The Policy, and Politics, of Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to original Medicare, is embroiled in a controversy over whether insurers are overpaid and what it would mean to reduce those payments. Meanwhile, even as maternal mortality rises in the U.S., obstetric providers say they’re leaving states with abortion bans that prevent them from treating pregnancy complications.

Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: Vice News’ “Inside the Private Group Where Parents Give Ivermectin to Kids With Autism,” by David Gilbert

Jessie Hellmann: The Washington Post’s “Senior Care Is Crushingly Expensive. Boomers Aren’t Ready,” by Christopher Rowland 

Joanne Kenen: The New Yorker’s “Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin?” by Jia Tolentino

Margot Sanger-Katz: Slate’s “You Know What? I’m Not Doing This Anymore,” by Sophie Novack

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