Kff Health News' 'what The Health?': The Senate Saves Pepfar Funding — For Now

The host

Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social

Julie Rovner is main Washington analogous and big of KFF Health News' play wellness argumentation news podcast, "What nan Health?" A noted master connected wellness argumentation issues, Julie is nan writer of nan critically praised reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now successful its 3rd edition.

The Senate has passed — and sent backmost to nan House — a measure that would let nan Trump management to claw backmost immoderate $9 cardinal successful antecedently approved backing for overseas assistance and nationalist broadcasting. But first, senators removed from nan measure a petition to trim backing for nan President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, President George W. Bush's world AIDS/HIV program. The House has until Friday to o.k. nan bill, aliases other nan backing remains successful place.

Meanwhile, a national appeals tribunal has ruled that West Virginia tin prohibition nan abortion pill mifepristone contempt its support by nan Food and Drug Administration. If nan ruling is upheld by nan Supreme Court, it could let states to limit entree to different FDA-approved drugs.

This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Joanne Kenen of nan Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call.

Panelists

• Joanne Kenen Johns Hopkins University and Politico @JoanneKenen @joannekenen.bsky.social
• Shefali Luthra The 19th @shefali.bsky.social
• Sandhya Raman CQ Roll Call @SandhyaWrites @SandhyaWrites.bsky.social

Among nan takeaways from this week's episode:

• The Senate approved nan Trump administration's cuts to overseas assistance and nationalist broadcasting, a singular yielding of legislature spending powerfulness to nan president. Before nan vote, Senate GOP leaders removed President Donald Trump's petition to trim PEPFAR, sparing nan backing for that world wellness effort, which has support from some parties.
• Next Congress will request to walk yearly appropriations bills to support nan authorities funded, but that is expected to beryllium a bigger situation than nan caller spending fights. Appropriations bills request 60 votes to walk successful nan Senate, meaning Republican leaders will person to make bipartisan compromises. House leaders are already delaying wellness spending bills until nan fall, saying they request much clip to activity retired deals — and those bills thin to pull culture-war issues that make it difficult to discuss crossed nan aisle.
• The Trump management is readying to destruct — alternatively than administer — food, aesculapian supplies, contraceptives, and different items intended for overseas aid. The scheme follows nan removal of workers and dismantling of assistance infrastructure astir nan world, but nan discarded of needed equipment nan U.S. authorities has already purchased is expected to further erode world trust.
• And soon aft nan transition of Trump's taxation and spending law, astatine slightest 1 Republican is proposing to reverse nan cuts nan statement approved to wellness programs — specifically Medicaid. It's hardly nan first clip lawmakers person tried to alteration people connected their ain policies, though clip will show whether it's capable to mitigate immoderate governmental (or actual) harm from nan law.

Plus, for "extra credit" nan panelists propose wellness argumentation stories they publication this week that they deliberation you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: The New York Times' "UnitedHealth's Campaign to Quiet Critics," by David Enrich.

Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker's "Can A.I. Find Cures for Untreatable Diseases — Using Drugs We Already Have?" by Dhruv Khullar.

Shefali Luthra: The New York Times' "Trump Official Accused PEPFAR of Funding Abortions successful Russia. It Wasn't True," by Apoorva Mandavilli.

Sandhya Raman: The Nation's "'We're Creating Miscarriages With Medicine': Abortion Lessons from Sweden," by Cecilia Nowell.

Also mentioned successful this week's podcast:

• The Atlantic's "The Trump Administration Is About To Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food," by Hana Kiros.
• KFF Health News' "Vested Interests. Influence Muscle. At RFK Jr.'s HHS, It's Not Pharma. It's Wellness," by Stephanie Armour.
• The Washington Post's "A Clinic Blames Its Closing connected Trump's Medicaid Cuts. Patients Don't Buy It," by Hannah Knowles.

Credits

• Francis Ying Audio producer
• Emmarie Huetteman Editor