RFK Jr.'s Very Bad Week

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had another tough week. In addition to Kennedy having surgery on a torn rotator cuff, the nomination of his ally to become surgeon general is teetering in the Senate, the controversial head of the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine center is resigning next month, and a new survey shows Americans trust government health officials less than they do former Biden official Anthony Fauci. 

Meanwhile, the Trump administration's fraud crackdown is reaching private Medicare insurance plans. 

Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News' Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. 

Also this week, Rovner interviews Andy Schneider of Georgetown University about the Trump administration's crackdown on Medicaid fraud in Democratic-led states.  

Visit our website for a transcript of this episode.

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.