Julie Rovner

Julie Rovner is a health policy journalist, with a career spanning four decades covering the intersection of medicine, politics, and public policy. Rovner has covered Capitol Hill since the 1980s, developing expertise in health care policy, health care financing, abortion, welfare, and disability issues.

Rovner serves as chief Washington correspondent at KFF Health News, where she hosts the weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" She previously spent 16 years as a health policy correspondent for NPR, contributing to the network's coverage of the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Earlier in her career, Rovner covered health reform for Medical News Network, an interactive daily television news service for physicians, and provided analysis and commentary on health reform debates in Congress for NPR. Her work has appeared in a range of national outlets, including television appearances on PBS NewsHour, CNN, C-Span, MSNBC, and NOW with Bill Moyers. Her articles have been published in The Washington Post, USA Today, Modern Maturity, and The Saturday Evening Post.

Rovner is the author of the reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now in its third edition. She is also co-author of the book "Managed Care Strategies 1997" and has contributed to several other books, including two chapters in "Intensive Care: How Congress Shapes Health Policy." Rovner is a regular contributor to The Lancet medical journal, and her columns on patients' rights for Business and Health magazine earned her a share of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award.

Rovner received the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting of Congress for her coverage of the passage of the Medicare prescription drug law and its aftermath. Through her podcast and reporting at KFF Health News, Rovner analyzes complex policy developments, such as the impact of federal budget cuts on children's insurance coverage and interviews with leading senators on health care issues. Her experience and reporting have established Rovner as a leading voice in health policy journalism.