have other ideas. Their prevailing attitude is that they went along with this approach in March and got burned. This week, Trump also canceled a meeting with Democratic leaders. The bottom line is that both sides are jockeying for a position that would allow them to cast shutdown blame across the aisle. Some call it a game of three-dimensional chess, while others call it a game of chicken. Either way, there will be consequences.

• Confusion and chaos have emerged as buzzwords to describe two recent events: last week’s meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and this week’s White House press conference about autism. Both were marked by mixed messages. At the White House event, for instance, Trump warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol. But the FDA information that shortly followed downplayed the Tylenol risk.

• The Trump administration’s new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas could have an impact on health care. Such visas are often used by graduating medical students and other health professionals who come to the U.S. for training, then stay to practice. That $100,000 fee is steep and generated an almost immediate backlash from hospitals and health systems, especially those in rural areas — a reaction that caught administration officials off guard. Administration officials have suggested that health professionals would qualify for an exemption from this fee. What is not yet clear is what hoops the sponsoring hospitals would have to jump through to qualify for it.

• Trump has given 17 drug companies a Sept. 29 deadline by which they will have to commit to adopting his “most favored nation” pricing policy. It’s intended to increase the cost drugmakers charge in other countries while lowering prices in the U.S. Talks between the administration and the drugmakers are ongoing. So far, indications are that Trump might end up with half a loaf. Some large drugmakers have announced they will raise the prices of specific medications in other countries but have not agreed to reduce prices in the U.S.

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

Julie Rovner: NBC News’ “RFK Jr. Has the Federal Vaccine Court in His Sights. Attacking It Could Threaten Vaccine Production in the U.S.,” by Liz Szabo.

Anna Edney: The Washington Post’s “Do State Abortion Laws Affect Women’s Recruiting? That’s Up to Athletes,” by Kevin B. Blackistone.

Sandhya Raman: ProPublica’s “Psychiatric Hospitals Turn Away Patients Who Need Urgent Care. The Facilities Face Few Consequences,” by Eli Cahan.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

• Axios’ “Drugmakers Meet Trump Only Halfway on Pricing Plan,” by Peter Sullivan.
• Bloomberg Law’s “White House Says Doctors May Win Reprieve From H-1B Visa Fee,” by Rachel Cohrs Zhang, John Tozzi, and Jessica Nix.

Credits

Francis Ying
Audio producer

Stephanie Stapleton
Editor

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