What the Health? From KFF Health News: Time’s Up for Expa...

What’s Happening

Listen up: A last-minute push from Democrats and four moderate Republicans will force a House vote on renewing enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, but not until January.

That means millions will have to choose between paying dramatically more or dropping coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially drops the federal recommendation for newborns to receive a hepatitis B shot. (it feels like chaos)

Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Lizzy L The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.

The Details

Julie Rovner is 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 praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.

The enhanced premium tax credits that since 2021 have helped millions of Americans pay for insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces will expire Dec. 31, despite a last-ditch effort some moderate Republicans in the House of Representatives to force a vote to continue them.

Why This Matters

That vote will happen, but not until Congress returns in January. Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services canceled a series of grants worth several million dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics after the group again protested HHS Secretary Robert F. ’s changes to federal vaccine policy.

Health experts are weighing in on what this means for people.

Key Takeaways

• This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, Tami Luh, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.
• Panelists Lizzy Lawrence STAT News @LizzyLaw_ @lizzylawrence.
• Tami Luhby CNN @Luhby Read Tamis stories.
• Alice Miranda Ollstein Politico @AliceOllstein @alicemiranda.

The Bottom Line

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode: The House on Wednesday passed legislation containing several GOP health priorities, including policies that expand access to association health plans and lower the federal of some Affordable Care Act exchange marketplace premiums. It did not include an extension of the expiring enhanced ACA premium tax credits — although, also on Wednesday, four Republicans signed onto a Democratic-led discharge petition forcing Congress to revisit the tax credit issue in January.

What do you think about all this?