Conversations on Health Care

How do we govern in a world where technology is no longer evolving in steps… but exploding exponentially? How do we harness their upside while managing their risks? How do we lead in a world where innovation moves at the speed of light, but trust and institutions move more slowly? Join host Michael J. Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Andrea Bonime-Blanc, author of Governing Pand...

Dr. Zeke Emanuel , a renowned bioethicist who helped draft the Affordable Care Act, is turning his attention to a new goal: helping us live longer. His new best-selling book is “ Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life .”  He believes some of the recent federal changes to the food dietary guidelines are contrary to the goal of a longer life. “The negatives are this ov...

Renowned neurologist and researcher Dr. Ray Dorsey unequivocally writes that we’re “fueling the rise of Parkinson’s with continued and increased use of toxic chemicals that pollute our food, water, and air.” He co-authored the New York Times bestseller, “ The Parkinson’s Plan: A New Path to Prevention and Treatment ,” which explains that fewer than 15% of Parkinson’s disease cases are linked to ge...

We’ve invited noted health care leader Dr. Sachin Jain back to “Conversations on Health Care” to share his predictions for the year after many came true last year.  Click the interview to get his take on: Whether artificial intelligence’s growing influence in the health care sector could hit a road bump in 2026 If the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative can build on its policy achievement...

The new  Rural Health Transformation Program  aims to improve “healthcare access, quality, and outcomes” with $50 billion aimed at making changes to the healthcare delivery ecosystem. Keeping an eye on the state applications, the federal money awarded and how it will be used is  Sarah Jane Tribble , lead rural health reporter at KFF Health News. On this episode of “Conversations on...

New research. New technology. New possibilities. On this special 2025 Rewind and Look Ahead episode of “Conversations on Health Care,” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter turn their focus to the breakthroughs, discoveries and innovators shaping what comes next. “Health innovations and breakthroughs that seemed impossible years ago became closer to reality in 2025,” says Mark. We revisit pivot...

Health care policy faced major upheavals during the past 12 months and the effects are already being felt. On this special 2025 Rewind and Look Ahead episode of “Conversations on Health Care,” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter reflect on the moments that defined the year and what may come next. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part 2025 rewind. The conversation revisits the passage of H.R. 1...

Eighty percent of maternal deaths in the United States are considered preventable. So why do they keep happening? On this episode of “Conversations on Health Care,” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter are joined by award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Irin Carmon for a thoughtful conversation about pregnancy, care, and what gets lost when she says systems stop listen...

Congress is scrambling to find a solution to the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Without action, premiums are set to rise sharply for millions of Americans, creating a major health care cliff as 2026 approaches. Congressional reporters Sandhya Raman (CQ Roll Call) and Robert King (Politico) join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to help make sense...

The doctor who once led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sees trouble ahead: There’s been a significant decrease in people taking the COVID and flu vaccines Europe is experiencing the worst flu season in years (an early indicator of problems in the U.S.) CDC data show that Influenza infections are growing or likely growing in 41 states “It’s not good…what we have seen from Europe is...

Leading nutritionist Marion Nestle, Ph. D. , has a sobering message as we get ready for Thanksgiving: America’s food system delivers twice the calories we need while wasting 40%. “Thanksgiving provides five times the calories we need,” she points out. Her advice? “It is a week in which you just have to do the best you can.” But once we've cleared the dishes after Thursday’s meal, Nestle offers pra...

People around the world are living longer and healthier lives because of an innovative idea that became a global force for change. On this episode of Conversations on Health Care, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome back Dr. Sanjeev Arora, founder of Project ECHO , an approach that has already improved care for more than 200 million patients worldwide. Project ECHO was born from one q...

What if health care for moms and babies came with a cash prescription for them? In this Conversations on Health Care episode, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome back Dr. Mona Hanna, the Flint pediatrician whose research exposed the city’s water crisis and sparked a national reckoning on environmental justice. Now, Dr. Hanna returns to share powerful results from Rx Kids , the nation’...

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. In this Conversations on Health Care episode, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Virginia Duplessis, associate director at Futures Without Violence...

Food insecurity could soon worsen for millions of families and result in devastating health outcomes. American Academy of Family Physicians CEO Shawn Martin joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss how the government shutdown is putting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in jeopardy. Beginning on Saturday, Nov. 1, food assistance could end for up to 22 million re...

A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that several Southeastern states continue to report the highest rates of late-pregnancy fetal death in the country. This is the kind of research that energizes Nurse-Family Partnership supporters to build on their mission to positively impact and transform the lives of first-time moms and their babies through a proven home v...

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. Craig Bryan, clinical psychologist, Iraq War veteran, and author of “ Rethinking Suicide: Why Preventi...

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. “Most providers and hospital systems are taking calculated risks to continue care during this time, but long-term continuity depends on action by our telehealth cha...

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,...

Dr. Wayne Jonas, who formerly led the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine, now directs the Healing Works Foundation , which has a mission to “make whole person, integrative care regular and routine.” “The data is very clear: most health does not come from going to your doctor and getting a diagnosis or treatment,” Jonas tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter. “The...

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 poli...

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 ba...

Dr. Victor Montori, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, internationally recognized researcher, and author of “ Why We Revolt ,” joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to talk about what it really means to fix a health care system that he believes has lost its way. Montori leads The Patient Revolution , a global movement aiming to make health care more elegant with “no waste or haste, focused on...

Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s FitnessGram is on the ropes. President Trump recently reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test; over 10 years ago, the government replaced the test with Dr. Cooper’s FitnessGram , “the first student fitness report card.” Dr. Cooper has a cautious reaction. “Whether they’re going to be using exactly as the test [in the new process] is not really known. I am delighted to see...

One in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, yet only a fraction of philanthropic dollars goes toward mental health, addiction, and well-being. Alyson Niemann, CEO of Mindful Philanthropy , joined Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to share how her organization is closing this gap and inspiring bold new investments. “We issued a challenge … to increase th...