Health Podcast Library
Episode 458

The Return of ‘Medicare for All’

Aug 6, 2026
51:18

Episode Description

Michigan voters this week chose former Detroit public health director Abdul El-Sayed as the Democratic nominee for the state’s open Senate seat. El-Sayed has made “Medicare for All” a major part of his campaign and further elevated the issue. 

Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss this story and more. 

Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who has a new bill that would provide universal health coverage for children.  

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 New York Times’ “Spotlight on Fauci Said To Boost Book Sales for Kennedy and His Publisher,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg.  

Alice Miranda Ollstein: NOTUS’ “Rand Paul’s Fauci Diary Dump Exposed People’s Medical Histories,” by Margaret Manto.  

Joanne Kenen: The New York Times Magazine’s “The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids,” by Helen Ouyang.  

Amanda Seitz: The Wall Street Journal’s “A Florida Surrogate, a Father in China, and the Babies Caught Between,” by Katherine Long.  

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