the host
Mary Agnes Carey KFF Health News @maryagnescarey
Mary Agnes Carey is the editor-in-chief of KFF Health News. She previously served as Director of News Partnerships, overseeing the publication of KFF Health News content in publications across the country. Mary Agnes was a senior correspondent covering health care reform and federal health policy.
President Donald Trump this week nominated a former deputy surgeon general who has voiced support for vaccines to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Erica Schwartz is considered the more traditionally qualified candidate for the job and, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the agency’s fourth leader in about a year.
And Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on Capitol Hill this week for the first of several hearings to discuss President Trump’s budget request for the department. But the topics under discussion strayed far from the subject of federal funding, with lawmakers raising a number of other issues, including Medicaid fraud, the measles epidemic, the hepatitis B vaccine, peptides, and unaccompanied minors.
This week’s panelists are Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Emmarie Hüttemann of KFF Health News, Joanne Kennen of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine.
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Here are our takeaways from this week’s episode.
- President Trump named four officials to the CDC’s leadership team on Thursday. Schwartz, whom he chose to lead the military, is a physician and naval officer who served as deputy surgeon general during President Trump’s first term. She has voiced support for vaccines and played a key role in the COVID-19 pandemic response.
- RFK Jr. testified before three House committees this week about the president’s budget request for HHS. A variety of topics were covered during the hearing, but notable moments included a slight softening of President Kennedy’s stance on the measles vaccine, including the recognition that it is safer to be vaccinated than to get measles, while President Kennedy supported the decision to rescind the recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination for newborns.
- A new study on the effects of acetaminophen use during pregnancy and water fluoridation on cognitive function refutes the Trump administration’s claims. And while the White House meeting with Trump, Kennedy and other leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement was aimed at allaying supporters’ concerns, there is still reason to believe the proposal won’t completely mend the fence between the Trump administration and the MAHA constituency ahead of the midterm elections.
Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviewed immigration attorney Michelle Canelo about how the Trump administration’s policies will affect health care workers.
Plus, as an “additional credit,” our panelists will suggest articles they read (or wrote) this week about health policy that they think you should read, too.
Mary Agnes Carey: Politico, “‘A crisis is brewing’: Nebraska races to impose work requirements on Medicaid,” by Alice Miranda Olstein.
Joan From: “If only his father had listened, he would have warned him about the dangers of AI” by Teddy Rosenbluth in The New York Times.
Anna Edney: “Hormonal Drugs Make $6.3 Billion Comeback After FDA Rejects Safety Warnings” by Anna Edney, Bloomberg.
Emmarie Hüttemann: “Your New Therapist: Talkative, Leaky, and Hardly Human” by Darius Tahir on KFF Health News.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- “Acetaminophen Exposure During Pregnancy and the Risk of Autism in Offspring,” in JAMA Pediatrics, by Kira Philipsen-Plum, Pingnan Chen, Line Lord, et al.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences “Urban Water Fluoridation, Adolescent IQ, and Cognition Across the Lifespan: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study,” by John Robert Warren, Gina Rumor, Kamil Szysinski, and Michal Engelman.
- “Pennsylvania faces collapse from President Trump’s rollback of environmental regulations” by KFF Health News’ Stephanie Armor and Maia Rosenfeld.
- “Trump soothes disillusioned MAHA leader in private meeting,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times.
- Wakely Consulting Group’s “Who Paid, and Who Stayed? Early 2026 Enrollment Trends in the Individual Market” by Michelle Anderson, Chia Yi Chin, and Michael Cohen.
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- Taylor Cook Audio Producer
- Emmarie Hüttemann Editor
