Supreme Court Makes Health Policy

The Supreme Court wrapped up its 2025-26 session this week with a spate of decisions, including several affecting health policy. The most significant: an immigration case that could exacerbate a shortage of workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

Meanwhile, two separate investigations paint in vivid detail how some doctors and hospitals are pocketing huge profits as a result of a federal law intended to shield patients from surprise medical bills.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Amanda Seitz of KFF Health News.

Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:

The Supreme Court ended its term this week by issuing several decisions with major implications for American health. They included one ruling allowing more leeway for the president to fire members of independent federal agencies, as well as a ruling blocking lawsuits under state laws from those who claim they were harmed by the weedkiller glyphosate. In particular, the court’s decision enabling the president to end temporary protected status for certain immigrants is expected to have serious consequences for the long-term and elder care industries, both of which rely heavily on Haitian migrants and are already experiencing staffing shortages.

The Department of Health and Human Services reissued the charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, upending the precedent that members must have professional expertise in vaccines. The change is expected to allow the panel — which has been tied up in litigation — to move forward with members appointed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the Republican chairman of the Senate’s primary health committee, finally broke his silence about Kennedy’s confirmation promises. The senator, who lost his bid for reelection to a primary challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump, said he believes Kennedy violated the agreements he made to not disrupt vaccine policy in exchange for Cassidy’s vote. Kennedy again denied that charge.

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Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too: 

Julie Rovner: Modern Healthcare’s “Carbon Health Settles ‘Corporate Practice of Medicine’ Case,” by Michael McAuliff.

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Stateline’s “Federal Health Agency Cancels Most of its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Grants,” by Kelcie Moseley-Morris.

Lizzy Lawrence: The Wall Street Journal’s “The Baby Formula Probe Produced a Pile of Evidence. Then the DOJ Dropped the Case,” by Dave Michaels, Sadie Gurman, and Liz Essley Whyte.

Amanda Seitz: ProPublica’s “‘Digital Colonialism’: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns,” by Sharon Lerner and Anna Maria Barry-Jester.

Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:

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