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, please learn more here: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/black-youth-mental-health-series-yale/

But she is doing things a bit differently. “In a typical case conference, we talk about the problematic behavior of patients,” says Dr. Calhoun. None that she has seen have asked “What if one of the primary causes that has led to the lapses in care of this Black child is the medical racism of the team?” 

Black Women Taking Steps to Health: Funder & Nonprofit Explain How

Join us for a unique conversation with an innovative nonprofit leader and the grantmaker who’s helping support her efforts. Morgan Dixon is the co-founder and CEO of GirlTREK, which she calls a “life-saving sisterhood.” Their campaign seeks to heal intergenerational trauma, fight systemic racism, and transform Black lives by organizing women walking teams. While participants walk, they also mobilize community members to support advocacy efforts and lead a Civil Rights-inspired health movement.

Sharing Best Practices: Lessons from Community Health Centers Coast to Coast

This week we’ve brought together some of the brightest minds who run many of the best and most innovative community health centers across the country. From Long Island to San Francisco, community health centers served over 31 million patients last year. How are they keeping pace with their success while always working to improve the quality of the care?

The guests are part of the Community Health Best Practices network and serve as CEOs of their nonprofits:

--Gloria Amador from Salud Integral en la Montaña in Puerto Rico;

--Eddie Chan with North East Medical Services in San Francisco;

--Nieves Gomez with Columbia Basin Health Association in Connell, Washington;

--Ann Kauffman Nolon with Sun River Health in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley; and

--Greg Wilmot with East Boston Neighborhood Health Center.

“Conversations on Health Care” co-hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter explore how they navigated the COVID pandemic, deal with employee engagement and tackle funding challenges.

Meet America's Hidden Health Heroes

You know about the Army and Navy, but have you heard about the USPHS Commissioned Corps?

It is one of the nation’s uniformed services — a branch committed to the service of health. Its over 6,000 officers advance the nation’s public health, serving in agencies across the government, as physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, scientists, engineers and other professionals.

President of the Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Foundation Gene Migliaccio spoke to “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter about the role the Corps played in combatting the pandemic.

The fight against COVID-19 was the largest deployment in the 223-year history of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. At the beginning of the pandemic, “I think what we did right was the mobilization,” Migliaccio said.

“When Covid hit, we didn’t have testing centers. It started slowly, and then all of the sudden there were hundreds of them. It took a tremendous amount of effort and some of the best and brightest minds within the Department of Health and Human Services” to accomplish that, he said.

The Public Health Service Commissioned Officers Foundation is part of a new documentary titled “Invisible Corps,” narrated by the actress Ali McGraw. The piece is trying to raise awareness about the Corps and also how public health has become politicized.

Nurses & Moms Partnering for Health Success: How Babies Benefit

What if we say there’s a way to have healthier pregnancies, improve children’s health and create better economic outcomes? And it all begins with a knock on the door? That’s the way Nurse-Family Partnership works. It’s an evidence-based, community health program with 45 years of research showing significant improvements in the health and lives of first-time moms and their children affected by social and economic inequality.

The initiative succeeds by having specially educated nurses regularly visit first-time moms, starting early in the pregnancy and continuing until the child’s second birthday. Research consistently proves that the partnership between a nurse and the mom is a winning combination that makes a measurable, long-term difference for the whole family.

Nurse-Family Partnership’s Sharon Sprinkle, co-director of nursing practice, and Jenny Harper, government affairs director, join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss its founding, funding and how expectant moms sign up.

America’s Record-High Deaths by Suicide: APA Pres. Outlines Prevention Steps

More than 50,000 Americans died by suicide in 2023, the highest number on record. Data from 2021 found that over 12 million American adults thought about suicide and 1.7 million attempted it.

American Psychiatric Association President Dr. Petros Levounis, who’s finishing his term, is at the center of efforts to prevent suicides. His focus continues to be on substance use addictions. He and the 38,000 APA members have launched a campaign called “Confronting Addiction: From Prevention to Recovery.”

Dr. Levounis also talked about vaping, opioids, alcohol and the rapidly growing addiction to tech.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for this encore presentation of the interview with Dr. Levounis.

The Urgent Need to Rethink Suicide: Lessons for Veterans & All Americans

Is the way we're going about suicide prevention all wrong? And how are those misperceptions affecting efforts to stop veteran suicides? Clinical psychologist Craig Bryan is an Iraq War veteran and studies the issue.

He's the author of “Rethinking Suicide: Why Prevention Fails, and How We Can Do Better” and says we need a better focus on firearm safety. In 2021, 72% of veteran suicides involved firearms.

The veteran suicide rate is currently 1.5 times the rate of the general population and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says its top clinical priority is preventing suicide among all those who have served.

Dr. Fauci Talks About His New Book: 7 Presidents & the Challenges of COVID, AIDS

Five times during the COVID pandemic Dr. Anthony Fauci took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to share with “Conservations on Health Care” his latest insights. Now, he returns to reflect not only on COVID but also on the entire scope of his career, including his efforts to bring attention and resources to the AIDS fight in the 1980s.

Dr. Fauci explains he had to speak truth to power during the pandemic in order “to preserve…professional integrity and to fulfill my responsibility to the American public.” He continues to focus on sharing “just the facts.” In terms of the current COVID situation, he says the virus persists and “has an uncanny capability of continuing to evolve…there’s a new variant now…that evades some of the protection from vaccines and prior infection.”

Dr. Fauci’s New York Times best-selling autobiography, “On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service,” takes readers through his life from growing up in Brooklyn to advising seven presidents through some of the world’s most harrowing health crises.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for this important conversation with the most renowned and acclaimed physician and public health leader of our era, Dr. Fauci.

The Limits of Aging & Implications

The current life expectancy at birth is 74.8 years for males and for females it’s 80.2 years in the U.S. Does it catch your eye when you hear about predictions we’ll be able to live to 100 and beyond? Some researchers are throwing cold water on those notions. “We’ll be lucky if 5% of the age cohort makes it to 100,” says S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago.

He and his colleagues made headlines when they presented data that humans are approaching a biologically-based limit to life. Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask Olshansky about the implications of this research — for each of us personally and for policymakers — after decades of hearing predictions that life expectancy would continue to go up. Olshanky explains why we should celebrate longer life that has resulted from healthier diets and medical advances but now focus on improving quality of life in later years.

Unlocking Long COVID Mysteries: Dementia-Like Symptoms & Pre-Existing Conditions

Millions are still living with the effects of Long COVID and new research shows that for older adults, the consequences may be profound and lasting.

In part one of a special two-part series on “Conversations on Health Care,” Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist and leading Long COVID researcher at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, shares groundbreaking findings from his global study of over 3,500 patients. His work reveals a troubling connection: many Long COVID patients over 60 show cognitive decline that mirrors early signs of dementia.

“The parts of the brain that are affected by COVID overlap significantly with those that are affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s….the changes overlap, but they are not identical.”

His team is now studying brain imaging and biomarkers to understand the link between COVID-related cognitive decline and traditional neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. de Erausquin also explains how persistent loss of smell — a hallmark COVID symptom — may be the strongest predictor of ongoing cognitive issues, and how genetic sequencing is helping uncover inherited risk.

He highlights a dual reality: while many Long COVID patients show biological changes, others had prior diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or chronic fatigue — a nuance often missing from public conversations.

Click to hear the full conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Unlocking Long COVID Mysteries: Dementia-Like Symptoms & Pre-Existing Conditions

Millions are still living with the effects of Long COVID and new research shows that for older adults, the consequences may be profound and lasting.

In part one of a special two-part series on “Conversations on Health Care,” Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist and leading Long COVID researcher at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, shares groundbreaking findings from his global study of over 3,500 patients. His work reveals a troubling connection: many Long COVID patients over 60 show cognitive decline that mirrors early signs of dementia.

“The parts of the brain that are affected by COVID overlap significantly with those that are affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s….the changes overlap, but they are not identical.”

His team is now studying brain imaging and biomarkers to understand the link between COVID-related cognitive decline and traditional neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. de Erausquin also explains how persistent loss of smell — a hallmark COVID symptom — may be the strongest predictor of ongoing cognitive issues, and how genetic sequencing is helping uncover inherited risk.

He highlights a dual reality: while many Long COVID patients show biological changes, others had prior diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or chronic fatigue — a nuance often missing from public conversations.

Click to hear the full conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

“Originally aired on May 15, 2025”

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.