In this week’s episode, Miles and Dr. Rob break down a wild week in health care politics—starting with Trump’s “rural hospital Hunger Games,” a $50 billion scheme that pressures states to restrict food assistance and deregulate junk insurance in exchange for more funding. They also examine Texas’ new bounty-hunter abortion law, which opens the door to profit-driven surveillance of patients and providers, creating dangerous new incentives that could reshape daily life in the state.
Dr. Rob sits down with former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry, who shares why she resigned and what she witnessed inside an agency being pulled away from science. She outlines how political interference is reshaping vaccine guidance, weakening disease surveillance, and threatening core public health programs—and explains what doctors, parents, and policymakers need to understand about the risks ahead.
FOR OUR LISTENERS: Over the holidays, the Paging America podcast team will be answering your questions in a “mailbag” episode. Do you have a question for Committee Executive Director Dr. Rob Davidson or Chief-of-Staff Miles Baker? Send your question to chris@committeetoprotect.org with the Subject Line “Podcast Questions”. We’ll read your question on the air and give you the answer you’re looking for!
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Background reading:
POLITICO: ‘Sort of blackmail’: Billions in rural health funding hinge on states passing Trump-backed policies
The 19th: Texas’ new abortion ban aims to stop doctors from sending abortion pills to the state
The Guardian: CDC advisers delay vote on restricting infant hepatitis B vaccinations in tense meeting
MedPage Today: ACIP Leadership Shake-Up Before Hep B Vaccine Vote Alarms Experts
POLITICO: RFK Jr. ally, anti-vaccine lawyer to brief CDC vaccine meeting
MedPage Today: CDC Panel Targets Size of Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Safety of Aluminum Adjuvants
The Hill: Cassidy calls ACIP ‘totally discredited’ ahead of vaccine guidance votes
The Hill: Trump hails vaccine panel’s hepatitis B vote as ‘very good decision’
The Washington Post: FDA to investigate whether adult deaths linked to coronavirus vaccine
POLITICO: Senate Republicans set to put Cassidy-Crapo health proposal up for a vote Thursday
POLITICO: Cassidy, Crapo unveil alternative to Obamacare subsidies
POLITICO: House GOP erupts over health care as leaders hunt for a plan
POLITICO: New ACA subsidy extension bill draws 16 GOP co-sponsors
POLITICO: Frustrated Republicans move to force Obamacare vote as warnings mount about the midterms
NBC News: ‘We need to come up with something’: House Republicans struggle to agree on a health care plan
POLITICO: Anti-abortion group warns against forcing vote to expand Obamacare subsidies
POLITICO: Trump still hasn’t endorsed a plan to avoid impending Obamacare hikes for millions
TIME: I Left the CDC 100 Days Ago. My Worst Fears About the Agency Are Coming True
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