The Host

The midterm elections are months away, yet changes at the Department of Health and Human Services suggest the Trump administration is focusing on how to win on health care, which remains a top concern for voters. Facing growing concern about the administration’s actions on vaccines in particular, the Food and Drug Administration this week reversed course and said it would review a new mRNA-based flu vaccine after all.

And some top HHS officials are changing seats as the Senate prepares for the long-delayed confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Casey Means.

This week’s panelists are Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News, Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

• After a week of bad press, the FDA announced it would review Moderna’s application for a new flu vaccine. Yet the agency’s original refusal fits a pattern of agency decision-making based on individual officials’ views rather than set guidelines — and reinforces a precedent that’s problematic for drug development.
• Those caught up in the latest HHS leadership shake-up include Jim O’Neill, who, as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, signed off on changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. His removal from that role comes as the White House is showing more interest in controlling health care messaging ahead of the midterms — and as polling shows Americans are increasingly concerned about federal vaccine policy.
• Senators will hear from Means next week as they consider her nomination as surgeon general. Means, a key figure in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, is expected to be asked about her medical credentials and past, problematic claims about medicine.
• And while early numbers show that Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollment has not dipped as much as feared, Americans are still absorbing the rising cost of health care this year. The collapse of congressional efforts to reach a deal on renewing enhanced premium subsidies could be an issue for voters come November.

Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:  

Mary Agnes Carey: Politico’s “Why Congress Failed To Reach an Obamacare Deal,” by Robert King and Simon J. Levien. 

Lauren Weber: NiemanLab’s “The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig on Her ‘Hypothetical,’ Heavily Reported Measles Essay,” by Laura Hazard Owen. 

Tami Luhby: The City’s “NewYork-Presbyterian Nurses Reject Contract by Overwhelming Margin,” by Claudia Irizarry Aponte and Ben Fractenberg. 

Shefali Luthra: NPR’s “Minneapolis Doctors Warn of Lasting Medical Effects, Even After ICE Agents Leave,” by Jasmine Garsd. 

Also mentioned in this week’s episode:

• Politico’s “FDA’s Reversal on Moderna Flu Shot Bid Followed White House Pressure,” by Lauren Gardner and Tim Röhn.
• The Washington Post’s “How RFK Jr. Upended the Public Health System,” by Rachel Roubein, Lena H. Sun, and Lauren Weber.
• CNN’s “Trump Promised RFK Jr. Would ‘Restore Faith in American Health Care.’ A Year in, Trust Has Plummeted,” by Meg Tirrell.
• The Washington Post’s “She Left the Medical Mainstream and Rose To Be RFK Jr.’s Surgeon General Pick,” by Lauren Weber and Rachel Roubein.
• KFF’s “KFF Health Tracking Poll: Health Care Costs, Expiring ACA Tax Credits, and the 2026 Midterms,” by Shannon Schumacher, Audrey Kearney, Mardet Mulugeta, Isabelle Valdes, Ashley Kirzinger, and Liz Hamel.
• CNN’s “Trump Wants To Focus on Health Care in the Midterms, Creating Headaches for the GOP,” by Adam Cancryn.
• Health Affairs’ “HHS Proposes Sweeping Changes for 2027 Marketplace Plans (Part 1),” by Katie Keith.
• Health Affairs’ “HHS Proposes Sweeping Changes for 2027 Marketplace Plans (Part 2),” by Katie Keith and Matthew Fiedler.
• Health Affairs’ “HHS Proposes Sweeping Changes for 2027 Marketplace Plans (Part 3),” by Katie Keith.

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