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Amid what has been called the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic, doctors and researchers are walking back medication-heavy methods of treating babies born experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms, replacing the regimen with the simplest care: parenting.
This legislative cycle, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills affirming reproductive rights and mandating insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, but the Democrat was reluctant to impose new regulations and frequently cited costs for vetoing bills.
The Affordable Care Act has not been a major issue in the 2024 campaign, but abortion and reproductive rights have been front and center. Those are just two of the dozens of health issues that could be profoundly affected by who is elected president and which party controls Congress in 2025. In this special live episode, Tamara Keith of NPR, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Cynthia Cox and Ashley Kirzinger of KFF join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how health policy has affected the campaign and how the election results might affect health policy. Plus, the panel answers questions from the live audience.
Small-town doctors may not offer IUDs and hormonal implants because the devices require training to administer and are expensive to stock.
A KFF survey found significant shifts among women voters since late spring 鈥 all in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
As part of her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out a plan for Medicare to provide in-home long-term care services. The proposal would fill a longtime need for families trying to simultaneously care for young children and older parents, but its enormous price tag makes it a promise unlikely to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, a growing number of Republican candidates up and down the ballot facing voter backlash over their support for abortion restrictions are trying to reinvent their positions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with 鈥淪hark Tank鈥 panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues.
In California, where abortion rights are guaranteed, there鈥檚 a loophole. The growth of Catholic hospital systems, which restrict reproductive health care, has left patients with no other option for care. That will be the case for pregnant women in Northern California, with a hospital set to close its birth center.
Polls are showing renewed support from Black women voters for the Democratic ticket. Vice President Kamala Harris has backed key health priorities for Black women.
Democratic congressional hopefuls in California are highlighting the anti-abortion records of vulnerable Republican incumbents, many of whom have moderated their stances ahead of the election. With control of the U.S. House at stake, Democrats hope to convince voters that their candidates will do more to protect women鈥檚 health.
Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
More pregnant women are being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure, which risks the life of the parent and child. Montana is one of the states improving screening and treatment as health facilities work to match care with best practices.
Amari Marsh, now 23, was a student at South Carolina State University when she lost her pregnancy in 2023. She was charged with murder and faced at least 20 years in prison. A grand jury cleared her in August. Now she鈥檚 sharing her story.
Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes 鈥 including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump鈥檚 work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join 吃瓜不打烊 senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
Clinics in states where most abortions are legal, such as Kansas and Illinois, are reporting an influx of inquiries from patients hundreds of miles away 鈥 and are expanding in response. Despite the Supreme Court鈥檚 overturning of federal protections in 2022, abortions are now at their highest numbers in a decade.
Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded what鈥檚 called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.
UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master鈥檚 program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university鈥檚 motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.
Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don鈥檛 know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.
Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.
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