The Host
As a part of a media blitz geared toward girls voters, Vice President Kamala Harris this week rolled out a plan for Medicare to offer in-home long-term care providers. It’s widespread, significantly for households struggling to take care of each younger kids and older family members, however its monumental expense has prevented comparable plans from being applied for many years.
In the meantime, President Joe Biden referred to as out former President Donald Trump by title for having “led the onslaught of lies” concerning the federal efforts to assist individuals affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton. Even some Republican officers say the misinformation about hurricane aid efforts is threatening public well being.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Well being Information, Shefali Luthra of The nineteenth, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Name, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins faculties of public well being and nursing and Politico.
Among the many takeaways from this week’s episode:
- Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan to develop Medicare to cowl extra long-term care is widespread however not new, and previously has proved prohibitively costly.
- Former President Donald Trump has deserted assist for a drug worth coverage he pursued throughout his first time period. The concept, which might decrease drug costs within the U.S. to their ranges in different industrialized international locations, is vehemently opposed by the drug business, elevating the query of whether or not Trump is softening his laborious line on the problem.
- Abortion continues to be the largest well being coverage challenge of 2024, as Republican candidates — in what appears to be a replay of 2022 — attempt to distance themselves from their assist of abortion bans and different limits. Voters proceed to favor reproductive rights, which creates a model drawback for the GOP. Trump’s going forwards and backwards on his abortion positions is an exception to the tack different candidates have taken.
- The Supreme Court docket returned from its summer time break and instantly declined to listen to two abortion-related instances. One case pits Texas’ near-total abortion ban in opposition to a federal legislation that requires emergency abortions to be carried out in sure instances. The opposite challenges a ruling earlier this 12 months from the Alabama Supreme Court docket discovering that embryos frozen for in vitro fertilization have the identical authorized rights as born people.
- The 2024 KFF annual employer well being advantages survey, launched this week, confirmed a roughly 7% enhance in premiums, with common household premiums now topping $25,000 per 12 months. And that’s with most employers not protecting two widespread however costly medical interventions: GLP-1 medication for weight reduction and IVF.
Additionally this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with “Shark Tank” panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris marketing campaign about well being care points.
Plus, for “additional credit score,” the panelists recommend well being coverage tales they learn this week they assume you need to learn, too:
Julie Rovner: KFF Well being Information’ “A Boy’s Bicycling Death Haunts a Black Neighborhood. 35 Years Later, There’s Still No Sidewalk,” by Renuka Rayasam and Fred Clasen-Kelly.
Shefali Luthra: The nineteenth’s “Arizona’s Ballot Measure Could Shift the Narrative on Latinas and Abortion,” by Mel Leonor Barclay.
Jessie Hellmann: The Meeting’s “Helene Left Some NC Elder-Care Homes Without Power,” by Carli Brosseau.
Joanne Kenen: The New York Instances’ “Her Face Was Unrecognizable After an Explosion. A Placenta Restored It,” by Kate Morgan.
Additionally talked about on this week’s podcast:
To listen to all our podcasts, click here.
And subscribe to KFF Well being Information’ “What the Well being?” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, or wherever you hearken to podcasts.
