{"id":453,"date":"2026-01-15T19:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/?p=453"},"modified":"2026-01-15T21:09:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:09:19","slug":"what-the-health-from-kff-health-news-culture-wars-take-center-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/what-the-health-from-kff-health-news-culture-wars-take-center-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Health? From KFF Health News: Culture Wars Take Center Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>\n\t\tThe Host\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t<img class=\"lazyload\"><\/p>\n<p>\tJulie Rovner<br \/>\n\tKFF Health News<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jrovner\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@jrovner\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/julierovner.bsky.social\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@julierovner.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/author\/julie-rovner\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead Julie&#8217;s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tJulie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News\u2019 weekly health policy news podcast, &#8220;What the Health?&#8221; A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book &#8220;Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,&#8221; now in its third edition.\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Millions of Americans are facing dramatically higher health insurance premium payments due to the Jan. 1 expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. But much of Washington appears more interested at the moment in culture war issues, including abortion and gender-affirming care.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, personnel continue to be fired and rehired, and grants terminated and reinstated, leaving everyone who touches the agency uncertain about what comes next.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s 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 Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.<\/p>\n<h3>\n\t\tPanelists\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t<img class=\"lazyload\"><\/p>\n<p>\tAnna Edney<br \/>\n\tBloomberg News<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/annaedney\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@annaedney\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/annaedney.bsky.social\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@annaedney.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/authors\/AP519FMOg7w\/anna-edney\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead Anna&#8217;s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<img class=\"lazyload\"><\/p>\n<p>\tJoanne Kenen<br \/>\n\tJohns Hopkins University and Politico<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoanneKenen\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@JoanneKenen\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/joannekenen.bsky.social\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@joannekenen.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/hbhi.jhu.edu\/expert\/joanne-kenen\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead Joanne&#8217;s bio.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<img class=\"lazyload\"><\/p>\n<p>\tAlice Miranda Ollstein<br \/>\n\tPolitico<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AliceOllstein\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@AliceOllstein\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/alicemiranda.bsky.social\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t@alicemiranda.bsky.social\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/staff\/alice-miranda-ollstein\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\tRead Alice&#8217;s stories.\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Congress remains undecided on a deal to renew enhanced ACA premium subsidies, as it is on spending plans to keep the federal government running when the existing, short-term plan expires at the end of the month. While some of the bigger appropriations hang-ups are related to immigration and foreign affairs, there are also hurdles to passing spending for HHS.<\/li>\n<li>ACA plan enrollment is down about 1.5 million compared with last year, with states reporting that many people are switching to cheaper plans or dropping coverage. Enrollment numbers are likely to drop further in the coming months as more-expensive premium payments come due and some realize they can no longer afford the plans they\u2019re enrolled in.<\/li>\n<li>A key Senate health committee on Wednesday hosted a hearing on the abortion pill mifepristone, focused on the safety concerns posed by abortion foes \u2014 though those concerns are unsupported by scientific research and decades of experience with the drug. Many abortion opponents are frustrated that the Trump administration has not taken aggressive action to restrict access to the abortion pill.<\/li>\n<li>As the Trump administration moved this week to rehire laid-off employees and abruptly cancel, then restore, addiction-related grants, overall government spending is up, despite the administration\u2019s stated goal of saving money by cutting the federal government\u2019s size and activities. It turns out the churn within the administration is costing taxpayers more. And new data, revealing that more federal workers left on their own than were laid off last year, shows that a lot of institutional memory was also lost.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News\u2019 Elisabeth Rosenthal, who created the \u201cBill of the Month\u201d series and wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/scorpion-peppers-spicy-food-colorado-bill-of-the-month-december-2025\/\">the latest installment<\/a>, about a scorpion pepper, an ER visit, and a ghost bill. If you have a baffling, infuriating, or exorbitant bill you\u2019d like to share with us, <a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/send-us-your-medical-bills\/\">you can do that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, for \u201cextra credit\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Julie Rovner:<\/strong> The New York Times\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/12\/climate\/trump-epa-air-pollution.html?smtyp=cur&amp;utm_social_handle_id=807095&amp;smid=tw-nytimes&amp;utm_social_post_id=650100429\">E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution<\/a>,\u201d by Maxine Joselow.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> ProPublica\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/fluoride-supplements-fda-rfk-jr-ken-paxton-restrictions\">After Sowing Distrust in Fluoridated Water, Kennedy and Skeptics Turn to Obstructing Other Fluoride Sources<\/a>,\u201d by Anna Clark.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> The New Yorker\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/culture\/the-lede\/what-the-pitt-taught-me-about-being-a-doctor\">What \u2018The Pitt\u2019 Taught Me About Being a Doctor<\/a>,\u201d by Dhruv Khullar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anna Edney:<\/strong> MedPage Today\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medpagetoday.com\/pediatrics\/vaccines\/119409?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2026-01-13&amp;mh=ea3f9ca37fc2855fb915b8bee6da0f9f&amp;zdee=gAAAAABm4u34wDjjPbj8HzT9SwTG9cRpDgRth3cYlhZszFXSMZNxtYFb0zY5SCeq3jArr3U0KNT1nZcVY9TKOWX3I8je5PGXBw%3D%3D&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Evening%20-%20Randomized%202026-01-13&amp;utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition\">Worried About Liability After CDC Vaccine Changes? You Shouldn\u2019t Be<\/a>,\u201d by Joedy McCreary.<\/p>\n<p>Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/10\/house-republicans-narrow-majority\/\">A Majority in Name Only? House Republicans Are Barely Hanging On<\/a>,\u201d by Paul Kane.<\/li>\n<li>HealthAffairs\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthaffairs.org\/doi\/full\/10.1377\/hlthaff.2025.01683\">National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 percent in 2024 as Utilization Remained Elevated<\/a>,\u201d by Mica Hartman, Anne B. Martin, David Lassman, and Aaron Catlin.<\/li>\n<li>Politico\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/01\/13\/lawsuit-dismissed-after-trump-admin-quietly-restored-tens-of-millions-to-planned-parenthood-00723369\">Lawsuit Dismissed After Trump Admin Quietly Restored Tens of Millions to Planned Parenthood<\/a>,\u201d by Alice Miranda Ollstein.<\/li>\n<li>JAMA\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jama\/article-abstract\/2843710\">The US Food and Drug Administration\u2019s Regulation of Mifepristone<\/a>,\u201d by Sophie Dilek, Joanne Rosen, Anna Levashkevich, Joshua M. Sharfstein, and G. Caleb Alexander.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>\n\t\tCredits\t<\/h3>\n<p>\tFrancis Ying<br \/>\n\tAudio producer<\/p>\n<p>\tEmmarie Huetteman<br \/>\n\tEditor <\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/our-podcasts\/\">Click here to find all our podcasts.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And subscribe to \u201cWhat the Health? From KFF Health News\u201d on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/app.npr.org\/aggregation\/fis-1269164038\">the NPR app<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PL5Qew-7pSXbAucCUQnyRx6qpLglzrxzFb\">YouTube<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/play.pocketcasts.com\/web\/podcasts\/a379e280-3f57-0135-9028-63f4b61a9224\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<p \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/about-us\">KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/about-us\/\">KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>USE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n<p>This story can be republished for free (<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/podcast\/what-the-health-429-obamacare-abortion-pill-mifepristone-hhs-january-15-2026\/view\/republish\/\">details<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie&#8217;s stories. Julie Rovner is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/commandcancel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}