Long COVID: 2023’s Enduring Medical Mystery

The diagnosis and treatment of Long COVID made many advancements in the past 12 months and “Conversations on Health Care” covered all of them. We’ve collected the most important insights from leading researchers and clinicians as this medical mystery continues. Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as they highlight the perspectives of guests ranging from NIH researchers and patients, to the leader of the Mayo Clinic’s COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program.

Are You Up to Date on Health Care Policy & Innovation as 2024 Kicks Off? We Can Help.

A new year brings hope for breakthroughs for our most complex health care issues. The leading thinkers have been sharing their perspectives with us. We’ve captured the highlights from our recent interviews covering vaccinations, abortion, mental health and all the top stories. Plus, we have important updates for 2024. Click below to join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for “Conversations on Health Care.”

Reporters' Roundtable: Why Health Care Will Impact the Election—But To Whose Advantage?

It’s about seven months to election day and our regular panel of health care journalists sees a lot of divisions in the electorate. Joyce Frieden, who’s in charge of MedPage Today's coverage of Washington and health policy, says the debate over abortion is driving voter interest. Yet Ben Leonard, a health care reporter at POLITICO, notes that Republican voters place issues such as immigration ahead of health care.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Weixel, a health policy reporter for The Hill, says the health care sector should consider itself a winner for avoiding the chopping block during the recent federal budget showdown. This trio of journalists joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to share their insights about their news stories including Washington’s take on artificial intelligence in health care and efforts to get federal dollars for the new obesity drugs.

How Could Medical Racism Fuel Soaring Black Youth Suicide Rate? Answers and Solutions

Black children ages 5 to 12 are twice as likely to die by suicide as their white counterparts, and the rate of suicides among Black teens is rising faster than any other racial/ethnic group.

Those statistics are alarming to most people, but they’re not surprising to Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) Chief Resident and Child Psychiatry Fellow Dr. Amanda J. Calhoun.

“Experiences of anti-Black racism affect kids before they are even born,” says Dr. Calhoun.

The stress of anti-Black racism on Black mothers, including experiencing inferior care by health care providers, has been linked to low birthweight babies, putting Black infants at greater risk for developing depression and other mental health disorders.

In addition, racist beliefs start to become ingrained in children as young as four years old, which means that Black children start to experience racism from their peers and teachers as early as preschool.

“It’s not the school-to-prison pipeline. It’s the preschool-to-prison pipeline,” says Calhoun. Black children are more likely to be suspended from or arrested in school than their peers.

When they seek help, Black children are the most likely to be physically restrained in emergency departments. And they are more likely to be diagnosed with disruptive mood disorders than white children with comparable symptomatology.

“You have people who are traumatized, who are being traumatized, by people who are supposed to help them,” says Dr. Tichianaa Armah, Chief Psychiatry Officer and Vice President of Behavioral Health at Community Health Center, Inc.

“Of course, they are going to have poor mental health outcomes,” says Dr. Calhoun.

Dr. Armah and Dr. Calhoun tell “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that they have seen the effects of this early trauma up close in their work and are exploring what measures can be taken to protect young Black lives.

Dr. Calhoun is leading a Black Youth Mental Health Clinical Case Conference Series at Yale University where experts will weigh in on complex clinical cases involving Black youth presented by YCSC trainees.

Record Heat Wave: L.A.’s Chief Heat Officer Speaks Out

Scientists say this July was the Earth’s warmest month on record in “hundreds, if not thousands, of years.” The City of Los Angeles is taking a unique approach to help its people deal with the record-breaking temperatures through the leadership of Marta Segura, one of the few appointed chief heat officers in the world. Her work is focused on finding solutions when the weather causes physical and mental health issues and she’s keeping equity at the forefront of their efforts.

She has tough words in her interview with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter, including criticism of the Texas governor for nullifying local ordinances that had provided workers protection from devastating, triple-digit temperatures.

Vaping Crisis, Public Health Heroes and Open Notes: A Look Back at the Best of 2019

This week, Mark and Margaret take a look at some of the highlights from the shows of 2019, the year we celebrated ten years on the air. They revisit their conversations with Flint Michigan pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha on the water crisis, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids CEO Matthew Myers on the vaping crisis, and health care innovators like Dr.Tom Delbanco of Open Notes and primary care transformer Dr. Bodenheimer, and the show's 500th guest, House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

Henry J. Aaron, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Henry J. Aaron, the Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Senior Fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He analyzes the case before the Supreme Court, King versus Burwell, which challenges the legality of the tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and the potential impact of the High Court's decision.

Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on the revolution in how patients and provider are harnessing the power of social media to improve communication and health care. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, about how social media tools are engaging patients and providers, advancing medical knowledge, and improving the patient experience.

Targeted Therapies and Big Cost Savings: Personalized Medicine Coalition President Edward Abrahams on Precision Medicine's Potential

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Edward Abrahams, President of the Personalized Medicine Coalition which supports the emerging science of precision medicine and the huge potential it holds for cost savings with pharmacogenomics, targeted therapies, and improved outcomes for patients and health systems. They discuss the Coalition's upcoming summit at Harvard which will bring together policy makers, leading scientists, advocates and provider organizations to devise strategies for advancing precision medicine.

New Ways to Solve Big Health Problems: Lola Adedokun, Aspen Global Innovators Group

Lola Adedokun is executive director of the Aspen Global Innovators Group, which advances a portfolio of programs focused on health and prosperity in the U.S. and around the world. This work includes a focus on what she calls powerful women who are redesigning health systems to better meet the needs of families. Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as Adedokun explains how local leaders are at the forefront of designing solutions that work for local populations.

Dr. Howard Adelman, co-director of the national School Mental Health Project, a strategy to bring behavioral health services to schools.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on behavioral health in our nation’s schools. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Howard Adelman, co-director of the School Mental Health Project in California and its federally supported National Center for Mental Health in Schools, a strategy to bring behavioral health services to schools.

Linda Aiken, the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor in Nursing, professor of sociology, and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with one of the country's most influential nurse leaders. Dr. Linda Aiken is known for her ground breaking research linking nurse-to-patient ratios with patient outcomes. Dr. Aiken discusses the Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing recommendations, innovations in nursing practice both in the U.S. and globally, and strategies to advance the IOM recommendations on nursing practice, education and leadership in the U.S. healthcare system.

National Access to Primary Care and Minister of Loneliness: Dr. Charles Alessi on the UK's Approach to Population Health and Dementia Prevention

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Charles Alessi, Senior Advisor for Dementia Prevention at Public Health England, the UK's equivalent of the CDC. Dr. Alessi talks about the prevention strategies being deployed across the UK to delay the onset of dementia, the lack of barriers to primary care services, and their recently announced Minister of Loneliness to confront this chronic health issue.

National Access to Primary Care and Minister of Loneliness: Dr. Charles Alessi on the UK's Approach to Population Health and Dementia Prevention

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Charles Alessi, Senior Advisor for Dementia Prevention at Public Health England, the UK's equivalent of the CDC. Dr. Alessi talks about the prevention strategies being deployed across the UK to delay the onset of dementia, the lack of barriers to primary care services, and their recently announced Minister of Loneliness to confront this chronic health issue.

How Do We Make Healthy Buildings the Next Public Health Revolution?

Joseph Allen is the director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. As the co-author of “Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity,” his views are closely followed as we try to move quicker than COVID can spread.

“Conversations on Health Care” co-hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter talk with Allen about new efforts to elevate the quality of indoor spaces in an overall health strategy.

Reaction to New CDC Ventilation Targets in Light of COVID

Stuart Altman, a leading health-care economist, on meeting the future demands under health-care reform.

Conversations on Health Care® turns its’ focus to the future challenges now that reform has passed. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Stuart Altman, a leading health-care economist and professor of National Health Policy at Brandeis University, about the potential for reform to deliver on its’ goals.

Dr. Drew Altman, President and CEO of Kaiser Family Foundation

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Drew Altman, President and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on major health care issues facing the nation as well as global health. Kaiser is dedicated to providing non-partisan health information and analysis for policy makers, the media and general public.

Stuart Altman, Ph.D, Heller School of Public Policy, Brandeis University

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Stuart Altman, PhD, Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Dr. Altman is an expert on universal health coverage and discusses his recent work as Chair of the IOM Committee assessing progress on recommendations made in the 2010 Institute of Medicine Report on The Future of Nursing, which advocates for a stronger role for nurses in the expanding health care system.

Drew Altman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Drew Altman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. An innovator in the world of foundations and leading expert on national health policy, Dr. Altman discusses the Foundation's dedication to tracking America's views on health and health policy through its non-partisan polling and publishing entities, and discusses the current mood of American voters on health policy heading into the Presidential election.