Politico's Pulse Check

Republicans' health care push continues to grip the Capitol and keep the industry on high alert. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we review how that effort is unfolding in D.C. but also in Ohio, in a sit-down interview with one of America's most powerful health care leaders. First, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn joins Dan Diamond to discuss her reporting on the latest twists and turns in the GOP health care push (starts at the 1:45 mark). Then Dr. Toby Cosgrove, the heart surgeon who runs the Cleveland Clinic, talks about why he turned down both the Obama and Trump administration's overtures about being VA Secretary, what he's telling Ohio Sen. Rob Portman about Republicans' health bill and his view on the health care industry's challenges (starts at the 12:45 mark). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com or tweet him @ddiamond.

It's a big week in health care, and POLITICO's reporters are here to help you sort through it. In a bonus episode of PULSE CHECK, senior reporter Jennifer Haberkorn joined Dan Diamond to discuss what to expect this week (starts at the 1:40 mark), the procedural hurdles that Republicans need to jump through (3:30), other possible turning points (14:30), a rundown of where key GOP senators stand (16:30), and media coverage of the health care debate (23:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com or tweet him @ddiamond.

The Senate health bill is here, and Neera Tanden is furious. Neera's a major figure in Democratic politics: She's the head of the liberal Center for American Progress, a former Obama administration staffer — and someone who was heavily favored to be HHS Secretary in a prospective Clinton administration. Neera joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss Republicans' health care process (starts at the 1:40 mark), their proposed changes to Medicaid (6:00), how she thinks it will play in upcoming elections (12:30), what the Clinton administration would've done on health care (19:40), what it was like having her email hacked (22:45), what it's like to run an organization like CAP today (27:00), her advice to young activists (30:00), and if it's a setback for progressives if the bill passes (36:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com or tweet him @ddiamond.

President Donald Trump reportedly bashed the House health bill as “mean, mean, mean." But will the Senate's version be any better? And what do experts want senators to know as they finalize their bill? On this episode of PULSE CHECK, Dan Diamond talks with two people with very different perspectives — and significant concerns — as changes to the health system loom in Congress. First, Diane Rowland of the Kaiser Family Foundation sits down (starts at the 2:25 mark) to talk about Kaiser’s latest polling on Republicans’ health care efforts and how possible Medicaid cuts could hurt Trump's voters. Then after the break, John Sculley, the former CEO of Apple and Pepsi and now a health care investor and executive, talks about his own meetings with Republicans on the Hill this week and his thoughts on how dramatic changes could complicate the business of health care. (Starts at 30:46.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback

The Senate is driving forward on its health care bill, with a vote looming as soon as late June — even though it's still not clear what's in the bill or if they'll have the votes. How should you think about the Senate's push? Rodney Whitlock — who was health care adviser to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley — joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss the dynamics of the Senate and what's at stake in the health care fight. Meanwhile: there’s a lot more to health care than the ACA and AHCA. And after the break, Niall Brennan — the former chief data officer for Medicare and Medicaid and the new head of the Health Care Cost Institute — discusses the biggest spending problems in health care and whether we can trust the data that the Trump administration is publishing. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com or tweet him @ddiamond.

There aren’t many health care executives like Jonathan Bush — the outspoken CEO of Athenahealth, a health IT company. (Frankly, there aren’t many executives like Bush anywhere; he seems to ruffle feathers with every interview.) Bush sat down with POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to discuss the health IT landscape, what Washington gets wrong about the industry and why — despite his famous political family — he chose to focus on health care and feels free to say basically anything. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Republicans’ health care legislation continues to lurch forward, with the Congressional Budget Office this week again predicting the bill will lead to 20-million-plus more uninsured in a decade. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we discuss how the CBO score is playing in Washington and what’s ahead for the unpopular bill. First, POLITICO’s Jen Haberkorn and Paul Demko discuss their reporting from Capitol Hill, address the latest reports about the health of Obamacare and share how the Senate is approaching its efforts. (Starts at 1:45.) Then, Matt Fiedler of the Brookings Institution — and the former chief economist of the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisers — shares his analysis of the GOP bill and why he thinks the most recent changes made it worse. (Starts at 27:10.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

How does a major media outlet decide how much to cover Republicans’ health bill when Russia’s the talk of the town? Carrie Budoff Brown would know — she’s the editor of POLITICO and was one of the top reporters covering the health care debate in 2009-2010. Carrie joined Dan Diamond on PULSE CHECK to discuss how the current health care fight compares to Democrats’ battles eight years ago, where Republicans’ health bill ranks as a media priority, what it’s like leading a newsroom in the Trump era, and what she’s learned from hosting her own podcast, WOMEN RULE. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! (And check out WOMEN RULE, too!) Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

The Affordable Care Act has polled poorly for years — but Republicans’ health bill is polling even worse. What does it mean for the GOP to have such an unpopular bill, and how can progressives take advantage of it? On this PULSE CHECK, you’ll hear from two experts in political messaging and strategy. First, Jon Favreau, who was the chief speechwriter for President Obama and is a cofounder of Crooked Media, a new liberal political media network, sits down with POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to talk about setting Affordable Care Act strategy, Republicans’ struggles to craft a health bill of their own, and how his views on media have changed since starting a media company. (Starts at the 1:50 mark.) Then after the break, Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist who helped attack the Affordable Care Act, explains why Obamacare’s pre-existing conditions protections are the “nuclear bomb” against critics of the law, why he's no fan of Republicans' current health care strategy, and how the GOP is risking the party’s political f

The Republican plan to repeal Obamacare has made it through the House. What are its chances in the Senate, and what's the ripple effect for the industry? That's the focus of this week's PULSE CHECK, with a mix of news analysis and a guest who may have lost his job because of his pro-Obamacare advocacy. First, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn and Adam Cancryn join Dan Diamond to discuss their reporting about the American Health Care Act and what lies ahead in the Senate (Starts at the 1:30 mark.) Then Mario Molina, the former head of Molina Healthcare who was fired this week, joins PULSE CHECK to discuss his surprising exit, his view on the Republican health bill and why he doesn't regret speaking out in support of Obamacare (Starts at 35:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Republicans' health bill is back, and so is the PULSE CHECK podcast. There’s a lot up in the air as of Thursday — the White House wants a quick vote on the bill before the president’s first 100 days are up, but the House GOP appears to lack the votes. Meanwhile, President Trump is still threatening to stop paying crucial subsidies, which could lead to health insurers pulling out of the Affordable Care Act altogether. First, Ceci Connolly, the former Washington Post health reporter who’s now head of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, joins POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to explain how her health plan members are reacting to the tumult in D.C. Then after the break, Cynthia Cox of the Kaiser Family Foundation goes deeper on the Obamacare subsidies – known as cost-sharing reductions — and the state of the Affordable Care Act exchanges. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Republicans remain divided on the future of their stalled repeal effort, and President Donald Trump is signaling he’s not ready to give up the fight just yet. In the meantime, Obamacare insurance marketplaces are facing tight deadlines ahead the next enrollment season. Starting this month, insurers in some states will have to start filing 2018 rates amid uncertainty about whether Congress will replace the health care law or if the Trump administration will really let Obamacare fail. Mila Kofman, head of the Obamacare exchange in Washington, D.C., explains what this uncertainty means for the insurance marketplaces as they plan for the next enrollment season.

There's a lot of fuss around the House GOP's health care plan — but how real is it? POLITICO's Paul Demko talks with Dan Diamond about Republicans' latest push and whether there's any "there" there. (Starts at the 1:30 mark.) Then after the break, Austin Frakt — a well-known health care economist, blogger and New York Times "Upshot" contributor — joins PULSE CHECK to discuss the state of health care research and how to build a career in the public eye (starts at the 14:10 mark.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com. Note: Dan is headed off on a reporting project, but Jason Millman will guest host on PULSE CHECK next week.

Conservatives are feuding with the White House over health care. House Speaker Paul Ryan is warning President Trump against doing a deal with Democrats. If there's a path to health reform, it may run through moderate Republicans — and on this PULSE CHECK, you’re going to hear from two of the most prominent in Congress. First, Rep. Charlie Dent — a leader of the center-right Tuesday Group — joins to discuss last week's collapse of House Republican efforts to repeal the ACA, why he thinks a bipartisan deal is so important, and what it was like to get yelled at by the president. (Starts at the 1:45 mark.) Then Sen. Susan Collins joins PULSE CHECK to discuss "the shrinking center" on Capitol Hill, the path where health reform could go, and why she thinks her bill with Sen. Bill Cassidy is the right compromise for right now. (Starts at 20:20). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Obamacare repeal is dead — so long live Obamacare? POLITICO’s Paul Demko and Rachana Pradhan rejoin Dan Diamond to discuss the collapse of Republicans’ health bill, their reporting from the week, and where the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act goes from here. First, they marvel and recap the week that was (starts at the 7:30 mark),then talk about what’s next for the GOP (34:45), and run through a quick lightning round (47:15) in the final bonus episode of the short-lived American Health Care Act-era. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Zeke Emanuel got his third meeting with President Donald Trump this week — and Emanuel said he delivered his trademark "straight talk" to Trump as the GOP prepares to vote on the American Health Care Act. “Any rational person has to be worried about this bill,” Emanuel told POLITICO’s Dan Diamond about the GOP’s plan to repeal Obamacare. “It’s unacceptable.” Emanuel joined PULSE CHECK to answer questions about his meetings with Trump, discuss his own experiences helping craft the Affordable Care Act, explain why he’s so worried moving about health care moving forward, and even talk a bit about his famous brothers. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

Speaker Paul Ryan is vowing that the House on Thursday will pass the American Health Care Act, Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Rachana Pradhan and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss the state of play around Republicans’ health bill, its chances of passage and their recent reporting on Medicaid issues and the insurance industry. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com. And keep your ears peeled: A full episode of PULSE CHECK will be posted at the regular time this week.

For four years, Rep. Joe Kennedy III has sought a deliberately low profile as a relatively young member of Congress with a famous last name. But after an epic 27-hour markup last week — and tens of millions of views on social media later — Kennedy has quickly emerged as a national face of resistance to Republicans' health bill and a rising Democrat to watch. Kennedy joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss what it was like to spend 27 hours straight arguing in Congress over health care (starts at the 1:45 mark), the key takeaways from his comments (8:00), whether Democrats' all-night resistance actually accomplished anything (14:30), his famous last name (18:45), the future of the Democratic party (25:00), and more. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email ddiamond@politico.com.

The Republican health care bill has landed — and largely with a thud. Two heavy hitters join POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to explain what they like (and don’t) about the GOP effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. First, Rick Pollack, head of the American Hospital Association, joins PULSE CHECK to discuss why the powerful lobbying group has come out strongly against the Republican health plan, why he’s also concerned about the travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries and how hospitals have performed under Obamacare. (Starts at the 1:40 mark.) Then after the break, Lisa Nelson, who leads the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC — a powerful conservative organization that played a key role in resisting the Affordable Care Act — explains why she endorsed Republicans’ decision to move forward on repeal, if not necessarily the details of their plan, and why she thinks the ACA has been so bad for the nation. (Starts at the 23:00 mark.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night exhorted Congress to immediately repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, getting multiple standing ovations. Just one problem: Republicans still don’t have a clear blueprint to do it. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, we look at the state of Obamacare repeal, with the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican party feuding over next steps. As of now, the party doesn't have the votes to move forward. First, Tevi Troy of the American Health Policy Institute — a former White House staffer and HHS deputy secretary under President George W. Bush — joins Dan Diamond to explain the strategy and power behind Trump’s speech, assess the administration’s progress after 40 days, and discuss whether Trump is the right president to take a 3 a.m. emergency phone call. (Starts at the 1:45 mark.) Then after the break, Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, explains why he’s thrilled that Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are making a stand against the House GOP’s repeal