POLITICO's Pulse Check

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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Note: Dan is headed off on a reporting project, but Jason Millman will guest host on PULSE CHECK next week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. And keep your ears peeled: A full episode of PULSE CHECK will be posted at the regular time this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 bill, which reforms that he wants to see in an ACA replacement, and how he views the Democrat-led town hall protests last week — a tactic that FreedomWorks helped pioneer for Republicans in 2009. (Starts at the 30:50 mark.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liberal activists celebrated last week's raucous town halls — but did the pro-ACA chants actually change any Republican lawmakers' minds? What's in Speaker Paul Ryan's plan to repeal and replace the health law? And where does President Donald Trump's promise to strike down Obamacare actually stand? In a bonus episode, POLITICO's Jennifer Haberkorn and Paul Demko joined Dan Diamond to discuss their reporting from Iowa and Tennessee town halls, what's next for Trump's push and Paul's scoop from Friday — getting a first look at the House's ACA repeal bill. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. And keep your ears peeled: A full episode of PULSE CHECK will be posted at the regular time this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the biggest controversies in health care: The price of the EpiPen, which soared from $57 in 2007 to more than $300 last year. Critics said Mylan's steady price hikes were a sign of corporate greed. But Mylan CEO Heather Bresch — who appears on this week's PULSE CHECK — argues her decisions were motivated by bigger problems in the health care system. Bresch joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to defend her side of the EpiPen pricing controversy, discuss the role of middlemen in U.S. drug pricing, and explain why she wants her experience to be a way to expose the deeper problems with the drug industry (starts at the 1:30 mark). Then after the break, Mark Merritt, the head of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, joined to share his diagnosis for high drug prices, argue why pharmacy benefit managers are more than just middlemen, and reveal what it was like testifying in front of Congress with Martin Shkreli (starts at the 13:30 mark). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seema Verma isn't a household name in health care — but she's about to be. President Donald Trump's pick to run CMS has been a health policy consultant for multiple Republican governors, including then-Gov. Mike Pence in Indiana, and she's facing her Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. So what's waiting for Verma, and what would her likely confirmation mean for the health care industry? We talked to two people who would know. First, Tom Scully — the irascible health care lawyer and investor who ran CMS under President George W. Bush — joins PULSE CHECK to discuss leading the agency, why one of his first decisions was to change the name to "CMS," the advice he's given Verma and what he thinks she needs to do to be successful (starts at the 1:40 mark). Then after the break, Joan Alker — the executive director of Georgetown's Center for Children and Families — talks with POLITICO's Dan Diamond about Republicans' plans to reform Medicaid, what Verma's track record suggests she'll pursue if confirmed and the impact on the social safety net (starts at the 29:25 mark). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump says the drug industry is "getting away with murder" — but Stephen Ubl, the nation's top pharma lobbyist, says his industry's life-saving work has been overshadowed by a few bad actors. Ubl joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to share his thoughts on drug prices, his recent meeting with Trump, PhRMA's top priorities, and why Martin Shkreli and other controversial figures don't tell the whole story about the industry. (Starts at the 1:45 mark.) Then after the break, POLITICO's pharma reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith discusses her reporting on drug price reform. (Starts at 28:00.) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has talked about putting 'America First.' Who better to weigh in on the implications for global health than Ashish Jha, who leads Harvard's Global Health Institute and is a leader in U.S. health care research too. Jha joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his work on global health issues (starts at the 1:30 mark), his deep concerns about Trump's immigration ban and his own immigrant experience (5:00), how he juggles multiple roles as a professor, researcher and clinician (11:30), his research into gender and physician performance (17:30), ProPublica's surgeon scorecard (21:30), why he helped resurrect a climate change conference that CDC cancelled (30:30), and more. Also: Stay tuned for the lightning round that starts at 34:10. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One week ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president — and within hours, he was making moves to weaken the Affordable Care Act. After a frenetic week of news, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn joins Dan Diamond for an impromptu podcast to discuss President Trump's order and statements on the ACA, the state of the GOP's push to repeal and replace the law, how HHS Secretary-designate Tom Price's nomination is faring and other major stories shaping health care. *Note: Podcast was recorded before Friday night's POLITICO scoop that the Trump administration would allow HHS to run some outreach for the Affordable Care Act after all . We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Tom Price — Donald Trump’s pick to run HHS — needs to undergo a pair of Senate hearings before being confirmed. But he’s under attack from Democrats, after a series of stories linking Price’s stock trades to legislation that he’s written. As of Tuesday afternoon, Price’s initial hearing on Wednesday is still on. One reason why the timing matters: Trump has said that he won’t release his health reform plan until Price is confirmed. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), who co-authored the STOCK Act — which led to Price’s stock disclosures — first joins PULSE CHECK to talk about ethical issues in Congress, why she wants the SEC to investigate Price, and why she’s seeing a wave of support for Obamacare (starts at the 2:45 mark). Then after the break, Rodney Whitlock — who served as GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley’s health policy director — explains what to expect in a confirmation hearing, what lawmakers need to do to avoid Price’s fate, and where he thinks Republicans go from here (starts at 17:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Obamacare repeal, drug price reform — and vaccine investigations? President-elect Donald Trump has pushed all three health care priorities this week, and Senate Republicans just advanced his agenda by voting to begin striking down the Affordable Care Act. First, POLITICO's pharma reporter Sarah Karlin-Smith joins Dan Diamond (starts at the 2:15 mark) to explain Republicans' early-morning vote on Thursday, discuss why Democrats voted against Sen. Bernie Sanders' proposal to import drugs from Canada, and walk through what Trump's attack on the pharma industry could mean. Then, Arthur Allen — POLITICO's eHealth editor and author of "Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver" — joins Dan (starts at 23:55) to discuss Trump's emerging plan to investigate vaccine safety and why it could be a disaster for public health. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Obamacare repeal battle is THE story in health care, but it's not the only one. On a special edition of PULSE CHECK, five POLITICO health care reporters talk about what they're seeing ahead for the Affordable Care Act, and also drill down on other recent industry news. First, Pro's Jen Haberkorn and Rachana Pradhan (starts at the 2:15 mark) join Dan Diamond to discuss whether GOP plans to repeal Obamacare remain realistic, North Carolina's last-ditch push for Medicaid expansion, and who they're watching this frantic week. After the break, Pro's Paul Demko and Sarah Karlin-Smith (starts at 23:15) offer updates on the court battle over insurer mega-mergers, what the Cures Act could do for the pharma sector, and whether the health care industry will benefit or suffer under the Trump administration. *Note: Podcast was recorded before Monday night's moves in Congress to slow down Obamacare repeal efforts. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One man is trying to repeal Obamacare. The other is trying to save it. As Congress returns and the health reform battle begins, this week's PULSE CHECK features two key figures on opposite sides of the Affordable Care Act. First, Rep. Phil Roe joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond (starts at the 1:40 mark) to explain his new ACA replacement proposal, which is backed by the Republican Study Committee, why he thinks Obamacare is in a "death spiral," and what he knows as a doctor who spent decades treating patients in rural Tennessee. After the break, Leslie Dach — a former top HHS official and the head of Protect Our Care, a new coalition of advocacy groups — talks about the plan to defend Obamacare (starts at the 24:30 mark), how they're judging success, and why he thinks Republicans are in "disarray." He's joined by Meaghan Smith, a former HHS official now at SKDknickerbocker. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Case made his fortune by founding AOL. A decade ago, he took a shot at fixing health care's problems with Revolution Health, a massively hyped startup. Now he's looking at health care as an investor and believes the 2016 election showed why those investments should be distributed around the country — and not just in Silicon Valley and the East Coast. Case joined PULSE CHECK to discuss how a billionaire businessman looks at health care and politics (1:55), how he thinks venture capitalists should approach the space (8:00), why he poured $100 million-plus dollars into a health care startup (13:00), his take on Donald Trump's election and the implications (25:30), how an AOL founder sees the rise of fake news (34:00), 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 [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seven years ago, the nation's biggest health care associations endorsed Obamacare. Now they're throwing their support behind Rep. Tom Price, who President-elect Donald Trump picked to run HHS — and lead the effort to take Obamacare apart. What does it mean to be an advocacy organization in the Trump era, and how do those groups pick their battles? First, AAMC's Atul Grover joins PULSE CHECK (starts at the 2:20 mark) to explain what an advocacy organization does, why his organization endorsed Price, and why they're still committed to fighting for coverage expansion. After the break, Manan Trivedi (24:10) explains why the National Physicians Alliance, a smaller association, is deeply opposed to Tom Price and Trump's planned health reforms. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Tom Price is President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, the trillion-dollar cabinet agency that oversees Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare and much more. But is Price ready to take on the enormous job — and what will he find when he gets there? A former HHS Secretary nominee and a well-regarded policy analyst break down what comes next. First, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle joins PULSE CHECK (starts at the 2:30 mark) to discuss what it was like to be nominated to run HHS, how the White House and other officials work together to craft health reform and why he thinks Democrats should find ways to work with Trump, not resist him. Then, Stuart Butler of the Brookings Institution joins PULSE CHECK (starts at the 23:20 mark) to go deep on Tom Price's policies, explain how they could change Obamacare and game out what Republicans will do next on health reform. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a moment of change in Washington. In January, Democrats will be out of the White House for the first time in eight years, and Republicans will have a free hand to enact their agenda. So this episode of PULSE CHECK is about influence: specifically, who's in position to influence that agenda — and what that means for health care. First, Ed Haislmaier of the Heritage Foundation — which is playing a key role in shaping the Trump transition — joins POLITICO's Dan Diamond (starts at the 2:20 mark) to discuss his think tank's approach to health care, how Obamacare should be repealed and which conservative ideas should inform the ACA's replacement. Then, Henry Waxman joins the podcast (starts at the 25:10 mark) to share his perspective as a longtime liberal lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, how congressional Democrats should work with the Trump administration and what worries him about Republicans' looming health care reforms. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-elect Donald Trump wants to strike down Obamacare, and the GOP-led Congress is eager to do it. But what are the realistic next steps, when will they happen, and what shouldn’t be overlooked? Two leading conservative thinkers — including the author of an Obamacare replacement plan — explain Republicans' options and point to clues on what will happen next. First, Doug Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 2:55 mark) to discuss what it’s like to lose a presidential election, what an Obamacare repeal-and-replace strategy could look like, and how he thinks Trump could govern. Then, Avik Roy of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 28:45 mark) to talk about his dramatic year where he publicly broke with the Republican party, why he’s written his own Obamacare replacement plan, and what we shouldn’t overlook about Trump’s health policy. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump's historic victory will lead to sweeping changes in America's politics and policy. That may start with health care: Trump has repeatedly pledged to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare. And he's got a GOP-led Congress to help him do it. But two influential figures — on opposite sides of the political spectrum — say the president-elect's rhetoric is about to collide with harsh reality: Rolling back the law isn't going to be easy. First, AEI's James Capretta joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 1:35 mark) to discuss his reaction to Trump's policy-light campaign and stunning victory, why he's an advocate of Speaker Paul Ryan's repeal-and-replace plan — which is expected to be Trump's blueprint — and why he thinks the Affordable Care Act isn't totally going away. Then, Families USA's Ron Pollack joined PULSE CHECK (starts at the 23:30 mark) to explain why he's declaring "total war" to keep Obamacare alive, why he thinks Gov. Matt Bevin's failure to completely roll back the ACA in Kentucky is a promising sign, and what happens to pro-Obamacare organizations like Enroll America. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Have questions, suggestions or feedback — especially given the political changes? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Twelve days before the election, and more than six years after it passed, Obamacare remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics. But why are voters so far apart, and where do opinions on health reform *really* stand? Harvard's Bob Blendon has the answers. Blendon, one of the most influential figures in public polling, is now working with POLITICO on a series of polls about health care, politics and more. He joined the "Pulse Check" podcast — along with POLITICO's Executive Editor for Health Joanne Kenen — to discuss takeaways from the latest POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll (starts at the 4:10 mark), why drug prices have emerged as a potential bipartisan reform (11:40), how voters rank certain health care priorities and why abortion is the ultimate "litmus test" issue (17:00), how polling has changed over time and why Brexit went wrong (26:50), and how much we should trust polling data at all (38:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 46:00. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy Slavitt is one of the most influential people in health care. He's also one of the busiest: The head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a long to-do list — and just 93 days left to do it. Back on PULSE CHECK by popular demand, Slavitt talks about Medicare's landmark physician payment law, which was finalized on Friday (starts at the 5:00 mark), Obamacare open enrollment (20:50), the concern over rising ACA rates in his home state of Minnesota and elsewhere (26:15), President Obama and other Democrats' push for the public option (29:45), the fight over Medicare's innovation center and the Part B demo (31:45), and how he feels watching the election, given that Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be choosing his successor (42:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 47:15. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bijan Salehizadeh enrolled at Columbia Medical School with the goal of becoming a hotshot cardiac surgeon. Just a few years later, he'd traded the operating room for the boardrooms of venture capital, where he became known as one of Silicon Valley's smartest health care investors. Now the managing director of Arlington, Va.-based NaviMed Capital — the rare "V.C. in D.C." — Bijan joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how he fell into this career and how investors evaluate opportunities (starts at the 2:10 mark), how he got pitched by a young Elizabeth Holmes, founder of a then-fledgling Theranos (10:30), whether digital health is delivering on its promise (25:00), and more. Also: Check out the lightning round that start at 41:35. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health Affairs is one of the most important platforms in health care. No health policy journal gets cited more often — just ask Chief Justice John Roberts, who referenced it when issuing his pivotal Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. And no journal has done more to chronicle the industry’s transformation, with a steady stream of blog posts, podcasts, and events that supplement its traditional peer-reviewed research. On this episode of PULSE CHECK, editor Alan Weil explains how it all comes together. Weil discusses how his career began as a 30-year-old in charge of a state Medicaid program (starts at the 2:15 mark), the importance of a “continuum of evidence” when making health policy (8:50), how he edits Health Affairs and decides what makes it in (15:45), how Health Affairs has become a bigger platform (28:00), and what he thinks of President Obama and other politicians publishing in academic journals (35:30). Also: Check out the abbreviated lightning round that starts at 38:15. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 47,000 people died from opioid-related causes in 2014. More deaths than from gun violence. More deaths than from car crashes. And the top job of fighting opioid abuse — of setting the nation's drug policy — is on the shoulders of this week's guest, Michael Botticelli. Botticelli joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast to discuss how he approaches drug policy (starts at the 2:20 mark), who’s to blame for the opioid epidemic (7:10 mark), how the White House is working to combat the nation’s heroin and opioid problems (14:00), the connection between the aggressive war on drugs and unrest in black communities today (20:18) and how he thinks about addictions like craving exercise, sex and gambling (25:40). Also: Check out the combo lightning round and crowd-sourced questions that start at 30:20. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Obamacare rates are going up 25 percent and insurers are dropping out. It's been a rough few months for the law — and pundits' doom-and-gloom predictions are only making Anne Filipic's job harder. Filipic is president of Enroll America, the non-profit group dedicated to boosting Obamacare enrollment, and she says that the reality on the ground is much more positive than the picture painted in D.C. And Filipic, who was then-Sen. Barack Obama's Iowa field manager in 2007, talks about how her team is again approaching Nov. 1 open enrollment like a national political campaign. Filipic joined POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast to discuss how she's thinking about Obamacare's looming open enrollment (starts at the 2:35 mark), whether she's worried about the future of the law (13:30 mark), how she shifted from White House official to health care leader (21:15), what Donald Trump means, and doesn't mean, for Obamacare (28:30) and how becoming a mom has changed her relationship with her work (35:20). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 39:10. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aneesh Chopra has a lot of titles. He was the nation's first Chief Technology Officer, under President Obama. He's been a venture capitalist, a consultant, an entrepreneur and an author. And according to David Axelrod, Chopra is an evangelist for the power of “digitizing information” — especially in health care. Chopra joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to reminisce about what they learned at the Advisory Board (starts at the 2:30 mark), why Chopra left the private sector to go work for Tim Kaine (8:15), what he did as the White House’s first CTO and his perspective on Obamacare (14:30), why he’s so bullish on the power of health data (23:30), why he thinks the government is leading the way (32:30), and what Silicon Valley can do in health care (40:15). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 51:10. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insurers like Aetna are dropping out. Rate requests are on the rise. It’s been a messy few weeks for Obamacare — and it’s Kevin Counihan’s job to clean it up. After Obamacare's exchanges sputtered to launch in 2013, Counihan was hired as marketplace CEO to make sure that a management mistake like that never happened again. But with major players like Aetna and UnitedHealth mostly walking away, and the remaining insurers asking for 24% rate hikes on average, Counihan's facing the biggest challenges of his tenure. Counihan sketches out his job as Obamacare’s marketplace CEO (starts at the 3:00 mark), explains how he’s thinking about the turnover in the market and why Aetna’s exit from 11 states is business as usual (4:30), who’s poised to win on the exchanges (9:45), how HHS is working to plug gaps as Aetna and other insurers walk away from markets (12:45), whether it matters if large insurers participate at all (19:00), how he’s approaching customers who are loath to purchase coverage (25:00), and why he’s not sweating Donald Trump getting rid of Obamacare (29:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the start of 2015, Marilyn Tavenner held one of the most important jobs in health care: Implementing Obamacare, as the head of CMS. Six months later, she'd swapped it for a completely different major role: Lobbying to change Obamacare, as the head of America's Health Insurance Plans. It's an unusual career shift, and it's given Tavenner — a long-time government official turned top lobbyist — a rare perspective on the changes unfolding in the industry. Tavenner talks about her early career as a nurse (2:20), her experience working for Tim Kaine in Virginia (5:30), the bumpy launch of Healthcare.gov and what Steven Brill's book gets wrong (9:45), what she'd have done differently as head of CMS and what she thinks of her successor Andy Slavitt (14:25), how she's doing on her top priorities and the reasons behind her unusual move from CMS to AHIP (17:50), the state of the health insurance industry (26:30), and what she sees ahead for Obamacare, Donald Trump, and more in 2016 (33:15). Plus: POLITICO's Paul Demko joins Dan to discuss his reporting on the health insurance industry. (39:50) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a top adviser to the Rubio campaign, Lanhee Chen fought Donald Trump's stampede through the primaries. Now he's coming to terms with the movement reshaping the Republican party — but that doesn't mean he's happy about it. Chen joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his growing career as a TV pundit (starts at the 1:50 mark), what he learned as the policy director of the 2012 Romney-Ryan campaign (6:15), what a Romney presidency would've looked like (15:00), why the Rubio campaign failed and Trump won the nomination (18:00), where the GOP really stands on health care (24:15), his thoughts on Obamacare (32:15), and perceptions of a wonk gap between conservatives and liberals (38:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 44:00. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The politics of health care are messy. Obamacare is haunted by myths. And that's why Harvard's Kate Baicker — a former White House economist and one of the nation's most acclaimed researchers — is so focused on using evidence, not anecdotes, to shape America's health policies. Baicker talks about building a career in research (starts at the 1:55 minute mark), her pioneering work with the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment (8:45), what she thinks of Obamacare’s cost controls and President Obama’s pitch for a public option (24:30), whether the ACA did enough to bend the cost curve (34:00), and what beltway pundits get wrong about health policy (41:30). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 46:10. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lamar Alexander is one of the most consequential legislators in Washington. The Tennessee Republican leads the Senate HELP committee — arguably the most important congressional committee for health care right now — and he's working to pass major bills on mental health, opioids and biomedical innovation and more. Sen. Alexander joined POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to discuss how his education background informs his perspective on health care(starts at the 2:40 mark), where several major pieces of health care legislation stand (9:45), why we need more funding for NIH (12:30), his thoughts on Obamacare (22:30), and what he learned from running for president and how he thinks about this year's race (29:45). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Republicans say they finally have a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare — six years after the Affordable Care Act passed. And Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who wrote Sen. John McCain’s health plan in 2008 and now runs the American Action Forum, insists we need to take it seriously. Holtz-Eakin joined POLITICO’s Dan Diamond to make the case for the GOP’s white paper (starts at the 3:00 mark), what conservative policy wonks want to change about taxing health insurance (8:50), how he grades Republicans’ signature health care ideas (13:00), why he’s pessimistic about the Affordable Care Act (19:45), how he thinks a potential President Donald Trump would use the plan (27:20), and what he learned from writing the 2008 McCain campaign’s health plan (30:45). Plus: Don’t miss the lightning round at 39:30. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Medicare's planned Part B pilot is either a necessary fix to a broken drug payment system — or the first step to President Donald Trump dismantling the Affordable Care Act. It all depends whom you ask. And this week, we asked Peter Bach and Ted Okon — a high-profile proponent and opponent of Medicare's pilot, respectively — to make their case. Bach joined Dan Diamond to discuss why drug spending has become such a huge problem (starts at the 2:00 mark), why Medicare's trying to change how it pays doctors for drugs (6:00), and how he defends the pilot against charges that it's an over-reach (14:15). Okon joined Dan to explain his criticism of Medicare's pilot (25:20), why he thinks the Part B demo is a dangerous over-reach (34:50), and why oncologists are especially vulnerable to payment changes (43:00). Plus: POLITICO's Sarah Karlin-Smith and Brett Norman join Dan to referee the Part B fight and predict what happens next. (49:17) We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Hotez has fought hookworm in Africa, demystified Ebola fears in America, and worked to eradicate many other infectious diseases over his storied thirty-year career. Now the Houston-based public health leader is confronting Zika — and he's worried that the Gulf Coast is in line for a financial and human disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Hotez joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how poverty is making the world sick (starts at the 1:45 mark), how the United States is partially to blame for creating the West's mosquito problem (6:15), why he's concerned about Zika and partisan politics hurting public health (10:20), how the cost of Zika will rival a natural disaster (16:10), and why he's getting worried about an explosion of disease in Europe. (26:45) In a bonus, POLITICO's Paul Demko — who covers the health insurance beat — explains the latest news about Obamacare rate hikes and how it's playing on the campaign trail (31:30). We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up, Karen DeSalvo never planned to have one of the nation’s most important health care jobs. Now she has two of them. As National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, she’s the White House’s point person on digitizing health care — and as acting Assistant Secretary for Health, she also helps guide the nation's public health strategy. Dr. DeSalvo joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss how she’s shaped by her upbringing (starts at the 1:20 mark), her perspective as New Orleans health commissioner post-Katrina (4:20), how she balances her two big jobs (15:45), the nation’s progress on digital records (20:00), and why white life expectancy has declined (32:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 42:00. We’d appreciate your help: Please share PULSE CHECK and rate us on your favorite podcast app! Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The nation's top infectious disease doctor doesn't scare easy. But Tom Frieden — the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — is deeply worried about the rise of Zika virus, which is spreading across the Americas and causing birth defects in babies. And he's shocked that Congress, which has refused to fund the White House's emergency Zika request, doesn't share his concern. Dr. Frieden joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain how he thinks about global disease threats (starts at the 2:00 mark), why Zika is posing an unprecedented threat (4:30) and why CDC desperately needs funding to fight the ongoing outbreak (8:50), what's behind the nation's opioid epidemic (17:20), and whether Americans' public health is really getting better (21:30) Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 24:50. In a bonus, POLITICO's Nancy Cook — who's been tracking health care issues on the 2016 campaign trail — explains why Republican candidates for Congress are starting to talk about the opioid epidemic, and what we know about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's health plans (28:40). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only a few people know what it's like to lead the White House's response to a public health crisis. Ron Klain is one of them. He was chosen in 2014 by President Obama to steer the U.S. effort to fight Ebola, just when it looked like the outbreak was about to spiral out of control. Ron joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain how he became the U.S. Ebola "czar" (starts at the 2:00 mark), why he thinks the nation is losing the current fight against Zika (8:25), why a travel ban was a "horrible idea" for Ebola and would be "pointless" for Zika (17:00), why he wouldn't cancel Brazil's Olympics yet (23:00), how he'd design a new federal agency to fight the next public health emergency (24:30), and how fighting Ebola compares to his experiences in the Bush v. Gore recount, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and other high-profile Washington battles (32:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 36:45. In a bonus, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn — who's been covering the Zika funding fight on the Hill — offers details on the latest funding packages and why Congress is dawdling (41:00). Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pick a health care battle in D.C. over the past three decades. Chip Kahn's been at the center of it — first as a top insurance lobbyist, then as a key Capitol Hill staffer, and now as the head of the Federation of American Hospitals. Chip sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to talk about how he shaped the infamous "Harry and Louise" ad campaign (starts at the 3:10 mark), what it takes to be an effective Washington lobbyist (11:00), how the hospital industry is evolving amid reforms (16:00), whether bipartisan health policymaking is doomed (23:00), if supporting Obamacare hurt him among Republicans and his perspective on Medicare's controversial Part B demo (30:00), and how he sees the 2016 election for health care (37:45) Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 44:45. Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Farzad Mostashari has been on the frontlines of health care's biggest stories — from New York City's war on smoking to the Obama administration's $30 billion push for electronic health records. Now he's the CEO of Aledade, a fast-growing company that blends digital and population health and riding the wave of Obamacare startups. Farzad sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his beginnings in public health (starts at the 2:20 mark), his move to become the nation's leader on health IT (8:55), his thoughts on the Meaningful Use program (15:00), what it's like to be a government regulator (20:30), why he started Aledade (28:00), whether MACRA is a boon for the industry (34:00), if independent doctors are endangered and how new Medicare pilots will help (41:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 48:00. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where's health care headed? No one knows better than Andy Slavitt, who runs Medicare and Medicaid — the nearly $1 trillion gorilla that shapes the industry — and who runs point on implementing Obamacare. Andy sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain what it's like to lead one of the government's biggest agencies (starts at the 2:00 mark), how he got into health care and his efforts to demystify CMS (5:45), what it was like to be a contractor on the failed Obamacare exchange launch (18:00), how a Republican president could pick his successor (26:45), his thoughts on payment reform pilots (31:00), UnitedHealthcare pulling out of the ACA exchanges (39:00), why rising drug prices could be the top issue for Andy's successor (43:00), and how CMS lost the hearts and minds of doctors — and how the new physician payment rule, called MACRA, is going to get them back. (46:45) Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 54:45. Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing POLITICO's new health policy and politics podcast — Pulse Check, hosted by Dan Diamond! Subscribe to this feed for the latest updates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices