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Health Podcast Library
Episode 461

Summer’s Health Policy Themes

Aug 27, 2026
49:40

Episode Description

As summer comes to a close, some of the season’s major health policy stories continue to simmer, including declining insurance coverage, increasing measles cases, and cuts to federal health programs. 

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. 

Also this week, Rovner interviews Dean Rosen about his work for former Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican and the first woman to lead a major Senate committee, who died last week at 94. 

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 Washington Post’s “Why We Should Stop Eating Lettuce, Cyclospora or Not,” by Tamar Haspel.  

Margot Sanger-Katz: Stat’s “Comments on OMB Research Rule Mysteriously Removed From Federal Website,” by Anil Oza.  

Rachel Roubein: The New York Times’ “Americans Encounter Risks at Psychedelic Clinics Abroad,” by Noah Daly and Andrew Jacobs.  

Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post and KFF Health News’ “Why Some Couples Are Combining a European Vacation With Their IVF Treatments,” by LJ Dawson. 

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