The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Is Officially Over, Does Access To Healthcare Go With It?

The formal end of the national Public Health Emergency on Thursday is largely a symbolic and psychological step, representing the country’s formal emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, several core aspects of America’s pandemic-era emergency safety net are also coming to a close, from extra food assistance to automatic re-enrollment in Medicaid. Before the pandemic, people would regularly lose their Medicaid coverage if they started making too much money to qualify for the program, gained health care coverage through their employer or moved to a new state. But the federal government prohibited states from kicking people off Medicaid during the pandemic, even if they were no longer eligible. Now dozens of states are launching reviews of their Medicaid recipients and removing those deemed ineligible. Here to discuss the end of the Public Health Emergency and the ramifications in access to healthcare are Jackie Fortiér, LAist senior health reporter, Dan Diamond, national health reporter for The Washington Post, and Doctor Kavita Patel, former director of policy under the Obama administration.

With files from the Associated Press

You can read Jackie Fortér's latest reporting on the federal COVID Health Emergency ending here.

What’s It Like To Have A Miscarriage And How Does It Change You?

Miscarriages are incredibly common. Research suggests as many as 26% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, most of them within the first trimester. Many people have a miscarriage before they even know they're pregnant. Miscarriages have long been shrouded in secrecy. In fact, the fear of miscarriage is one of the reasons behind what's known as the "12-week" rule -- not disclosing you're pregnant until after the first trimester. A lot of people have argued for doing away with that unofficial rule because it isolates pregnant people and the isolation and emotional pain can get worse with miscarriage. Today on AirTalk, Jessica Zucker, psychologist specializing in reproductive health and author of "I had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, A Movement" (The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2021), joins to discuss the various impacts of miscarriage.

What’s Happening At The Border As Title 42 Pandemic Restrictions Come To An End?

The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, marking a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction.

The new rule represents a significant shift in the way the U.S. deals with asylum seekers who have been showing up at the border in huge numbers in anticipation of this week’s end of the use of a restriction known as Title 42 that allows the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as the program tied to the COVID-19 pandemic expires this week. The rule announced Wednesday is part of new measures meant to crack down on illegal border crossings while creating new legal pathways, including a plan to open 100 regional migration hubs across the Western Hemisphere, administration officials said. U.S. officials have detailed steps they’ve taken to prepare for what many are expecting to be a substantial increase in migrants attempting to enter the U.S. Today on AirTalk, we talk about what’s happening at the border and the White House as Title 42 comes to an end. Joining to discuss is Michelle Hackman, reporter covering immigration out of Washington for the The Wall Street Journal.

With files from the Associated Press

Longtime NPR Editor, Producer’s New Book Explores the Truman Committee, And How Its Success Vaulted Harry Truman To The Presidency

Today, many of the investigative panels and committees formed in Congress are seen by many as opportunities for elected officials to engage in political theater and grind their axes with the opposing party, with little change resulting. But believe it or not, there are examples in U.S. history of committees like this that actually have spurred visible change. In his new book “The Watchdog,” longtime NPR senior editor and producer Steve Drummond digs into one of those success stories -- the Truman Committee. President Franklin Roosevelt formed the group in 1941 to investigate wartime corruption and production inefficiencies, Truman’s success as the group’s leader helped him rise to stardom on Capitol Hill, and eventually led him to be tapped as FDR’s vice president for his fourth term. Truman would eventually become president following Roosevelt’s death.

Today on AirTalk, Steve Drummond is with us to talk about his new book, and why the Truman Committee is still considered today to be one of the most successful government-led investigative efforts in U.S. history.

TV-Talk: As WGA Strike Continues, What’s At Stake For Studio Producers In Negotiations?

It’s been over a week now since the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the union that represents tens of thousands of writers in television and film, went on strike to protest wages and lack of transparency from the studios that they work with. In the WGA’s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the association representing studios, much has been made of the lack of revenue sharing as a result of the advent of streaming, with writers genuinely not knowing how much money is made from the shows they work on once they hit the streamers that many consumers use today. So how is revenue attributed with streamers, particularly given the vast amount of material they release year-to-year? How are budgets being set nowadays as opposed to previously? What kind of push-and-pull is there for studio-affiliate producers to work with those they oversee and those who oversee them?

Today on AirTalk’s weekly television segment, we try and breakdown what we know about the AMPTP’s stance on the current WGA negotiations with Bull's Eye Entertainment founder Tom Nunan and David Offenberg, associate professor of entertainment finance Loyola Marymount University.

We reached out to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for comment but they declined to join.