the host
By Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner
Julie Rovner is a chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health? A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically acclaimed reference book, “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.
In a decision that will surely be remembered as a landmark one, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority this week overturned a 40-year-old precedent that required justices to defer to federal agency expertise in most cases. It’s unclear how the repeal of so-called “Chevron deference” will affect the day-to-day work of the federal government, but the decision is already sending shockwaves through the policymaking community. Administration experts say it will dramatically change the way key health agencies such as the FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do business.
The Supreme Court also decided this week not to rule on an Idaho case that asked whether a federal health law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides the state’s near-total ban on abortion.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Nursing and Politico Magazine, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
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Here are some lessons learned from this week’s episode:
- In 1984, the Supreme Court broadly ruled that courts should defer to federal agency decisions when vague laws are challenged. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that courts, not federal agencies, should have the final say. The decision will make federal laws harder to enforce and draw attention to the fact that Congress frequently and pointedly leaves much of the work of making written law a reality to federal agencies.
- This wasn’t the only Supreme Court decision with significant health implications this week. On Thursday, the court temporarily restored access to emergency abortions in Idaho. But like the abortion pill decision, the decision was based on a technicality and leaves similar cases on the table, including one challenging Texas’ abortion ban.
- In a separate decision, the court struck down a major opioid settlement agreement, effectively allowing the federal government to petition social media companies to remove false information. Additionally, the court agreed to hear a case about transgender health care for minors next term.
- The first general election debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle has left abortion activists frustrated with supporters of both parties. Opponents were not pleased with former President Donald Trump’s strengthening of his position that abortion should be left to the states, and abortion rights supporters felt that President Joe Biden did not forcefully counter Trump’s outlandish lies about abortion, and that Biden himself did not take a strong enough stance on abortion rights.
Plus, for “extra credit,” panelists will suggest health policy articles they read this week that they think readers should read too.
Julie Rovner: “Mask-wearing goes from mandatory to criminal in some states,” Washington Post, by Fenit Nirapil.
Victoria Knight: “The Opaque Industry that Secretly Inflates Prescription Drug Prices,” by Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson, New York Times.
Joan From: “Social Security Administration to eliminate outdated job used to deny disability benefits,” Washington Post, by Lisa Lane.
Alice Miranda Olstein: Politico’s “50 percent increase in opioid deaths during pandemic; deaths have fallen in these areas,” by Ruth Reader.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- Politico’s “Inside the $100 Million Plan to Restore Abortion Rights in America,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein.
- “Use of oral contraceptives and emergency contraception after the U.S. Supreme Court decision” in JAMA Network Open Dobbs Decisions,” by Dima M. Qato, Rebecca Myerson, Andrew Shooshtari, et al.
- “Changes in permanent contraception use among young adults” in the JAMA Health Forum Dobbs “The Decision,” by Jacqueline E. Ellison, Brittany L. Brown Podgorski, and Jake R. Morgan.
- “Infant Deaths Following Texas’ 2021 First-Trimester Abortion Ban” in JAMA Pediatrics, by Alison Gemmill, Claire E. Margerison, Elizabeth A. Stuart, et al.
credit
- Francis Yin Audio Producer
- Emma Hüttemann Editor
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