House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro: More Money for Hospitals, Vaccines Forthcoming?

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, on her expectations for building consensus on revised Build Back Better legislation, as well as the possibility for more relief money for hospitals and other entities in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. She says the expanded Child Tax Credit has lifted millions of American children out of poverty, significantly easing economic pressures on working families, and that it should be restored. Representative DeLauro also discusses the President’s infrastructure law, which she says will have a dramatic impact on the nation’s aging transportation and clean water delivery systems, as well as create new jobs.

Rosemary Gibson, author of The Treatment Trap: How the Overuse of Medical Care is Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do to Prevent It.

Conversations on Health Care® focuses this week on patient safety. Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Rosemary Gibson, nationally known for her work in patient safety, communications and healthcare quality. Her latest book, The Treatment Trap, focuses on the overuse of medical care and what can be done to reduce it.

American Well Co-Founders Drs. Roy and Ido Schoenberg on Apple Heart Study and the Future of Telemedicine

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with brothers Dr. Roy Schoenberg and Dr. Ido Schoenberg, co-founders of the telehealth company American Well which is partnering with Apple and Stanford on the ground-breaking Apple Heart Study, using the Apple Watch to detect the presence of atrial fibrillation. The Schoenbergs discuss the telemedicine component their company will provide and how this may signal a pivotal moment for telehealth.

Russell Branzell, President and CEO of the College of Health Information Management Executives

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Russell Branzell, President and CEO of the College of Health Information Management Executives or CHIME. They discuss the many challenges being faced by health IT executives in the quest for full adoption of electronic health records, meeting meaningful use standards, cybersecurity, and the problematic delay of ICD 10 adoption.

How VA Innovation Affects the Entire Health Care System

The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system. But how much do you know about how well VA Medical Centers and clinics identify innovative therapies, practices and policies and then diffuse them across a large footprint?

Ryan Vega, MD, MSHA, leads the Innovation Ecosystem within the Veterans Health Administration. This initiative focuses on being the catalyst for enabling the discovery and spread of mission-driven health care innovation to advance care delivery and service.

Dr. Vega highlights point-of-care manufacturing and its 3D Printing Network that were essential during the early days of COVID and the VA’s history of deploying the first cardiac pacemaker.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter talk to Dr. Vega about these breakthroughs, how they help the entire health care sector and where the VA is partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers.

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 With Dr. Saad Omer of the Yale Institute for Global Health

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Saad Omer, Director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, on the expanding COVID-19 outbreak. A renowned epidemiologist, Dr. Omer discusses the best protocols against spread of the Coronavirus epidemic, the need for evidence-based science to guide government responses, and how the global research community is working together to tackle this outbreak and create a vaccine in record time.

Coordinated Care for High Use Patients: CareMore Health CEO Sachin Jain on Improving Outcomes

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sachin Jain, CEO of CareMore Health, a coordinated and integrated health care system focused on high-use Medicare and Medicaid patients. Dr. Jain discusses CareMore's team-based approach to chronic disease management deploying ride-sharing and meal delivery services, loneliness prevention and patient support across the care continuum.

Is Blockchain Poised to Disrupt Health Care? MintHealth's Founder Dr. Samir Damani Thinks So

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Samir Damani, cardiologist at Scripps Clinic and co-founder of MintHealth, a system using blockchain technology to create a portable, secure health record for patients to manage. Dr. Damani speaks of the game-changing potential for blockchain-enabled technology to let patients self-govern their personal health record, to address the current lack of interoperability in the health system, and to reward patients for behavior changes leading to better chronic care self-management through a token system.

CRISPR, DNA and Genomics: Dr. Samuel Sternberg Examines This Game-Changing Technology

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Samuel H. Sternberg, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University and renowned expert on CRISPER-Cas9 gene editing technology. Dr. Sternberg co-authored "A Crack in Creation" with CRISPR co-creator Jennifer Doudna, and talks about the limitless potential of this genetic engineering tool to transform how we treat and prevent disease in the future.

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.

Retail Care Clinic Industry

Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter explore two models in the retail care clinic industry. They’ll speak with Sandra Ryan, Take Care Health System’s Chief Nurse Practitioner Officer. Take Care owns and operates retail clinics inside Walgreens. Their second interview is with Dr. John Agwunobi, President of Wal-Mart’s Health and Wellness Division about its model of leasing retail space to independent health care providers.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta on "Chasing Life": CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Talks About His Search for Secrets to Longevity Around the World

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Neurosurgeon at Emory Clinic and Chief Medical Correspondent at CNN, on his new series, "Chasing Life" which explores areas around the world with exceptional longevity, happiness and wellbeing. He delves into the secrets to healthier lives in those places, and also examines the epidemic of stress in America and how it is leading to poor health outcomes and reduced life expectancy.

Sara Collins, Vice President of Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Sara Collins, PhD, Vice President of Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund, a non-partisan foundation dedicated to promoting a high-functioning health care system. Dr. Collins discusses the Fund's recent report showing a marked improvement in the reduction of the uninsured in America since the first open enrollment and the increased utilization of health care among the previously uninsured.

Sara Collins, Vice President for Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Sara Collins, PhD, VP for Health Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund which is dedicated to creating a high performance health care system for all Americans. She outlines the dramatic gains in coverage that have occurred since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and the potential losses in coverage and rise in costs to consumers in the wake of 'repeal and replace' of the health care law.

National Pediatric Leader Talks About Returning To School In Pandemic

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sara Goza, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the largest organization dedicated to advancing the physical, mental and social health of the nation’s infants, children and young adults. Dr. Goza discusses how pediatricians can help inform the tough decisions families are making to keep kids safe while sending them back to school, the vital importance of continued well-visits and vaccinations for kids, and the policy agenda being promoted by the Academy to insure the health and safety of all children, including gun violence, poverty and social determinants of health.

Sarah Kliff, Senior Health Correspondent at the Washington Post/WonkBlog

This week, Mark and Margaret speak with Sarah Kliff, Senior Health Correspondent for the Washington Post and Wonkblog, the daily blog at the Washington Post. Ms. Kliff analyzes the health plans and policies of President Obama as well as his Republican Challenger, Mitt Romney, and examines the potential for changes to the Affordable Care Act should there be a change in administrations.

A Teacher From Parkland H.S. Reflects on the Uvalde & Buffalo Mass Shootings

Parkland, Florida, teacher Sarah Lerner shares her poignant thoughts as the nation reacts to the latest deadly school shooting. Lerner was teaching the day a former student killed 17 at her high school; she has gone on to help lead Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence.

Lerner discusses with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter how public health must continue its focus on stopping gun violence and what lawmakers can do.

Why COVID Crushed Us: Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb Details America’s Botched Pandemic Response

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb whose new book outlines America’s epic failure in our response to the pandemic, leading to more than 700,000 deaths. “Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic” examines the inherent flaws at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public agencies that left us vulnerable to the raging pandemic. Dr. Gottlieb says the CDC and other agencies should be re-tooled to conduct more agile global disease surveillance, and that emerging therapeutics like Merck’s new oral COVID drug will be a game changer for treatment moving forward.

Scott A. Wolfe, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Community Health Centers

This week on Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Scott A. Wolfe, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres and Acting Coordinator of the International Federation of Community Health Centres. Mr. Wolfe discusses inherent differences between the American and Canadian health systems, as well as the growth of the community health center model of care in Canada as well as around the world.

Sean Cavanaugh, Deputy Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Sean Cavanaugh, Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center For Medicare at Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where he oversees payment models for Medicare's 50 million users. Mr. Cavanaugh talks about the culture of innovation underway at CMS to promote new payment models that incentivize improved outcomes while promoting cost containment.