KHN’s ‘What the Well being?’: Georgia Turns the Senate Blue

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Shock Democratic victories in Georgia’s two runoff elections this week will give Democrats management of the Senate, which suggests they are going to be in command of each homes of Congress and the White Home for the primary time since 2010. Though the slim majorities within the Home and Senate will doubtless not enable Democrats to cross main expansions to well being applications, it is going to make it simpler to do issues corresponding to cross fixes for the Reasonably priced Care Act.

In the meantime, the speedy growth and approval of vaccines to guard towards covid-19 is being squandered by the shortage of a nationwide technique to get these vaccines into folks’s arms. Straightening out and dashing up vaccinations can be a significant precedence for the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Well being Information, Anna Edney of Bloomberg Information, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Name.

Among the many takeaways from this week’s podcast:

• The Georgia election outcomes will make it simpler for a few of Biden’s Cupboard picks to be confirmed, together with Xavier Becerra, his alternative to move the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
• Among the many ACA fixes that congressional Democrats could search is a restoration of a small penalty for individuals who would not have well being protection. That would negate the case earlier than the Supreme Court docket now that was introduced by Republican state officers.
• One strategic error within the covid vaccine distribution efforts was that the discharge of the vaccine was not coupled with a significant messaging marketing campaign to clarify what the vaccine does and dispel fears about it.
• Late final month, a federal court docket blocked the Trump administration from implementing a plan to tie what Medicare pays for some medicine to the costs in different nations. It’s not clear if the Biden administration will proceed the authorized combat to maintain this system, however the president-elect has urged he’s extra fascinated with bringing down drug costs by negotiating with producers.
• The Trump administration has sued retail big Walmart, alleging it unlawfully disbursed opioids from its pharmacies.

Additionally, for additional credit score, the panelists advocate their favourite well being coverage tales of the week they suppose it is best to learn too:

Julie Rovner: The New York Instances’ “One Hospital System Sued 2,500 Sufferers After Pandemic Hit,” by Brian M. Rosenthal

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Politico’s “Congress Utilizing COVID Check That FDA Warns Could Be Defective,” by David Lim and Sarah Ferris

Mary Ellen McIntire: Bloomberg Information’ “The World’s Most Loathed Business Gave Us a Vaccine in File Time,” by Drew Armstrong

Anna Edney: STAT Information’ “How It Began: A Q&A With Helen Branswell, One Yr After Covid-19 Grew to become a Full-Time Job,” by Jason Ukman

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This story was produced by Kaiser Well being Information, an editorially impartial program of the Kaiser Household Basis.