KFF Health News journalists made a series of media appearances in mid‑August to discuss reporting on vaccines, Medicaid systems, maternal health tools and health care costs. Their interviews aired on national and local programs and drew on KFF reporting published in recent weeks.
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor‑at‑large for public health and a former melanoma patient, spoke about the potential of Moderna’s melanoma vaccine on CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on Aug. 19. The segment linked Gounder’s professional work to her personal experience; a video of the appearance was made available online.
On Aug. 18, KFF senior correspondent Rachana Pradhan discussed reporting about an information‑technology problem run by Deloitte that led to Medicaid coverage denials for disabled Michiganders on NPR’s Stateside. Pradhan’s on‑air conversation referenced a written piece she co‑reported with Samantha Liss and Kate Wells that examined the system failures and subsequent policy consequences.
Renuka Rayasam, a senior correspondent for KFF, explained how hospitals are using wristbands as a tool to help reduce maternal deaths on WUGA’s The Georgia Health Report on Aug. 14. That reporting connected to an article by Andrew Jones describing how wristbands have been used in some hospital settings to address childbirth risks.
KFF’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on Slate’s What Next podcast on Aug. 13 to discuss President Donald Trump’s executive order on childhood vaccines, and earlier on Aug. 11 she spoke about Medicare on Attitude With Arnie Arnesen. Ethnic media editor Paula Andalo talked on Radio Bilingüe’s Línea Abierta on Aug. 12 about an uninsured patient who saved thousands of dollars by shopping around for the best price on surgery; KFF published the patient’s story in a Bill of the Month feature.
These broadcast appearances translate KFF reporting into conversations for broader audiences. The topics — a vaccine development from a major biotech firm, operational failures in state Medicaid systems, low‑cost strategies to prevent maternal deaths, and the experience of people paying out of pocket for care — all touch on policy, access and patient safety.
The interviews also link national policy discussions to local consequences. The Deloitte‑run IT failure that Pradhan covered had immediate effects on people in Michigan, while the maternal wristband reporting focused on hospital practices that aim to affect outcomes at the bedside. Gounder’s segment connected advances in vaccine research to patient experience, using her background as both a clinician and a former patient.
KFF published or promoted the underlying reporting and provided listeners and readers with ways to access the full stories and broadcast clips:
Each segment as aired included context and a path for audiences to read the longer KFF pieces for more detail.
The on‑air appearances were concentrated between Aug. 11 and Aug. 19, 2026, and included national outlets (CBS News 24/7, NPR, Slate) as well as local and ethnic media (WUGA, Radio Bilingüe). KFF credited the reporters involved and linked to the articles, podcast episodes or audio segments where available.
Named correspondents and contributors included Céline Gounder, Rachana Pradhan, Renuka Rayasam, Julie Rovner, and Paula Andalo. Reporting referenced in the segments was produced by KFF journalists, sometimes with additional reporting from colleagues such as Samantha Liss, Kate Wells and Andrew Jones.
The on‑air summaries directed audiences to the full KFF articles and recordings for further facts. The source material did not report additional clinical trial data, regulatory decisions, or policy actions beyond what was covered in the linked KFF pieces and the broadcast conversations. Specific next steps for the vaccine, remediation plans for the Deloitte‑run IT system, or formal evaluations of the wristband programs were not detailed in the on‑air summaries referenced in the source.
KFF provided direct links to the broadcast clips and the written reporting for anyone seeking the full interviews or more comprehensive coverage. The organization also included tags and topic pages for readers interested in related subjects such as Vaccines, Medicaid, Pregnancy, and Insurance.
Listeners and readers can access the referenced segments on the cited program pages and read the accompanying KFF articles to get the original reporting, sources and any further developments as they are published.
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