Intimate Partner Violence: Health Care Providers’ Role

Intimate partner violence affects more women in the United States than breast cancer and diabetes combined. Health care providers can be a lifeline for survivors, yet many still struggle to know how to talk about it or where to begin.

Shutdown Threatens Food Benefits: Family Physicians Leader Urges Resolution

New Research Bolsters Model for Preventing Infant Mortality

Preventing Veteran Suicides: Strategies & Tactics

Veterans Day, which is less than a month away, is a time to honor and reflect on those who’ve served. Yet statistics reveal a troubling reality: Veterans are dying by suicide at 1.5 times the rate of the general population. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among veterans under 45.

Government Shutdown Stalls Drug Discount Program 340B

$44 billion in drugs that help Americans are purchased through a little-known federal discount program called 340B. The program is recognized for successfully helping hospitals, community health centers and others that fund care for low-income patients. 

But that program is now facing big challenges from drugmakers, and the current government shutdown has brought new uncertainty.

Reporter William Newton of 340B Report tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that the shutdown has delayed approvals for a federal rebate pilot and furloughed key staff. “There are a lot of big question marks,” he says, noting that the delays could jeopardize timelines for hospitals and community clinics that depend on 340B savings.

David Lim of POLITICO adds perspective on how drug manufacturers and policymakers are shaping the future of the 340B program. Together, he and Newton explain how what began as a quiet effort to help safety-net providers has grown into a national discussion about drug prices and access to care.

As Newton explains, “The 340B program may sound niche, but it’s actually the second-largest government prescription drug program, touching every corner of the U.S. health-care system.”

How Govt. Shutdown Affects Telemedicine

The federal government is shut down and the ripple effects are being felt. Legislation tied to the budget impasse also means Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program expired early Wednesday morning.

The 16th Anniversary Show: Our First Guests Are Back!

Happy anniversary to “Conversations on Health Care”! We posted our first program 16 years ago on Sept. 23, 2009. Now, we’re bringing back our first two guests to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going in health care.

Nancy Pelosi was serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and trying to get the Affordable Care Act passed when she joined us on that inaugural show. Today, she continues to serve as Speaker Emerita and remains a stalwart supporter of community health centers. “They’re there…they’ve been there and we always want them to be there…this is so important. I’ve been working with our community health centers,” she says.

Our other returning guest is Dr. Mitchell Katz, now serving as CEO and President of New York City Health + Hospitals. He was in a similar role in San Francisco when he was on that initial program. Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask him to reflect on what’s changed the most. “The big successes [from ACA] are getting people involved in primary care and chronic disease management…those primary care relationships are incredibly healing.”

Click to hear our conversation with these guests, including Dr. Katz's insights on how AI can help recover what’s been lost in healthcare.

‘How Healing Works’ Author Dr. Wayne Jonas Explains His Approach

‘Next Week Will be Telling’: Reporters Prepare for Ex-CDC Dir. Testimony

Next week former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez will testify in a Senate hearing. The reporters who cover health care in Washington think there could be big revelations about why Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. fired her.

Sandhya Raman, health care reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call, and Michael McAuliff, who covers policy for Modern Healthcare, join our Reporters’ Roundtable. McAuliff says no matter what is discovered during the testimony, Kennedy’s future still rests with President Trump.

In addition, McAuliff notes the federal health care workforce challenges right now. “If you look across…all the agencies in the HHS, you would find similar sorts of things where normal processes that help folks in the country just can’t happen because they just don’t have the people,” he observes. 

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also talk to the guests about the COVID vaccine controversy, the new Make America Healthy Again children’s health report and the looming threat of a government shutdown.

RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Fight: ‘Threat to Good Public Health’

Supporters say Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is fulfilling his vision to be “pro-safety,” not anti-vaccine. His recent actions have included restricting COVID eligibility, dissolving expert panels, installing skeptical voices and defunding mRNA development. 

Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, is pushing back and says, “I've never in my 50 years in public health experienced anything like this in terms of the threat to good public health.” 

Mayo Clinic Doctor Leads The Patient Revolution: Insights & Tools to Improve Health Care

“Father of Aerobics” at 94: Dr. Cooper’s Unrelenting Health Advocacy

America’s Mental Health Crisis: Philanthropy’s Bold Action Plan

Food is Medicine Advocate Urges Evidence-Based Solutions Amid SNAP Cutbacks

Experts who believe in the “food is medicine” concept say recent decisions made in Washington could have a devastating effect. Dr. Hilary Seligman, a nationally recognized expert on food insecurity and health outcomes at the University of California San Francisco, spoke to “Conversations on Health Care.” The interview highlighted that cutbacks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are projected to reduce federal spending by $186 billion over the next decade. She believes this could result in more people getting sicker and then ending up in emergency departments with severe conditions.

Yet Dr. Seligman also sees some rays of optimism. “This administration has done a really deep dive into chronic disease. There is a desire to help make the population of the U.S. healthier again. And there is an interest in supporting better dietary intake. The challenge is to amplify those efforts in a way that is based in science, that is based in evidence and that will support everyone in the U.S. equally. That really is the opportunity that we have,” she told hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

 Click to hear this conversation, recorded during the Aspen Ideas: Health conference.  

60 Years of Medicaid & Medicare: Health Care Challenges & Opportunities

NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow: Curing Addiction a Real Possibility

“I would have never, ever in my whole life have said, ‘we’re going to cure addiction.’ I think we now have knowledge and tools that could potentially, definitely lead us to a cure for addiction.”

—  Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse

Dr. Volkow shared her attention-getting belief with “Conversations on Health” at Aspen Ideas: Health. Healthcare providers and society at large have spent decades dealing with substance use disorders and the loss of life has been staggering. Dr. Volkow leads NIDA, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research on addiction, and she explains why she’s so confident with her assessment:

The wider availability of naloxone and knowledge about how to quickly use it when needed;

Neuroplasticity as a pathway to recovery; and

Perhaps surprisingly, smartphones and video games are so distracting to some young people that they no longer need to seek other forms of escape.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as Dr. Volkow also explains the challenges and opportunities for NIDA within the National Institutes of Health. 

Pretend You Have Millions to Fix Health Care: What Would You Do? A Doctor Gives His Answer

If you ran a healthcare foundation worth nearly $1 billion, where would you invest those dollars? That a question Dr. Joseph Betancourt, his colleagues and board members get to tackle every day.

Dr. Oz’s Second-in-Command Explains Need for Medicaid Reimbursement Cuts as “Big Beautiful Bill” Passes

President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4 and now leaders such as Stephanie Carlton are in charge of implementing it. She’s the deputy administrator and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Carlton and the administration see the law’s benefits because Medicaid reimbursement rates “were allowed to go up to commercial rates and states are at varying levels towards that cap. But as we sat back and looked at it and said well, ‘these are providers who are committing to society to vulnerable Americans that they’re going to help with their healthcare needs’…. but paying up to commercial rates kind of changes the focus of the program, where it becomes more about facilities profiting more than making sure patients are taken good care of.” 

Carlton also answered questions from hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter shortly before Congress passed the bill. In addition, she discussed how they believe modern technology can help with new Medicaid work requirements, concerns about the National Health Service Corps and the administration’s plans to lower prescription drug costs.

How Realistic is Super Aging? Research-Based Answers (Encore)

There’s a lot of attention right now around “super agers.” Yet the facts are that 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.

“Originally aired on May 15, 2025”