Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on Bipartisanship, the Opioid Crisis, Community Health Centers, Lessons Learned from Legalized Marijuana, and Presidential Interest

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper who discusses how expanded coverage under the ACA has improved access to health care in his state, how embedding behavioral health in primary care is improving outcomes, and how they're fighting the opioid crisis. He addresses lessons learned from the state's marijuana legalization, and his bipartisan campaign with Governor Kasich of Ohio to promote sound health policies on the federal level including funding for CHIP, Community Health Centers and expanded coverage.

2020 Presidential Contender Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on Community Health Centers, Health Equity and Safer Gun Laws

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a contender for the Democratic 2020 Presidential nomination on the importance of health equity in this country and the important role of Community Health Centers. They discuss his vision for more comprehensive gun safety laws, addressing health inequity in rural America and addressing America's opioid crisis.

Jamie Heywood, Co-Founder of PatientsLikeMe

This week on Conversations on Health Care, Mark and Margaret speak with Jamie Heywood, Co-Founder of PatientsLikeMe, an online medical data-sharing portal for patients experiencing a variety of diseases. He is also founder of the ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech research organization seeking a cure for Lou Gherig’s Disease. He talks about his goal of transforming medical care through patients sharing in-depth data with the public and the medical community to facilitate better treatments and disease outcomes.

Dr. Regina Herzlinger, Harvard Business School

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Regina Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration Chair at the Harvard Business School. She is considered "the "Godmother of consumer driven health care" and discusses new incentives in the wake of the Affordable Care Act that are increasingly taking the consumer into account, spurring innovation in health industry business models that are poised to better serve consumers while driving down costs.

California Health Care Foundation CEO Dr. Sandra Hernandez Says Tackling Big Public Health Issues Like Opioids and HIV Benefited from Expanded ACA Coverage

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sandra Hernandez, President and CEO of the California Health Care Foundation which is dedicated to improving health care for all California Citizens, especially the most vulnerable. She talks about CHCF's initiatives to combat the opioid crisis, poor maternal outcomes and HIV/AIDS and how a coordinated health care infrastructure and expanded access to care for all citizens are improving outcomes.

Governor Gary R. Herbert of Utah.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on Utah's innovative health insurance exchange. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Governor Gary Herbert about the creation of their exchange in 2007, why it's unique and what lessons other states might take from Utah as they begin planning their own exchanges.

America's Gun Violence Epidemic: Leading Harvard Researcher Dr. David Hemenway Shares His Findings

This week on Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. David Hemenway, Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has spent decades researching America's gun violence epidemic, its root causes, the casualties and public health and legal policies that would mitigate the problem.

Damning Research Reveals Extent of Pediatrics Care Gap: Children of Color Receive Worse Treatment

Across the board, children of color in America receive less treatment and fewer life-saving interventions than white children, according to a research review published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. The data find that strongest disparities between whites and children of color involved pain management; kids of color are less likely than their white peers to get painkillers for a broken arm or leg, for appendicitis or for migraines.

Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, pediatrician and researcher at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, helped lead the project. She explains that the research also shows white children are sometimes overtreated, which is also not good for their health. Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as they examine the findings and look for policy solutions.

Bipartisan Policy Center Health Policy Director Katherine Hayes Discusses GOP Health Reform Implications

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Katherine Hayes, Director of Health Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which has issued a report to Congress urging them to move slowly on repeal of safety net programs supported by the ACA. She warns that states and vulnerable populations will suffer consequences under repeal of support for CHIP as well as federal matching grants for the Medicaid expansion.

Dan Hawkins, senior vice president for policy and research at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on the latest policy developments affecting community health centers. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dan Hawkins from NACHC about health centers important role and continued growth under healthcare reform, as well as the policy agenda for NACHC with a new Congress.

Dan Hawkins, Vice President for Federal, State and Public Affairs, National Association of Community Health Centers

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dan Hawkins, Senior Vice President for Federal, State and Public Affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers. Mr. Hawkins discusses how community health centers are poised to take on a majority of the newly-insured once the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented.

Millions Served: NACHC's Dan Hawkins on Community Health Centers Delivering Care to Vulnerable Americans

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dan Hawkins, Sr. VP for Public Policy and Research at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), which supports the thousands of chc's providing care for 27 million underserved Americans. They discuss the care model that embeds behavioral and dental care within primary care, the growing reliance on Nurse Practitioners as front line clinicians, and the training, innovation and quality care the nation's health centers provide.

Dr. Amelia Haviland, Senior Statistician on Health Insurance for the RAND Corporation

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Dr. Amelia Haviland, Senior Statistician on Health Insurance for the RAND Corporation, a non-profit organization committed to improving public policy through non-partisan research and analysis. Dr. Haviland discusses RAND's in-depth study of the rapid growth of consumer-directed, high-deductible insurance policies in the private insurance market. She also explores their potential to save tens of billions of dollars in health care costs annually, while cautioning that such plans could lead to diminished health outcomes for consumers of these plans.

Front Line Warriors in Pandemic and Care Delivery: Dr. Susan Hassmiller on Impact of Nursing in American Health Care

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Dr. Susan Hassmiller, Senior Advisor for Nursing at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Advisor to the President for Nursing at the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Hassmiller talks about the dramatic role America’s 3.8 million nurses are playing in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, how the nursing profession is playing a critical role in meeting challenges in primary care and health disparities, as well as her work crafting the Future of Nursing goals at RWJF and the National Academies.

Should I Send My Kids Back To School? Renowned Scientist Dr. William Haseltine Has Advice for Families

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. William Haseltine, President of ACCESS Health International, a global health think tank. He is also a renowned scientist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Harvard Medical School’s HIV/AIDS and cancer research centers. He discusses his two new books: A Family Guide to COVID: Questions and Answers for Parents, Grandparents and Children, and A COVID Back To School Guide which are continually-updating ‘living e-books’ offering answers to the many questions families have about how to navigate their way through the pandemic.

COVID-19 Is Shape-Shifting: Dr. William Haseltine Warns Variants & Lack of Containment May Weaken Vaccine Efficacy

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with scientist and entrepreneur Dr. William Haseltine, founder and CEO of ACCESS Health International, who warns the growing number of COVID-19 variants will help the virus evade the vaccines currently being deployed. He cautions that lack of strict public health measures, particularly in the US, will lead to more widespread infection and endemic outbreaks. Dr. Haseltine urges the pharmaceutical industry to provide more nuanced data on the long term efficacy of vaccines, along with more widespread genomic testing of COVID strains to better understand their impact on COVID-related illness.

Omicron Could Be as Deadly as Delta, Boosters’ Short Protection &‘Dangerous’ Oral COVID Pill from Merck: A Talk With William Haseltine

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with renowned virus expert Dr. William Haseltine who has ‘grave concerns’ about Merck’s oral COVID drug Malnupiravir, which recently won narrow approval from the FDA advisory panel. He says the drug unleashes ‘dangerous’ mutations that could evolve the virus beyond control. He’s also urging extreme caution as the highly infectious omicron variant is sweeping across the US, saying it could be as deadly as the delta variant and that boosters may offer only limited protection of 3 months. Dr Haseltine, who developed the Anthrax vaccine and is President of ACCESS Health International, says public health protocols of masking, rapid testing and social distancing should be put back in place during this next surge.

AMA's First African American Female President, Dr. Patrice Harris on Quest for Health Equity

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Patrice Harris, the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman to hold the post. She talks about the AMA's efforts to innovate for the evolving health care of the 21st century, with a focus on tackling the opioid crisis, addressing racial disparities in the medical profession, and advancing health coverage, equity and behavioral health parity for all Americans.

Dr. William Hanson, author of Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care.

This week, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. William Hanson about the changes the medical profession is undergoing in the U.S. and how tomorrow's primary care providers are being shaped by technology and a team-based approach to delivering health care. Dr. Hanson's new book is called Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care.

Discussing issues of aging in America, and the impact of both health reform and innovations supporting the health and well-being of our elders.

Today, Conversations on Health Care® turns its focus to health reform and innovation as they relate to aging. Jennie Chin Hansen, President of AARP, joins us to talk about the priorities and concerns of AARP’s 40 million members and the organization—and the kinds of innovations that Ms. Hansen has pioneered over a long career as a nurse, gerontologist, and executive.