{"id":505,"date":"2022-12-15T20:17:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T20:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=505"},"modified":"2022-12-15T20:17:28","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T20:17:28","slug":"khns-what-the-health-health-spending-only-congress-knows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/?p=505","title":{"rendered":"KHN\u2019s \u2018What the Health?\u2019: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>\n\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"fullscreen\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.acast.com\/6155f849336c5f0012e51b95\/639b6c78bcab760012d843f6\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>Can\u2019t see the audio player? <a href=\"https:\/\/shows.acast.com\/khns-what-the-health\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/shows.acast.com\/khns-what-the-health\">Click here to listen on Acast.<\/a> You can also listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\">Spotify<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\" target=\"_blank\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/kaiser-health-news\/what-the-health\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/kaiser-health-news\/what-the-health\" target=\"_blank\">Stitcher<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/play.pocketcasts.com\/web\/podcasts\/a379e280-3f57-0135-9028-63f4b61a9224\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/play.pocketcasts.com\/web\/podcasts\/a379e280-3f57-0135-9028-63f4b61a9224\" target=\"_blank\">Pocket Casts<\/a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n<p>Congress has a tentative framework for government spending through this fiscal year. Now, lawmakers must fill in the blanks, including on key health care provisions, and get it passed. The Biden administration will send more free covid-19 home tests to Americans after initial fears the program was running out of money.<\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s plenty of news coming in from the states, where this week a Texas judge tossed out a lawsuit based on the state\u2019s so-called vigilante abortion law, and the governor of Florida is asking for a grand jury investigation into harm caused by covid vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s panelists are Mary Agnes Carey of KHN, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN.<\/p>\n<p>Among the takeaways from this week\u2019s episode:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Congressional appropriators have settled on an omnibus framework that would set government spending through next fall and hope to pass it by the end of next week. But lawmakers still have details to iron out. While health measures like extended flexibilities for telehealth are likely to get approved \u2014 and others, like more money for pandemic response, are not \u2014 the outcome is less clear for some key provisions. Will lawmakers relax or even nix Medicare pay cuts for doctors scheduled for next year?<\/li>\n<li>Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens announced a major settlement this week in lawsuits alleging they mishandled opioid prescriptions. Most of the settlement money awarded in ongoing opioid epidemic litigation is earmarked to pay for opioid-related treatment, and families of victims are also asking for compensation for the harm opioids have caused. Meanwhile, federal lawmakers have shown little urgency to respond to the country\u2019s epidemic of opioid-related overdoses.<\/li>\n<li>Abortion fights continued to play out in the states this week, including in Iowa, where a judge blocked an effort to ban most abortions in the state. In Texas, a judge dealt a blow to the state\u2019s so-called vigilante law, ruling that an individual who is not directly affected by an abortion may not sue for violations of the state\u2019s ban. Watch for the legal challenges to continue, especially as some state legislatures return to session in January for the first time since the Supreme Court overturned <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>In pandemic news, the Biden administration plans to reopen its program allowing Americans to request free covid home tests through the U.S. Postal Service. And the House of Representatives select committee investigating the pandemic wrapped up its work this week, with Democrats and Republicans coming to different conclusions and issuing recommendations unlikely to come to pass \u2014 a reflection of partisan tensions and a loss of public interest in the pandemic.<\/li>\n<li>And Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican who is considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate, has called for a grand jury to examine alleged \u201ccrimes and wrongdoing\u201d related to the covid vaccines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mary Agnes Carey:<\/strong> Scientific American\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/kindness-can-have-unexpectedly-positive-consequences\/\">Kindness Can Have Unexpectedly Positive Consequences<\/a>,\u201d by Amit Kumar<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rachel Cohrs: <\/strong>The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wellness\/interactive\/2022\/women-pain-gender-bias-doctors\/?tid=ss_tw\">From Heart Disease to IUDs: How Doctors Dismiss Women\u2019s Pain<\/a>,\u201d by Lindsey Bever<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alice Miranda Ollstein: <\/strong>Stat\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2022\/12\/15\/typewriter-in-prison-overturns-idaho-hepatitis-c-policy\/\">Watch: With Little More Than a Typewriter, an Idaho Man Overturns the Entire State\u2019s Policy on Hepatitis C Treatment in Prison<\/a>,\u201d by Nicholas Florko<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rebecca Adams: <\/strong>KHN\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/article\/mass-shootings-reopen-the-debate-over-whether-crime-scene-photos-prompt-change-or-trauma\/\">Mass Shootings Reopen the Debate Over Whether Crime Scene Photos Prompt Change or Trauma<\/a>,\u201d by Lauren Sausser<\/p>\n<p>Also mentioned in this week\u2019s podcast:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The New York Times\u2019 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/12\/us\/politics\/covid-commission-congress.html\">Two Decades After 9\/11 Inquiry, a Similar Plan for Covid Stalls in Congress<\/a>,\u201d by Sheryl Gay Stolberg<\/li>\n<li>KHN\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/article\/state-plans-opioid-settlement-funds\/\">Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds<\/a>,\u201d by Aneri Pattani<\/li>\n<li>The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/interactive\/2022\/dea-fentanyl-failure\/\">Cause of Death: Washington Faltered as Fentanyl Gripped America<\/a>,\u201d by Nick Miroff, Scott Higham, Steven Rich, Salwan Georges, and Erin Patrick O\u2019Connor<\/li>\n<li>Stat\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2022\/12\/06\/addiction-legislation-advocates-say-not-enough\/\">Congress Has Its Sights Set Too Low on Addiction, Advocates Charge<\/a>,\u201d by Lev Facher<\/li>\n<li>The Washington Post\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/12\/14\/abortion-pills-bans-dobbs-roe\/\">Conservatives Complain Abortion Bans Not Enforced, Want Jail Time for Pill \u2018Trafficking,\u2019<\/a>\u201d by Caroline Kitchener<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n<p><em>To hear all our podcasts,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/khn.org\/news\/tag\/podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>And subscribe to KHN\u2019s What the Health? on <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/32EdsB662C3oyIrqLMmBXI?si=TQhRjzzLTgWtK3crfbOFtA\">Spotify<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/what-the-health\/id1253607372?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/kaiser-health-news\/what-the-health\">Stitcher<\/a>, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" 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:\/\/khn.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:\/\/khn.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>Can\u2019t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Congress has a tentative framework for government spending through this fiscal year. Now, lawmakers must fill in the blanks, including on key health care provisions, and get [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pharmaceuticals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505","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=505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":506,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions\/506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthynewsusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}