This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Colleen Kraft, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has vocally opposed the separation of immigrant families at the border. She talks about the long term impact of toxic stress in childhood, recommended breastfeeding and vaccination protocols, harm from gun violence, and too much screen time for kids.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Emily Barson, Co-Founder along with former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt, of United States of Care, a non-profit, non-partisan organization seeking to advance access to affordable health care for all Americans,"putting health care above politics". She talks about their focus on state-based innovations that are improving health care access, and about their Medicaid Buy-In effort seeking to assist states in creatively expanding Medicaid to cover more of their residents.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Pulitzer Prize winning Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou, author of "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup", which figures prominently in the current HBO documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos. It's a riveting account of the scandal he uncovered at the health tech startup, which claimed it's technology would revolutionize diagnostic testing. He uncovered Holmes' widespread deception, detailing how she not only duped high level investors out of billions, but also put patients' lives at risk.

This week on Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan, Founding Dean and President Emeritus of the Morehouse School of Medicine, and former HHS Secretary under the first Bush Administration. Dr. Sullivan discusses his efforts to build diversity in the health professions through his organization, the Sullivan Alliance, and his contributions to building equity in health systems around the country and the world.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Pulitzer Prize winning writer Barry Meier, author of "Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic," on Purdue Pharma, makers of the narcotic OxyContin, and the pivotal role they played in "the greatest public health crisis of the 21st Century."

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Noelle LaCharite Principal Program Manager for Applied AI and Cognitive Services at Microsoft, and one of the original voice 'skills' developers for Amazon's Alexa. She talks about the promise of applied AI, machine learning and voice technology systems which enable coders, developers or anyone to create their own applications and voice skills to enhance and advance the health care experience.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sue Sisley, internist, psychiatrist and President of the Scottsdale Research Institute which is conducting the nation's only FDA-approved study on the efficacy of whole plant marijuana for treatment of PTSD. She discusses her ten-year quest to complete a randomized control trial on the use of cannabis as a potentially effective approach, and restrictions that pose a challenge to expansive scientific research.

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.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with award-winning New York Times science writer and columnist Carl Zimmer on his critically acclaimed book, "She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potentials of Heredity" on the dramatic scientific discovery underway fueled by genomics. He discusses the genome's role in understanding heredity and how personalized medicine will be advanced once the science and medical communities master their knowledge of how genomics impact health and disease.

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health on their recent report done with the Cohen Veterans Network confirming that America's mental health crisis is a result of lack of access to care. She discusses the need to remove barriers to behavioral care, the need to embed behavioral health in primary care and for much better mental health and addiction training for providers and social workers.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter revisit their conversation with Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health and the Environment at the World Health Organization who addresses the rising threat to human health from climate change and pollution - now the 4th leading cause of death worldwide. She discusses global strategies that are required to reduce the harm being done to populations around the world, especially those most vulnerable, in the wake of advancing climate change and unmitigated pollution.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Don Berwick, President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and former CMS Administrator who oversaw the launch of the Affordable Care Act. He talks about inherent political challenges in American health care, the need for providers to get active politically, and the promise of real innovations in the health system coming from outside the industry.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with David Pogue, long-time personal tech critic and founder of Yahoo Tech. He discusses the great promise in the growth of consumer technology innovations - Apple Watch, Fitbit and voice recognition platforms like Alexa - to transform health care by informing and empowering consumers and providers.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Shelley Lyford, CEO of the Gary and Mary West Foundation which is dedicated to reducing costs and improving care for America's seniors. She discusses the launch of Civica Rx - a not for profit entity that will supply low-cost generic drugs to a consortium of partner foundations and hospitals to disrupt monopolies and price gouging in the pharmaceutical industry.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Iyah Romm, CEO of Cityblock Health, a venture with Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs aimed at improving care and outcomes for underserved populations in urban areas by deploying tech-based solutions supporting patients and care teams. He talks about Cityblock's development of digital and telehealth tools that enable real time monitoring of patient data, and a network of interventions addressing social determinants of health.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Patrick Carroll, Chief Medical Officer at Walgreens Healthcare where he oversees the pharmacy chain's expanded primary care and prevention health services in nearly 10 thousand retail pharmacies. They discuss Walgreens' expansion of digital and telehealth interventions for behavioral health, medication compliance and chronic illness management, with expanded health services being offered in the pharmacy clinics.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Intermountain Healthcare of Utah's CEO Emeritus Dr. Charles Sorenson, who discusses Intermountain's innovative, integrated care delivery system committed to improved outcomes and contained costs. He is Founding Director of the Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute which seeks to train future clinician leaders in their team-based model of care delivery.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Colleen Kraft, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has vocally opposed the separation of immigrant families at the border. She talks about the long term impact of toxic stress in childhood, recommended breastfeeding and vaccination protocols, harm from gun violence, and too much screen time for kids.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Mona Siddiqui, Chief Data Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, who is overseeing a transformation in health information sharing between all agencies at HHS. She discusses the infrastructure changes required to facilitate data liquidity, and growing partnerships with outside entrepreneurs to expedite the process.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rasu Shrestha, Chief Innovation Officer of UPMC and VP of UPMC Enterprises, the entrepreneurial division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Shrestha is also Co-Chair of Health Datapalooza, and discusses the need for design thinking and building a culture of innovation to truly transform the health care system.