About this episode

The episode discusses the decline in food stamp program participation and potential Medicaid changes, featuring insights from various health policy experts.

A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Visit our website for a transcript of this episode. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: Julie Rovner: The New York Times’ “ The Fake Influencers Selling Wellness on Your Feed ,” by Arijeta Lajka, Isabelle Niu, Mark Boyer, James Surdam and Dan T. Peters. Joanne Kenen: Stat’s “ A Most-Wanted Fugitive Appears To Have Been Secretly Working as a Biotech Executive ,” by Adam Feuerstein. Margot Sanger-Katz: NPR’s “ Amid Nurse Shortage…

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