The Health Agenda Still on Hold

Negotiations continue on Capitol Hill over President Joe Biden’s health agenda — along with a long list of other items. With Republicans on the sidelines, liberal Democrats delayed a House vote on a Senate-passed infrastructure bill to extract moderates’ support for a social-spending bill that includes expansions of benefits for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s new rules to prevent “surprise” medical bills pleases some health stakeholders and angers others.

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Also, Rovner interviews Anna Flagg of the Marshall Project about how a century-old report on medical education contributed to racial inequities that persist today.

Extra credit links:

Julie Rovner: Science’s “Top Secret: U.S. National Academy of Medicine Keeps Expulsions Quiet,” by Meredith Wadman

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times’ “‘Mandates Are Working’: Employer Ultimatums Lift Vaccination Rates, So Far,” by Shawn Hubler

Tami Luhby: The Wall Street Journal’s “Vaccination Status Is the New Must-Have on Your Resume,” by Patrick Thomas

Kimberly Leonard: Insider’s “Walmart’s Health Clinics Are Struggling With Basic Functions Like Billing, Imperiling the Company’s Push to Upend Care,” by Shelby Livingston

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