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Hey it's Todd. Just a quick heads up before we start the show. The news is constantly changing

and things might have changed by the time you hear this episode.

Stay up to date with the news by listening to your local NPR member station and by visiting

nPR.org for all the latest. Thanks for listening. Enjoy the show.

You're listening to the 1A podcast. I'm Todd's Willigan for Jen White and today it's a health care roundup if you like. First we'll check in on a major news story a

cyber attack on one of the biggest health care companies in the United States

it's disrupted pharmacies and hospitals throughout the country. Change health care is owned by

United Health Group it's the biggest processor of medical claims in the whole nation.

The unpaid bills are piling up, and doctors and pharmacists are warning that the disruption

is harming their ability to even stay open.

The Department of Health and Human Services revealed a plan to deal with the fallout

from the attack.

It encourages advanced funding to the hardest hit organizations, and the Center for Medicare

and Medicaid Services said that it's considering going back to a pandemic era plan of accelerated payments for individuals.

How far can help from those federal agencies go and what does this attack reveal about the security

and the vulnerability of the largest health care companies in the United States.

Later we'll check in on rising drug prices, where and how abortion is showing up on the ballot,

and discuss the end of the federal-free at-home COVID testing program.

We'll meet our panel of health care experts right after a break, so stay with us.

We've got a lot to get into.

...