What the Health? From KFF Health News: RFK Jr.’s Very Bad Week

The Host

Julie Rovner
KFF Health News

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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.

It’s been a tough week for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In addition to Kennedy having surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, personnel issues continue to plague the department: The nominee to become surgeon general, an ally of Kennedy’s, may lack the votes for Senate confirmation. The controversial head of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine center was forced to resign. And a new survey finds Americans have less trust in HHS leaders now than they did during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues its crackdown over claims of rampant health care fraud. In addition to targeting the Medicaid programs in states led by Democratic governors, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is also taking aim at previously sacrosanct Medicare Advantage plans.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th.

Panelists

Anna Edney
Bloomberg News

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Joanne Kenen
Johns Hopkins University and Politico

@JoanneKenen

@joannekenen.bsky.social

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Shefali Luthra
The 19th

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Read Shefali’s stories.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• Americans feel more confident in career scientists at federal health agencies than in the agencies’ leaders, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Yet the survey also sheds more light on the erosion of trust in public health officials and scientific research.
• The FDA’s vaccine chief, Vinay Prasad, is leaving — again. Prasad was a critic of the agency before he joined it, and his tenure has been shaped by the same attitude, affecting career officials’ morale and the agency’s interactions with outside companies.
• The Trump administration has extended its fraud crackdown campaign into Medicare Advantage plans. The privately run alternative to traditional Medicare coverage has been a GOP darling from the get-go. Yet President Donald Trump is nudging the party away from its pro-business stance on private insurance, arguing the government should give money to patients rather than insurers — a justification for policies undermining the Affordable Care Act.
• And Wyoming became the latest state to enact a six-week abortion ban, a move that’s being challenged in court. The development points to the fact that while federal policymaking on abortion has largely stalled, the issue is still very much in play in the states as abortion opponents keep pushing back on access to the procedure.

Also this week, Rovner interviews Andy Schneider of Georgetown University about the Trump administration’s crackdown on what it alleges is rampant Medicaid fraud in Democratic-led states.

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

Julie Rovner: The Marshall Project’s “The Harrowing Journey Home for Families Leaving Immigration Detention,” by Shannon Heffernan, Jesse Bogan, and Anna Flagg.

Anna Edney: The Wall Street Journal’s “The Boom in Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing Jackpot,” by Christopher Weaver, Tom McGinty, and Anna Wilde Mathews.

Shefali Luthra: The New York Times’ “States Move To Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment,” by Apoorva Mandavilli.

Joanne Kenen: The Idaho Capital Sun’s “988 Ended His Call. Now an Idaho Teen Is Pushing for a Fix to State’s Parental Consent Law,” by Laura Guido.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

• The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s “Stark Divide: Americans More Confident in Career Scientists at U.S. Health Agencies Than Leaders.”
• KFF Health News’ “Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone,” by Rachana Pradhan and Katheryn Houghton.
• Bloomberg Law’s “Trump Administration Funding Delays Worry NIH Grant Recipients,” by Sandhya Raman.
• The 19th’s “Abortion Bans Reshaped Reproductive Health, and Now the Rental Market,” by Shefali Luthra.
• The Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families’ “CMS Weaponizes Fraud Against Medicaid in Minnesota: Part 2,” by Andy Schneider.

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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