Podcasts about Affordable Care Act

The CDC's Diabetes Prevention Program is one of the first lifestyle and behavior-based interventions to be proven, in a large clinical study, to be more effective than a comparable drug (in this case metformin). Digital implementations can make the DPP more accessible and more scalable, and a number of digital health companies have been tackling this for the last few years.Fruit Street Health is one of those companies and its CEO Laurence Girard joins host Jonah Comstock on today's HIMSSCast to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and successes his company has had in this space.Talking points:A brief history of the CDC Diabetes Prevention ProgramWhy Fruit Street and others are taking the DPP digitalChallenges and opportunities of virtual DPP implementationOngoing reimbursement challenges with Medicare and MedicaidAdvantages of group-based programs via video chatsQuestions and misconceptions about scalabilityMaking sure pre-diabetes interventions work for everyoneCultural food expectations and combatting food deserts, both through partnershipsDirect-to-consumer DPP outreachAre DPP programs (in-person and virtual) making a dent in the problem?More about this episode:Fruit Street to deliver CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program through live video classesFruit Street Health raises $3 million in doctors-only roundUK passes on Apple, Google's Bluetooth contact tracing tool, Fruit Street Health launches COVID-19 telemedicine platform and more digital health news briefsAHIP, CDC to partner on diabetes preventionMedicare to reimburse for Diabetes Prevention Program, including Omada's digital versionDiabetes Prevention Program under the Affordable Care Act is working, HHS Secretary Burwell saysAmerican Medical Association pushes public, private health plans to cover National Diabetes Prevention ProgramCMS calls for extending Diabetes Prevention Program into Medicare, proposes new doc fees to boost chronic care

Missouri is now the 38th state to expand Medicaid to low-income residents as part of the Affordable Care Act. It's been over a year since voters approved it, and after many delays, the first few thousand people enrolled this month. We begin our coverage by hearing from a few people now eligible for Medicaid about the long wait and urgent need for coverage, and Lisa Desjardins has more. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Missouri is now the 38th state to expand Medicaid to low-income residents as part of the Affordable Care Act. It's been over a year since voters approved it, and after many delays, the first few thousand people enrolled this month. We begin our coverage by hearing from a few people now eligible for Medicaid about the long wait and urgent need for coverage, and Lisa Desjardins has more. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In the final week of Hispanic Heritage Month, Jayzen is pleased to welcome Dr. Ilan Shapiro to the show. Throughout his career, Dr. Shapiro has been an outspoken health advocate for the Hisapnic community and has worked tirelessly to create health policy that is both accurate and accessible. During and before the COVID-19 pandemic, he's been a featured commentator on CNN, NBC, Univision, Telemundo and EstrellaTV and other international channels to share critical evidence based information for the community. Currently, Dr. Shapiro serves as AltaMed's Medical Director of Health Education and Wellness, helping to create and implement programs and services that expand access to care and improve outcomes for the community. Early in his career, after graduating as Honorary Valedictorian with his medical degree, he worked for the Mexican Secretary of Health as the liaison between Mexico and the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Shapiro was recently recognized by the City of Los Angeles, the California State Assembly and the Los Angeles Times en Español as a one of the Héroes de la Pandemia. Guest Bio Ilan Shapiro, MD Medical Director, Health Education and Wellness, AltaMed Dr. Shapiro is a tireless advocate for health care equality, with a deep affinity for innovation and public health policy, especially relating to the Latino population. Currently, Dr. Shapiro serves as AltaMed's Medical Director of Health Education and Wellness, helping to create and implement programs and services that expand access to care and improve outcomes for the community. One of his biggest accomplishments at AltaMed has been the development of a dedicated AltaMed health and wellness facility. The center uses the latest technology, as well as traditional evidence-based principles and a hands-on approach, to teach members healthy habits relating to nutrition, fitness, and chronic condition management, a reflection of the combination of technology and innovation efforts to bridge new offerings for underserved communities. As part of his educational efforts, he has been featured on CNN, NBC, Univision, Telemundo and EstrellaTV and other international channels to share critical evidence based information for the community. After graduating as Honorary Valedictorian with his medical degree, he worked for the Mexican Secretary of Health as the liaison between Mexico and the World Health Organization (WHO). He has created binational public health programs to improve the health of Hispanic communities on both sides of the border. In 2011, he was invited to join the White House Hispanic Policy Group and help educate and raise awareness for the Affordable Care Act and continue serving as an Advisor for the Foreign Affairs and Health Mexican Ministries. Dr. Shapiro is also a recent recipient of the Othli Award, an honor presented by the Consul of Mexico to recognize individuals working to improve the lives of Mexican nationals living in the United States and abroad. In addition to his work at AltaMed, Dr. Shapiro serves on the Board of Governors at L.A. Care Health Plan. He currently acts as the regional director for the National Hispanic Medical Association. Links To learn more about Lead With Your Brand and the Career Breakthrough Mentoring program, please visit: LeadWithyYourBrand.com To book Jayzen for a speaking engagement or workshop at your company, visit: JayzenPatria.com

Do you wish that you could have a mulligan when it comes to taking your Social Security benefit? Once you file for Social Security, it seems like your decision is set in stone. But what if I told you that you have options to reverse your decision?  In this episode of Retirement Starts Today, we'll explore an Investment News article written by one of my favorite Investment News contributors, Mary Beth Franklin. This article provides options for those who have remorse about the timing of their Social Security claim. In the listener questions segment, we'll discuss Jerry's question about his health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act and how they are affected by the 8.5% rule. This episode is jam-packed with helpful retirement information, so press play now to continue your retirement education. Outline of This Episode [3:02] 3 Social Security do-over options [8:25] Check out the Retirement Repair Shop podcast [9:24] Jerry's ACA insurance premium questions [13:50] Clarification on the ACA 8.5% rule  There are 3 ways that you could reverse your Social Security timing Have you found yourself regretting the timing of your Social Security benefits claim? Maybe you wish that you had waited longer to receive a larger benefit or maybe your retirement timeline has changed based on the pandemic or other factors. If so, I have good news for you. There are 3 ways that you could reverse your decision.  There are many people that wish they could go back and change the timing of their Social Security claim, so if you are one of them make sure to listen to this episode to learn which choice might best fit your needs.  Withdraw your application You may not realize this, but you can withdraw your Social Security benefits application. Use form 521 to do so, but keep in mind that there's a catch.  You'll have to repay any earnings you or your dependents have received. Withdrawing your application can only be done once, but doing so will allow you to apply again later when your monthly check would be higher.  You'll also want to consider whether you are already enrolled in Medicare. If you withdraw your application, your Medicare premiums will no longer be automatically deducted from your Social Security benefit, so you'll have to find another way to pay.  Suspend your benefits If repaying your Social Security benefits isn't feasible, then you might want to consider suspending your benefits. This way you don't have to repay anything, however, keep in mind that not only will your benefits stop, but also this action will stop any benefits to a dependent family member. Your benefits would then start again at age 70. Listen in to discover why this may be a good strategy for married couples.  Request a lump sum payout Requesting a lump sum payout works only for individuals who have reached full retirement age. They can request a lump-sum payout of up to 6 months of retroactive benefits. This option would best be used by someone who has an urgent need for cash or for people who waited until after their full retirement age to claim either spousal or survivor benefits. After receiving a lump-sum payment, that person could then voluntarily suspend benefits and earn delayed retirement credits up to age 70 which would boost future monthly benefits.  Claiming Social Security seems like such a permanent decision so if life comes along and changes your plans it's good to know that you have these alternatives to consider.  Resources & People Mentioned November 2020 Medicare series with Danielle from Boomer Benefits Boomer Benefits Retirement Repair Shop podcast with Mary Beth Franklin 3 Social Security Do-Over Options article Retirement Answer Man podcast Stay Wealthy podcast Financial Symmetry podcast Market Watch article on the ACA subsidy cliff KFF.org - resources for the ACA and other health matters Connect with Benjamin Brandt Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com/ Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/retiremeasap Subscribe to the newsletter: https://retirementstartstodayradio.com/newsletter Subscribe to Retirement Starts Today on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podbean, Player FM, iHeart, or Spotify

In the second edition of this two-part Oncology, Etc. episode, hosts Dr. Patrick Loehrer (Indiana University) and Dr. David Johnson (University of Texas) continue their conversation with Dr. Otis Brawley, a distinguished professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins and former Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts | Additional resources: elearning.asco.org | Contact Us Air Date: 10/5/2021   TRANSCRIPT [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This is not a substitute for medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAVID JOHNSON: Welcome back to Oncology, Etc, and our second segment of our conversation with Otis Brawley, professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Pat, I don't know about you, but Otis is a very impressive man, and he had a lot of really interesting things to say about his career development, family, et cetera in the first segment. This second segment, we're going to get to hear more about his time at the ACS. What were your thoughts about segment one? PATRICK LOEHRER: Well, I loved talking to Otis, and you too, Dave. Parenthetically, Otis once told me in a dinner conversation we had that he felt like Forrest Gump, and I can identify with that. Where over the field, our field of oncology over the last several decades, we've met some incredibly wonderful people, and we've been lucky to be part of the history. The three of us, I think, do have a deep sense of the historical context of oncology. This is a young field, and there's just some extraordinary people, many of them real true heroes, and Otis has his figure on the pulse of that. DAVID JOHNSON: Yeah, that's why he's been in some of the right places at the right time, and we'll hear more about that in this segment coming up now. PATRICK LOEHRER: Now Otis has had a career in many different areas, including ODAC, the NCI, the ACS, now at Hopkins. So let's hear a little bit more about Dr. Brawley's experience at the American Cancer Society and particularly with his experience with the former CEO, John Seffrin. DAVID JOHNSON: Sounds great. [MUSIC PLAYING] OTIS BRAWLEY: John and I had a wonderful run at the American Cancer Society. Got to do a lot of things. Got to testify for the Affordable Care Act. Got to do some of the science to actually argue that the Affordable Care Act would help. And I was fortunate enough to be there long enough to do some of the science to show that the Affordable Care Act is helping. DAVID JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean actually all of the things you accomplished at the ACS are truly amazing. Let me ask you, just on a personal level, what did you like most about that job, and then what did you like least about that job? [LAUGHTER] OTIS BRAWLEY: I like the fact-- there were a lot of things I liked about that job. There were a couple hundred scientists and scientific support people that you got to work with. And I used to always say, I do politics so you can do science. And what I used to like the most, every Wednesday afternoon that I was in town, I would walk around just to watch those people think. I used to joke around and say, I'm just walking around to see who came to work today. But I really enjoyed watching them work and watching them think, and that was fun. Another fun aspect of the job was people used to call and ask a little bit about the disease that they are a family member would have. And sitting down with them on the phone in those days-- we didn't have Zoom-- and talking to them through their disease. Not necessarily giving them advice on what to do in terms of treatment, but helping them understand the biology of the disease or connecting them with someone who was good in their disease. And I happen to, by the way, have sent some patients to both of you guys. That was a lot of fun. Then the other thing, of course, was the fact that you could actually influence policy and fix things. I'll never forget sitting across from Terry Branstad, then the governor of Iowa, and convincing him that the right thing to do is to raise the excise tax on tobacco in Iowa. Being able to see that you're effective and to see that you're positively influencing things. The bad side, some of the politics. I didn't necessarily like how some of the money was being raised or where they were raising money from. I think that you have to have a certain standard in terms of where you accept money. And we always had that tension with the fundraisers. But it's also true-- and I will give them a nod-- you can't do the fun things unless you raise money. So I really truly enjoyed my time at the American Cancer Society. And by the way, a shout out to Karen Knudsen, who is the CEO running the American Cancer Society now. And I'm fully committed to helping the ACS and helping Karen be successful. DAVID JOHNSON: One of the things I read-- I think I read this that you had said that one of your proudest accomplishments was revising the ACS screening guidelines. Tell us just a little bit about that. OTIS BRAWLEY: Yeah, going all the way back to the early 1990s, I started realizing that a lot of these guidelines for screening, or back then, this is before the NCCN guidelines for treatment even, that were published by various organizations, including the American Cancer Society. We're almost the equivalent of-- get the impression that in the 1960s, it would have been a smoke-filled room. But you gather a bunch of people into a room, and they come up with, this is what we should be doing. Indeed, the American Cancer Society in 1991 endorsed annual PSA screening for prostate cancer based purely on getting a group of primarily urologists into a room, and that's what they came up with. There was very little review of the science. There really was no science at that time except the science to show that PSA screening found cancer. There were no studies to show that led to men benefiting in that they didn't die. Indeed, in 1991, there was no study to show that treatment of early prostate cancer saved lives. The study to show treatment of prostate cancer saves lives was first published in 2003, and the radiation saves lives in 1997, 1998. Surgery saves lives in 2003 and screening has a small effect published in 2009. But they started recommending it in 1991 in this almost smoke-filled room kind of atmosphere. When I got to the American Cancer Society, I started an effort, and we involved people from the National Academy of Medicine, we involved people from the NCCN, from the American Urological Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians. And we got together in that almost smoke-filled room again, but the idea was, how do you make responsible guidelines? And we wrote that up into a paper guide widely accepted by all of the organizations, and it involves a review of the literature that is commissioned by someone. And they spend a long time reviewing the literature and writing a literature review. And then you have a group of experts from various fields to include epidemiology and screening, social work, someone who's had the disease. Not just the surgeons and medical oncologists who treat the disease but some population scientists as well. They sit down and they reveal all of the scientific data, and then they start coming up with, we recommend this. And then they rank how strong that recommendation is based on the data. We published this in 2013 in The Journal of the American Medical Association. I do think that was important, you're right. That's Otis trying to bring his policy and his belief in orthodox approach to science and bring it all together. PATRICK LOEHRER: So let me reflect a little bit more on something. There is a book that I also just recently read by Dax-Devlon Ross, and it's a book entitled, Letters to my White Male Friends, and it was a fascinating read to me. You have this public persona and professional persona of being an outstanding physician, clinician, public speaker. But what we the three of us have never really had the conversation today is we have much more interest now in DEI. One of our other speakers talked about the fact that there's a tax that is placed upon underrepresented minorities and academics. They are all expected to be on committees. They have to be doing different things. And so the things that they love to do, they can't do it because they have to represent their race or their gender or their ethnicity. OTIS BRAWLEY: I have been blessed and fortunate. There are problems, and there are huge burdens that Black doctors, and women doctors by the way, have to carry. I have been fortunate that I have skated through without a lot of that burden. Maybe it has to do with oncology, but I will tell you that I have been helped by so many doctors, men and women, predominantly white, but some Asian, Muslim, Jewish, Christian. I don't know if it's oncology is selective of people who want to give folks a fair shake and really believe in mentoring and finding a protege and promoting their career. I have been incredibly, incredibly fortunate. Now that I say that, there are doctors, minority doctors and women, who don't have the benefits and don't have the fortunes that I have had, and we all have to be careful for that. As I said early on, John Altman told me that I will thank him by getting more Blacks and women into the old boys club. And so that was his realizing that there is a-- or there was a problem. I think there still is a problem in terms of diversity. Now I have seen personally some of the problem more outside of oncology in some of the other specialties. More in internal medicine and surgery, for example. By the way, there are also some benefit. I did well in medical school in third and fourth year in medical school at the University of Chicago because there were a group of Black nurses who were held that I wasn't going to fail. The nurses took me under their wing and taught me how to draw blood, how to pass a swan. The first code I ever called, there was a nurse standing behind me with the check off list. And so there are some advantages to being Black as well. But there are some disadvantages. I've been very fortunate. My advice to Black physicians is to keep an open mind and seek out the folks in medicine who truly do want to help you and truly do want to mentor you. And for the folks who are not minority or not women in medicine, I say, try to keep an open mind and try to help everybody equally. PATRICK LOEHRER: Thank you. DAVID JOHNSON: I want to go back to your book for a moment. And again, for those who've not read it, I would encourage them to do. So it's a really honest book, I think, well-written. You made a comment in there-- I want to make sure I quote it near correctly. You said that improvement in our health care system must be a bottom up process. What do you mean by "bottom up?" OTIS BRAWLEY: Well, much of it is driven by demand from patients and other folks. The name of the book was, How We Do Harm. And the synopsis is there are bunch of people who are harmed because they don't get the care that they need. And there's a bunch of people who are harmed because they get too much medicine and too much care. And they rob those resources away from the folks who don't get care at the same time that they're harmed by being overtreated, getting treatments that they don't need. The other thing, if I can add, in American health care, we don't stress risk reduction enough. I used to call it "prevention." Some of the survivors convince me to stress "activities to reduce risk of disease." We don't do a lot in this country in terms of diet and exercise. We try to do some work somewhat successfully on tobacco avoidance. We need to teach people how to be healthy. And if I were czar of medicine in the United States, I would try to make sure that everybody had a health coach. Many of us go to the gym and we have a trainer. We need trainers to teach us how to be healthy and how to do the right things to stay healthy. That's part of the bottom up. And in terms of costs you know my last paper that I published from the American Cancer Society, I published purposefully, this is my last paper. Ahmedin Jemal who's a wonderful epidemiologist who I happen to have worked with when I was at the National Cancer Institute and again later in my career at the American Cancer Society, I pushed Ahmedin-- he publishes these papers, and we estimate x number of people are going to be diagnosed with breast cancer and y number are going to die. He and I had talked for a long time about how college education reduces risk of cancer death dramatically. If you give a college education to a Black man, his risk of death from cancer goes down to less than the average risk for a white American. There's something about giving people college education that prevents cancer death. I simply challenged Ahmedin, calculate for me how many people in the United States would die if everybody had the risk of death of college-educated Americans. And he came back with of the 600,000 people who die in any given year, 132,000 would not die if they had all the things from prevention through screening, diagnosis, and treatment that college-educated people. Just think about that-- 132,000. Then I started trying to figure out what drug prevents 132,000 deaths per year? And I couldn't think of one until recently, and it happens to be the coronavirus vaccine. Which ironically has shown itself to be the greatest drug ever created in all of medicine. But in cancer, there's no breakthrough drug that is more effective than just simply getting every human being the care from risk reduction and prevention all the way through treatment that every human being ought to be getting. The solution to some of that starts with fixing third grade and teaching kids about exercise, about proper diet. PATRICK LOEHRER: We're going to have to wind things up here. But real quickly, a book you would recommend? OTIS BRAWLEY: Skip Trump, who's someone that we all know, wonderful guy used to run Roswell Park Cancer Center, just published a book actually it's coming out in September called, Centers of the Cancer Universe, A Half Century of Progress Against Cancer. I got a preprint of that, and it is a great book. It talks about what we've learned in oncology over the last 50 years since Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act. Keep in mind, he declared war on cancer on December 23, 1971. So we have an anniversary coming up in December. PATRICK LOEHRER: I want to close. Another book, I read the autobiography of Frederick Douglass. It's a wonderful read. It really is good. There were some endorsements at the end of this book, and one of them was written by a Benjamin Brawley, who wrote this review in a book called, The Negro in Literature and Art in 1921. And Benjamin Brawley was writing this about Frederick Douglass, but I would like to have you just reflect a moment. I think he was writing it about you, and I'm just going to read this. He basically said, at the time of his death in 1895, Douglass had won for himself a place of unique distinction. Large of heart and of mind, he was interested in every forward movement for his people, but his charity embraced all men in all races. His mutation was international, and today, many of his speeches are found to be the standard works of oratory. I think if your great, great grandfather were here today, he would be so incredibly proud of his protege, Otis. And it's such a privilege and pleasure to have you join us today on Oncology, Etc. Thank you so much. OTIS BRAWLEY: Thank you. And thank both of you for all the help you've given me over the years DAVID JOHNSON: Great pleasure having you today, Otis. I want to also thank all of our listeners for tuning in to Oncology, Etc. This is an ASCO educational podcast. We really are here to talk about anything and everything. So we're looking for ideas. Please, if you have any suggestions, feel free to email us at education@ASCO.org. Thanks again, and remember, Pat has a face for podcasts. [MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: Thank you for listening to this week's episode of the ASCO e-learning weekly podcasts. To make us part of your weekly routine, click Subscribe. Let us know what you think by leaving a review. For more information, visit the comprehensive e-learning center at elearning.asco.org.

Reference-based pricing, the way that most employee benefit consultants use the term anyway, refers to a methodology used by employers to pay providers for services. Usually we're talking within a fee-for-service (FFS) environment here. The way it typically works ... there are different flavors, but how it typically works is this: Reference-based pricing (RBP) means that an employer starts with some reference-based price. Many times, it's the Medicare rate. Medicare will pay X dollars for something. The employer—and when I say employer, I mean the vendor/company the employer is using to run this whole thing mainly—but the employer will decide that they're willing to pay some percent over the Medicare rate to providers who render that service to the employee. Maybe it's 10% over the Medicare rate or 20% to 50% as David Contorno talks about in this healthcare podcast. One of the biggest pushbacks against RBP schemes has been that it results in balance bills for employees, meaning that an employee goes to the hospital, the employer decides to pay some RBP amount for that service to the hospital, but the hospital hasn't necessarily agreed to accept that amount. There's no contract in place. So, the hospital decides to bill whatever their chargemaster rate is—which, as we all know, is redonkulous—and the employee gets a giant out-of-network balance bill. For the most part, this doesn't have to happen if you do it right; and David Contorno discusses all of this and more on this An Expert Explains. You can learn more at epoweredbenefits.com. You can also connect with David on LinkedIn.   David Contorno is founder of E Powered Benefits. As a native of New York, David began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 14 and has since become a leading expert in the realm of employee benefits over the last 22 years. David was Benefits Selling magazine's 2015 Broker of the Year, and in March 2016, Forbes deemed him “one of America's most innovative benefits leaders.” More recently, he received the 2017 Leadership Award at ASCEND, the annual conference of The Association for Insurance Leadership, which recognizes those whose leadership in support of improving the value and performance of employee benefits has significantly advanced the industry. David is a member of the board of directors for both the Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters and HealthReach Community Clinic. He served on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participated in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the market reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is a longtime member of the Lake Norman and South Iredell Chambers of Commerce as well as the National, North Carolina, New York, and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. David contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Benefits Selling magazine, Business Leader magazine, and Insurance Thought Leadership. David is committed to giving back to his community and actively participates in the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and supporting The Dove House Child Advocacy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys boating and traveling. 01:37 What does good reference-based pricing look like? 01:57 What is the pricing methodology that 97% of healthcare is using? 04:25 How has E Powered Benefits minimized the noise around reference-based pricing? 04:55 “You're getting what we view as balance bills all the time.” 06:47 “What very few people really recognize is that hospitals have multiple revenue streams.” 07:36 “Which is the highest price? The answer is, commercial.” You can learn more at epoweredbenefits.com. You can also connect with David on LinkedIn.   @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast What does good reference-based pricing look like? @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast What is the pricing methodology that 97% of healthcare is using? @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast How has E Powered Benefits minimized the noise around reference-based pricing? @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast “You're getting what we view as balance bills all the time.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast “What very few people really recognize is that hospitals have multiple revenue streams.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast “Which is the highest price? The answer is, commercial.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and #referencebasedpricing on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! David Contorno (EP339), Nikki King, Olivia Webb, Brandon Weber, Stacey Richter (INBW30), Brian Klepper (AEE16), Brian Klepper (EP335), Sunita Desai, Care Plans vs Real World (EP333), Dr Tony DiGioia, Al Lewis, John Marchica, Joe Connolly, Marshall Allen, Andrew Eye, Naomi Fried, Dr Rishi Wadhera, Dr Mai Pham, Nicole Bradberry and Kelly Conroy, Lee Lewis, Dr Arshad Rahim, Dr Monica Lypson, Dr Rich Klasco, Dr David Carmouche (AEE15), Christian Milaster, Dr Grace Terrell, Troy Larsgard, Josh LaRosa  

Today on Boston Public Radio: We begin the show by asking listeners their thoughts on Tom Brady's impending return to Gillette stadium this Sunday. Jon Gruber explains why the super rich pay a lower tax rate than most Americans, and breaks down President Joe Biden's proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund his spending priorities. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream.” Shirley Leung updates listeners on the latest business headlines, including her thoughts on the latest slew of issues with the MBTA and what it would take to get people back to the office on public transportation. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a BPR contributor. Callie Crossley talks about what it means for the mail system with postal workers ordered to deliberately slow down delivery, and weighs in on the mayoral race, including Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley's endorsement of City Councilor Michelle Wu. Crossley hosts GBH's Under the Radar and Basic Black. Sue O'Connell discusses the latest updates in Britney Spears' fight for freedom as her father was suspended as her conservator. She also talks about Liz Cheney's comments on 60 Minutes this week admitting wrongdoing in her 2013 condemnation of same-sex marriage. O'Connell is the co-publisher of Bay Windows and the South End News, as well as NECN's political commentator and explainer-in-chief. Andy Ihnatko weighs in on Senate testimonies about recent reports of the harmful effect of Instagram on teenagers' mental health, and how Apple Music is lagging behind Spotify in subscribers. Ihnatko is a tech writer and blogger, posting at Ihnatko.com. Then, we continue our conversation about Brady's return in anticipation of Sunday's football game.

The American Dental Association (ADA) - the largest association of dental professionals in the country - are fighting against the proposal to add dental benefits to Medicare. We talk about the politics of ADA opposition to healthcare, and also hear from seniors themselves about what it's like to go without needed dental care. Dental care is not part of health insurance for most Americans, and the proposal to include dental benefits (as well as hearing and vision) in Medicare is running into opposition from...dentists. Today Ben and Stephanie dive into the crisis of American seniors without dental care, and the opposition from the American Dental Association. Last week we emailed our list of Medicare for All supporters, asking if any seniors with challenges getting the dental care they need would be willing to share their story with us. We weren't prepared for the flood of 150 stories that came in, or how heartbreaking they would be. Sandy in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania: “I'm a 64yr old woman who [is] shut in my apartment. Instead of having friends, going places, doing things, I don't leave my home because I have no teeth. After a horrific divorce, I lost my teeth, and cannot afford dentures. It has caused a deep depression, and loneliness. I'm 64, which I don't feel like should be the end. I should be going to church, having friends, going places, but can't. Due to the embarrassment and shame of not having teeth. I'm never going to be able to afford nice dentures, so this has become my life.” [Impact on mental health, social life.]Mary in Devine, Texas: “My husband and I both have dental problems. I had my bottom teeth pulled out in hope of getting affordable dentures. I went to see about them and the price is always three to six thousand dollars. It is outrageous… I don't have insurance. My husband has Medicare but it doesn't cover dental... We both can't eat nuts, dried fruit or even salads.  We would like to eat healthy. We are unable to have protein foods. I have [even] choked. I mostly eat very soft foods and make smoothies. It is quite painful. It saddens me because of [the] lack of concern and our quality of life is affected.” [Impact on broader health - ability to eat healthy.]Janus in Champaign, IL (edited down): “I am a 66-year-old woman who worked for the University of Illinois.. for 25 years. During that time, I had good dental coverage and saw the dentist every year to have my teeth cleaned. In 2000, I started my own business, and could only get healthcare coverage by joining the local farm bureau. That policy did not include dental care… [and] I had to go in debt just to keep insurance coverage until the Affordable Care Act was finally enacted... And then I turned 65. I was forced off of the ACA policy and into Medicare… I have not had a dental cleaning for 15 years and see no future in which I will be able to get that kind of care for myself… Now that I am a senior, I expect a safety net to catch me in times of, oh say a pandemic!  My business is caring for clients' homes and pets when they travel. No one is traveling. I made $4,000 last year... It's not looking any better for 2021...” The Medicare for All movement has been fighting to expand Medicare, including finally adding comprehensive vision, hearing, and dental benefits. Because of our pressure, this demand has actually been taken up in Congress, despite the fact that President Biden's proposal for this bill didn't include any Medicare expansions. But as Medicare expansion works its way through the committee process, the proposed benefits are shockingly poor for dental coverage. Today, Medicare Part B doesn't cover any routine cleanings, regular care, teeth replacement, etc. Basically, no preventative care, only emergency care as it relates to other medical treatment (https://www.healthmarkets.com/content/medicare-part-b-dental-coverage) On the plus side, the House proposal would cover routine care,

Let's just start here: As a general construct, insurance carriers have every incentive for health insurance premiums to go up every year. If you're an employer, that is a material fact. Is it counterintuitive? Maybe. Except if you're an employer and your premiums are going up year after year, it begs the question why, every single year, the already-extravagant amount you pay continues to go up way more than the inflation rate. You'd think that if your broker and your plan administrator were so great at their fiduciary responsibility over your self-insured plan that this wouldn't be happening. Oh right, whosever PPO network you're using, they don't have any fiduciary responsibility over your self-insured plan. You do, all you CFOs and CEOs and benefit professionals out there. Wait, I misspoke. Plan administrators do have fiduciary responsibility—to their shareholders. The CEO of CVS/Aetna made $36 million in 2019. He's clearly very good at that job. The rest of them are, too. I'm not singling anyone out here. And also, this podcast is not investment advice. In short, as previously stated, most major insurance carriers and the brokers they pay commissions to have every incentive for your premiums to go up every single year. That's where we're at, folks. It's an open secret, yet so many are just getting so wildly taken advantage of by carriers and brokers whom they have really put their trust in. If you work for a self-insured employer, tell your CFO/CEO to listen to this show. Or if you are a CEO/CFO or a benefits professional in charge of healthcare benefits, welcome. I hope this information is helpful. My guest in this healthcare podcast, David Contorno, has been in the benefits industry longer than he hasn't been in the benefits industry. I think he started working in a benefits brokerage when he was 17 or something. Currently, he's the founder of E Powered Benefits. In this episode, we talk about the keys for self-insured employers that lead to better health for their employees at something like 20% or more lower costs. Here's some of the imperatives for employers that David digs into in this episode: Advanced primary care—really valuing primary care providers who do not work for hospital systems and, therefore, are not subjected to the ball and chain of perverse incentives that David talks about at some length. Getting cost and quality data so you can make prospective choices and not get hit in the back of the head with an after-the-fact “gotcha” in the form of an overpriced bill that you are now obligated to pay. Let me bring up all the articles lately in the New York Times and elsewhere … people paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for something that should cost a fraction of that. Most of them have “good” insurance (keep that in mind) from their employer. Also keep in mind that most of these stories that hit the news are the ones where some poor employee got stuck with a bill—not the metric ton of other examples where the self-insured employer was on the hook. If you're an employer, you can get ahead of these “gotcha” moments. It's textbook risk mitigation if nothing else. Create benefit designs to help employees find and incent them to use the highest-quality providers charging a fair price. Listen to EP334 with Sunita Desai for more on the topic of incenting consumerism. Know how your broker gets paid. If someone is paying your broker a commission and it isn't you, then your broker makes more money when your premiums and rates go up. They are a sales rep getting paid to make someone else money off of you. Get a handle on your pharmacy spend. David gets into some nuances here which are super interesting. You can learn more at epoweredbenefits.com. You can also connect with David on LinkedIn.   David Contorno is founder of E Powered Benefits. As a native of New York, David began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 14 and has since become a leading expert in the realm of employee benefits over the last 22 years. David was Benefits Selling magazine's 2015 Broker of the Year, and in March 2016, Forbes deemed him “one of America's most innovative benefits leaders.” More recently, he received the 2017 Leadership Award at ASCEND, the annual conference of The Association for Insurance Leadership, which recognizes those whose leadership in support of improving the value and performance of employee benefits has significantly advanced the industry. David is a member of the board of directors for both the Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters and HealthReach Community Clinic. He served on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participated in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the market reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is a longtime member of the Lake Norman and South Iredell Chambers of Commerce as well as the National, North Carolina, New York, and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. David contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Benefits Selling magazine, Business Leader magazine, and Insurance Thought Leadership. David is committed to giving back to his community and actively participates in the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and supporting The Dove House Child Advocacy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys boating and traveling. 04:20 How do you ensure better care for patients? 05:10 “What's required to correct those things is not really a massive degree of intellect or even innovation.” 05:38 What's the road map for self-insured employers who want to take control of their healthcare costs? 10:06 “Higher costs equal more profit and more revenue.” 14:03 “The problem with devalued primary care is … that most people pass over the primary care provider and go right to the specialist.” 19:41 “Every employer should have every broker sign a compensation disclosure form.” 20:06 “If you think there's perverse incentives on the medical side … it gets even worse on the pharmacy side.” 21:01 What changes do employers find when they follow the road map to taking control of their healthcare costs? 21:44 “It's not uncommon for us to reduce total healthcare spend for an employer by between 20% and 40% at the end of the first year.” 22:09 “I can't change [the] outcome without changing the path you walked to get there.” 22:41 “Going self-funded is where the journey starts, not where it ends.” 24:47 “If most employers truly understood how badly these carriers and health systems are taking advantage of them … [it's almost like] Stockholm syndrome.” 27:09 “The only legitimate fear that employers should have is, How do they message these changes … to the employees?” 29:21 “This has to happen, and if it doesn't happen, the system's going to break and … be picked up by entities that are, I think, only going to make the situation worse.” You can learn more at epoweredbenefits.com. You can also connect with David on LinkedIn.   @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits How do you ensure better care for patients? @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “What's required to correct those things is not really a massive degree of intellect or even innovation.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits What's the road map for self-insured employers who want to take control of their healthcare costs? @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “Higher costs equal more profit and more revenue.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “The problem with devalued primary care is … that most people pass over the primary care provider and go right to the specialist.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “Every employer should have every broker sign a compensation disclosure form.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “If you think there's perverse incentives on the medical side … it gets even worse on the pharmacy side.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits What changes do employers find when they follow the road map to taking control of their healthcare costs? @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “It's not uncommon for us to reduce total healthcare spend for an employer by between 20% and 40% at the end of the first year.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “I can't change [the] outcome without changing the path you walked to get there.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “Going self-funded is where the journey starts, not where it ends.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “If most employers truly understood how badly these carriers and health systems are taking advantage of them … [it's almost like] Stockholm syndrome.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “The only legitimate fear that employers should have is, How do they message these changes … to the employees?” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits “This has to happen, and if it doesn't happen, the system's going to break and … be picked up by entities that are, I think, only going to make the situation worse.” @dcontorno discusses #employers and the #medicalindustrialcomplex on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthbenefits Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Nikki King, Olivia Webb, Brandon Weber, Stacey Richter (INBW30), Brian Klepper (AEE16), Brian Klepper (EP335), Sunita Desai, Care Plans vs Real World (EP333), Dr Tony DiGioia, Al Lewis, John Marchica, Joe Connolly, Marshall Allen, Andrew Eye, Naomi Fried, Dr Rishi Wadhera, Dr Mai Pham, Nicole Bradberry and Kelly Conroy, Lee Lewis, Dr Arshad Rahim, Dr Monica Lypson, Dr Rich Klasco, Dr David Carmouche (AEE15), Christian Milaster, Dr Grace Terrell, Troy Larsgard, Josh LaRosa, Dr David Carmouche (EP316)

The podcast is back with a new name and a new, expanded focus! Harry will soon be publishing his new book The Future You: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Get Healthier, Stress Less, and Live Longer. Like his previous book MoneyBall Medicine, it's all about AI and the other big technologies that are transforming healthcare. But this time Harry takes the consumer's point of view, sharing tips, techniques, and insights we can all use to become smarter, more proactive participants in our own health. The show's first guest under this expanded mission is Dave deBronkart, better known as "E-Patient Dave" for his relentless efforts to persuade medical providers to cede control over health data and make patients into more equal partners in their own care. Dave explains how he got his nickname, why it's so important for patients to be more engaged in the healthcare system, and what kinds of technology changes at hospitals and physician practices can facilitate that engagement. Today we're bringing you the first half of Harry and Dave's wide-ranging conversation, and we'll be back on October 12 with Part 2.Dave deBronkart is the author of the highly rated Let Patients Help: A Patient Engagement Handbook and one of the world's leading advocates for patient engagement. After beating stage IV kidney cancer in 2007, he became a blogger, health policy advisor, and international keynote speaker, and today is the best-known spokesman for the patient engagement movement. He is the co-founder and chair emeritus of the Society for Participatory Medicine, and has been quoted in Time, U.S. News, USA Today, Wired, MIT Technology Review, and the HealthLeaders cover story “Patient of the Future.” His writings have been published in the British Medical Journal, the Patient Experience Journal,  iHealthBeat, and the conference journal of the American Society for Clinical Oncology. Dave's 2011 TEDx talk went viral, and is one the most viewed TED Talks of all time with nearly 700,000 views.Please rate and review The Harry Glorikian Show on Apple Podcasts! Here's how to do that from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:1. Open the Podcasts app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 2. Navigate to The Harry Glorikian Show podcast. You can find it by searching for it or selecting it from your library. Just note that you'll have to go to the series page which shows all the episodes, not just the page for a single episode.3. Scroll down to find the subhead titled "Ratings & Reviews."4. Under one of the highlighted reviews, select "Write a Review."5. Next, select a star rating at the top — you have the option of choosing between one and five stars. 6. Using the text box at the top, write a title for your review. Then, in the lower text box, write your review. Your review can be up to 300 words long.7. Once you've finished, select "Send" or "Save" in the top-right corner. 8. If you've never left a podcast review before, enter a nickname. Your nickname will be displayed next to any reviews you leave from here on out. 9. After selecting a nickname, tap OK. Your review may not be immediately visible.That's it! Thanks so much.Full TranscriptHarry Glorikian: Hello. I'm Harry Glorikian. Welcome to The Harry Glorikian Show.You heard me right! The podcast has a new name. And as you're about to learn, we have an exciting new focus. But we're coming to you in the same feed as our old show, MoneyBall Medicine. So if you were already subscribed to the show in your favorite podcast app, you don't have to do anything! Just keep listening as we publish new episodes. If you're not a regular listener, please take a second to hit the Subscribe or Follow button right now. And thank you.Okay. So. Why are we rebranding the show?Well, I've got some exciting news to share. Soon we'll be publishing my new book, The Future You: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Get Healthier, Stress Less, and Live Longer. It's all about how AI and big data are changing almost everything we know about our healthcare.Now, that might sound a bit like my last book, MoneyBall Medicine. But I wrote that book mainly to inform all the industry insiders who deliver healthcare. Like people who work at pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, health plans, insurance companies, and health-tech startups.With this new book, The Future You, I'm turning the lens around and I'm explaining the impact of the AI revolution on people who consume healthcare. Which, of course, means everyone. That impact is going to be significant, and it's going to change everything from the way you interact with your doctors, to the kind of medicines you take, to the ways you stay fit and healthy.We want you to be prepared for this new world. So we're expanding the focus of the podcast, too. To go along with the new name, we're bringing you interviews with a new lineup of fascinating people who are changing the way patients experience healthcare. And there's nobody better to start out with than today's guest, Dave deBronkart.Dave is best known by the moniker he earned back in the late 2000s: E-Patient Dave. We'll talk about what the E stands for. But all you need to know going in is that ever since 2007, when he survived his own fight with kidney cancer, Dave has been a relentless, tireless advocate for the idea that the U.S. medical system needs to open up so that patients can play a more central role in their own healthcare. He's pushed for changes that would give patients more access to their medical records. And he hasn't been afraid to call out the institutions that are doing a poor job at that. In fact, some folks inside the business of healthcare might even call Dave an irritant or a gadfly. But you know what? Sometimes the world needs people who aren't afraid to shake things up.And what's amazing is that in the years since Dave threw himself into this debate, the world of healthcare policy has started to catch up with him. The Affordable Care Act created big incentives for hospitals and physician practices to switch over to digital recordkeeping. In 2016 the Twenty-First Century Cures Act prohibited providers from blocking access to patients' electronic health information. And now there's a new interface standard called FHIR that promises to do for medical records what HTML and HTTP did for the World Wide Web, and make all our health data more shareable, from our hospital records to our genomics data to the fitness info on our smartphones.But there's a lot of work left to do. And Dave and I had such a deep and detailed conversation about his past work and how patients experience healthcare today that we're going to break up the interview into two parts. Today we'll play the first half of our interview. And in two weeks we'll be back with Part 2. Here we go.Harry Glorikian: Dave, welcome to the show.Dave deBronkart: Thank you so much. This is a fascinating subject, I love your angle on the whole subject of medicine.Harry Glorikian: Thank you. Thank you. So, Dave, I mean, you have been known widely as what's termed as E-patient Dave. And that's like a nickname you've been using in public discussions for, God, at least a decade, as far as I can remember. But a lot of our listeners haven't heard about that jargon word E-patient or know what E stands for. To me, it means somebody who is assertive or provocative when it comes to managing their own health, you know, with added element of being, say, tech savvy or knowing how to use the Internet, you know, mobile, wearable devices and other digital tools to monitor and organize and direct their own care—-all of which happens to describe the type of reader I had in mind when I wrote this new book that I have coming out called The Future You. So how would you describe what E- patient [means]?Dave deBronkart: You know, it's funny because when you see an E-patient or talk with them, they don't stick out as a particularly odd, nerdy, unusual sort of person. But the the term, we can get into its origins back in the 90s someday if you want to, the term has to do with somebody who is involved. What today is in medicine is called patient engagement. And it's funny because to a lot of people in health care, patient engagement means getting the patient to do what they tell us to. Right. Well, tvhere's somebody who's actually an activated, thinking patient, like, I'm engaged in the sense that I want to tell you what's important to me. Right. And I don't just want to do what I'm told. I want to educate myself. That's another version of the E. In general, it means empowered, engaged, equipped, enabled. And these days, as you point out, naturally, anybody who's empowered, engaged and enabled is going to be doing digital things, you know, which weren't possible 20 years ago when the term patient was invented.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, and it's interesting because I was thinking like the E could stand for so many things like, you know, electronic, empowered, engaged, equipped, enabled, right. All of the above. Right. And, you know, I mean, at some point, you know, I do want to talk about access, right, to all levels. But just out of curiosity, right, you've been doing this for a long time, and I'm sure that people have reached out to you. How many E-patients do you think are out there, or as a proportion of all patients at this point?Dave deBronkart: You know, that depends a lot on demographics and stage of life. The, not surprisingly, digital natives are more likely to be actively involved in things just because they're so digital. And these days, by federal policy, we have the ability to look at parts of our medical information online if we want to. As opposed to older people in general are more likely to say just what the doctors do, what they want to. It's funny, because my parents, my dad died a few years ago. My mother's 92. We're very different on this. My dad was "Let them do their work." And my mother is just all over knowing what's going on. And it's a good thing because twice in the last five years, important mistakes were found in her medical record, you know. So what we're at here, this is in addition to the scientific and technological and data oriented changes that the Internet has brought along. We're also in the early stages of what is clearly going to be a massive sociological revolution. And it has strong parallels. I first had this idea years ago in a blog post, but I was a hippie in the 60s and 70s, and I lived through the women's movement as it swept through Boston. And so I've seen lots of parallels. You go back 100 years. I think the you know, we recently hit the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. There were skeptics when the idea was proposed and those skeptics opinions and the things they said and wrote have splendid parallels with many physicians' beliefs about patients.Dave deBronkart: As one example I blogged some years ago, I can send you a link about a wonderful flyer published in 1912 by the National Association Opposed to Women's Suffrage. And it included such spectacular logic as for, I mean, their bullets, their talking points, why we should not give women the vote, the first was "Most women aren't asking for it." Which is precisely parallel to "Most patients aren't acting like Dave, right? So why should we accommodate, why should we adjust? Why should we provide for that? The second thing, and this is another part, is really a nastier part of the social revolution. The second talking point was "Most women eligible to vote are married and all they could do is duplicate or cancel their husband's vote." It's like, what are you thinking? The underlying is we've already got somebody who's voting. Why do we need to bring in somebody else who could only muddy the picture? And clearly all they could do is duplicate or cancel their husband's vote. Just says that the women or the patients, all right, all I could do is get in the way and not improve anything. I bring this up because it's a real mental error for people to say I don't know a lot of E-patients. So it must not be worth thinking about. Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I mean, so, just as a preview so of what we're going to talk about, what's your high-level argument for how we could make it easier for traditional patients to become E-patients?Dave deBronkart: Well, several dimensions on that. The most important thing, though, the most important thing is data and the apps. Harry Glorikian: Yes.Dave deBronkart: When people don't have access to their information, it's much harder for them to ask an intelligent question. It's like, hey, I just noticed this. Why didn't we do something? What's this about? Right. And now the flip side of it and of course, there's something I'm sure we'll be talking about is the so-called final rule that was just published in April of this year or just took effect of this year, that says over the course of the next year, all of our data in medical records systems has to be made available to us through APIs, which means there will be all these apps. And to anybody middle aged who thinks I don't really care that much, all you have to do is think about when it comes down to taking care of your kids or your parents when you want to know what's going on with them. Harry Glorikian: Would you think there would be more E-patients if the health care system gave them easier access to their data? What are some of the big roadblocks right now?Dave deBronkart: Well, one big roadblock is that even though this final federal rule has come out now, the American Medical Group Management Association is pushing back, saying, "Wait, wait, wait, this is a bad idea. We don't need patients getting in the way of what doctors are already doing." There will be foot dragging. There's no question about that. Part of that is craven commercial interests. There are and there have been numerous cases of hospital administrators explicitly saying -- there's one recording from the Connected Health conference a few years ago, Harlan Krumholtz, a cardiologist at Yale, quoted a hospital president who told him, "Why wouldn't I want to make it a little harder for people to take their business elsewhere?"Harry Glorikian: Well, if I remember correctly, I think it was the CEO of Epic who said, “Why would anybody want their data?”Dave deBronkart: Yes. Well, first of all, why I would want my data is none of her damn business. Well, and but that's what Joe Biden -- this was a conversation with Joe Biden. Now, Joe has a, what, the specific thing was, why would you want to see your data? It's 10,000 pages of which you would understand maybe 100. And what he said was, "None of your damn business. And I'll find people that help me understand the parts I want."Harry Glorikian: Yeah. And so but it's so interesting, right? Because I believe right now we're in a we're in a state of a push me, pull you. Right? So if you look at, when you said apps, I think Apple, Microsoft, Google, all these guys would love this data to be accessible because they can then apps can be available to make it more understandable or accessible to a patient population. I mean, I have sleep apps. I have, you know, I just got a CGM, which is under my shirt here, so that I can see how different foods affect me from, you know, and glucose, insulin level. And, you know, I'm wearing my Apple Watch, which tracks me. I mean, this is all interpretable because there are apps that are trying to at least explain what's happening to me physiologically or at least look at my data. And the other day I was talking to, I interviewed the CEO of a company called Seqster, which allows you to download your entire record. And it was interesting because there were some of the panels that I looked at that some of the numbers looked off for a long period of time, so I'm like, I need to talk to my doctor about those particular ones that are off. But they're still somewhat of a, you know, I'm in the business, you've almost learned the business. There's still an educational level that and in our arcane jargon that gets used that sort of, you know, everybody can't very easily cross that dimension.Dave deBronkart: Ah, so what? So what? Ok, this is, that's a beautiful observation because you're right, it's not easy for people to absorb. Not everybody, not off the bat. Look, and I don't claim that I'm a doctor. You know, I still go to doctors. I go to physical therapists and so on and so on. And that is no reason to keep us apart from the data. Some doctors and Judy Faulkner of Epic will say, you know, you'll scare yourself, you're better off not knowing. Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the classic specimen called paternalism. "No, honey, you won't understand." Right now paternal -- this is important because this is a major change enabled by technology and data, right -- the paternal caring is incredibly important when the cared-for party cannot comprehend. And so the art of optimizing and this is where MoneyBall thinking comes in. The art of optimizing is to understand people's evolving capacity and support them in developing that capacity so that the net sum of all the people working on my health care has more competence because I do. Harry Glorikian: Right. And that's where I believe like. You know, hopefully my book The Future You will help people see that they're, and I can see technology apps evolving that are making it easier graphically, making it more digestible so someone can manage themselves more appropriately and optimally. But you mentioned your cancer. And I want to go and at least for the listeners, you know, go a little bit through your biography, your personal history, sort of helping set the stage of why we're having this conversation. So you started your professional work in, I think it was typesetting and then later software development, which is a far cry from E-patient Dave, right? But what what qualities or experiences, do you think, predisposed you to be an E-patient? Is it fair to say that you were already pretty tech savvy or but would you consider yourself unusually so?Dave deBronkart: Well, you know, the unusually so, I mean, I'm not sure there's a valid reason for that question to be relevant. There are in any field, there are pioneers, you know, the first people who do something. I mean, think about the movie Lorenzo's Oil, people back in the 1980s who greatly extended their child's life by being so super engaged and hunting and hunting through libraries and phone calls. That was before there was the Internet. I was online. So here are some examples of how I, and I mentioned that my daughter was gestating in 1983. I took a snapshot of her ultrasound and had it framed and sitting on my office desk at work, and people would say, what's that? Nobody knew that that was going to be a thing now and now commonplace thing. In 1999, I met my second wife online on Match.com. And when I first started mentioning this in speeches, people were like, "Whoa, you found your wife on the Internet?" Well, so here's the thing, 20 years later, it's like no big deal. But that's right. If you want to think about the future, you better be thinking about or at least you have every right to be thinking about what are the emerging possibilities. Harry Glorikian: So, tell us the story about your, you know, renal cancer diagnosis in 2007. I mean, you got better, thank God. And you know, what experience it taught you about the power of patients to become involved in their decision making about the course of treatment?Dave deBronkart: So I want to mention that I'm right in the middle of reading on audio, a book that I'd never heard of by a doctor who nearly died. It's titled In Shock. And I'm going to recommend it for the way she tells the story of being a patient, observing the near fatal process. And as a newly trained doctor. In my case, I went in for a routine physical. I had a shoulder X-ray and the doctor called me the next morning and said, "Your shoulder is going to be fine, but the X-ray showed that there's something in your lung that shouldn't be there." And to make a long story short, what we soon found out was that it was kidney cancer that had already spread. I had five tumors, kidney cancer tumors in both lungs. We soon learned that I had one growing in my skull, a bone metastasis. I had one in my right femur and my thigh bone, which broke in May. I now have a steel rod in my in my thigh. I was really sick. And the best available data, there wasn't much good data, but the best available data said that my median survival. Half the people like me would be dead in 24 weeks. 24 weeks!Harry Glorikian: Yeah.Dave deBronkart: And now a really pivotal moment was that as soon as the biopsy confirmed the disease, that it was kidney cancer, my physician, the famous doctor, Danny Sands, my PCP, because he knew me so well -- and this is why I hate any company that thinks doctors are interchangeable, OK? They they should all fry in hell. They're doing it wrong. They should have their license to do business removed -- because he knew me he said, "Dave, you're an online kind of guy. You might like to join this patient community." Now, think how important this is. This was January 2007, not 2021. Right. Today, many doctors still say stay off the Internet. Dr. Sands showed me where to find the good stuff.Harry Glorikian: Right. Yeah, that's important.Dave deBronkart: Well, right, exactly. So now and this turned out to be part of my surviving. Within two hours of posting my first message in that online community, I heard back. "Thanks for the, welcome to the club that nobody wants to join." Now, that might sound foolish, but I'd never known anybody who had kidney cancer. And here I am thinking I'm likely to die. But now I'm talking to people who got diagnosed 10 years ago and they're not dead. Right? Opening a mental space of hope is a huge factor in a person having the push to move forward. And they said there's no cure for this disease. That was not good news. But the but there's this one thing called high dose Interleukin 2. That usually doesn't work. So this was the patient community telling me usually doesn't work. But if you respond at all, about half the time, the response is complete and permanent. And you've got to find a hospital that does it because it's really difficult. And most hospitals won't even tell you it exists because it's difficult and the odds are bad. And here are four doctors in your area who do it, and here are their phone numbers. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I assert that from the point of view of the consumer, the person who has the need, this is valuable information. Harry, this is such a profound case for patient autonomy. We are all aware that physicians today are very overworked, they're under financial pressure from the evil insurance companies and their employers who get their money from the insurance companies. For a patient to be able to define their own priorities and bring additional information to the table should never be prohibited. At the same time, we have to realize that, you know, the doctors are under time pressure anyway. To make a long story short, they said this this treatment usually doesn't work. They also said when it does work, about four percent of the time, the side effects kill people.Harry Glorikian: So here's a question. Here's a question, though, Dave. So, you know, being in this world for my entire career, it's my first question is, you see something posted in a club, a space. How do you validate that this is real, right, that it's bona fide, that it's not just...I mean, as we've seen because of this whole vaccine, there's stuff online that makes my head want to explode because I know that it's not real just by looking at it. How do you as as a patient validate whether this is real, when it's not coming from a, you know, certified professional?Dave deBronkart: It's a perfect question for the whole concept of The Future You. The future you has more autonomy and more freedom to do things, has more information. You could say that's the good news. The bad news is you've got all this information now and there's no certain source of authority. So here you are, you're just like emancipation of a teenager into the adult life. You have to learn how to figure out who you trust. Yeah, the the good news is you've got some autonomy and some ability to act, some agency, as people say. The bad news is you get to live with the consequences as well. But don't just think "That's it, I'm going to go back and let the doctors make all the decisions, because they're perfect," because they're not, you know, medical errors happen. Diagnostic errors happen. The overall. The good news is that you are in a position to raise the overall level of quality of the conversations.Harry Glorikian: So, you know, talk about your journey after your cancer diagnosis from, say, average patient to E-patient to, now, you're a prominent open data advocate in health care.Dave deBronkart: Yes. So I just want to close the loop on what happened, because although I was diagnosed in January, the kidney came out in March, and my interleukin treatments started in April. And by July, six months after diagnosis, by July, the treatment had ended and I was all better. It's an immunotherapy. When immunotherapy works, it's incredible because follow up scans showed the remaining tumors all through my body shrinking for the next two years. And so I was like, go out and play! And I started blogging. I mean, I had really I had pictured my mother's face at my funeral. It's a, it's a grim thought. But that's how perhaps one of my strengths was that I was willing to look that situation in the eye, which let me then move forward. But in 2008, I just started blogging about health care and statistics and anything I felt like. And in 2009 something that -- I'm actually about to publish a free eBook about that, it's just it's a compilation of the 12 blog posts that led to the world exploding on me late in 2008 -- the financial structure of the U.S. health system meant that even though we're the most expensive system in the world, 50 percent more expensive than the second place country, if we could somehow fix that, because we're the most expensive and we don't have the best outcomes, so some money's being wasted there somewhere. All right. If we could somehow fix that, it would mean an immense amount of revenue for some companies somewhere was going to disappear.Dave deBronkart: Back then, it was $2.4 trillion, was the US health system. Now it's $4 trillion. And I realized if we could cut out the one third that excess, that would be $800 billion that would disappear. And that was, I think, three times as much as if Google went out of business, Apple went out of business and and Microsoft, something like that. So I thought if we want to improve how the system works, I'm happy if there are think tanks that are rethinking everything, but for you and me in this century, we got to get in control of our health. And that had to start with having access to our data. All right. And totally, unbeknownst to me, when the Obama administration came in in early 2009, this big bill was passed, the Recovery Act, that included $40 billion of incentives for hospitals to install medical computers. And one of the rules that came out of that was that we, the patients, had to be able to look at parts of our stuff. And little did I know I tried to use to try to look at my data. I tried to use the thing back then called Google Health. And what my hospital sent to Google was garbage. And I blogged about it, and to my huge surprise, The Boston Globe newspaper called and said they wanted to write about it, and it wasn't the local newspaper, it was the Washington health policy desk. And they put it on Page One. And my life spun out of control.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, no, I remember I remember Google Health and I remember you know, I always try to tell people, medicine was super late to the digitization party. Like if it wasn't for that the Reinvestment and Recovery Act putting that in place, there would still be file folders in everybody's office. So we're still at the baby stage of digitization and then the analytics that go with it. And all I see is the curve moving at a ridiculous rate based on artificial intelligence, machine learning being applied to this, and then the digitized information being able to come into one place. But you said something here that was interesting. You've mentioned this phenomenon of garbage in, garbage out. Right. Can you say more about one of the hospitals that treated you? I think it was Beth Israel. You mentioned Google Health. What went wrong there and what were the lessons you took away from that?Dave deBronkart: Well, there were, so what this revealed to me, much to my amazement, much to my amazement, because I assumed that these genius doctors just had the world's most amazing computers, right, and the computers that I imagined are the computers that we're just now beginning to move toward. Right. RI was wrong. But the other important thing that happened was, you know, the vast majority of our medical records are blocks of text, long paragraphs of text or were back then. Now, it was in a computer then, it wasn't notes on paper, but it was not the kind of thing you could analyze, any more than you could run a computer program to read a book and write a book report on it. And so but I didn't know that. I didn't know what Google Health might do. The next thing that happened was as a result, since Google Health was looking for what's called structured data -- now, a classic example of structured data is your blood pressure. It's fill in a form, the high number, the low number, what's your heart rate? What's your weight, you know? The key value pairs, as some people call them. Very little of my medical history existed in that kind of form. So for some insane reason, what they decided to send Google instead was my insurance billing history.Dave deBronkart: Now, insurance data is profoundly inappropriate as a model of reality for a number of reasons. One of one reason is that insurance form data buckets don't have to be very precise. So at one point I was tested for metastases to the brain to see if I had kidney cancer tumors growing in my brain. The answer came back No. All right. Well, there's only one billing code for it. Metastases to the brain. And that's a legitimate billing code for either one. But it got sent to Google Health as metastases to the brain, which I never had. All right. Another problem is something called up-coding, where insurance billing clerks are trained you can bill for something based on the keywords that the doctors and nurses put in the computer. So at one point during my treatment, I had a CAT scan of my lungs to look for tumors. And the radiologist noted, by the way, his aorta is slightly enlarged. The billing clerk didn't care that they were only checking for kidney cancer tumors. The billing clerk saw aorta, enlarged, aneurysm, and billed the insurance company for an aneurysm, which I never had. Corruption. Corruption. People ask, why are our health care costs so high? It's this system of keyword-driven billing. But then on top of that, I had things that I never had anything like it. There was, when this blew up in the newspaper, the hospital finally released all my insurance billing codes. It turns out they had billed the insurance company for volvulus of the intestine. That's a lethal kink of the intestine that will kill you in a couple of days if it's not treated. Never had anything of the sort. Billing fraud.Harry Glorikian: Interesting.Dave deBronkart: Anyway, because a random patient had just tried to use Google Health and I knew enough about data from my day job to be able to say, "Wait a minute, this makes no sense, why is all this happening?" And I couldn't get a straight answer. You know, it's a common experience. Sometimes you ask a company, "I've got a problem. This isn't right." And sometimes they just blow you off. Well, that's what my hospital did to me. I asked about these specific questions and they just blew me off. So then once it was on the front page of the newspaper, the hospital is like, "We will be working with the E-patient Dave and his doctor." And there's nothing like publicity, huh?[musical interlude]Harry Glorikian: Let's pause the conversation for a minute to talk about one small but important thing you can do, to help keep the podcast going. And that's to make it easier for other listeners discover the show by leaving a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts.All you have to do is open the Apple Podcasts app on your smartphone, search for The Harry Glorikian Show, and scroll down to the Ratings & Reviews section. Tap the stars to rate the show, and then tap the link that says Write a Review to leave your comments. It'll only take a minute, but you'll be doing us a huge favor.And one more thing. If you like the interviews we do here on the show I know you'll   like my new book, The Future You: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help You Get Healthier, Stress Less, and Live Longer.It's a friendly and accessible tour of all the ways today's information technologies are helping us diagnose diseases faster, treat them more precisely, and create personalized diet and exercise programs to prevent them in the first place.The book comes out soon, so keep an eye out for the next announcement.Thanks. And now back to our show.[musical interlude]Harry Glorikian: One of your slogans is "Gimme my damn data," meaning, you know, your patient records. And so can you summarize first, the state of the art prior to this digital transformation? Why was it historically the case that patients didn't have easy access to charts from their doctor's office or their visits? Why has the medical establishment traditionally been reluctant or maybe even unable to share this data?Dave deBronkart: Well, first, I want to explain the origin of that of that term. Because the speech in September of that year that launched the global speaking had that title. What happened was that summer of 2009, my world was spinning out of control as I tried to answer people's questions and get involved in the blogging that was going on and health policy arguments in Washington and so on. And so a real visionary in Toronto, a man named Gunther Eisenbach, who had quite a history in pioneering in this area, invited me to give the opening keynote speech for his annual conference in Toronto that fall. And several times during the summer, he asked me a question I'd never been asked. I came to learn that it was normal, but it was "For our brochure, we need to know what do you want to call the speech? What's the title of the speech?" And I remember very well sitting in my office at work one day saying into the telephone, "I don't know, just call it 'Give me my damn data, because you guys can't be trusted." And much to my amazement, It stuck.Dave deBronkart: I want to be clear. Under the 1996 health information law called hip hop, you are entitled to a copy of every single thing they have about you. All right, and a major reason for that. Back in the beginning was to detect mistakes. So it's interesting because HIPAA arose from health insurance portability. 1996 was when it first became mandatory that you had to be able to take your insurance business elsewhere and therefore your records. And that's the origin of the requirement that anybody who holds your health information as part of your insurance or anything else has to be really careful about not letting it leak out. And therefore and it has to be accurate. Therefore, you have a right to look at it and get any mistakes fixed. But. Foot dragging, foot dragging, foot dragging. I don't want to. As we discussed earlier, there are some doctors who simply wanted to keep you captive. But there are also, the data was also handwritten garbage at times, just scribbles that were never intended to be read by anyone other than the person who wrote the note in the first place. Harry Glorikian: Well, but, you know, I'm not trying to necessarily defend or anything, but but, you know, as you found at Beth Israel Deaconess, and I talk about this in The Future You as well, part of the problem is most of these things that people look at as large electronic health record systems were are still are in my mind designed as accounting and billing systems, not to help the doctors or the patients. And that's still a major problem. I mean, I think until we have, you know, a Satya Nadella taking over Microsoft where he, you know, went down and started rewriting the code for Microsoft Office, you're not going to get to management of patients for the betterment of their health as opposed to let me make sure that I bill for that last Tylenol.Dave deBronkart: Absolutely. Well, and where I think this will end up, and I don't know if it'll be five years or 10 or 20, but where this will end up is, the system as it exists now is not sustainable as a platform for patient-centered care. The early stage that we're seeing now, there is an incredibly important software interface that's been developed in the last five or six years still going on called FHIR, F-H-I-R. Which is part of that final rule, all that. So all of our data increasingly in the next couple of years has to be available through an API. All right. So, yeah, using FHIR. And I've done some early work on collecting my own data from the different doctors in the hospitals I've gone to. And what you get what you get when you bring those all in, having told each of them your history and what medications you're on and so on, is you get the digital equivalent of a fax of all of that from all of them. That's not coordinated, right. The medication list from one hospital might not match even the structure, much less the content of the medication list. And here's where it gets tricky, because anybody who's ever tried to have any mistake fixed at a hospital, like "I discontinued that medicine two years ago," never mind something like, "No, I never had that diagnosis," it's a tedious process, tons of paperwork, and you've got to keep track of that because they so often take a long time to get them fixed. And I having been through something similar in graphic arts when desktop publishing took over decades ago. I really wonder, are we will we ultimately end up with all the hospitals getting their act together? Not bloody likely. All right. Or are we more likely to end up with you and me and all of us out here eventually collecting all the data and the big thing the apps will do is organize it, make sense of it. And here's a juicy thing. It will be able to automatically send off corrections back to the hospital that had the wrong information. And so I really think this will be autonomy enabled by the future, you holding your own like you are the master copy of your medical reality.Harry Glorikian: Yeah, I always you know, I always tell like what I like having as a longitudinal view of myself so that I can sort of see something happening before it happens. Right. I don't want to go in once the car is making noise. I like just I'd like to have the warning light go off early before it goes wrong. But. So you mentioned this, but do you have any are there any favorite examples of patient friendly systems or institutions that are doing data access correctly?Dave deBronkart: I don't want to finger any particular one as doing a great job, because I haven't studied it. Ok. I know there are apps, the one that I personally use, which doesn't yet give me a useful it gives me a pile of fax pages, but it does pull together all the data, it's it's not even an app, it's called My Patient Link. And anybody can get it. It's free. And as long as the hospitals you're using have this FHIR software interface, which they're all required to, by the way, but some still don't. As long as they do this, My Patient Link will go and pull it all together. Now it's still up to you to do anything with it. So we're just at the dawn of the age that I actually envisioned back in 2008 when I decided to do the Google Health thing and the world blew up in my face.Harry Glorikian: Yeah. I mean, I have access to my chart. And, you know, that's useful because I can go look at stuff, but I have to admit, and again, this is presentation and sort of making it easy to digest, but Seqster sort of puts it in a graphical format that's easier for me to sort of absorb. The information is the same. It's just how it gets communicated to me, which is half the problem. But but, you know, playing devil's advocate, how useful is the data in the charts, really? I mean, sometimes we talk as if our data is some kind of treasure trove of accurate, actionable data. But you've helped show that a lot of it could be, I don't want to say useless, but there's errors in it which technically could make it worse than useless. But how do you think about that when you when you think about this?Dave deBronkart: Very good. First note. First of all, you're right. It will...a lot of the actual consumer patient value will, and any time I think about that again, I think a lot of young adults, I think of parents taking care of a sick kid, you know, or middle aged people taking care of elders who have many declining conditions. Right. There's a ton of data that you really don't care about. All right, it's sort of it's like if you use anything like Quicken or Mint, you probably don't scrutinize every detail that's in there and look for obscure patterns or so on. But you want to know what's going on. And here's the thing. Where the details matter is when trouble hits. And what I guarantee we will see some time, I don't know if it'll be five years, 10, or 20, but I guarantee what we will see someday is apps or features within apps that are tuned to a specific problem. If my blood pressure is something I'm.... Six years ago my doctor said, dude, you're prediabetic, your A1C is too high. Well, that all of a sudden brings my focus on a small set of numbers. And it makes it really important for me to not just be tracking the numbers in the computer, but integrate it with my fitness watch and my diet app.Harry Glorikian: Right. Dave deBronkart: Yeah, I lost 30 pounds in a year. And then at the age of 65, I ran a mile for the first time in my life because my behavior changed. My behavior had changed to my benefit, not because of the doctor micromanaging me, but because I was all of a sudden more engaged in getting off my ass and doing something that was important to me.Harry Glorikian: well, Dave, you need to write a diet book, because I could use I could stand to lose like 10 or 20 pounds.Dave deBronkart: Well, no, I'm not writing any diet books. That's a project for another day. Harry Glorikian: That's it for this week's episode. Dave and I had a lot more to talk about, and we'll bring you the second part of the conversation in the next episode, two weeks from now.You can find past episodes of The Harry Glorikian Show and MoneyBall Medicine at my website, glorikian.com. Don't forget to go to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review for the show. You can find me on Twitter at hglorikian. And we always love it when listeners post about the show there, or on other social media. Thanks for listening, stay healthy, and be sure to tune in two weeks from now for our next interview. 

Activist and healthcare advocate, Laura Packard, is the Executive Director of the group Health Care Voter, and the founder of Health Care Voices, a non-profit grassroots organization for adults with serious medical conditions. Laura credits the Affordable Care Act with saving her life while battling Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma; now she helps others use their voices to achieve comprehensive healthcare coverage through storytelling, and advocacy. Laura discusses how the Biden Administration has fared in their efforts to expand, and improve, healthcare coverage. She also shares her opinion about what will happen with the ongoing debate over the reconciliation bill in relation to healthcare coverage. EPISODE REFERENCES Health Care Voices Health Care Voter Listen to All Electorette Episodes https://www.electorette.com/podcast Support the Electorette Rate & Review on iTunes: https://apple.co/2GsfQj4 Also, if you enjoy the Electorette, please subscribe and leave a 5-star review on iTunes. Also, please spread the word by telling your friends, family and colleagues about The Electorette! WANT MORE ELECTORETTE? Follow the Electorette on social media. Electorette Facebook Electorette Instagram Electorette Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  The Friday Five for September 24, 2021: We're Hiring! CMS Final Rule for 2022 Federal Reserve Meeting Notes Alternative to eat less, move more Cool iOS 15 Features Register for your FREE RitterIM.com account   Mentioned in this episode:   19 Things You Can Do in iOS 15 That You Couldn't Do Before 36 of the Best New iOS 15 Features for iPhone CMS Expands HealthCare.gov 2022 Open Enrollment Period & Under-65 Options CMS Extends Open Enrollment Period and Launches Initiatives to Expand Health Coverage Access Nationwide Digital Content and Production Assistant Opportunity at Ritter Insurance Marketing Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, says tapering of bond buying coming ‘soon' iOS 15: How to Switch Back to the Original Safari Design Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond Final Rule The calories in, calories out concept is 'tragically flawed,' new research suggests The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic   More episodes you'll like:   September 17, 2021 | The Friday Five 5 Insurance Marketing Tips to Help Agents Stand Out from the Crowd How to Survive AEP 2022 Life Insurance for Each of Life's Stages Why Trust Is an Insurance Agent's Most Important Non-Renewable Resource   Articles to Share with Your Clients:   Creating a Weight Loss Plan Dealing with Allergies Does Medicare Cover Obesity Screening and Behavioral Therapy?   Ritter Insurance Marketing eBooks & Guides:   A Quick Guide to Cross-Selling Ancillary Insurance with Medicare Products Modern Medicare Marketing for Today's Agents Social Media Marketing for Insurance Agents   The latest from Ritter's Blog:   Do's and Don'ts of Medicare Compliance How to Get Your Medicare Enrollment Kits on Time What Can MAPD Insurance Agents Do Prior to AEP?   Subscribe & Follow:   Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Podbean Spotify Stitcher   Connect on social:   Facebook LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Instagram Sarah's LinkedIn Sarah's Instagram  

It's "In the News..." the only diabetes newscast! Top stories this week: Medtronic moves on implantable insulin pump, study: doctors - but not parents - are missing symptoms of T1D in kids, Dexcom "shelf-life extension" explained, news about whether COVID is causing a surge of diabetes in children and what happened with the Apple watch BG monitoring news? -- Join us each Wednesday at 4:30pm EDT! Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom! Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group! Sign up for our newsletter here ----- Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! ----- Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go! Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android Transcription Below:    Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I'm Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days. As always, I'm going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live – and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. so you can read more if you want, on your own schedule. XX In the News is brought to you by Real Good Foods! Find their Entrée Bowls and all of their great products in your local grocery store, Target or Costco. XX Our top story.. What helps people with diabetes gain better glucose control? Expansion of Medicaid. As part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, U.S. states were given the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to more people as a means of reducing the number of people without health insurance. As of today, only 12 states have not taken advantage. A new study finds that blood pressure and glucose control measures have improved in states that have. The researchers behind the study say it may take a while to show up but that, over the longer run, expanding Medicaid eligibility may improve key chronic disease health outcomes for low-income, marginalized populations. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/medicaid-expansion-improves-hypertension-and-diabetes-control XX Medtronic takes over the intellectual property rights to an implanted infusion pump. This is technology developed by the Alfred E Mann foundation. 25 years ago, there was a lot of buzz about implantable insulin pumps, but it hasn't panned out. The tech is just what it sounds like – a small insulin pump that goes under the skin and holds enough insulin for a few months. Medtronic had one on the market but pulled it almost 15 years ago. One of the drawbacks is that you have to go to the doctor every time you need to fil the pump and there's other upkeep – but the upside is said to be better control and a lot less thinking about diabetes. Interesting to follow this one. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/medtronic-buys-implanted-infusion-pump-tech-to-develop-new-type-1-diabetes-treatment XX A story familiar to way too many parents.. symptoms of type 1 diabetes are not always immediately recognized by primary care providers. This was a study of about 240 kids under 18.. published in Pediatric Diabetes These researchers found that 39% of parents had suspicions of new-onset diabetes before they brought their child in for care. Of those, the majority of parents first brought their child to the doctor with symptoms.. and then ended up bringing the same child to the emergency room within the next four weeks. This was a Swedish study, but research shows especially during COVID, diagnosis during DKA is increasing in children in many countries, showing the greater need for better education all around. https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-09-21/doctors-often-miss-signs-of-type-1-diabetes-in-kids XX We've heard a lot during this pandemic about an increase in new diabetes diagnoses. A new report from Mississippi, where providers are reporting a -quote – massive increase. One pediatric endocrinologist is says they've seen up to a 40% increase this year, compared to 2019. That's both type 1 and type 2. So what's going on? Lots of theories including indirect effects of quarantines, closures, and unemployment. It might sound odd to some, but severe emotional stress is thought to be a trigger for diabetes, especially in type 1. Additional studies show that COVID targets the insulin making pancreatic beta cells. A full understanding may be some time away, but these endos say the surge is real. XX Interesting listener question about Dexom sensors.. thanks for sending in this photo – seems that some customers are getting these G6 inserters – brand new in the original packaging – with a label that says “this product meets shelf life extension requirements.” I reached out to Dexcom and they told me: the stickers are legit and there are updated expirations dates. I've asked for a bit more information as to why they'd do something like this and if it means that all G6 sensors could have extended shelf life. They responded that they aren't going through all the sensors, so only the ones labeled can be considered extended.. no answer as to why now or to which part of the sensor or inserter actually expires. I'll follow up next time we talk for the podcast, but if you get one of these labeled sensors – the company says it's legit and safe. XX More to come, But first, I want to tell you about one of our great sponsors who helps make Diabetes Connections possible. Real Good Foods. Where the mission is Be Real Good They make nutritious foods— grain free, high in protein, never added sugar and from real ingredients—the new Entrée bowls are great. They have a chicken burrito, a cauliflower mash and braised beef bowl.. the lemon chicken I've told you about and more! They keep adding to the menu line! You can buy online or find a store near you with their locator right on the website. I'll put a link in the FB comments and as always at d-c dot com. Back to the news… Big news for a great children's book. JDRF has put Shia Learns About Insulin into the Bag of Hope. We had the author on the show last year... I'll link that episode up so you can hear the whole story. Shaina (SHAY-ahn-uh) Hatchell is a Registered Nurse, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and Nurse Manager at the Howard University Diabetes Treatment Center. The story was inspired by her brother, who lives with T1D. The JDRF Bag of Hope is given to newly diagnosed children age 11 and under. Frankly, it's pretty hard to get new products in there – it's nice to see some more diverse representation. https://www.jdrf.org/press-releases/jdrf-announces-the-addition-of-shia-learns-about-insulin-book-into-the-bag-of-hope/ -- Last bit of news is note worthy for what didn't happen. Big apple news conference this month with absolutely no mention of blood glucose monitoring. You'll recall there was a ton of speculation about this all year long.. with many tech websites breathlessly reporting this was going to be happen. Look – I do think it will.. but there is really no hard evidence that anyone has come close to cracking this. Non invasive remotely accurate glucose monitoring is really hard. And, as I've said all along, we'll know it's for real when we see some clinical trials. -- Please join me wherever you get podcasts for our next episode - The episode out right now is with American Idol contestant turned actor Kevin Covais – he's in a new Netflix show out this month and he spent some time this summer mentoring teens. Fun guy with great behind the scenes Idol stories, too. That's In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! Thanks for joining me! See you back here soon.

Today on Boston Public Radio: We start the show by talking with listeners about the current gridlock in Congress, and why divisions persist despite Democrats' control of the Senate, House and Presidency. Shirley Leung discusses her latest column about the escalating humanitarian crisis at Mass and Cass, and its impact on local businesses and nonprofits in the area. Leung is a business columnist for The Boston Globe and a BPR contributor. Dr. Eric Dickson gives a window into the pandemic in Central Massachusetts, where the largest healthcare system in Central New England has run out of ICU beds amid an influx of COVID-19 cases. Dickson is the President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, based in Worcester. Paul Reville updates listeners on all things schools, including dropping MCAS scores and why he thinks Massachusetts schools are not as effective as they should be. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu talks about her views on racial justice, the transportation crisis and other visions for Boston as she moves forward in the race for city mayor. Wu is a Boston City Councilor At-Large running for mayor of Boston. Jon Gruber argues that the demand for workers amid high unemployment is due to workers' desire for more humane hours, higher wages and generally better working conditions. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is “Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream.” We end the show by asking listeners about ways they have built community during the pandemic.

Congress is back in session with a short time to finish a long to-do list, including keeping the government operating and paying its bills. Hanging in the balance is President Joe Biden's entire domestic agenda, including major changes proposed for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the new Texas abortion law that bans the procedure early in pregnancy is prompting action in Washington. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN's Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about his new book on the covid-19 pandemic.

In “The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage,” journalist Jonathan Cohn writes about the battle over healthcare and takes readers into the impetus for, history of, and current state of the Affordable Care Act. He joins to discuss what's missing, inflection points, the role of bipartisanship, and what the ACA means for Americans trying to navigate an increasingly complex system.

Our healthcare system is severely broken. In fact, it's not really healthcare at all – it's sick care. Everything is built to service hospitals, executives, insurance companies, and pharmaceuticals. And the pandemic has only made things worse. Ed Eichhorn is a successful healthcare executive and entrepreneur.  He consults for medical societies and healthcare organizations through his company Medilink Consulting Group.  Ed is the co-author of https://www.amazon.com/Healing-American-Healthcare-Provide-Trillion/dp/1543951953 (Healing American Healthcare), a book that describes a universal healthcare plan for the United States that would actually save our country $1 trillion per year.  Ed recently founded the Healing American Healthcare Coalition to keep healthcare professionals informed about important research and industry news. Ed explores several ideas surrounding healthcare, from how the Affordable Care Act has changed things, what's wrong with our healthcare system today, the effects of the pandemic on healthcare, and what we can do to fix it. -- Resources: Consulting Website: http://www.medilinkgroup.com/ (medilinkgroup.com) Coalition Website:  http://www.healingamericanhelathcare.org (healingamericanhelathcare.org) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edeichhorn/ (linkedin.com/in/edeichhorn) Read: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-American-Healthcare-Provide-Trillion/dp/1543951953 (Healing American Healthcare) Do you want more to empower yourself through healthy living? Is your busy lifestyle an obstacle to your health? Join https://www.facebook.com/groups/rebelhealthcoach/ (The Rebel Health Coach community) for the support and knowledge you need for better performance, better business and a better you! https://www.facebook.com/groups/rebelhealthcoach/ (Click here to join The Rebel Health Coach community now.) -- Disclaimer: The activities and research discussed in these podcasts are suggestions only and are only advised to be undertaken following prior consultation with a health or medical professional. Fitness training, nutrition, and other physical pursuits should be tailored to the individual based upon an assessment of their personal needs. -- The Rebel Health Coach Podcast is produced by http://crate.media (Crate Media)

Plus: FDA advisory panel endorses Covid-19 boosters for people 65-plus or at high risk of severe illness. Biden administration to extend Affordable Care Act sign-up period. Charlie Turner reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Democrats' massive reconciliation bill makes its way through the machine, one item is getting all the attention right now: health care. It's a fight that basically boils down to Nancy Pelosi versus … everyone else — with the legacies of Pelosi, Sanders and Biden at stake. Playbook co-author Rachael Bade and POLITICO's Alice Miranda Ollstein take us to Capitol Hill, where the knives are coming out: leaders fighting behind closed doors about policies they've agreed on for years — or thought they did — and plenty on the line: $3.5 trillion, the future of the Affordable Care Act and dueling visions for the Democratic Party. Rachael Bade is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook. Alice Miranda Ollstein is a health care reporter at POLITICO.  Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio. Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio. Raghu Manavalan is a senior editor for POLITICO audio. Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio. We want to invite you to take our NEW listener survey — it helps us learn more about your interests and improve our content. What do YOU want to hear from Politico's podcasts? Let us know at https://bit.ly/3zgKB30

A paper by economists at Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Chicago indicates that one explanation for the low interest rates we’ve seen in the American economy for decades has been income inequality. Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell helps us analyze this possibility. Diane Swonk chats with us for our markets discussion. It also turns out the pandemic has spurred a record number of people to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

A paper by economists at Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Chicago indicates that one explanation for the low interest rates we’ve seen in the American economy for decades has been income inequality. Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell helps us analyze this possibility. Diane Swonk chats with us for our markets discussion. It also turns out the pandemic has spurred a record number of people to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

The increase was during a special enrollment period; investors group offers blueprint to gauge oil giants' climate pledges; August manufacturing production slows to 0.2% gain; August import prices decline by 0.3% GONG :01 OPEN Nearly 3 million more people signed up for Obamacare coverage. SIC :05 STORY 1 - :12 That's the total number of Americans who benefited from a special six-month enrollment period that ended in mid-August - according to President Biden. He announced today that more than 12 million people are now insured through the Affordable Care Act. STORY 2 - :15 A group of investors - that together manage some 10-trillion-dollars in assets - is offering a blueprint to assess climate pledges made by oil and gas companies - and whether they'll reach net-zero carbon emissions by 20-50. The group includes the Church of England Pensions Board and HSBC Global Asset Management. STORY 3 - :10 The Federal Reserve says U-S manufacturing production slowed more than expected in August. Up just 2 tenths of a percent… compared to a more than one-and-a-half-percent rise in July. [HIT :42-:47] STORY 4 - :10 - CUT FOR PUBRADIO Meanwhile, the price of imported goods fell in August, by three-tenths of a percent. Fuel prices led the decline, which was the first since October of 20-20. Export prices rose 4-tenths of a percent in August. POST-MUSIC CLOSE SOC

Today on Boston Public Radio: First, we talk with listeners about the school bus driver shortage on back to school day. Denise Dilanni previews the new series from GBH, “The Future of Work,” about the current transformation of the American workforce brought by automation, the gig economy and COVID-19. The show airs on GBH2 on Sept. 15, the PBS Video app and the PBS Voices YouTube Channel. Dilanni is an executive producer at GBH and the series' creator. Ambassador Philippe Etienne talks about the effect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on Europe, and the impact of our nation's withdrawal from Afghanistan on European peace efforts in the mid-east country. He also talks about America's relationship with France under President Joe Biden, and the success of his country's vaccine “health pass” system. Etienne is the French ambassador to the United States. Paul Reville discusses the return of Mass. students to classrooms amid the Delta variant and fights over mask mandates, vaccines and school bus shortages. Reville is the former Massachusetts secretary of education and a professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, where he also heads the Education Redesign Lab. His latest book, co-authored with Lynne Sacks, is “Collaborative Action for Equity and Opportunity: A Practical Guide for School and Community Leaders.” Then, we continue our conversation with listeners about going back to school during the pandemic. Jon Gruber talks about the connection between a lack of abortion rights and worse lifetime outcomes, in the wake of the new Texas law. Gruber teaches economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream." In light of Boston Globe business columnist Shirley Leung's recent piece about the plight of hotel workers, we open phone lines to ask listeners their thoughts on hotel companies recommending guests forgo daily room cleanings at the expense of staff.

Drew Ellefsen, CEO of the Benefits Management Team, is changing healthcare through his healthcare advocacy product, BMT Care. The product educates consumers on how to navigate the healthcare market. Ellefsen is passionate about helping individuals navigate healthcare, but he explains it has been hard to compete in the individual insurance market due to the Affordable Care Act. During the episode, you follow his journey and learn how he is fighting for the individual.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Matt, Jess, and guest host Erica Walker discuss a study on whether The Affordable Care Act reduced medical debt, they consider the role epidemiologists play in communicating information about COVID, and Erica fights off various wild animals. Journal club article: ACA and medical debt study

“Crisis and bumps in the road or mistakes are an opportunity to discuss and communicate your values and talk about who you are.” Anthony Hayes Every business is likely to encounter sudden and challenging crises at some point which if not well addressed, can be potentially damaging to reputation. To manage such events effectively, it is important to plan by addressing the existing communication framework. This is according to our guest today Anthony Hayes, who believes that in every crisis lies numerous opportunities for businesses.   Anthony Hayes is the founder of THI and has spent more than 18 years in communications, crisis and issue management, and political and legislative campaigns. A seasoned C-level advisor, Anthony has cultivated an energetic, fast-growing company now trusted to execute strategy for prominent clients around the globe. He has served leaders at the highest levels including presidential candidates, members of the U.S. Cabinet, governors and other elected officials, C-Suite executives, law enforcement officials, and high-ranking health and legal professionals. Anthony's firm has advised clients involved in complex legal matters and managed high-stakes media relations during crises such as Bridgegate, airport security breaches, and natural disasters including Superstorm Sandy and hurricane relief efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands. At THI, Anthony and his team help leaders and organizations deliver major initiatives, break through the noisy media landscape, and navigate the world of politics and government all the while excelling despite the high pressure, politically sensitive, and confidential issues and at the same time demonstrating the utmost level of discretion and judgment. In today's episode, our guest will talk about how communicators can manage crises effectively. He will further share tips on how to be a better communicator. Listen in! Social media handles  https://twitter.com/HayesInitiative  https://www.facebook.com/HayesInitiative/  https://www.instagram.com/hayesinitiative/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyjhayesnyc/  https://hayesinitiative.com/  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTf78eJzTXSx9oFv2kjFpyA/featured   I've been in the communication space for over 18 years. [2:49] My business started in November 2016 after having a phone call with someone who said that they needed someone to run a nationwide bus tour around not repealing the Affordable Care Act where I asked them to hire our company. [3:25] Our clients are always trying to connect with different audiences, whether they are in a crisis that we're trying to help them clean up, or they're launching a new initiative, or they just want to remain connected and at Hayes Initiative we help them to the point. [3:59] I'm stunned at how many people when challenged a bit on what they're trying to say realize they don't know what they're trying to say. [4:22] People assume that their audiences have unlimited time to talk to them and listen but they do not. [4:45] So you have to acknowledge that you have very little time to capture someone's attention and so that's why we focus on helping people get to the point. [5:06] I have been very fortunate that I've worked with many people and through all of these different experiences I have seen when people aren't calm and how that does not help the situation. [8:10] I learned very early to not be too surprised by the ever-shifting landscape of media and certainly politics. [8:58] The best thing that you can do in a crisis is to take a breath and avoid going out there and cause more mayhem by responding without all details at hand and there are lots of ways to do that. [9:09] It is a very challenging environment, especially when you have some of the major national and global outlets sort of breathing down your neck. [10:10] We have all experienced in the last twelve months a global pandemic that played out on the backdrop of a national presidential election and everyone was figuring out how to communicate. [11:15] There is logic to sometimes pausing on your response because sometimes reporters and their headlines are just looking to bait you. [12:45] Leaders like to lead and speak with confidence however the problem is no one had any experience in COVID. [13:14] The situation thus forced leaders to step in regardless of what they do in business to not have things feel divisive. [13:28] When you're trying to sort of move something forward that is a new initiative and is positive, you want to connect and get to the point of how it impacts the people. [17:08] The most succinct thing that I've ever heard in my life was when Steve Jobs released the iPod at a time when none of us had heard of an iPod. [18:08] When you have a positive message you have to lead with what you're solving. [18:28] Commercial break. [18:52] One of the things I've learned more than anything is that everyone wants to communicate well but no one wants to put in the work to figure out what they are trying to say. [20:23] The biggest actionable steps that I share every day to help people get to the point, is to prepare the messages they are trying to get out. [20:43] One of the things that you can do is just sit down and write for two to five minutes and then go back and read it out loud. [21:04] Clean it up, make it shorter, and make sure that the first sentence that you're writing solves the problem, and then read it out loud again. [21:34] Beyond preparing, be authentic and try out an idea with your friend before you start to move it out into the universe of people that you may want to be talking to. [22:52] Everyone wants to do high-stakes PR and there are a lot of people who would love to be in that setting but once there you understand very quickly that it takes a lot of preparation and a lot of work. [23:55] The biggest lesson for this month that I would encourage your listeners to think about is not to oversimplify communicating. [24:35] There is a lot that communicators can do better including understanding the business of media. [26:19] Reporters are swamped and are deadline-driven and so they have limited time to consume ideas and if you're telling them that your idea is the best idea ever then you better make sure you've done your homework on why it's newsworthy. [26:48] We had the pleasure of working for some major fortune 100 companies and tech companies and it is remarkable to me how many people do oversimplify communication at every level, regardless of big or small. [28:50] In my opinion, over the next year and a half in particular 2021, it is going to be about crisis communication so everybody needs to be prepared for that. [29:48] I would recommend that every business, look at their crisis management plan and make sure that it reflects the lessons they learned in 2020. [30:05] Crisis and bumps in the road or mistakes are an opportunity to discuss and communicate your values and talk about who you are, rather than getting so caught up in the fact that a crisis is happening. [30:15] I think if more people can view these things as opportunities, then they are going to start to come out of them a little bit better. [31:19] ………………………………………………… Thank you to our January sponsor!  KukuaBiz can provide dedicated and affordable talent from Kenya to help you grow and scale your business. Virtual employees are skilled in administrative functions, sales, podcast management, video editing, marketing, social media marketing, website design and management, and more.  Learn more: https://www.kukuabiz.com

Cal talks with the author of Preventable: The Inside Story Of How Leadership Failures, Politics, And Selfishness Doomed The U.S. Coronavirus Response. Slavitt was the guy who came to the rescue of the Affordable Care Act when it got off to a rocky start in the Obama administration. Cal asks him to look ahead to show us how we can prevent the wrong things from happening over the next few years as 110,000 doctors retire and America turns into a nation in need of a lot more care as it becomes more older than younger for the first time in its history. This conversation affects everyone.

Why is there such a deep partisan division within the United States regarding how health care should be organized and financed and how can we encourage politicians to band together again for the good of everyone? For decades, Democratic and Republican political leaders have disagreed about the fundamental goals of American health policy. The modern-day consequences of this disagreement, particularly in the Republicans' campaign to erode the coverage and equity gains of the Affordable Care Act, can be seen in the tragic and disparate impact of COVID-19 on the country. In Crossing the American Health Care Chasm: Finding the Path to Bipartisan Collaboration in National Health Care Policy (Johns Hopkins UP, 2021), Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, details the breakdown in political relations in the United States. Why, he asks, has health policy, which used to be a place where the two sides could find common ground, become the nexus of fiery political conflict? Ultimately, Barr argues, this divide is more dangerous than ever at a time when health care costs continue to skyrocket, the number of uninsured Americans is rising, many state governments are chipping away at Medicaid, and the GOP has not let up in its efforts to dismantle the ACA.  Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/medicine

Why is there such a deep partisan division within the United States regarding how health care should be organized and financed and how can we encourage politicians to band together again for the good of everyone? For decades, Democratic and Republican political leaders have disagreed about the fundamental goals of American health policy. The modern-day consequences of this disagreement, particularly in the Republicans' campaign to erode the coverage and equity gains of the Affordable Care Act, can be seen in the tragic and disparate impact of COVID-19 on the country. In Crossing the American Health Care Chasm: Finding the Path to Bipartisan Collaboration in National Health Care Policy (Johns Hopkins UP, 2021), Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, details the breakdown in political relations in the United States. Why, he asks, has health policy, which used to be a place where the two sides could find common ground, become the nexus of fiery political conflict? Ultimately, Barr argues, this divide is more dangerous than ever at a time when health care costs continue to skyrocket, the number of uninsured Americans is rising, many state governments are chipping away at Medicaid, and the GOP has not let up in its efforts to dismantle the ACA.  Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law

Why is there such a deep partisan division within the United States regarding how health care should be organized and financed and how can we encourage politicians to band together again for the good of everyone? For decades, Democratic and Republican political leaders have disagreed about the fundamental goals of American health policy. The modern-day consequences of this disagreement, particularly in the Republicans' campaign to erode the coverage and equity gains of the Affordable Care Act, can be seen in the tragic and disparate impact of COVID-19 on the country. In Crossing the American Health Care Chasm: Finding the Path to Bipartisan Collaboration in National Health Care Policy (Johns Hopkins UP, 2021), Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, details the breakdown in political relations in the United States. Why, he asks, has health policy, which used to be a place where the two sides could find common ground, become the nexus of fiery political conflict? Ultimately, Barr argues, this divide is more dangerous than ever at a time when health care costs continue to skyrocket, the number of uninsured Americans is rising, many state governments are chipping away at Medicaid, and the GOP has not let up in its efforts to dismantle the ACA.  Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Why is there such a deep partisan division within the United States regarding how health care should be organized and financed and how can we encourage politicians to band together again for the good of everyone? For decades, Democratic and Republican political leaders have disagreed about the fundamental goals of American health policy. The modern-day consequences of this disagreement, particularly in the Republicans' campaign to erode the coverage and equity gains of the Affordable Care Act, can be seen in the tragic and disparate impact of COVID-19 on the country. In Crossing the American Health Care Chasm: Finding the Path to Bipartisan Collaboration in National Health Care Policy (Johns Hopkins UP, 2021), Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, details the breakdown in political relations in the United States. Why, he asks, has health policy, which used to be a place where the two sides could find common ground, become the nexus of fiery political conflict? Ultimately, Barr argues, this divide is more dangerous than ever at a time when health care costs continue to skyrocket, the number of uninsured Americans is rising, many state governments are chipping away at Medicaid, and the GOP has not let up in its efforts to dismantle the ACA.  Stephen Pimpare is director of the Public Service & Nonprofit Leadership program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Support provided by independent educational grants from Astellas, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Genentech, Janssen Biotech, Inc., administered by Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC., Merck and Pfizer, Inc. CME Available: auau.auanet.org/node/31819 At the conclusion of this educational series, participants will be able to: 1. Recognize Urologic disparities within the context of disparities in health overall. 2. Summarize the effect of the Affordable Care Act on access to care, and discuss strategies to implement further. 3. Describe how Urologic workforce diversification can improve health outcomes.

It's "In the News..." the only LIVE diabetes newscast! -- Top stories this week: T2D screening guidelines to change New Gvoke Kit approved Gestational Diabetes cases up in younger women Are magnets & radio waves coming to T1D care? Update on #DiversityInDiabetes -- Links and sources in the transcript Check out Stacey's book: The World's Worst Diabetes Mom! Join the Diabetes Connections Facebook Group! Sign up for our newsletter here ----- Use this link to get one free download and one free month of Audible, available to Diabetes Connections listeners! ----- Get the App and listen to Diabetes Connections wherever you go! Click here for iPhone      Click here for Android Episode Transcript below:   Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I'm Stacey Simms and these are the top diabetes stories and headlines of the past seven days.  As always, I'm going to link up my sources in the Facebook comments – where we are live on Wednesday August 25th 2021 – and in the show notes at d-c dot com when this airs as a podcast.. so you can read more if you want, whenever you want. XX In the News is brought to you by Real Good Foods! Find them in your local grocery store, Target or Costco. Real Food You Feel Good About Eating. XX Top story this week.. the number of young people with type 2 nearly doubled in the United States from 2001 to 2017. These researchers found significant increases in all types of diabetes among both sexes and across racial and ethnic groups. Type 1 diabetes remains more common among white youth. The highest rates of type 2 diabetes were seen in youth who are Black or Native American. It's interesting that these CDC and NIH researchers say they don't know the cause of the huge increase in type 2. They talk about rising obesity, but wonder what's behind that? They also wonder if it's because of increased screenings, environment or something else. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/diabetes-surges-among-american-youth-study-shows-2021-08-24/ XX Big change recommended in screening for adults with type 2. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends screening for people who are overweight starting at age 35… five years earlier than recommended right now. That would include 40% of the US adult population. This task force recommends screenings that insurance companies must completely cover, without out of pocket costs to the insured, under the Affordable Care Act. XX FDA approval for Gvoke Kit to treat severe hypoglycemia. Xeris pharmaceuticals already provides Gvoke glucagon as an autoinjector and a prefilled syringe.. this Kit is for patients who prefer to draw up their own doses of glucagon using a vial and syringe. You don't have to mix anything, it's still a ready-to-use liquid glucagon. Could be helpful to those who prefer mini-glucagon doses – which are NOT FDA approved – but are sometimes used during illness. Note that's my comment, Xeris and the FDA is not talking about mini glucagon dosing at all.   https://www.fiercepharma.com/drug-delivery/xeris-a-rival-to-lilly-and-novo-gets-fda-nod-for-glucagon-kit   XX Growing numbers of pregnant women are developing gestational diabetes. Between 2011 and 2019, rates of gestational diabetes in the United States jumped 30%, according to a large nationwide study of first-time mothers. The cause? Not clear. Every age group saw an increase – from 15 to 44 – so it's not just moms getting older, which is happening. These researchers want to look at non -traditional risk factors like stress. This was a huge study – 13 million moms in the US. https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/08/18/diabetes-pregnancy/7401629306285/ XX In the – no thank you – department – researchers say they've got an implanted pump you'd refill just by swallowing a capsule. The catch? First, they have to implant the pump – which is described as the size of flip phone - along the abdominal wall, interfaced with the small intestine.   That refill capsule is magnetic, so the implant draws the capsule toward it. It then punches the capsule with a retractable needle and pumps the insulin into its reservoir. The needle must also punch through a thin layer of intestinal tissue to reach the capsule. These Italian developers testing it all out in pigs – they say it controlled blood glucose successfully… for several hours. https://spectrum.ieee.org/implantable-medical-devices https://www.newscientist.com/article/2287225-diabetes-implant-is-restocked-by-swallowing-magnetic-insulin-capsules/ XX Another maybe it'll work item… Israeli startup Hagar has something called G-Wave technology that measures blood sugar levels using noninvasive radio waves. The prototype puts the tech into a ceramic bracelet. Uses Bluetooth to transmit readings to an a mobile app with display and alert functions. A proof-of-concept study found the company's radio frequency technology was able to continuously measure glucose levels with at least 90% accuracy, compared to the estimated 70% rate for traditional continuous glucose monitors. They claim that's because it measures glucose in real time. Hagar now plans to launch clinical trials to pursue FDA approval https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/hagar-brews-up-11m-after-a-serendipitous-spill-led-to-creation-new-cgm-tech XX More to come, but first, I want to tell you about one of our great sponsors who helps make Diabetes Connections possible. Real Good Foods. Where the mission is Be Real Good They make nutritious foods— grain free, high in protein, never added sugar and from real ingredients— I was in Target this week and I saw the new Entrée bowls, I bought the Lemon Chicken and the Lasagna. The Lemon chicken was great! It uses hearts of palm pasta instead of regular noodles which I thought sounded odd but really tasted good. They keep adding to the menu line! You can buy online or find a store near you with their locator right on the website. I'll put a link in the FB comments and as always at d-c dot com. Back to the news… XX Big grant goes to Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute to study the use of CGMs in hospitalized patients with type 2. This is a $3.1 million dollar grant from The National Institutes of Health. It's to build on research going on now – during the COVID-19 pandemic. CGM devices have been approved for outpatient use since 1999, but their use in the hospital setting remains limited to research efforts and the special conditions allowed during the pandemic. https://timesofsandiego.com/tech/2021/08/10/scripps-whittier-diabetes-institute-gets-3-1m-for-glucose-device-study/-- XX Congrats to Diversity in Diabetes for their newly minted 501c3 status. The group was founded last summer and is dedicated to creating awareness and providing solutions to end health disparities and the lack of representation in the diabetes space. Their big event – People of Color Living with Diabetes Virtual Summit kicks off Sept 16 – more info and how to register in the show notes. XX Please join me wherever you get podcasts for our next episode -Tuesday –  we're talking to the folks from MannKind, makers of Afrezza inhalable insulin. You had a lot of questions for them.. looking forward to that episode! The episode out right now is with Kyle Banks – a Broadway performer diagnosed with type 1 while acting in the Lion King. That's In the News for this week.. if you like it, please share it! If you're watching this replay on YouTube please subscribe, if you're listening via the audio podcast please follow. Whatever it's called – I appreciate you being here. Thanks for joining me!  

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan shares his thoughts on the FDA's approval of the Pfizer vaccine, explaining how the approval impacts arguments against vaccine mandates. Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine in New York City. Then, we talk with listeners about starting the school year with mask mandates. Juliette Kayyem talks about Congressman Seth Moulton's (D-MA) unauthorized trip to Afghanistan, and devastating flooding in Tennessee. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Jonathon Gruber gives an economist's perspective on the ethics of wealthier countries moving on to COVID-19 booster shots while underdeveloped nations struggle with vaccine supplies. Gruber is Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act. His latest book is Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream. Ali Noorani talks about the evacuation from Afghanistan, and what it means for Afghan allies and refugees trying to leave the country. Noorani is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the National Immigration Forum. His forthcoming book is Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.  David Daley discusses Republican efforts to gain power through redistricting following the release of the 2020 U.S. census data. Daley is the author of two books on gerrymandering, Rat-bleeped: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count and Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy. He's a senior fellow at FairVote and the former Editor-in-Chief of Salon.com. We end the show by asking listeners how they would say goodbye to Boston if they moved away, following Maya Jonas-Silver's plan to break the world record for the fastest visit to all 25 MBTA stations.

OVERVIEW: Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner, and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast chats with Allison Sesso, Executive Director of RIP Medical Debt. She talks about the issue of medical debt, how RIP Medical Debt was established, and what model it operates on. She also offers advice to people who want to donate to a nonprofit or are looking to start one. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Allison is a born and bred New Yorker with a background in political science and public administration. She worked with 200 nonprofits during her tenure at the Human Services Council of New York. She joined RIP Medical Debt in January 2020—just before the pandemic started. People don't have enough money to pay their medical bills, but the healthcare industry expects them to pay these bills out of their pocket. We tend to spend a lot on healthcare but not on the social determinants of health. Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton leveraged their expertise in debt collection and started RIP Medical Debt in 2014. The company has a “debt engine” that pairs donor dollars to the available debt.  A key donation came from MacKenzie Scott, one of the richest women in the world, who generously donated $50 million.   One in five Americans has medical debt. The total amount of medical debt is around $1 trillion and it's the top cause of bankruptcy. Allison talks about how COVID affected the healthcare system and medical debt. She also shares her thoughts on the Affordable Care Act. About 70% of hospitals do not sell their debt at the risk of getting a bad reputation. 501(c)(3) organizations do not pay taxes and there are strict rules that must be followed. A few of these include you must have a board of directors to oversee operations. You cannot support for-profit entities and you must remain nonpartisan. Allison shares the difficulties of fundraising and what people should do when trying to raise money. John Oliver, host of the Last Week Tonight show on HBO did an episode on medical debt and mentioned RIP Medical Debt. The day after, their website crashed and donations skyrocketed.  You can't be shy about asking for money. Articulate the vision and how the money will be used. If you're excited about the mission, people will get behind your charity.  Allison warns people against starting a charity on their own. There are nonprofit associations—within each state and at a national scale—that can help. 3 KEY POINTS: RIP Medical Debt is a charitable mission-driven organization that uses donations to buy portfolios of bad debt from hospitals. It's abolished $4.9 billion of debt to date. Be aware of nonprofits with unusually low overhead rates, and take note of who's donated to the charity you're interested in. If you want to start a 501(c)(3), make sure your idea is new. Know what you're getting into and prepare yourself for the work that needs to be done.   TWEETABLE QUOTES: “Starting a nonprofit is very labor-intensive and it takes time.” - Allison Sesso “Keep being motivated by how you're going to change the world.” - Allison Sesso RESOURCES: RIP Medical Debt website: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/ RIP Medical Debt on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RIPMedicalDebt/ RIP Medical Debt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RIPMedicalDebt RIP Medical Debt on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ripmedicaldebt End Medical Debt book by Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico: https://www.amazon.com/End-Medical-Debt-Unpayable-Healthcare/dp/0989224120 National Council of Nonprofits website: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/ Do you enjoy our podcast? Leave a rating and review: https://lovethepodcast.com/hea Want to be notified of new episodes: Subscribe and follow: https://followthepodcast.com/hea   #HealthcareEntrepreneurAcademy #healthcare #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #podcast #medicaldebt #nonprofit #fundraising #charity  

Most major provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect on January 1, 2014.  Two core tenants of the Affordable Care Act were to expand Medicaid and to increase the availability of health insurance for individual consumers who purchased coverage on their own.  We are now 7 years out; the ACA remains intact and several recent changes from President Biden's administration have driven sizable growth this year.  With us to discuss the state of the individual market is Sal Gentile, CEO of Friday Health Plans.  Friday sells to both individuals and small groups and a few months ago raised $160M in capital to fuel continued expansion.  Show notes:  Books: Built to Last By Jim Collins, Washington: A Life By Ron Chernow.  Podcast Smartless with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes and ESPN's 30 for 30.

Read Rick Turnquist's recent op-ed, Still Unfit to Govern (https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/still-unfit-to-govern/).  A new podcast featuring Pastor Christine Uwizera Coleman centering on forced vaccinations and socialism (https://kimmonson.com/sounding_off/episode-69-pastor-christina-coleman-on-forced-vaccinations-and-socialism/) is up for your listening.  Kim invites listeners to events throughout Colorado to hear Leslie Manookian, President and Founder of Health Freedom Defense Fund.  Thursday, 8/26/2021, at Message of life Ministries, 605 18th St. SW, Loveland, 6-8pm (tickets: https://bit.ly/LM-Loveland); Friday, 8/27/2021, at Deep Space, 11020 S. Pikes Peak Dr., Parker, 6-8pm (https://tickets:  bit.ly/LM-Parker) and; Saturday, 8/28/2021, at Central Christian Church, 3690 East Cherry Creek South Dr., Denver, 6-8pm (tickets:  https://bit.ly/LM-Denver).  Doors open at 5:30pm each night. Denver is preparing to accept Afghan refugees.  Have they been vetted?  Have they received the coerced COVID-19 vaccinations?  On the plane no one was seen with a mask on the first plane out of Afghanistan. What's the quarantine policy once they get to U.S. soil?  Biden's response to the collapse of Afghanistan and takeover by the Taliban is horrendous.  Refugees should receive care through charities not non-profits (NGO's) funded by taxpayers' money.  Charities are held accountable by donors whereas the government is not.  Future generations will be paying for this and the other trillions of dollars Biden has spent.  LA Times Editorial Board believes that single-family housing should be sacrificed for “equity” in housing affordability.  University of Virginia disenrolls over 200 students because they did not comply with COVID-19 mandates. Frequent guest Dr. Jill Vecchio, one of the few who read in its entirety the Affordable Care Act, joins Kim to talk about fallacies regarding the COVID-19/Wuhan-China virus.  Officials keep changing “facts” and protocols.  At this point in time there is no real test to differentiate between the original COVID-19 and the Delta variant.  A genetic test must be used.  We have gone beyond the Delta variant and are at the Kappa variant.  The Delta variant is being used to heighten fear.  Statistics are being manipulated concerning breakthrough cases.  Blood clotting continues to be highlighted as one of the adverse effects.  After FDA approval of vaccinations we will see many more mandates.  Jill concludes by suggesting listeners read the American Association Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) guide to treatments, and the guide to doctors in areas that will treat patients for COVID-19.  The link is:Physician List & Guide to Home-Based COVID Treatment – AAPS | Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (aapsonline.org).

Welcome to the second year of Coale Mind!In a previous episode of this podcast, I questioned whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – the federal appellate court for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi – may have grown more conservative than the U.S. Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Roberts. In particular, I looked at two Fifth Circuit cases that the Supreme Court reviewed in the last term—Collins v. Yellen, about the structure of the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—and California v. Texas, about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court has now ruled and the answer to the question is . . . it depends. These cases ultimately show that not all conservativism is the same . . . . 

In order to qualify for cheaper health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (healthcare.gov), your income must be below a certain threshold. For 2020 and for 2021, the income rules are different in order to qualify for those premium tax credits. We have health insurance experts from Korhorn Financial Group Ted Foster and Craig A. Wiker, on the show to help us understand these changes and answer more health insurance-related questions. Season 6 Episode 52 Have a question for the show? Call or text 574-222-2000 or leave a comment! Want to speak with a Certified Financial Planner™? Visit www.korhorn.com or call 574-247-5898.   Find more information about the Wise Money Show™ at www.wisemoneyshow.com  Be sure to stay up to date by following us!  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/WiseMoneyShow  Twitter - https://twitter.com/WiseMoneyShow  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wisemoneyshow/  Want more Wise Money™?  Read our blog! https://www.korhorn.com/wise-money-blog  Watch the guys in the studio: https://youtu.be/AQTaT8FhZAo  Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/WiseMoneyShow This information is for general financial education and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations. All investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Asset allocation & diversification do not ensure a profit or prevent a loss in a declining market. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

The Breastfeeding Series on That's Total Mom Sense August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month so I am bringing you The Breastfeeding Series on That's Total Mom Sense. A 3-part series with leaders in the industry. Some people feel breast is best and others think fed is best and I'm here to be an objective insight and provide perspective for you because in the end, you have to trust your mom sense. So whether you breastfeed, formula feed, pump, or use donor milk, it's entirely up to you. However, it is important to destigmatize breastfeeding in modern day society. I want you to know your options, the benefits, hear from medical professionals, public figures, and legal experts on lactation regulations in the workplace which you can use to your advantage. I hope you feel empowered by the Breastfeeding Series on “That's Total Mom Sense.” Introduction Breastfeeding. For some, it's a magical, bonding experience and others, it's painful and triggering or non-existent. For some reason though, speaking to a new mom about breastfeeding has become a loaded conversation. Today, we're going to change that and destigmatize breastfeeding whether you're in favor or not. I'm happy to share my journey and honest opinions, and I'm excited to bring on thought leaders to share their knowledge to commemorate Breastfeeding Awareness Month all August long. Today I am joined by Patty Gatter, founder of The Breastfeeding Shop, a family owned business that supplies mothers who choose to breastfeed with the proper help, guidance, and accessories they need to nourish their babies. Patty is a mother of two boys, a wife to an amazing husband and a serial entrepreneur. Like most women, she's got multitasking down pat. She comes from a lineage of entrepreneurs and has worked in the healthcare industry for over 15 years. When the Affordable Care Act made it a requirement for insurance to cover breast pumps, Patty jumped at the opportunity to make this an equalizer for all new moms. She combined her love and passion for being a mother and breastfeeding with her entrepreneurial spirit and launched, The Breastfeeding Shop. She not only provides top of the line breast pumps like Medela, Spectra and Willow to expecting moms, the company aids mothers in their breastfeeding journey with consultants available via telehealth 24/7. When Patty was in college, she felt inspired by an article she read in Glamour about a woman who started a business and was able to offer her employees a team working environment that catered to their busy “mom” schedules”. It made an impression on her and so she did exactly that. Meet My Guest: WEBSITE: TheBreastFeedingShop.com INSTAGRAM: @thebreastfeedingshop FACEBOOK: /thebreastfeedingshop LINKEDIN: Patty Gatter LINKEDIN: The Breastfeeding Shop

The Taliban is surging. Will they take Kabul next? Plus, South Florida braces for Fred, COVID-19 cases spike, there's an impending Affordable Care Act deadline and the NFL preseason kicks off.(Audio: Associated Press)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Question everything,” advises Dr. Hanadi Hamadi to future healthcare professionals, but “always remember your lines and your boundaries, your mental health.” In this episode of Raise the Line, Dr. Hamadi joins her colleague at Brooks College of Health Dr. Shyam Paryani and Osmosis' Shiv Gaglani to discuss current trends and recent happenings in healthcare reform and health policy. Tune in to discover what Dr. Hamadi and Dr. Paryani see as the most essential tools for future healthcare leaders. Plus, learn about Brooks College of Health's unique online Executive Master of Health Administration program directed at working professionals, the challenge for hospitals to provide population health and not just acute care as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Hamadi's research on evaluating the recent emphasis on social determinants of health, and the lasting changes that Dr. Hamadi and Dr. Paryani believe COVID will bring to the healthcare system.

The deadline to sign up for subsidies and reduced health-care premiums under the Affordable Care Act is Aug. 15. Reporter Anne Tergesen joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss the types of coverage available, and why an ACA plan isn't right for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Boston Public Radio: Art Caplan weighs in on New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio mandating proof of vaccination for people going to restaurants and gyms, and Acting Mayor Kim Janey's comparison of vaccination passports to birtherism. Caplan is director of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine. Next, we ask listeners whether they think mayors and town managers across Massachusetts should require proof of vaccination in order for people to go to restaurants and gyms. Juliette Kayyem discuss the fourth police officer to have died by suicide after responding to the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks, and New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation into claims of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She also calls for more serious repercussions for people who choose to be unvaccinated. Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Ming Tsai shares how he created MingsBings, his plant-based iteration of the popular Chinese street food bing. Tsai is the Emmy award-winning host and executive producer of the cooking show, “Simply Ming,” which you can catch Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. on GBH2. Jonathan Gruber explains why economists are increasingly looking at digital addiction, and talks about methods to digitally detox. Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. He was instrumental in creating both the Massachusetts health-care reform and the Affordable Care Act, and his latest book is "Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth And The American Dream." Lyndia Downie talks about President Joe Biden's extension of the eviction moratorium, and vaccination rates among the homeless community. Lyndia Downie is president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn. We end the show by talking with listeners about their pandemic purchasing habits.

On today's podcast, we have the pleasure to talk with our honored guests, Dr. Monica McLemore and Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, about postpartum justice and the need for Medicaid coverage for the entire postpartum year. Dr. Monica McLemore is a tenured associate professor at the University of California-San Francisco in the family healthcare nursing department, an affiliated scientist with advancing new standards in reproductive health, and a member of the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. She retired from clinical practice as a public health and staff nurse after a 28-year clinical nursing career in 2019. Dr. McLemore's program of research is focused on understanding reproductive health injustice. Dr. Jamila K. Taylor is a director of health care reform and senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where she leads TCF's work to build on the Affordable Care Act and develop the next generation of health reform to achieve high quality, affordable and universal coverage in America. Dr. Taylor also works on issues related to reproductive rights and justice, focusing on the structural barriers to healthcare access, racial and gender disparities in health outcomes, and the intersections between healthcare and economic justice. We talk about their collaborative work with additional authors for the article, “We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage,” which discusses the importance of extending Medicaid coverage for postpartum individuals. We also talk about the implications for the disruption of postpartum Medicaid coverage 60 days after giving birth and the importance of creating holistic, community-based care in perinatal and postpartum support. Content warning: We will talk about postpartum, perinatal/postpartum mortality, mental health, substance use disorders, health challenges, and COVID-19. RESOURCES: Learn more about Dr. McLemore here (https://profiles.ucsf.edu/monica.mclemore). Follow Dr. McLemore on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/mclemoremr) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mclemoremr). Learn more about Dr. Taylor here (https://tcf.org/experts/jamila-taylor/). Follow Dr. Taylor on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/drtaylor09).  Learn more about the article, “We Must Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage,” here (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-must-extend-postpartum-medicaid-coverage/).  Learn more about Scientific American here (https://www.scientificamerican.com/). Learn more about The Century Foundation here (https://tcf.org/).  For more information and news about Evidence Based Birth®, visit www.ebbirth.com. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/EvidenceBasedBirth/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ebbirth/), and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/ebbirth/). Ready to get involved? Check out our Professional membership (including scholarship options) (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/become-pro-member/). Find an EBB Instructor here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/find-an-instructor-parents/), and click here (https://evidencebasedbirth.com/childbirth-class/) to learn more about the Evidence Based Birth® Childbirth Class.

Welcome to the Slate News feed! We'll be sharing daily episodes from Slate'podcasts What Next, What Next: TBD, The Waves, and A Word. Listen for everything you need to know about the news this week.  On this week's episode of The Waves, Slate Supreme Court reporters Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern join forces to dissect Amy Coney Barrett's first term on the bench. They talk about how her confirmation hearings were shaped by Democrats' desire to paint her as an enemy of health care, and how her recent decision upholding the Affordable Care Act has gotten her outsized praise. Then, they dissect her desire to be seen as an academic rather than a conservative, and unpack what we can expect from her in the years to come. Recommendations Dahlia: A Supreme Women Mug from Resistance By Design Mark: A Washington D.C. statehood tank top from DC Statehood Gifts & Apparel Podcast production by Cheyna Roth with editorial oversight by Susan Matthews and June Thomas.  Send your comments and recommendations on what to cover to thewaves@slate.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this sample from the CAFE Insider podcast, Preet and Joyce break down the Supreme Court's decision to leave the Affordable Care Act in place. In the full episode, they discuss a major LGBTQ rights Supreme Court case, Derek Chauvin's upcoming sentencing, and the Department of Justice's reversal of Trump-era immigration policies. To listen to the full episode and get access to all exclusive CAFE Insider content, including audio notes from Preet, Joyce, Elie Honig, Barb McQuade, Asha Rangappa, Melissa Murray, and more try the membership free for two weeks: www.cafe.com/insider Use special code JOYCE for 50% off on the annual membership price.  Sign up to receive the free weekly CAFE Brief newsletter: www.cafe.com/brief This podcast is brought to you by CAFE Studios and Vox Media Podcast Network.  Tamara Sepper – Executive Producer; Adam Waller – Senior Editorial Producer; Nat Weiner – Audio Producer; Jake Kaplan – Editorial Producer REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS:  Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution California v. Texas, U.S. Supreme Court, opinion, 6/17/21 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Supreme Court threw out a Republican-led challenge to the Affordable Care Act, and the justices ruled unanimously in favor of a Catholic foster agency denying service to LGBTQ couples. Plus, the Biden administration expanded transgender and gay student protections, setting up potential legal battles in conservative states. This episode: Congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, White House correspondent Asma Khalid, national justive correspondent Carrie Johnson, and education correspondent Cory Turner.Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.orgJoin the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Listen to our playlist The NPR Politics Daily Workout.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.

BREAKING NEWS: The U.S. Supreme court struck down a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act by a 7-2 vote.