Richard Helppie's Common Bridge

Healthcare can feel stuck, but the ground is moving under our feet in the best possible way. We sit down with Hartford Healthcare’s CEO, Jeff Flaks, to unpack how a statewide system is using scale with purpose: pushing care into more convenient, lower-cost settings, investing in equity, and building digital experiences that actually save time for patients and clinicians. If you’re skeptical that b...

What happens when a powerhouse research enterprise, a statewide health system, and a relentless push for access all meet at the same table? Our conversation with Dr. David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine, opens the door to a candid look at how precision care, digital tools, and financial reality collide—and how smart leadership turns that collision into progress. We dig into the new map of Michig...

What if blockbuster weight-loss drugs and a broken food system are two sides of the same story? We sit down with Dr. David Harlan—physician, researcher, and former NIH diabetes branch chief—to trace the unlikely path from the “incretin effect” to GLP-1 therapies that are transforming care for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Along the way, we ask harder questions about incentives, access, and why life...

Host Nate Kaufman brings Rich Helppie back for a discussion about healthcare access.  A 30-day wait for a first oncology visit after hearing the word leukemia is not an edge case—it’s the new normal in a system where demand outpaces supply and incentives reward the wrong behaviors. Nate opens with a personal story that reveals how access feels when the stakes are life and death, then pulls back th...

Politicians argue about subsidies while families face premiums that can top $26,900 and deductibles big enough to delay basic care. We step past the slogans to map how the ACA exchanges actually work today—standardized benefits that reduce real choice, narrow networks that hide access problems, and a pricing spiral that subsidies struggle to catch. Along the way, we unpack ghost networks in mental...

One mother’s plea and a judge’s blueprint collide with a terrifying truth: the systems meant to protect people with serious mental illness—and the communities around them—often wait until harm is done. We bring Beverly Gille and Judge Milton L. Mack Jr. together to map how a 28-year struggle, from teen psychosis to homelessness and a mass stabbing in a Traverse City Walmart, reveals the exact poin...

Spine surgery sits at the crossroads of need, nuance, and noise—and few people explain that terrain better than Dr. Rod Oskouian, a high-volume neurosurgeon who has led a complex spine program and also navigated care as a patient.  Dr. Oskouian and Healthcare Bridge host, Nate Kaufman pull back the curtain on how consolidation, denials, and a flood of administrative demands reshape daily practice,...

Season seven opens with a clear promise: fewer teams, more truth. We look straight at the incentives that keep America mad—legacy media chasing rage clicks, politicians swapping positions to score points, and a culture that treats every topic like a loyalty test—and we choose a different path. From the first minute, we ask whether the country is truly more divided or just more performative, and wh...

The money is already here—so why are the rules still stuck in limbo? We sit down with Tom Dieters to map how NIL evolved from booster-led collectives into university-controlled revenue sharing after House v. NCAA, and what that shift means for athletes across every sport. From donor intent getting sidelined by caps to student fees propping up compensation, we confront the uncomfortable question: i...

What's the secret to maintaining physician independence when 70% of doctors now work for corporations or health systems? Dr. Leo Spector, CEO of OrthoCarolina and practicing spine surgeon, offers a masterclass in healthcare leadership and strategic navigation of our complex medical landscape. After 20 years as a spine surgeon, Dr. Spector has witnessed healthcare's digital transformation...

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson brings her vision for Michigan's future to The Common Bridge, outlining why she's running for governor in 2026 and what she hopes to accomplish for the state's citizens. At the heart of Benson's campaign is a commitment to making Michigan "the best place to be a kid, raise a kid, and call home." As a mother raising an eight-y...

What does it take to transform a state facing serious economic and educational challenges? In this illuminating conversation, former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard outlines his vision for revitalizing Michigan as he campaigns for the governor's office. Michigan's struggles are starkly quantified—ranking 49th in unemployment, near last in population growth, and facing an education cri...

The assassination of Charlie Kirk has shaken our nation to its core, prompting a raw, emotional response from Rich Helppie in this urgent episode of The Common Bridge. Beyond expressing profound grief for Kirk's family and friends, Helppie grieves for America itself – a country increasingly torn apart by political violence and dehumanizing rhetoric. With unflinching clarity, Helppie dissects...

What happens when healthcare experts become patients themselves? Dr. Jeff Goldsmith shares his transformative experience of undergoing five major surgeries in 29 months, revealing how it fundamentally altered his perspective after nearly five decades in healthcare. "I underestimated the degree to which patients are motivated by abject fear," he admits, noting that this fear encompasses b...

Drug pricing in America is a shell game where patients always lose. Healthcare Bridge host Nathan Kaufman and his guest Richard Helppie pull back the curtain on why Americans pay drastically more for the same medications than patients anywhere else in the world. At the heart of this problem lies a fragmented system where the United States—effectively operating the world's largest health insur...

The college sports landscape is undergoing a revolution that few fans truly understand. In this eye-opening conversation, University of Michigan lecturer Greg Dooley breaks down the complex world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation that's transforming collegiate athletics from its century-old amateur foundations into something resembling professional sports. Dooley expertly naviga...

Are you getting what you pay for with your Medicare plan? This eye-opening conversation between healthcare insiders Nathan Kaufman and Rich Helppie pulls back the curtain on what they provocatively call "Medicare Disadvantage" plans. When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Medicare Advantage plans tempt seniors with zero premiums, dental coverage, vision benefits, and e...

Ever wondered how a successful women's magazine writer and humor columnist became one of Substack's most incisive media critics? Jenna McCarthy never planned to write about "government corruption, health policy, and politics" - she was perfectly content crafting witty pieces about relationships and lifestyle topics for major publications. Then COVID happened, and suddenly McCar...

The fundamental flaw in American healthcare might be hiding in your benefits package. In this compelling conversation, host Nathan Kaufman and Common Bridge's Rich Helppie challenge the very foundation of how most Americans receive health coverage. "It needs to go the route of the company car," argues Helppie about employer-sponsored health insurance. The hosts dissect how the curre...

When did healthcare marketing become so disconnected from the people it needs to reach? Brandon Edwards, founder of Unlock Health and a 30-year veteran in healthcare marketing, joins us for a provocative conversation about why traditional approaches are failing in what he calls "the post-truth era." Edwards reveals a startling reality: roughly half the population deeply distrusts institu...

The American healthcare payment system isn't just broken—it's a non-system that systematically fails providers and patients while generating enormous profits for middlemen. The Healthcare Bridge host Nathan Kaufman and his guest Rich Helppie cut through partisan talking points to expose the real impact of recent Medicaid funding changes that threaten to destabilize healthcare nationwide....

Garlin Gilchrist II, Michigan's Lieutenant Governor and gubernatorial candidate, shares how his unique background as a software engineer and tech entrepreneur shapes his vision for the state's future. This fascinating conversation reveals how engineering principles can transform governance and policy-making. "Being an engineer, you learn to be a problem solver," Gilchrist expla...

What happens when you put one of America's leading healthcare governance experts in conversation with a veteran industry insider? You get a rare, unfiltered look behind the curtain of hospital boardrooms where life-and-death decisions get made every day. Jamie Orlikoff, renowned governance consultant and active health system board member, joins host Nathan Kaufman to reveal the dramatic trans...

When half the streetlights in Detroit were dark and the city led America in homicide, poverty, and unemployment, Mike Duggan stepped up to lead its transformation. Now, after 12 years of progress as Detroit's mayor, he's taking aim at Michigan's partisan gridlock with an independent run for governor. "Every time the Republicans and Democrats switch control in Lansing, they chan...

Get ready for two power-packed days of essential conversations when I take over hosting duties at WJR, the Great Voice of the Great Lakes! Mark your calendars for June 23rd and 24th, from 2-4pm Eastern Time, as we spotlight the critical issues shaping Michigan's communities. We'll dive deep into healthcare challenges and opportunities with renowned expert Nate Kaufman, whose insights hav...