We dig into the tension between Kennedy’s influence and Trump’s own long-standing interest in vaccines, why the narrative took hold that Overton was aligned with pharma, and why a proposal to split the MMR vaccine may be impractical in the real world. We also look at the one-vote Republican majority on the Senate HELP Committee, the swing votes of Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski, the mifepristone question, and how the midterm elections could decide whether this nomination ever gets across the finish line.

• Read David Lim’s reporting in Semafor: Trump FDA nominee played key role in overhaul of childhood vaccine policy

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Then they head to Michigan, where AOC and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed kicked off a bus tour through the Upper Peninsula and drew record-setting crowds in towns like Escanaba, Iron Mountain, and Marquette, while JD Vance’s stop for Mike Rogers drew a far more subdued response. They discuss why the “she can’t play in the heartland” argument is falling apart, how corruption is overtaking affordability as the top voter concern, and why Rogers’s ties to Big Pharma make the link between the two so direct.

LINKS

• The Hill: Troy Jackson tells Susan Collins to ‘shut up’ during Maine Senate debate

• The New York Times: ‘Oh, Shut Up’: 5 Takeaways From the Senate Debate in Maine

• Collins responds to a question about support for RFK Jr.

• AOC gets a loud welcome in Escanaba

• The New York Times: Ocasio-Cortez and El-Sayed on the Trail: A Barn, a Bus and a Clash With Vance

• WEMU: El-Sayed takes Senate campaign to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Ocasio-Cortez

• Detroit Free Press: Ocasio-Cortez campaigns with El-Sayed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

• Michigan Public: Abdul El-Sayed, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign in U.P. to mobilize Senate voters

• NBC News: Why AOC was in a deep-red part of Michigan

Join the fight at committeetoprotect.org.

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Have thoughts, questions, or your own health care story? Email us at feedback@pagingamerica.org.

Doctors in white coats with the Committee to Protect Health Care met with Senate HELP Committee offices to oppose the nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the FDA.

We break down why physicians say Overton is the wrong choice, what happened when the group crossed paths with the nominee herself, and why her nomination won't move before the election.

The hosts play clips of Overton declining to say whether an IUD is an abortion, which they read as a sign of fringe positions she’s been coached to hide. Throughout, they raise concern that a nominee who won’t contradict the president can’t serve as an independent arbiter of science, and Rob wishes future Democratic nominees would be held to a “just answer the question” standard.

Miles closes by outlining two possible timelines: a fast-tracked committee vote, which would suggest the votes of Sens. Cassidy, Collins, and Murkowski are already lined up, or a delay until after the election. Either way, he urges listeners, especially those in states like Louisiana, Maine, Alaska, and Ohio, to contact their senators.

LINKS

Learn about what you can do to fight the nomination of anti-abortion, anti-vaxx zealot Heidi Overton in the Committee’s Medical Professional Toolkit HERE.

Thanks to Aaron Rupar for the video clips used in today’s On Call:

Miles Baker and Dr. Rob Davidson break down Overton's record as an America First Policy Institute fellow, her role shaping the administration's childhood vaccine schedule changes, her anti-abortion writings, and why Senators Cassidy, Collins, and Murkowski could be the deciding votes on her confirmation.

We pick apart his dubious claims about falling obesity rates (spoiler: it's GLP-1s, not MAHA), and his framing around NIH funding cuts that are actually being redirected away from cancer and drug research.

We also dig into RFK Jr.'s claims about censorship and "silenced doctors," farm policy fallout from USAID cuts, and what it all says about who he's really trying to impress as rumors swirl about his job security after the midterms.

LINKS

• FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth has the full video. Watch at your own risk

• CNN: Fact check: Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention

Join the fight at committeetoprotect.org.

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Rob and Miles dissect the brutal economics behind insurance claim rejections, the lack of transparency around prior authorization data, and the devastating impact on working families.

Then, looking at recent federal moves taking equity stakes and “golden shares” in private companies like Intel and US Steel, Miles raises a provocative question: If the government can intervene in defense and semiconductor markets for national security, why shouldn’t the public take an equity stake in massive corporate health insurers to stop predatory care denials?

LINKS:

• WFFF: United Healthcare, PSA Airlines deem traumatic brain injury treatment ‘not medically necessary’ for Upstate patient

• The Mirror US: UnitedHealthcare sparks fury after denying rehab treatment to young man severely injured in crash

• POLITICO: Why Trump’s ‘golden shares’ are enticing progressives

The letter RFK Jr. sent to Samoa in 2019: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28581231-letter-from-rfk-jr/

In this episode, Dr. Erin Stevens and Dr. Rob Davidson break down what's driving the decline in vaccination rates around the country. We have state-level exemption policies and rhetoric from RFK Jr. and the Trump administration around splitting up the MMR vaccine leading to mass confusion over health policy. It’s led to measles, a disease the U.S. declared eliminated in 2000, is now seeing its highest case numbers in 35 years. They discuss the real health risks of measles (including encephalitis and long-term organ damage), why public trust and misinformation are central to the problem, and what it will take to reverse the trend.

Dr. Rob and Miles break down what splitting the MMR vaccine into multiple visits actually means for working families who don’t have the time, money, or flexibility to make five separate doctor’s appointments, and why that gap could mean more unprotected kids at a moment when measles cases are already climbing.

We also take a look at Trump’s Oval Office announcement and have some concerns about just how “engaged” the president really was in his own health announcement.

Abdul El-Sayed pulled off an upset Senate primary win despite being vastly outspent by Haley Stevens, and Timmer explains why money alone couldn’t buy this race. He digs into the deeper story: a bipartisan wave of economic anxiety, skyrocketing healthcare costs, and voters in both parties desperate to punish incumbents and reward outsiders with a clear message.

On the Republican side, Timmer offers a sharp, insider’s take on Mike Rogers: the one-time mainstream Republican who “went into deep freeze” in 2014 and reemerged in 2026 running a MAGA-era campaign with 1990s instincts, all while carrying a voting record on the Affordable Care Act that clashes with what voters actually want.

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There has been recent reporting that Blanche privately told religious leaders he intends to use the Comstock Act to ban mailing medication abortion nationwide. They discuss why this isn't just a "red state" issue. In fact, even states with constitutional abortion protections, like California and Michigan, could see medication abortion access cut off.

We also discuss Blanche's record dismissing FACE Act cases meant to protect clinics and providers. This is a call to action for voters in states with pivotal Senate seats like Maine, Alaska, and Ohio to speak up before the full Senate vote.

They dig into who’s really absorbing the cost: safety-net and rural hospitals, many already teetering on closure, are seeing deficits balloon as uninsured patients still show up needing (and legally guaranteed) care. Dr. Stevens shares an on-the-ground look at Minnesota’s own near-miss with a major safety-net hospital closure, and explains why labor and delivery units, which are often the first services cut, are driving a growing maternal care crisis in rural communities.

The conversation also turns to politics: Donald Trump’s approval ratings has fallen into the low 30s in some recent polls. Miles and Dr. Stevens explore whether healthcare pain is starting to catch up with public opinion and what it might mean heading into the midterms.

We cover what’s missing from the proposal, what’s at risk, and why handing people money for “choice” isn’t the same as making healthcare affordable or effective. We make the case that healthcare policy should be judged by outcomes like healthier patients and stronger hospitals and NOT campaign slogans.

Tune in, subscribe, and hold your elected officials accountable this election season.

Generic drugs run on razor-thin margins that make U.S. manufacturing nearly impossible, and the staggering reality that six in ten Americans already worry about affording their prescriptions, with one in five rationing their medication. The conversation turns to India’s outsized role supplying roughly half of U.S. generic prescriptions by volume, and what could happen if manufacturers start looking to diversify away from the American market well before any tariffs even take effect.

Dr. Lyerly makes the case that if the administration were serious about reshoring production, it would be working with Congress on bills like the PILLS Act, MEDS Act, and MAPS Act, which offer incentives rather than blunt-force tariffs. They also note that this policy arrives as a “Plan B” after an earlier version was ruled illegal, raising the likelihood of legal challenges and a long stretch of uncertainty — not exactly the environment that encourages companies to invest in new manufacturing plants.

They dig into the claims used to justify tighter restrictions and explain why, as physicians, they see these justifications as disconnected from the actual medical evidence on mifepristone's safety.

They also discuss the FDA's ongoing "scientific review" of the drug, the historical basis for restricting mailed medication under the 1873 Comstock Act, and the hearing's timing alongside testimony from Jeffrey Epstein survivors.

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They break down support for major reforms, including expanding ACA subsidies, a public option, lowering the Medicare eligibility age, and Medicare for All, all of which poll surprisingly well, even across party lines. But the numbers also reveal a catch: the more specific and unfamiliar a policy, the shakier public support gets, and many voters remain skeptical Democrats will actually make corporations and the wealthy pay for it.

Dr. Rob makes the case for a simple governing philosophy: stop relitigating policy mechanics before you have the power to enact any of them, unify around “affordable healthcare for everyone,” win, and then fight over the details once you’re holding the gavel.

READ the polling from Navigator: https://navigatorresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Navigator-Update-07.14.2026.pdf