{"id":1211,"date":"2023-05-04T19:06:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T19:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=1211"},"modified":"2023-05-04T19:06:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T19:06:19","slug":"health-programs-are-at-risk-as-debt-ceiling-cave-in-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=1211","title":{"rendered":"Health Programs Are at Risk as Debt Ceiling Cave-In Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-people block--people\">\n<h3 class=\"people-title\">\n\t\tThe Host\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"people-card-container single\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-people-card block--people-card\">\n<div class=\"author-image-container\">\n\t\t\t<img srcset=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg 600w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=500,500 500w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=480,480 480w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=100,100 100w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=120,120 120w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=170,170 170w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/Rovner-Julie2022_sq.jpg?resize=315,315 315w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 150px\"\/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The partisan fight in Congress over how to raise the nation\u2019s debt ceiling to prevent a default has accelerated, as the U.S. Treasury predicted the borrowing limit could be reached as soon as June 1. On the table, potentially, are large cuts to federal spending programs, including major health programs.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, legislators in two conservative states, South Carolina and Nebraska, narrowly declined to pass very strict abortion bans, as some Republicans are apparently getting cold feet about the impact on care for pregnant women in their states.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.<\/p>\n<p>Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The United States is approaching its debt limit \u2014 much sooner than expected. And it is unclear how, or if, lawmakers can resolve their differences over the budget before the nation defaults on its debts. Details of the hastily constructed House Republican proposal are coming to light, including apparently inadvertent potential cuts to veterans\u2019 benefits and a lack of exemptions protecting those who are disabled from losing Medicaid and nutrition benefits under proposed work requirements.<\/li>\n<li>A seemingly routine markup of a key Senate drug pricing package devolved this week as it became clear the committee\u2019s leadership team, under Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), had not completed its due diligence to ensure members were informed and on board with the legislation. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee plans to revisit the package next week, hoping to send it to the full Senate for a vote.<\/li>\n<li>In more abortion news, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have agreed on a new, 12-week ban, which would further cut already bare-bones access to the procedure in the South. And federal investigations into two hospitals that refused emergency care to a pregnant woman in distress are raising the prospect of yet another abortion-related showdown over states\u2019 rights before the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n<li>The number of deaths from covid-19 continues to dwindle. The public health emergency expires next week, and mask mandates are being dropped by health care facilities. There continue to be issues tallying cases and guiding prevention efforts. What\u2019s clear is the coronavirus is not now and may never be gone, but things are getting better from a public health standpoint.<\/li>\n<li>The surgeon general has issued recommendations to combat the growing public health crisis of loneliness. Structural problems that contribute, like the lack of paid leave and few communal gathering spaces, may be ripe for government intervention. But while health experts frame loneliness as a societal-level problem, the federal government\u2019s advice largely targets individual behaviors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block block--newsletter  \" data-type=\"kaiser-health-news\/newsletter\" data-align=\"center\" style=\"\">\n<h4 class=\"newsletter__title\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/email-signup\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tEmail Sign-Up\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t<\/h4>\n<p class=\"newsletter__description\">\n\t\tSubscribe to KFF Health News&#8217; free Morning Briefing.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Plus, for \u201cextra credit,\u201d the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Julie Rovner:<\/strong> The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wellness\/2023\/05\/01\/dog-walking-injuries-er-visits\/\">Dog-Walking Injuries May Be More Common Than You Think<\/a>,\u201d by Lindsey Bever.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Joanne Kenen:<\/strong> The Atlantic\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/science\/archive\/2023\/05\/seasonal-allergies-pollen-climate-change\/673935\/\">There Is No Stopping the Allergy Apocalypse<\/a>,\u201d by Yasmin Tayag.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel Cohrs:<\/strong> ProPublica\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/pharmacist-helps-clear-the-way-lethal-injection-protocol?utm_source=comms&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=comms_20230429\">This Pharmacist Said Prisoners Wouldn\u2019t Feel Pain During Lethal Injection. Then Some Shook and Gasped for Air<\/a>,\u201d by Lauren Gill and Daniel Moritz-Rabson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice Miranda Ollstein:<\/strong> The Wall Street Journal\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/patients-lose-access-to-free-medicines-amid-spat-between-drugmakers-health-plans-cca15b58\">Patients Lose Access to Free Medicines Amid Spat Between Drugmakers, Health Plans<\/a>,\u201d by Peter Loftus and Joseph Walker.<\/p>\n<p>Also mentioned in this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>To hear all our podcasts,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/tag\/podcast\/\">click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And subscribe to KFF Health News\u2019 \u2018What the Health? on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\">Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/kaiser-health-news\/what-the-health\">Stitcher<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.pocketcasts.com\/web\/podcasts\/a379e280-3f57-0135-9028-63f4b61a9224\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<section class=\"block--category-tag-list \">\n<div class=\"category-tag-list__content-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"block--category-tag-list__title\">\n\t\t\t\tRelated Topics\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__contact-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/contact-us\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tContact Us\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a class=\"category-tag-list__tip-link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/tips\/\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tSubmit a Story Tip\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Host The partisan fight in Congress over how to raise the nation\u2019s debt ceiling to prevent a default has accelerated, as the U.S. Treasury predicted the borrowing limit could be reached as soon as June 1. On the table, potentially, are large cuts to federal spending programs, including major health programs. Meanwhile, legislators in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1212,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1211\/revisions\/1212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}