Health economist Devin Herrick joins AnneMarie Schieber to break down the fight over Obamacare subsidies behind the government shutdown, what happens if they expire, and how free-market reforms could reshape health care—from $2 million drugs to Costco’s new Ozempic plan.
Republicans are resisting pressure to include Obamacare premium tax credits in the Stopgap Funding bill which would fund the government until November 21. In this episode of The Heartland Daily Podcast, AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News and Devon Herrick, of the Goodman Institute Health Blog discuss why Republicans should resist that idea. Also on tap, how health insurance premiums have increased 297 percent in the past 24, the rising cost of having a baby, whether there is...
How did Minnesota’s Medicaid program balloon from $2.5 million to $104 million today? Join AnneMarie Schieber , managing editor of Health Care News , and Devon Herrick of the Goodman Institute Health Blog as they discuss how fraud in two programs—both aimed at addressing non-medical “social determinants” of health care—has contributed to this explosive growth. Also in the show: the troubling connection between untreated mental illness and the recent wave of violence and murder-suicides across th...
HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. is clamping down on removing organs from patients declared “brain dead.” Join AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News and Devon Herrick, of the Goodman Institute Health Blog to find out starting new facts on, as well as the latest headlines in health care from a free market perspective. Also on tap, Minnesota is encouraging moms on Medicaid to deliver babies at home, what happened to hormone replacement therapy for women? Will FDA Commissioner Ma...
What is next in the fight to manage waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid now that the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) is law ? Join AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News and Devon Herrick, of the Goodman Institute Health Blog as they discuss the latest headlines in health care from a free market perspective. Will there be an effort to make states more financially responsible for their Medicaid programs outside the OBBB? How will states manage Medicaid work requirements and will wo...
Welcome to another episode of the Heartland Daily Podcast, where Ann Marie Sheber and healthcare economist Devon Herrick unpack this week’s biggest developments in health policy: 🔹 Prior Authorization Reform HHS Secretary RFK Jr. & CMS’s Dr. Oz secured voluntary pledges from major insurers to streamline prior authorization—cutting red tape, boosting transparency, and digitizing approvals by 2026–2027. Devon shares a personal story of how prior auth actually saved his wife thousands—and why ...
In this episode of the Heartland Daily Podcast , AnneMarie Schieber and economist Devon Herrick break down the latest health care debates in Washington. They discuss how promised reforms like Medicaid work requirements and health savings account expansions are being stripped from President Trump’s health care package, and what that means for patients and taxpayers. The conversation covers efforts to close costly Medicare Advantage loopholes, the push for site-neutral payments, and Minnesota’s co...
The "Big Beautiful Act" turned into a big disappointment for Medicaid reform. Instead of adding ways to improve Medicaid benefits, like cutting non-medical spending, Republicans caved. Work requirements and eliminating provider taxes will help, but the failure to fix Medicaid spending now creates major debt headaches just a few years down the road. AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News, and Devon Herrick of the Goodman Institute Health Blog discuss how this golden opportunity w...
Are hospitals locking out Medicare Advantage enrollees? Find out the likely real reason behind the shutout and why we should be worried if MA can no longer compete with traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Join AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News, and Devon Herrick of the Goodman Institute Health Blog as they discuss the latest headlines in health care from a free-market perspective. Also on their radar: the mad rush by states to pass assisted medical suicide bills. Is the U...
Will AI replace your doctor? Bill Gates seems to think so. In today’s podcast, AnneMarie Schieber, managing editor of Health Care News , and Devon Herrick of the Goodman Institute Health Blog discuss where AI can be a benefit—such as reducing medical error. But when it comes to replacing highly trained medical doctors to reduce the doctor shortage and save money for insurance companies, Herrick and Schieber say "nada." Also in the podcast: how tariff policy could impact the low cost of generic d...
How can you consent to paying for something if you don’t know the price? In today’s podcast, AnneMarie Schieber of Health Care News and Devon Herrick of the Goodman Institute Health Care Blog talk about New York State’s decision to ban “consent to pay” forms at medical practices. Also on tap: reforming health care without a political fight, the RESULT Act being reintroduced, which fast-tracks successful treatments in trusted countries but comes too late for one Alzheimer’s patient, “Name it to t...
Can you beat a medical bill you feel is unfair? AnneMarie Schieber and Devon Herrick discuss their personal experience. Can Congress rein in Medicaid? Many ideas being consider: block grants to states, changing funding rates for expanded Medicaid, work requirements. Do enrollees value Medicaid or waste it? Schieber and Herrick also discuss “ gutting the FDA .” Herrick discusses why DOGE and the Trump administration might want to proceed cautiously. New parody book out critical of MI Gov. Gretche...
Hours before his confirmation hearing, former Rep. Dave Weldon’s nomination to head the CDC was withdrawn. Weldon has been a vaccine critic. How much of a role did Big Pharma play? AnneMarie Schieber and Devon Herrick also talk about the growing focus on vaccines, and the history of vaccine policy . Most recently the Trump’s administration to nix vaccines on chickens for bird flu. Also in the podcast, state AGs take the first step in going after Anthony Fauci for violating state laws when handin...
In this episode of Health Care News, hosts AnneMarie Schieber and Devon Herrick dive into the critical debates shaping health care today. They discuss the potential expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), exploring proposals from Rep. Chip Roy and policy experts who argue HSAs could significantly improve coverage, especially for gig workers and those seeking direct care options. AnneMarie and Devon also highlight Ohio’s groundbreaking step to enforce price transparency at hospitals—holding ...
In this episode of The Heartland Daily Podcast, host AnneMarie Schieber is joined by health economist Devon Herrick for an in-depth discussion on the pressing issues in the U.S. healthcare system. Together, they explore the real-life implications of policies like Obamacare, the growing challenges of Medicare, and the evolving landscape of health insurance options. From short-term plans to the potential of direct primary care, they highlight innovative, free-market solutions that empower individu...
Olympian Mary Lou Retton made a stunning revelation when asked why she didn’t have health insurance while she was in intensive care fighting for her life. “I couldn’t afford it,” Retton told the Today Show on January 8 when she was faced with a life threating pneumonia recently. Retton’s daughter started a “Go Fund Me” page to help her mother pay for what was likely to be tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills. Health Care News managing editor AnneMarie Schieber talked to Kansas State Se...
You see the reports in the news all the time, a patient on life support has given the “gift of life” by donating organs. Few people realize but organ donors needs to be alive to do this. Hospitals can legally declare people with a brain death diagnosis allowing them to take their vital organs for transplant. Dr. Heidi Klessig is author of The Brain Death Fallacy . She discusses whether brain death is irreversible and how the organ transplant business has grown since the decision in 1968 to inclu...
In this episode of Health Care News , we delve into the recent revelation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that certain over-the-counter decongestants, specifically those labeled with "PE" (phenylephrine), are no more effective than a placebo. Our guest, Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a practicing surgeon from Phoenix, Arizona, and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, sheds light on how these medications found their way onto store shelves. Dr. Singer traces the issue back to the Combat Methamphe...
For years, Medicare has paid hospitals and their affiliates more for services than it has to others. The reasons are complex, but this policy significantly incentivizes hospitals to absorb independent practices, creating “monopolies” that reduce competition and increase prices for everyone. Dr. Richard Kube, M.D., founder and CEO of the Prairie Spine and Pain Institute—an independent practice in Illinois—experiences first-hand how this policy and other top-down government regulations work agains...
For almost 4 weeks, four-year-old Autumn Schall has been virtually trapped at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, in Palo Alto, CA against the will of her parents. Today, mother Hope Schacter joins the program to discuss Autumn’s situation. Autumn was admitted to the teaching hospital for an e-coli infection but within days, she became critically ill, receiving care in the ICU, being given intravenously a cocktail of risky drugs, and eventually put on a ventilator. When the parents questioned th...
Stephen Moses, one of the leading experts on long-term care in the U.S., says the nation can dramatically improve the quality of our health care system if we could get rid of the loopholes that allow nearly everyone to qualify for Medicaid coverage. The current system encourages few people save for long-term care because it is widely accepted that the government will pick up the tab. While this may be true, government control limits innovation and leads to worsening health outcomes. Moses, and t...
Join us as Hal Frampton, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom , delves into a pivotal legal case in Michigan's Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He's representing Christian Healthcare Centers (CHC) and Sacred Heart Academy as they navigate the expanded civil rights protections in Michigan , which now encompass "gender" and "sexual preference." Both institutions could potentially be compelled to hire individuals who don't align with their religious principles. Established in 2018, the ...
Is it possible that Obamacare was intentionally set up to falter, leading frustrated Americans to implore the federal government to assume control of health care? Devon Herrick posits this theory, having recently explored the topic on the Goodman Health Blog. He highlights that without the crutch of subsidies, Obamacare is destined to collapse — a prediction echoed by many during the 2009-2010 debates surrounding the inception of the Affordable Care Act. Herrick delves into various topics, inclu...
Hidden within the intricacies of Obamacare lies an unsettling truth that many are unaware of. Dive deep with us as we uncover how this renowned health care reform might not be the safety net for the genuinely ill as it's often portrayed. Join Host AnneMarie Schieber and guest John C. Goodman, Ph.D., co-publisher of Health Care News and founder of the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research, to learn the layers behind this revelation. Goodman shed light on the problems with Obamacare in his ...
On this episode of "Health Care News," former Chicago and Illinois politician Robert "Bob" Fioretti shares his experience as a cancer survivor and highlights the challenges he faced navigating the healthcare system, even with "Cadillac" health care coverage. Fioretti discusses his cancer diagnosis and how he was never formally informed of it. He also shares the difficulties he faced in making treatment decisions and how rising costs impacted his mental health. His book, My Cancer Journey , docum...
Direct primary care (DPC) gets rave reviews from patients and doctors. So why aren’t more people gravitating to this affordable, no-hassle care that provides care outside that of the health insurance maze? Dr. Lee Gross, a direct primary care physician in southwest Florida, discusses how the Personalized Care Act can open the market for more choice, including better access to DPC. Dr. Gross describes how small business were the ones who encouraged him into opening a DPC practice for their employ...
It's not hard to find someone not complaining about healthcare these days, but it's not because we lack talented health professionals, it's the delivery system. There is an ongoing battle going on in healthcare that many patients might not realize, and that battle is independent practice versus corporate medicine. Dr. Hal Scherz, Fonder of Docs for Patient Care Foundation and a doctor at Georgia Urology, where 24 physicians were ranked "best" by Atlanta Magazine joins Health Care News Podcast to...
Starting July 21, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) will be meeting to consider two options that would expand the legal definition of death. The first option is what currently exists in the Uniform Determination of Death Act and includes loss of total brain function, not just the brain stem. Dr. Heidi Klessig, a retired anesthesiologist and authority on clinical death, explains what the options are and how families and patients can best prepare themselves. The American Academy of Neurology has pe...
The Biden administration recently proposed a new rule to change health care privacy protections under the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The rule would limit access to medical records if inquired in the interest of “reproductive health.” The proposed rule has created huge blowback because it is seen as a way to get around state laws regulating abortion and transgender procedures. Twila Brase says the change reveals what a myth HIPAA is in protecting health data and ...
Did the FDA destroy what could have been a non-addictive pain killer that might have staved off the opioid crisis before it ever stood a chance? Several decades ago, the agency approved the drug Toradol, the first non-addictive pain killer that had pain killing effects of morphine without the addictive potential. However, the FDA set the desired peak dosage, known as the loading dose, far higher than manufacturer Syntex desired. The company reluctantly complied. 97 people prescribed Toradol dies...
