President Donald Trump’s healthcare bill, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” has made its way to the Senate after narrowly passing in the House in May. Republicans are now faced with the decision of whether to pass the bill as is, make changes to it, or heed Elon Musk’s call to kill it. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill, if passed in its current form, could result in nearly 11 million Americans losing health insurance over the next decade. This number could increase to approximately 16 million if additional subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are not extended beyond the end of the year.
This week’s panelists, including Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, discussed the various implications of the healthcare bill.
Some key takeaways from the discussion include the skepticism towards the Congressional Budget Office’s findings, concerns about proposed Medicaid cuts, and revelations about a report on children’s health possibly being generated in part by artificial intelligence. Additionally, the Trump administration’s revocation of Biden-era guidance on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act was highlighted.
In a separate segment, Julie Rovner interviewed Arielle Zionts of KFF Health News about the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, which focused on a Medicaid patient who received a hefty bill after experiencing a medical emergency in another state. The panelists also shared recommended health policy stories from the week for further reading.
Credits for the podcast go to Francis Ying as the audio producer and Emmarie Huetteman as the editor.
To listen to all podcasts, visit the KFF Health News website. The “What the Health?” podcast can be subscribed to on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pocket Casts.
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