Podcasts about fierce healthcare

The Friday Five for August 7, 2026: ACA 2027 Certification Updates CY2027 ACA Premium Rate Filings So Far CMS 2027 Medicare Part D Bid Information 2027 Medicare Part B Cost Projections 2027 COLA Estimate   Get Connected:

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode:  Congresswoman Erin Houchin, “Houchin Introduces Bipartisan Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act,” July 27, 2026, https://houchin.house.gov/media/press-releases/houchin-introduces-bipartisan-rural-hospital-cybersecurity-enhancement-act.  U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson, “Thompson Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Rural Hospitals' Cybersecurity Infrastructure,” July 27, 2026, https://thompson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/thompson-introduces-legislation-strengthen-rural-hospitals.  Kelly Gooch & Kristin Kuchno, “The hospitals, health systems cutting jobs in 2026,” July 29, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/the-hospitals-health-systems-cutting-jobs-in-2026/, Becker's Hospital Review.  Madeline Scheetz, “Shuttered Chicago hospital to lay off 500,” July 1, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/shuttered-chicago-hospital-plans-mass-layoffs/, Becker's Hospital Review.  Healthcare Staff Et al., “Fierce Healthcare Layoff Tracker—MaineHealth reorgs hit 83; Tower Health cutting 160 at PA hospital,” July 29, 2026, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/fierce-healthcare-layoff-tracker-2026-job-cuts-eliminations-health-systems-hospitals, Fierce Healthcare.  Madeline Scheetz, “Kansas hospital CEO to resign amid ‘significant workforce reduction',” July 23, 2026, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/kansas-hospital-ceo-to-resign-amid-significant-workforce-reduction/, Becker's Hospital Review.  Wil Day, “Layoffs coming as financially troubled Kansas hospital tries to ‘stabilize',” July 23, 2026, https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/pratt-regional-medical-center-layoffs/, KSN News. Kim Chockley, “PRMC Announces Urgent Care Clinic Closure and Critical Financial Situation,” February 18, 2025, https://prmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Feb2025PRMCUpdate.pdf, Pratt Regional Medical Center. Lee Cowan, “Home, not alone: Helping aging seniors in rural America,” July 26, 2026, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/home-not-alone-helping-aging-seniors-in-rural-america/, CBS News. Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.

The Friday Five for July 31, 2026: RegEd CE Courses Available on IntegrityCONNECT Fresh Take on Social Platforms: ThingsBook Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Reminder CMS Files Appeal to Clover Decision CMS & HHS File Expedited Appeal to Colombus I   Get Connected:

This week on "The Top Line," Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences' editor-in-chief steps behind the microphone for a solo episode highlighting several of the biggest stories in biopharma. The episode covers GSK’s first lung cancer approval following its acquisition of Nuvalent, Axiom Biosciences’ unusual plan to list first in Hong Kong before pursuing a Nasdaq co-listing amid a resurgent biotech IPO market, and the U.S. House’s passage of legislation directing the FDA to update its animal testing rules. The episode also includes an update from the Fierce newsroom, including the arrival of a new Fierce Biotech staff writer, and a reflection on why human judgment, curiosity and original reporting matter more than ever. To learn more about the topics in this episode: GSK secures first lung cancer approval as FDA clears Jideytro in quick payoff from Nuvalent deal ‘There is always a first’: Why US biotech Axiom will begin its IPO journey in Hong Kong House passes bill directing FDA to update animal testing rules See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of the ASC Podcast with John Goehle, we discuss the latest news and information, including extreme heat shutting down elective surgery at an Illinois surgery center, a federal court ruling against the Leapfrog Group and Leapfrog's plan to publicly rate nearly 4,000 ASCs later this month, recent drug recalls, and the new Section 504 accessibility requirements. In our focus segment, we discuss pharmacy management and recalls in the ASC. This episode is sponsored by Surgical Information Systems, RFX Solutions, MedServe and Ambulatory Healthcare Strategies. Notes and Resources from this Episode: Extreme heat forces an Illinois ASC to halt elective surgeries — Becker's ASC: beckersasc.com Federal court orders the Leapfrog Group to pull hospital safety grades — Fierce Healthcare: fiercehealthcare.com Pharmacy recall & shortage resources: FDA Drug Recalls: fda.gov/drugs/drug-recalls Drug Shortages (FDA/ASHP via ASCA): ascassociation.org/drug-shortages   |   Conditions for Coverage §416.48 (eCFR): ecfr.gov §416.48 John's panel — “Winning the ASC Talent War,” ASC News Investments & Operations Conference (Grand Hyatt Denver, July 8–9, 2026); full agenda: ascninvestmentsandoperations.com/2026-agenda Leapfrog ASC Public Reporting Program — nearly 4,000 ASCs publicly rated beginning July 25, 2026 (CMS ASCQR measures, accreditation standards, and the voluntary ASC Survey 2.0): leapfroggroup.org — ASC Program Look up your own center on Leapfrog's Hospital and Surgery Center Ratings site: ratings.leapfroggroup.org INFORMATION ABOUT THE ASC PODCAST WITH JOHN GOEHLE ASC Central is our one-stop site for ASC bootcamps, on-demand conferences, and membership programs: conferences.asc-central.com Patron Membership — our base membership for podcast listeners: regular group Zoom sessions, a full resource database to help run your ASC, and several free conferences (Conditions for Coverage, Medical Director, Credentialing, and Finance & Accounting). Become a Patron Member Premium Access Program — includes Patron membership PLUS unlimited Bootcamps (Administrator and Director of Nursing, normally $1,899.99 each), our Credentialing, Conditions for Coverage, Medical Director and Infection Control programs, weekly drop-in Zoom sessions, and up to five hours of private consulting. Sign up for Premium Access Compare both programs: conferences.asc-central.com/membership-programs-2   Important Resources for ASCs: Conditions for Coverage: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=42:3.0.1.1.3&idno=42#se42.3.416_150 Infection Control Survey Tool (Used by Surveyors for Infection Control) https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/Manuals/downloads/som107_exhibit_351.pdf Updated Guidance for Ambulatory Surgical Centers - Appendix L of the State Operations Manual (SOM) https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/Manuals/downloads/som107ap_l_ambulatory.pdf https://www.cms.gov/medicareprovider-enrollment-and-certificationsurveycertificationgeninfopolicy-and-memos-states-and/updated-guidance-ambulatory-surgical-centers-appendix-l-state-operations-manual-som Policy & Memos to States and Regions CMS Quality Safety & Oversight memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Policy-and-Memos-to-States-and-Regions Other Resources from the ASC Podcast with John Goehle: Visit the ASC Podcast with John Goehle Website Books by John Goehle Get a copy of John's most popular book - The Survey Guide - A Guide to the CMS Conditions for Coverage & Interpretive Guidelines for Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Reed Smith and Chris Boyer walk through why systems pursue scale, what the deal model captures well and the parts it tends to leave out, the patient experience, brand and digital continuity that rarely get their own line in the financial plan. McKinsey's early-2026 read has healthcare M&A shifting from buying new markets toward integrating what systems already own, with roughly 70 to 80% of provider deals now like-for-like consolidation, so the integration work is getting more attention than it used to. Then they are joined by their guest expert, Christine Albert. She has led marketing and experience through multiple integrations as a chief marketing and experience officer, and she calls this stretch the messy middle. She is practical about it. How to get marketing and digital into the deal conversation early. Why brand architecture is more than a logo lockup. Why the internal team should be the first audience you communicate with. And what the leaders who integrate well tend to do differently, starting sooner and treating the acquired team as an asset. In this episode, Chris, Reed and Christine cover: What a merger's financial model captures and what the integration work adds Where AI helps in an integration and where the work still runs on people How marketing, digital and experience earn a seat in the deal conversation early Why brand and internal communication shape how an integration lands What leaders who integrate well do differently from the first planning meeting If your system is in a deal, or headed toward one, this is a practical look at the work that shapes how it feels to patients and staff on the other side. touchpoint.health Mentions from the Show: Kaufman Hall, M&A Quarterly Activity Report Q1 2026 (22 transactions, strongest Q1 since 2020; Sutter and Allina 39-hospital, $26B): https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/ma-quarterly-activity-report-q1-2026 Kaufman Hall, 2025 Hospital and Health System M&A in Review (46 transactions, the quieter 2025 baseline): https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/hospital-and-health-system-2025-ma-review-uncertainty-transitions-continue McKinsey, US healthcare M&A: value through diversification, Feb 2026 (shift toward integration; 70 to 80% like-for-like): https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/m-and-a/our-insights/us-healthcare-companies-continue-to-create-value-through-diversification McKinsey, Healthcare private equity outlook, HPE Miami 2026 (operational execution ranked over financial engineering): https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/healthcare-blog/healthcare-private-equity-outlook-takeaways-from-hpe-miami-2026 PwC 2026 healthcare M&A outlook, via Fierce Healthcare, Dec 2025 (AI as a driver of margin and growth): https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/finance/key-trends-will-shape-healthcare-ma-activity-2026-pwc Christine Albert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christineyalbert/  Reed Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedtsmith/ Chris Boyer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisboyer/ Chris Boyer website: http://www.christopherboyer.com/ Chris Boyer on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chrisboyer.bsky.social Reed Smith on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/reedsmith.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's Touch Point is an encore. We are replaying TP470, "When AI Becomes the First Stop for Care." It aired in January, the same week OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health. Chris and Reed sat down with Brandon Scott of TenAdams and made a plain argument. For a growing number of patients, the health journey now starts inside an AI chat, before any health system enters the picture. Five months later the premise is no longer up for debate. By OpenAI's count, more than 230 million people ask health questions on ChatGPT every week, and roughly 40 million do it daily. The patient who shows up already holding an AI explanation of their lab results is now routine. What the original episode left open is the reason to replay it. TP470 asked how health systems would respond. The most visible answer so far is that they bought from the same company. OpenAI for Healthcare rolled out inside AdventHealth, Cedars-Sinai, HCA, Boston Children's, Stanford and other systems within a day of the consumer launch. In April, OpenAI put a free tool directly on clinicians' desks. The vendor that became the patient's first stop is now also the clinician's workspace and the enterprise platform. The front door, the exam room and the back office increasingly run through one synthesis layer. In this encore, Chris and Reed cover: Why AI became the first stop for care before most health systems had a strategy for it What ChatGPT Health actually does, and the line between "support" and "diagnosis" that OpenAI keeps drawing Where AI fills the gaps left by short appointments, fragmented records and limited access Why walled garden thinking is out of step with how patients now manage their health What changes when the tool patients trust and the tool clinicians use come from the same vendor If your digital strategy still treats the website as the first interaction, this episode was early to the problem and the problem only got bigger. Mentions from the Show: Original episode: TP470, When AI Becomes the First Stop for Care. https://touchpoint.health/podcast/tp470-when-ai-becomes-the-first-stop-for-care/ OpenAI, Introducing ChatGPT Health (Jan 7, 2026): https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-health/ OpenAI, Introducing OpenAI for Healthcare (Jan 8, 2026): https://openai.com/index/openai-for-healthcare/ Fierce Healthcare, OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Clinicians (Apr 30, 2026): https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/ai-and-machine-learning/openai-launches-chatgpt-clinicians-free-ai-tool-physicians-nps-and Advisory Board, Ty Aderhold on ChatGPT Health: https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2026/01/12/chatgpt-health-ab-oi-ec TP476, Good Enough for People Is Not Good Enough for Machines: https://touchpoint.health/podcast/tp476-good-enough-for-people-is-not-good-enough-for-machines/ Brandon Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandontascott/ TenAdams: http://tenadams.com Reed Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reedtsmith/ Chris Boyer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisboyer/ Chris Boyer website: http://www.christopherboyer.com/ Chris Boyer on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/chrisboyer.bsky.social Reed Smith on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/reedsmith.bsky.social Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Friday Five for June 19, 2026: Certification for AEP 2027 Coming June 22 Microsoft Teams Location Tracking Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Starts July 1 CMS to Codify Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Federal Judge Vacates Several CMS ACA Provisions   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for June 12, 2026: Apple WWDC 2026 Takeaways Instagram Grid Arrangement Feature IntegrityCONNECT Annuities & What's Coming Soon KFF MA Enrollment Stats & Trends for 2026 CMS Medicaid Work Requirements   Get Connected:

The Layoff Tracker, Cigna's GLP-1 Cut & What Happens When Compliance FailsJune 8th, 2026. Bo and Luke break down three stories connected by the same thread: what happens when organizations wait too long to act.

Welcome to the Health Marketing Collective, where strong leadership meets marketing excellence.In today's episode, we dive into the “new gold rush” of health marketing: AI search. Joining us is Vincent Grippi, founder and CEO of Grippi Media, a seasoned expert with over sixteen years of experience crafting digital marketing strategies for both startups and Fortune 500 brands. Featured in AdWeek, Business Insider, Fierce Healthcare, and Marketing Dive, Vincent has become a key thinker on the future of marketing, especially as AI rapidly reshapes the landscape of how consumers find and trust information.As AI-driven search tools become more prevalent, marketers face a barrage of new acronyms, shifting priorities, and a swirl of tools promising the next competitive advantage. But is all this hype justified or is confusion clouding marketers' judgment? Sara Payne and Vincent Grippi discuss the challenges, myths, and real strategies for thriving in the world of AI search, uncovering what businesses should and shouldn't be chasing in the age of rapidly evolving algorithms.Key Takeaways:1. SEO Fundamentals Still Rule Ignore the Hype Around New AcronymsDespite the explosion in AI search tools and terminology, Vincent stresses that marketers don't need to throw out their SEO playbooks. Google has clarified that AEO and GEO are myths; strong, traditional SEO remains the foundation for ranking and discoverability in AI search results (03:02, 06:23). Chasing new acronyms or unproven tools is likely to waste time and resources.2. Chasing Hacks and Tool-Based Shortcuts is Risky (and Costly)Vincent warns against “hacks” like AI-generated spam content or gaming platforms like Reddit, which may yield short-term wins but almost always backfire, leading to plummeting rankings or even platform bans (04:09, 04:41). Many popular tools are simply wrappers built on top of existing AI like ChatGPT and charge steep fees without meaningful results. Marketers should be wary of proprietary “visibility” scores or brand metrics that vary wildly between platforms (16:05).3. Discoverability is the New Visibility: Focus on Meaningful PresenceAI search changes how users access information summaries, replacing ten blue links, and click-through rates on web content are falling fast (20:12). Marketers must go beyond surface-level “visibility” to focus on discoverability: mapping high-value, original content to the specific prompts and research needs of their ideal customer profiles. This means prioritizing non-commodity content, such as unique research, proprietary data, case studies, and expert perspectives (08:46, 12:26).4. Thought Leadership and Digital PR Are More Important Than EverAI search doesn't just reward what's published on your site it pulls in podcasts, videos, ratings, reviews, and third-party features. Sara and Vincent emphasize the necessity of digital PR, proactive reputation management, and strategic media placements to build both authority and trust (23:26, 25:26). Genuine originality and credibility whether in written articles, public speaking, or interviews set brands apart in both the algorithm's eyes and consumers' trust.5. Marketers Must Reframe Success Metrics and Build Trust, Not Just TrafficThe AI search landscape demands new thinking around measurement: instead of obsessing over conversions or clicks, marketers should triangulate traditional SEO metrics with AI visibility, share of voice, and brand sentiment. With fewer referrals from search, ultimate success is about influencing perception, discovering new audience touchpoints, and fostering trust by surfacing reliably credible, compelling information where it matters (19:01, 36:07).Thank you for joining us for this conversation on staying grounded and staying ahead amidst the noise of AI search. Be sure to subscribe for more insights, where strong leadership meets marketing excellence.Learn more about Vincent and the work he does at https://www.grippimedia.com/.Mentioned in this episode:Health Marketing Collective is Powered by InprelaThe Health Marketing Collective is powered by Inprela: a communications firm built for health brands determined to lead, not follow. We partner with marketing innovators who aren't just chasing attention—they're building movements. Connect with the audiences shaping the future of care and lead the conversations that move your market. Ready to rise above the noise? Visit inprela.com. Let's create something that moves the market.Inprela Communications

The 2027 Marketplace Final Rule from CMS is here! Join Sarah as she pulls out takeaways for insurance agents selling ACA plans.   Get Connected:

Recorded last week at Fierce Biotech Week in Boston, this episode of “The Top Line” features a conversation with Kristen Fortney, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of BioAge Labs. In a conversation with Ayla Ellison, editor-in-chief of Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences, Fortney discusses the company’s decade-long effort to use human aging data to identify drug targets tied to longevity and age-related disease. She also breaks down BioAge’s oral NLRP3 inhibitor, BGE-102, which the company believes could have applications across cardiovascular, ocular and CNS diseases by targeting inflammation linked to aging biology. The conversation also explores why pharma companies are paying closer attention to aging and exercise biology, how GLP-1 drugs are reshaping conversations around prevention and what the future of aging-related medicine could look like. To learn more about the topics in this episode: BioAge CEO has big plans for 'multi-disease impact' of NLRP3 drug across cardio, ocular and CNS Novartis, BioAge take on age-related diseases in $550M pact What can we learn from 2024’s biotech IPOs? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Friday Five for May 8, 2026: Quick Hits & Headlines CMS Admin Dr. Oz on Prior Auth Audio to Help You Sleep Cigna to Exit ACA for CY 2027 AHIP & NABIP Dates for CY 2027   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for May 1, 2026: [00:44] Staying Caffeinated on the Road [03:26] Healthcare or Health Care? AP Stylebook Makes it Official [05:24] Spotify Spins Fitness into the Mix [08:41] Medicare Advantage Improvement Act of 2026 [12:16] CMS Update on BALANCE Model & Medicare GLP-1 Bridge   Events & Webinars for Insurance Agents   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for April 24, 2026: [00:25] Hits & Headlines [01:41] New Podcast From KFF [03:33] Tech Takeaways [05:42] Amazon to Discontinue Older Kindles [08:47] Amazon One Medical GLP-1 Management Program   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for April 17, 2026:   [00:57] CMS 2027 MA and Part D Final Rule [02:09] Google Announces New Chrome Features [04:56] March 2026 CPI/2026 FOMC Calendar [07:03] Protective Life Corporation Study on Gaps in Medicare Knowledge [10:17] CMS 2026 Prior Authorization Proposed Rule   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for March 20, 2026: Rueppel Recommends Audible launches Standard Plan Universal Health Services to Acquire Talkspace Manufacturer Participation in CMS 2028 Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Microsoft Announces Copilot Health   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for February 6, 2026: IntegrityCONNECT Question Educational Resources for Insurance Agents Government Funding Bill Update Luffu AI for Family Caregivers ACA Enrollment Comparison   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for January 30, 2026 Meta Announces Premium Subscriptions TikTok USDS Troubles & New Competitors FY 2026 Appropriations Bills 2025 Tax Season & H.R. 7006 CMS 2027 MA and Part D Advance Notice   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for January 16, 2026: Instagram “Your Algorithm” Personalization Apple Health+ on the Horizon? Apple Creator Studio ACA Subsidy Extension Passes House 2026 ACA Enrollment Snapshot #2   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for January 9, 2026: Rural Health Transformation Program Allocations Guarding U.S. Medicare Against Rising Drug Costs (GUARD) Model Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) Model Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive hEalth (BALANCE) Model Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Health Care Prices      Get Connected:

As healthcare heads into 2026, the signals are getting harder to ignore. Financial pressure is mounting. Consumer expectations are accelerating. And digital strategies that once felt optional are now core infrastructure. In this episode, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith kick off the new year with a trend-focused conversation unpacking what is actually changing across healthcare, digital strategy, and consumer behavior and what that means for health systems of all shapes and sizes. The discussion spans three critical areas. First, how hospitals, health systems, and academic medical centers are navigating margin pressure, workforce challenges, and increasing scrutiny while being asked to do more with less. Second, how digital and marketing strategies are evolving from campaign-driven efforts into intelligence and experience infrastructure powered by data, AI, and governance. And third, how patient expectations are shifting as consumers bring behaviors learned from retail, banking, and technology into healthcare. Rather than predictions for prediction's sake, this episode focuses on real signals already shaping 2026 and the strategic implications leaders need to understand now. From hybrid care and digital access to AI-enabled personalization and experience design, this conversation is about where healthcare is heading and how prepared organizations truly are. Whether you work in marketing, digital experience, strategy, or executive leadership, this episode offers a grounded look at what is changing, what is breaking, and where health systems need to adapt next. Mentions From the Show:  Chartis: From reactive to proactive: Health systems look to AI and digital to flip the healthcare delivery paradigm within 5 years Fierce Healthcare: 2026 Outlook: Hybrid care companies poised for growth driven by economic, policy tailwinds Gartner: AI's Influence Runs Deeper Than You Think — 2026 Gartner Strategic Predictions Explain Why Paul Keckley website HealthGrades: Special Report: Seven Hospital Marketing Trends You Should Know in 2026 KLAS: AI being used more often at point of care, KLAS research shows Salesforce: The Ninth Edition State of Marketing Report Telus Digital: Six healthcare trends reshaping digital care in 2025 with expert insights on AI, ops, mobile and more The Economist: The truth about affordability Reed Smith on LinkedIn Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Chris Boyer on BlueSky Reed Smith on BlueSky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As 2025 closes, biopharma and healthcare are learning to live on shifting ground. In this special year-end episode of "The Top Line," Fierce reporters take stock of a year defined by federal research cuts, vaccine policy fights and leadership churn at the FDA, then push the conversation forward into the questions that will shape 2026. The through line is that uncertainty has become an operating environment, and the industry is recalibrating in real time. Fierce Biotech’s Gabrielle Masson, joined by Darren Incorvia, traces how funding decisions can narrow the pipeline years before the consequences are visible. Fierce Pharma’s Fraiser Kansteiner sits down with Angus Liu and Eric Sagonowsky to unpack the new center of gravity inside federal agencies, where vaccine recommendations, review norms and new FDA pilots are colliding with questions about capacity and outside influence. From there, Ben Adams and James Waldron bring the lens to Europe, where Jefferies in London captured a cautiously optimistic market still wrestling with tariffs, pricing pressure and investment hesitation. The episode closes with Fierce Healthcare’s Heather Landi and Paige Minemyer sharing their outlook on 2026, from the fight over ACA subsidies and Medicaid headwinds to the next phase of AI adoption, where the promise is real but the payoff may be slower, messier and more uneven than the hype suggests. To learn more about the topics in this episode: 'Unprecedented turmoil' engulfing FDA threatens public health: mRNA coalition speaks out FDA names Tracy Beth Høeg, fresh from vaccine safety probe, as acting head of drug center A dozen former FDA commissioners blast Prasad's proposed vaccine policy changes In letter to Makary, biotech CEOs push for FDA stability and say volatility threatens US innovation NIH grant cuts have disrupted hundreds of clinical trials, study finds 'Alternative history' of the NIH shows how a 40% budget cut may thwart new medicines House passes healthcare affordability bill without subsidy extension AMA: A look at concentration in commercial insurance, MA markets 2025 Outlook: Hospital finances show signs of stability, but rising costs will be a major headwind See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CMS recently published their 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D Proposed Rule. In this week's Friday Five episode, we talk initial takeaways and the impact on agents and beneficiaries.   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for November 21, 2025: Update on Telehealth Prescription Flexibilities Google Calendar Tasks Feature Medigap F, G & J Deductibles for 2026 Medigap K & L Out-of-Pocket Limits for 2026 Medicare Part A & B Premiums & Deductibles + MA, MAPD & Medicare Part D Premium Projections   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for November 14, 2025: iPhone Pocket Brings Back… Pockets. CMS Rural Health Transformation Program Government Shutdown Update Most-Favored Nation Drug Pricing CMS GENEROUS Model   Get Connected:

Feeling frustrated this enrollment season? This episode is for you! We've got some ideas to help you take a break, take care, and make it through AEP and OEP.   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for October 10, 2025: Medicare Telehealth in Limbo Potential Delay for 2026 COLA? Public Support for Extending ACA Subsidies FFM Certification Now Available 5 Days Until AEP 2026   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for September 26, 2025: AEP Countdown & Ritter Resources New D-SNP Client Resources Hacking Your Social Media Algorithm iOS 26 Updates to Apple CarPlay The Fight for ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for September 12, 2025: Ritter Summit Takeaways Part 2 Are Brokers Still in the Crosshairs? Policy and Market Updates for 2026 2026 Medicare & You Handbook Release Date for iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and WatchOS 26 CMS & HHS Expand ACA Catastrophic Coverage Enrollment   Ritter Summit Takeaways Part 2: Register for Ritter Insurance Marketing Summits   Are Brokers Still in the Crosshairs? Policy and Market Updates for 2026: Watch the Webinar   2026 Medicare & You Handbook: Download Your Copy   Release Date for iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and WatchOS 26: Peters, Jay. “iOS 26 Is out on September 15th.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 9 Sept. 2025, www.theverge.com/news/770784/apple-ios-26-release-date-liquid-glass. McAuliffe, Zachary. “I Was Right Yet Again: iOS 26 Is Coming Monday, Sept. 15.” Cnet.Com, CNET, 9 Sept. 2025, www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/i-was-right-yet-again-ios-26-is-coming-monday-sept-15/. Perry, Alex. “Apple iOS 26 Release Date: When You Can Download It.” Mashable.Com, Mashable, 9 Sept. 2025, mashable.com/article/apple-ios-26-release-date-how-to-download. Diaz, Maria. “iOS 26 Update Is Coming Soon - How to Download It (and Which iPhones Support It).” Zdnet.Com, ZDNET, 10 Sept. 2025, www.zdnet.com/article/ios-26-update-is-coming-soon-how-to-download-it-and-which-iphones-support-it/. Teague, Katie. “iOS 26: What to Know about the Free iPhone Software Update Arriving September 15.” Engadget.Com, Engadget, 11 Sept. 2025, www.engadget.com/mobile/ios-26-what-to-know-about-the-free-iphone-software-update-arriving-september-15-135749658.html.   CMS & HHS Expand ACA Catastrophic Coverage Enrollment: August 22, 2025 Friday Five: Judge Vacates HHS MA Commissions Lawsuit “By the Numbers: House Bill Takes Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raises Families' Health Care Costs.” Cbpp.Org, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, www.cbpp.org/research/health/by-the-numbers-house-bill-takes-health-coverage-away-from-millions-of-people-and. Accessed 11 Sept. 2025. “CMS Broadens Access to Catastrophic Exchange Plans.” Modernhealthcare.Com, Modern Healthcare, 4 Sept. 2025, www.modernhealthcare.com/politics-regulation/mh-catastrophic-health-plans-open-enrollment-2026/. “Entities Approved to Use Enhanced Direct Enrollment.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 9 Aug. 2024, www.cms.gov/files/document/ede-approved-partner.pdf. Reed, Tina. “Exclusive: HHS to Expand Eligibility for Catastrophic Plans.” Axios.Com, Axios, 4 Sept. 2025, www.axios.com/2025/09/04/trump-hhs-expand-catastrophic-plan-eligibility. “Expanding Access to Health Insurance: Consumers to Gain Access to ‘Catastrophic' Health Insurance Plans in 2026 Plan Year.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 4 Sept. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/expanding-access-health-insurance-consumers-gain-access-catastrophic-health-insurance-plans-2026. “Guidance on Hardship Exemptions for Individuals Ineligible for Advance Payment of the Premium Tax Credit or Cost-Sharing Reductions Due to Income, and Streamlining Exemption Pathways to Coverage.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 4 Sept. 2025, www.cms.gov/files/document/guidance-hardship-exemptions.pdf. “HHS Expands Access to Affordable Health Insurance.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 4 Sept. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hhs-expands-access-affordable-health-insurance. “HHS Expands Access to Affordable Health Insurance.” HHS.Gov, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 4 Sept. 2025, www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-expands-access-affordable-catastrophic-health-coverage.html. Ortaliza, Jared, Matt McGough, Kaitlyn Vu, et al. “How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going up in 2026.” Healthsystemtracker.Org, KFF, 6 Aug. 2025, www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/how-much-and-why-aca-marketplace-premiums-are-going-up-in-2026/. Minemyer, Paige. “Trump Administration Expands Access to ACA Catastrophic Plans.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 4 Sept. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/trump-administration-expands-access-aca-catastrophic-plans.   Resources: 2026 ACA & Medicare Cost Projections 3 Benefits of Selling ACA Insurance Plans 5 Medicare Myths Your Clients May Believe 2026 ACA Exchange & FFM Certification Info Judge Grants Stay on Many 2025 ACA Final Rule Provisions The ICHRA Opportunity for Agents ft. Lisa Marzolino & Danica Stover The Survivor's AEP Checklist   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for August 29, 2025: Ritter Summits Takeaways & Shoutouts What I'm Watching Right Now Apple “Awe Dropping” Event Announced Spotify Slips Into the DMs Judge Grants Stay on Many 2025 ACA Final Rule Provisions   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for August 22, 2025: Field Notes on OBBBA, Spotify, and TikTok D. Power Medicare Advantage Member Satisfaction Survey Sonder Health Plans Inc. Termination Short-Term Medical Plan Regulation Update Judge Vacates HHS MA Commissions Lawsuit   Get Connected:

The Friday Five for July 18, 2025: Update on Regulation Banning Medical Debt from Credit Reporting Google Announces NotebookLM Featured Notebooks This week in Apple Rumors Threads Usage Up, Meta Testing Facebook Login 2026 Midwest D-SNP Market Opportunity   Get Connected:

In this week's Friday Five, Sarah gives her first impressions on what agents need to know about the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill. Learn more about what's changed for Medicare, Medicaid, ACA, and more!   Get Connected:

Join Sarah for a rundown of this week's updates for insurance agents, featuring her deep dive into the CMS 2025 ACA Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Final Rule.   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.   Connect With Us On Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Resources: 5 Things About the Insurance License Exam, 1 Year Later: https://lnk.to/asgf20250620 Are You Self-Sabotaging Your Insurance Sales Success? https://ritterim.com/blog/are-you-self-sabotaging-your-insurance-sales-success/ Four Reasons Why Ritter Should Be Your FMO Insurance Agency: https://ritterim.com/blog/four-reasons-why-ritter-should-be-your-fmo-insurance-agency/ How to Build Intentional Value ft. Neil Reich: https://lnk.to/reich2025 Leveling Up: From Chill Mode to Growth Mode ft. Christian Brindle: https://lnk.to/brindle2025 Seven Figures or Bust Episode 79 - What Is CMS Doing? w/ Special Guest Sarah Rueppel! https://lnk.to/qzTwIw Summer 2025 Survival Guide: https://lnk.to/asgf20250606   References: “2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Final Rule.” CMS.Gov, CMS, 20 June 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2025-marketplace-integrity-and-affordability-final-rule. “2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 10 Mar. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2025-marketplace-integrity-and-affordability-proposed-rule. “CMS Finalizes Major Rule to Lower Individual Health Insurance Premiums for Americans.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 20 June 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-finalizes-major-rule-lower-individual-health-insurance-premiums-americans. Minemyer, Paige. “CMS Finalizes Rule Aimed at ‘improper' Sign-Ups on the ACA Exchanges.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 20 June 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/cms-finalizes-rule-aimed-improper-sign-ups-aca-exchanges. Minemyer, Paige. “Democrats Introduce Bill to Establish a Medicare ‘part E' Public Option.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 16 June 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/democrats-introduce-bill-establish-medicare-part-e-public-option. Mercado, Darla. “Fed Decision Recap: Central Bank Signals Stagflation Fears, Powell Says Fed ‘Well Positioned to Wait' on Rates.” CNBC.Com, CNBC, 18 June 2025, www.cnbc.com/2025/06/18/fed-meeting-live-updates-feds-interest-rate-projections-loom.html. “HHS Secretary Kennedy, CMS Administrator Oz Secure Industry Pledge to Fix Broken Prior Authorization System.” HHS.Gov, Department of Health & Human Services, 23 June 2025, www.hhs.gov/press-room/kennedy-oz-cms-secure-healthcare-industry-pledge-to-fix-prior-authorization-system.html. Minemyer, Paige. “Mehmet Oz: Insurers' Prior Auth Pledge ‘an Opportunity for the Industry to Show Itself.'” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 23 June 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/oz-insurers-prior-auth-pledge-opportunity-industry-show-itself. “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability.” Federalregister.Gov, Federal Register, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/25/2025-11606/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-marketplace-integrity-and-affordability. Accessed 25 June 2025. Schneider, Howard. “Powell Repeats Rate Cuts Can Wait as Fed Studies Tariff Impacts.” Reuters.Com, Reuters, 24 June 2025, www.reuters.com/business/powell-repeats-rate-cuts-can-wait-fed-studies-tariff-impacts-2025-06-24/. Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz Say Health Insurers Will Cut Red Tape on ‘Prior Authorizations.'” NPR.Org, NPR, 24 June 2025, www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/24/nx-s1-5442713/rfk-jr-dr-oz-health-insurance-prior-authorization.   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.

Maria Artunduaga is the founder & CEO of Samay, the winner of the 2024 MedTech Innovator accelerator, as well as a groundbreaking physician, scientist, and inventor. Maria discusses her inspiring journey from a small town in Columbia to leading a top MedTech company in the US. After pivoting away from plastic surgery training, she channeled her efforts into creating Sylvee, an AI wearable sensor for COPD patients. Maria shares her relentless determination, innovative problem-solving strategies, and the creation of a company culture that emphasizes learning and diversity.    Guest links: https://www.samayhealth.com/home | https://www.linkedin.com/in/drartunduaga/  Charity supported: ASPCA Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at theleadingdifference@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host: Lindsey Dinneen Editing: Marketing Wise Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 057 - Maria Artunduaga [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am delighted to welcome as my guest today, Maria Artunduaga. Maria is a physician, scientist, and inventor with 60 plus prizes, including becoming the first woman to lead a US LATAM company to win MedTech Innovator, the world's most competitive accelerator for medical technology surpassing over 1300 global companies. A top 1% student in Columbia, her country of birth, she relocated to the US to pursue plastic surgery training, but abandoned it to dedicate herself to solve the problem that killed her grandmother-- a lack of home technologies that can detect COPD exasperations early. Maria has raised 5.2 million, almost 60% in non-dilutive capital from NSF and NIH to build Sylvee, an AI wearable sensor that can provide COPD patients with continuous data on pulmonary functions similar to what continuous glucose monitoring sensors do for diabetic patients. Her invention has been featured by a hundred plus media outlets, including Forbes, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Fierce Healthcare, and more. Before Samay, Maria completed postdoctoral studies in human genetics at Harvard Medical School, started a plastic surgery residency at the University of Chicago, and completed two master's degrees, one in global public health at the University of Washington, and another in translational medicine at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco. She lives in Mountain View, California with her husband, 2-year-old daughter, and four pets. In her free time, she enjoys flamenco dancing, bolero singing, traveling the world, and fostering diversity in and outside the workplace by mentoring underrepresented scientists and entrepreneurs. All right. Well, thank you so much for being here, Maria. I'm so excited to finally get a chance to speak with you. I'd love if you would share a little bit about your background and your career trajectory. What led you to MedTech? [00:02:40] Maria Artunduaga: Sure. So it's gonna be a little long and I'm gonna tell you everything about my life because the personal history is very important to me and for my company too. So, as you have noticed, I have an accent. So, I grew up in Columbia in a very small town in the southern part of the country. My parents were both doctors and I'm the oldest of four kids and two of us followed their lead. So my life in my city was pretty chill. Everyone knew everyone. I spent most of my days at a Catholic school studying very hard on weekends where I usually spent tagging along my parents to doctor events. One of the things that I really like to tell, it's how my parents work as entrepreneurs really shaped my life. They were real pioneers. They built in my hometown the first big clinic back in the eighties and the nineties. And my mom was the only woman in that group, and she actually was the CEO for a while, which was a big deal. She was the only woman in a partnership of 10 people. And watching them build that clinic, that hospital really taught me a lot about dealing with uncertainty and finding solutions. Every day we'll have supper or lunch and I'll just hear all of these challenges and stories, their struggles and how they solve things. Something that was, that is definitely super helpful in what I do now, right? So, and then I was 16 and after high school I moved to Bogota, the capital, which is up in the mountains, it's very cold. I got a scholarship 'cause I was always a very good student. You know, career I spent my last year, I spent nine months in the US. Honestly, coming to the US blew my mind. The technology that I got to see, the speed, effects on science, it was nothing like I've ever seen before, and that was true inspiration for me. So I knew that I had to come to the US. I needed to come back to learn from the best, of course. And it's interesting because my parents didn't want me to relocate to the US. I was the oldest. I was supposed to follow into their footsteps and obviously, like inherited that clinic, right? That hospital, we call it clinic, it's actually a hospital. And I was a very contrarian. I didn't listen to them. I told them, you know, I really wanna be where the best people are. And what I did was that I, it took me three years to save the money to come to the US, to get Harvard to actually sponsor me my visa because they wouldn't pay me for the first year. So I remember I had to save $30,000, which in pesos is significant. So back in 2007, so many years ago, I made it to Boston, and the original idea was that I wanted to become a pediatric plastic surgeon and bring that level of care back to Columbia. I spent four years of researching a genetic ear condition that's called microtia. And with that work, I was able to land a plastic surgery residency spot or position at the University of Chicago. And I shared this with a lot of people. I actually had a really negative experience. Things didn't go as planned. I actually faced discrimination. I eventually, you know, had to leave and I made the top choice to never ever go back into clinical practice. And I changed paths. I was 32 years old and yeah I decided to switch gears. I retrained into public health and tech. And then in 2016, I moved to the Bay Area where I am right now. And I got another scholarship to finish master's in translational medicine at UC Berkeley and UCSF. And during the courses that I took, some of them with business class etc., etc., I decided to found Samay in 2018. I really wanted to build something that would really make a difference in respiratory medicine. And this is where my grandmother comes. So my, the grandmother, my abuela, her name was Sylvia and she had Chronic Obstruct Pulmonary Disease or COPD and she's the reason behind my company. So, she often couldn't tell when her symptoms were getting worse. That's a huge problem. Catching the respiratory attacks, exacerbations is definitely key to keeping people outside of the hospitals, and obviously feeling their best to have a better quality of life. So, that's what we are trying to solve with a company, right? If we are able to catch those exacerbations even with a day or two notice in advance, right, that we can all make a difference. And so by missing these exacerbations, we are having really high expenses in hospitalizations and ER visits and the problem we trying to solve is that today technologies that are adequate enough to be used outside of the hospital because the ones that are considered to be the gold standard, they are very expensive. They are confined to their hospitals and they are very difficult to complete for the patient, especially when they're exacerbating. They need to blow out forcefully for about 10 seconds, 21 times. So what we are doing is, we are developing a sensor that makes it super simple for people to use it at home to track their lung function without doing those forceful maneuvers and ideally in the future to warm them, right? Like to let them know when things are starting to go south or obviously, you know, not going very well, and that's what it's all about. I mean, that's what we do with Sylvee right here. And it's wearable sensor and we have done significantly well over the past couple of years. We actually just won MedTech Innovator. [00:08:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Significantly well over the last few years. Yes. So congratulations on that, and I want to dive into all of those exciting milestones in just a second. But I am, first of all, so inspired by your story. Thank you for just sharing that your resilience and your grit and your determination are really admirable. So thank you for sticking with something that was not easy, not an easy path. [00:08:29] Maria Artunduaga: I know. I know. [00:08:31] Lindsey Dinneen: It continues not to be, ironically, as we've kind of touched on before, but just going backward a little bit in your story. So I, it sounds to me like getting the opportunity to watch your parents have this incredible impact on their community and the healthcare and the opportunity is just so valuable for you. And even just learning about how your mom was the CEO and those kinds of things, did that help shape the idea for you that not only is entrepreneurship possible, is innovation and healthcare possible, but you can also be this in incredible leader as a woman in whatever capacity? I would just love to dive into that. [00:09:13] Maria Artunduaga: Yeah, it's super interesting, right? My mom really taught me a lot about leadership. She's a surgeon, so you can imagine how good of a leader she is in the operating room at home, everywhere, right? I mean, she's definitely the general, that's how I call her. And I honestly, I try to replicate, so my leadership and styles pretty much shaped by her. So I always call her my best role model whenever somebody asks me about the question, right? So I'm just like her. I lead from the front. I like setting the pace by working the hardest. So I really like to lead by example and I also, just like she did, and obviously because of her surgical training, I hold myself to a really high standard, and I expect everyone on my team to do the same. So people in my company know that I'm very strict, I'm very disciplined, and they know that from the beginning. It's so funny because when I interview all of them, at the final interviews with me, and I actually do the anti sale to join Samay. It's like, this is, these are all the reasons why you shouldn't join. I start describing myself as a very intense, obsessed CEO with insomnia, which I still have, because I really wanna make this work, right? So, yeah, I, ask them, and most of them say yes. I really like, I attract people that like challenges, especially intellectual challenges. So, yeah, to this point, most of them say yes. Some of them have obviously, you know, because probably too much. But at the same time, I tell them, "Look, this is going to be very hard in terms of the deliverables, the things that we're expecting from you." But at the same time, my goal is to not only help people with respiratory problems, I try to sell the company as a company where everyone that gets hired can be themselves and thrive. So, so for example, I tell them," Look, I'm trying to be the boss that I never had." And this goes obviously very tied to the very negative experience that I had during my surgical residency and even before, right? So, I never had a boss that really supported me, who recognize my true self and those characteristics as good things, right? So they always try to tone me down. I'm very energetic, as you can notice, and I'm also super ambitious. I'm really ambitious. I wanna do all of these great things. And they always thought that I was aiming for too much, especially for a woman. It's like, " You need to lean in, Maria. You need to behave." So I remember my residency, they were criticizing like, "Why are you behaving like this, Maria? Why are you asking so many questions? You're asking too many questions. You look more as an internal medicine doctor. Why are you always smiling, Maria? Why are you so happy?" So now, with everyone that I hire, what I try to do is that I focus on understanding their dreams and I try to figure out how this job is gonna help them get there. So if they wanna become a top engineer, maybe they wanna learn managerial skills, or they wanna run operations, or they eventually wanna become a founder themselves. So I try to create a partnership with them where they obviously help me succeed with the company, build Samay, but at the same time they get to do this personal growth. So it's extremely important that they get to place where they wanna be. [00:12:32] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that's wonderful. And such a gift to your employees. And I also honestly, that sort of anti interview or whatever technique is brilliant because you do want it to be a fit for everyone, and it's so much better to have aligned expectations from the start. So, oh my goodness, that's so interesting. So, okay, so then. Speaking into that, how do you develop a company culture for yourself? You've learned from some pretty negative experiences, so obviously that's what not to do, but you know, as you're crafting your own company culture now, what kinds of things are sort of your core values, other than of course, your hard work and your excellence and holding yourself and others to high standards, but what kinds of things do have you developed that make it special to be where you are? [00:13:19] Maria Artunduaga: Yeah, I mean, that's a really good question. I'm very true to myself, and one of the things that I wanna do with Samay, it's I wanna create legacy. If you go to my WhatsApp, that's exactly the little logo or the slogan that's below my name: I'm creating or building my life's legacy. That's how I pitch myself. So I really wanna be remembered as someone that made healthcare more accessible, especially for the people that get left behind. So growing up in Columbia, I saw firsthand how unfair things will be and I wanted to change that. So that's how the values of Samay go, people first. I think legacy, it's extremely important, right? It's about getting those life changing tools and opportunities into the hands of people who really need them. And again, it's not necessarily, the group that we're building. It's the own experience of building a company with me, learning from the company, from the people that are working with. I really wanna make it accessible for people. And I wanna also be obviously a source of inspiration. You don't necessarily need to be this perfect person to be a CEO. You know, life is a struggle and that's totally fine. Just be very passionate about building legacy, right, your work and how you're impacting other people. And especially for me, I do a lot of work with women and minorities. I really wanna empower them to chase their dreams in science and technology. I really care about people. I don't know, I'm selfless about me. It's all about the others and creating legacy and being remembered. So, yeah, that's how I, that's how I roll. [00:14:59] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. I love that. So speaking of you embracing the CEO role, when you first started your company, did you feel ready to step into this kind of position? Or was it something where you just were like, "You know what? I see the need. I know I can make a difference in this field. I'm gonna do it and I'll learn along the way." [00:15:19] Maria Artunduaga: No, not at all. And let, so there's a very good anecdote that I'm sharing. Again, back to all of these life changing experiences. I got into medtech because of, I don't know, somehow the planets got aligned, right? So I was doing a master's in public health because I thought that was going to be my real call, working for Gates in Seattle, because that's where I actually lived for about two years. Then I came to realize that it was very bureaucratic. It's very, was very slow. I have a type A personality. I really like to fix things very quick. I like to implement stuff. So I decided to do a second master's degree, and as I mentioned, here in Berkeley, I decided to join one of Atma METs minority programs for students, right? It's called SMDP. And I remember that was back in 2016, and they sent me to Minneapolis for the big conference. And that's where I got my first real taste of MedTech. And I remember watching the MedTech Innovator finals with Paul Grand. He was introducing the program, the finalist. I remember clearly seeing all of his pitches and how Green Sun Medical CEO won, and it was a game changer to me because when I saw them pitch, it was very exciting. You know, all these technologies, the many millions of people they could definitely impact, I saw that, and it clicked. I could turn the scientific ideas into something that helps millions in a way, the way how I would practice medicine, but in a more impactful way. So interesting story though. So the other thing that was very inspiring or at least that motivated me, I was the only person in the room who looked like me and spoke with an accent from South America, from Latin America. So it was like two reasons behind it. For me, it was I wanna be a medtech entrepreneur, but at the same time I wanna be able to break the glass ceiling, right? The first Latina physician CEO building a company that has hardware, software, and AI, this is what we actually do. And yeah, so it, it's mainly that. I really like challenges and I'm very motivated to show people that I can do things that might seem impossible or too difficult. So I really like showing people that anything is possible with a lot of hard work and determination. So yeah, that's mainly it. [00:17:47] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Embracing those challenges, running full steam at them and having that, I don't know, that gumption is fantastic too. And the desire, like... [00:17:57] Maria Artunduaga: Thank you. [00:17:57] Lindsey Dinneen: ...you said, to break through those ceilings and to represent and say, "No, it is possible." It is, and I love that. So, excellent. Okay, so can you share a little bit about the journey that the company has gone under recently and some of the really exciting milestones? I know there have been bumps and whatnot, but maybe some of the exciting things that have been developing and what you're looking forward to as you continue down the road. [00:18:24] Maria Artunduaga: Sure. I mean, whew. There are so many things that have been happening for the last couple of months. So it's been a long journey. It's been six years so far. Initially, you know, I wanted to build a company with an idea that was inspired, obviously, by the fact that I lost my grandmother to exacerbation and also because, at the time, I didn't know what I wanted to build. When I was doing an interview with a pulmonologist, what I realized was that I could actually build a technology that could be inspired by consumer devices, so hearing aids for example. And funny story is that my husband who is also Columbian, and went to MIT, he's been working at Google for over a decade and he's an auto engineer. He does a lot of things. He's very smart and he's one of the main architects. What I decided to do back then was, let's repurpose hearing aid technology by sending signals through the chest, and let's use the physical principle of acoustic resonance to understand what's going on inside of the lungs. And that's exactly what we are doing. We have 10 granted patents so far. We have 20 more pending on pulmonary so far. So we've done a lot of things. So we've tested that device on 450 people almost. All of our numbers of accuracy are over 90. Sensitivities and specificities are also between 82 to 98. Right now we are starting to see changes a few days before an exacerbation is actually diagnosed by a physician, which is extremely exciting. We have data from two people. Obviously it's a small sample size. We are following eight of them, and we're aiming to finish at 60 to hundred people in the next year or so. So that's our main goal. We've raised 5.2 million, 60% of that money is coming from grants, federal grants, and we just submitted a breakthrough designation to the FDA about a week ago, so fingers crossed, though, we get it right? There are a lot of things in the pipeline, things that are very exciting. Right now I'm super excited 'cause those six years were very hard. I was running a science project with my nails, getting money from grants, help from people who have known me forever. It was very hard for me to recruit a full-time CTO. So my husband has been helping me with some hours here and there. And we have right now 12 people in Columbia. So for developers, designers, clinical researchers, we are running most of our operations in Latin America because it's extremely, well, obviously cost efficient, and more importantly, we have access to people that are patients especially that are, that exacerbate more often. So we are to leverage all the different angles that we can get. [00:21:04] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Wow. So lots of exciting things in the works and in the future, and oh my goodness, I'm so excited, can't wait to continue to celebrate all those wonderful accomplishments. So I'm curious, as you've taken this journey and even before with your other health experiences and finding this path, are there any moments all along the journey that really stand out to you as affirming, "Yes, I am in the right place at the right time, in the right industry." [00:21:31] Maria Artunduaga: Yeah, beyond the MedTech Innovator, the experience eight years ago, I mean, every day I find that this is the perfect fit for me. I always tell people, "Look, entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It really needs to be a fit of personality." So when I talked to my parents, because at the beginning they weren't very agreeable with the idea of me becoming an entrepreneur 'cause physicians don't do this, right? I was sort of like a black sheep of a family, 'cause my sister, she's successful and she's a pediatric radiologist as she's working for an academic center in, in Dallas. So, my personality, I'm Type A. I'm very anxious. I really like doing things super fast. I really like to get things done, right? So, I dunno if I picked the wrong career, probably could have done a better job as an engineer, as a scientist myself. So at heart, I'm a true scientist. That's what I really enjoy. I like practicing medicine, sort of miss it a little bit, but I'm more in the quest of solving questions and discovering, right? That's what really excites me. And then, every day is a new day when you're building a company. And the challenges that I have every day, all of the problems I have to solve, I really enjoy the process of solving them. And this is a little crazy. Who gets excited with problems, right? So, I don't know, that's probably me. So I guess every day, the moment I go home or that I go to sleep, I say, "This is perfect. I don't think I'll be as happy as I am right now if I had stayed medicine. I don't think so." [00:23:10] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow. And that says a lot. And that just affirms to you on a daily basis, "Yeah. I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing. That's wonderful. [00:23:17] Maria Artunduaga: Exactly. Right. It's like, yeah, I'm good at this thing. You know? I like solving problems. I got, I really enjoy the fires. I really like them. I's like, I don't know. I'm, yeah. I'm addicted to them. [00:23:30] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Well, and that is unusual, and I'm curious, do you? But it's a great thing. No, it's a wonderful thing. Yeah, no, absolutely. I love that. So, so when you're at finding yourself up against a problem, do you start with any particular kind of established framework? Do you like to just brainstorm solutions? How do you approach problem solving? [00:23:53] Maria Artunduaga: Gosh, this is a really good question. It's like, you know, if I had to teach something, right? So I'm very good at solving problems, at connecting different disciplines, right, to solve those issues. So for example, the way how I go about them, first of all, I don't get frustrated or too anxious about it. I always try to think first, right? And then, yeah, I start brainstorming. I'm very quick at thinking, my mind goes super quick. I have a whiteboard right behind me. I do a lot brainstorming on my own. I ask a lot of questions too. So I rely on a lot of people, and I get a lot of feedback on the way, how I think a problem needs to be solved. And obviously with time and experience, the older that you get, the better you become, right? So yeah, honestly, every problem is different. I just like seeing it from different angles, right? I'm very good with social stuff. I'm very good with arts too. I really like doing science, learning a about engineering. I really like different ways of solving problems. For example, I remember that I we had this NIH grant and we were working collaboration with a big, famous academic center right here. And things weren't working very well. That was through during a pandemic and I was getting charged things that we actually didn't approve. So things were getting a little awkward. I decided to finalize that agreement. But then I got through this situation that I had no access to patients here in the States, and at the time, I didn't have my clinical site in Columbia opened up. So what I did was the craziest thing, which is what I did, was that I bought an $80,000 machine and I came into an agreement with a friend from medical school who has a pulmonary practice in South Florida, one of the largest pulmonary practices. He's a partner with nine other guys, and they see probably a hundred patients every day. Can you imagine that? So respiratory patients, and I told him, "Look, I don't have any money to pay your rent, but I'm gonna give you equity for that rent, and you're gonna use this machine from Monday through Thursday, and I'm going to test your patients from Friday to Saturday. And I'm going to bring people, I'm going to become my own CRO, right? So I'm gonna bring people, doctors, from Columbia on a J1 visa as a research scholar visa. I'm gonna train them and I'm gonna get them to do the recruitment, review everything, test the patients. We are going to become our own CROs, and we are going to do as many people as we can every single week." So we were able to do 430 people in a span of a probably a year and a half. Something that usually would cost us thousands of dollars. I dunno how much money I spend, probably just 300,000 to do everything. Can you imagine? I mean, that's significantly cheap compared to any other quote that I've been getting from an academic center. So, I sometimes go for the crazy idea, right? Like, what's the craziest thing that I could think of? I literally, I write it down, right? And then I just try to double check with my lawyer. "Am I doing something illegal here?" And I, yeah, I cross reference with other founders. " I'm thinking of doing this, how that's that sound?" And they're like, "This is pretty non-traditional, Maria, but I mean, if you can get it done..." I'm like, "Yeah, of course I can get it done." And I just get it done. I just don't take a no for an answer. I'm very good at also finding, convincing people to jump on board with the vision, the mission. This excitement, this energy, people really get very engaged with Samay and with me as a founder, and they love it. Most of these people either have invested in the company, they are helping me many more hours, pro bono, literally free, and we are building together. [00:27:43] Lindsey Dinneen: Wow, that is so cool. And what a fantastic story. Thank you for sharing that one as well. Oh my word. [00:27:50] Maria Artunduaga: I have way too many stories to share. This is the one I really like to, to tell people. [00:27:55] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that, and I love the willingness to come up with those crazy ideas. And it might be just so crazy that it works. So, hey, you never know until you try, and that's fantastic. Oh my gosh, I love that approach. Alright, so pivoting the conversation a little bit just for fun. Imagine you are to be offered a million dollars to teach a masterclass... I know! ...to teach a masterclass on anything you want. What would you choose to teach? [00:28:22] Maria Artunduaga: Yeah. So, good question. So, gosh, I, I tackle problem. So my, my brain again is very good at figuring stuff out. That plus the fact that I'm very stubborn. So if I'm into something, I don't give up easily. And now I'm gonna tell the story about our winning MedTech Innovator. We beat 65 companies globally, right? And I still like, sort of, I cannot process that we won. So the story goes like this, but a year ago, I tried to raise five millions, my very first institutional round, and I totally flopped. [00:28:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh. [00:28:56] Maria Artunduaga: I only got $200,000 because multiple funds that I was talking to, they wanted me to feel half of the round before weighing any money or signing anything. So you can imagine. So do I got, you know, chicken or the egg problem? I failed. And instead of crying or mopping, I thought, "Okay, wait. I got into Medtech Innovator. You know what? I'm just gonna win that competition, still $350,000." And why not? So obviously people, my advisors, my best friend, "Like, you're crazy. It's the most competitive thing ever. You're not established in the field. People know who you are, but it's not like you have exited a company or anything, right? You're not even an engineer, Maria." So what I did was, again I went back to my whiteboard. Again, I probably should have become an engineer before, I dunno. I'm really good at solving problems. So I was like, "You know, this is a problem. These are the different ways how I can tackle this." And more importantly, I'm very good at the studying stuff. I really like, again, knowing, wisdom, information. I just love that. I really love that. So what I did was, I treat it like a big project, and I talked to the past winners, anyone who had done or won any sort of like prize with MedTech Innovator, and I figure out their secret sauce. So I either talk to them, I studied every single video, every single pitch. I spend many hours studying everyone who had one or had done significantly well throughout the accelerator. So what I discovered was the accelerator was kind of a school, like a school. So the harder you work, the better you do. And one of the things that I realized was that mentors and reviewers were key players. So I focused on building those connections. I met with many of them. I probably spent about, I don't know, probably four to five hours meeting with mentors, anyone who I thought could help me somehow, obviously, for free, because a lot of the help that they give used for free. And I also spent a lot of time doing homework, the webinars, et cetera, et cetera. I ask a lot of people for advice. I really got people excited about Samay. I recruited my mentors and they got on board from day one. Because of that, I started building those relationships and it was authentic. I mean, don't get me wrong, this wasn't like, you know, I'm trying to play anybody. I really care about what they had to say, and I incorporate all that feedback into my company to this day. So the other thing is, I make sure to go to everywhere, every webinar, every event, everything. My camera was always on, because most people, when they do their webinars, they don't even turn on their cameras, right? So I was very engaged. I was asking questions, I was getting involved with everything. Same thing with the Slack channel that we have for MedTech Innovator. I was helping people, I was sharing stuff. I was even offering to make introductions. I really made sure that people knew who I was. And I obviously also asked the MedTech Innovator people, the staff, for help, feedback, right? Am I doing this right? What do you think I should do? Anything that you can share with me that you think. I was very clear with them. I wanna go to the, I wanna get to the finals. I told them, and I remember they telling me, "Oh, Maria, about getting to the finals, it's so hard. It depends on the strategics and the sponsors." And I was like, " I'm gonna get there. What do you think I should do?" So I literally ask a lot of people how I needed to get there. And with the finals, the way how they pick the finalist, it's actually the mentors who go in front of the strategics, and they sort of champion your company. And they really went to bat for us. They told them how committed I was, the many people that from my team were actually going for participating to the winner because I brought people from my team... [00:32:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. [00:32:46] Maria Artunduaga: You know, very few founders did that. I brought people from Colombia, obviously online, people who barely could understand English. But, I made them prepare questions. "You need to do this and that we need to be super engaged. We need to help other people." And they saw it was hard work. And at the end, we got into the finals and what I realized was, okay, so after the finals, I understood that the game was, obviously it changed. The way how the winner is chosen is that the audience votes, right, during The MedTech Conference. So what I did was, I went all in on social media. We made an awesome video for the best video competition. I remember that that was the first thing that I did back in June. I scheduled two weeks. I flew to Columbia. I hired right people. I made sure that I was perfect, so I was part of the creative team. I designed everything. Again, I really like arts, right? That's why, one of the reasons why I didn't, I was in pleasantry and that's why I really like dancing too, right? So I'm obsessive with everything that we do. I really am into the details and I supervise everything. And we also got into the finals for the best video competition. So I was going to this problem from every single angle. I didn't let anything up to chance. I, yeah, I'm a freak. I'm a control freak. That's what I did. I remember that even for the pitch, the four and a half minute pitch, I practiced, I don't know how many hours, but every single thing that I say that was obviously memorized, needed to be perfect. The way how I, let's go back to dancing since you're a dancer yourself, the way how I moved my hands, right? The way, how I walked on that stage, everything was rehearsed. So, yeah, I mean, I just I worked my ass off. I mean, everything was the way it needed to be and that's how we won. [00:34:39] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Wow. That's great. What a fantastic story. Yeah. Amazing. Yes. I love how it's so choreographed. Yeah, that's [00:34:48] Maria Artunduaga: great. It was choreographed, [00:34:50] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Excellent. Well, I know you have touched on the importance of legacy and how much that means to you, but how do you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:35:03] Maria Artunduaga: Oh gosh. Yeah. I mean, so I have a little daughter, I want to some somehow replicate the same experience that I had with my mom. Maybe she doesn't even realize how much of the inspiration and the impact that she had on me. And again, leading by example, I don't spend a lot of hours with my daughter, right? I have a nanny for 12 hours. So my salary goes to her payment, right? Yeah, I wanna be remembered as somebody who tried very hard, who literally, instead of saying things, I walked the talk. The things that I said I was going to say. For example, I'm very opinionated with anything diversity and inclusion because, as I've said, I've experienced discrimination myself. So I walk the talk, I build a product, I build the change. I worked really hard. I impacted a lot of people. And more importantly, the world has changed somehow because I existed. So that's that. It's as simple as that. I wanna help other people get to fulfillment of their lives and their dreams. And yeah, and I obviously wanna be happy while I do all of these things. And more importantly, I wanna feel that I learned a lot. I really like learning. The process of learning every single day, learning a new thing makes me super happy. So if I don't learn something new, I consider day as, you know, as like a flop or something. So yeah, it's very simple. I'm actually a very simple person, I'm not that complicated. [00:36:30] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Okay. And then final question. What is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:36:39] Maria Artunduaga: Oh, cute. I mean, obviously my daughter. So I'm a mom. I'm 44, well, almost 45, and I had her at 42. So just thinking about her makes me smile every single time. She's a miracle baby. She's, you know, after four years of IVF, eight retrievals, it finally happened. I finally had her, and having her in my life has turned my world upside down in the best way. She's determined, and she's only three. She's diving into doing all sorts of things. She's doing gymnastics, she's building Legos, she's doing engineering stuff. I really like that "I can do anything attitude" and obviously I'm sort of like reinforcing her to do anything she wants to try. So seeing her try all these new things, all this confidence that I, that she has. It's like, I don't know. I mean, that inspires me. That motivates me to be a better mom, a better CEO, and to do exactly the same thing with the people that I work with. So everyone in my company, I I tell them I'm a mom, right? So, remember that, and I try to do the same with them. It's like I tell them, what do you wanna do? What do you wanna learn this month? What do you need? Right? My work as a CEO is getting the resources and put out the fires. Just tell me, and this is your playground, so I'm trying to do exactly the same with my daughter too. But yeah, I'm very happy with her. [00:38:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Aw, that's wonderful. I'm so glad. Well, oh my goodness, this conversation has been amazing. I kind of wish it didn't have to end, but I also wanna respect your time 'cause obviously you have so much going on. But thank you so much for sharing about your story, your advice. You're so inspiring, and I know this is gonna inspire so many people to go for it, and not to have the fear, to have that problem solving mentality, and growth mindset and learning and, hey, look where curiosity got you. [00:38:37] Maria Artunduaga: Yeah, exactly. That's a perfect slogan. It's all about that curiosity and it gets you places. Look at me. [00:38:43] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And this is just the start. [00:38:47] Maria Artunduaga: Yes, of course. [00:38:48] Lindsey Dinneen: Indeed. So I just wanna say thank you again for your time today, and we just wish you the most continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:38:58] Maria Artunduaga: Thank you so much and thank you again for invitation. I really enjoyed it. [00:39:02] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Me too. And we are honored to be making a donation on your behalf as a thank you for your time today to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is dedicated to preventing animal cruelty in the United States. We really appreciate you choosing that organization to support and thank you just again, so very much for your time here today. Yeah, and holy cannoli, thank you so much to our listeners for tuning in, and if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I'd love it if you'd share this episode with a colleague or two, and we'll catch you next time. [00:39:44] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.

The Friday Five for May 16th, 2025: Dunkin' and Starbucks Summer 2025 Menus Viral Music Charts for Content Creation Potential Heart Benefit in Shingles Vaccine Possible Hints at ACA Subsidy Direction for 2026 AHIP 2026 Certification Dates   Dunkin' and Starbucks Summer 2025 Menus: “Dunkin' Summer Menu.” Dunkindonuts.Com, Dunkin', www.dunkindonuts.com/en/summer-menu. Accessed 13 May 2025. Fink, Bailey. “Starbucks Is Bringing Back Customers' ‘Favorite Drink Ever' This Summer.” Allrecipes.Com, Allrecipes, 17 Apr. 2025, www.allrecipes.com/starbucks-summer-menu-2025-11717043. Baker, Nicolette. “Starbucks' Summer Menu Just Dropped — Including a Brand-New Iced Beverage.” Foodandwine.Com, Food & Wine, 15 Apr. 2025, www.foodandwine.com/starbucks-summer-menu-2025-11715175.   Viral Music Charts for Content Creation: “100 Top Trending Songs on TikTok.” Tokchart.Com, Tokchart, tokchart.com/. Accessed 14 May 2025. Bowe, Tucker. “Apple Quietly Gave Your Iphone a Simple yet Fun New Feature.” Gearpatrol.Com, Gear Patrol, 12 May 2025, www.gearpatrol.com/tech/apple-music-shazam-viral-chart/.   “Shazam Viral Global Chart .” Shazam.Com, Shazam, www.shazam.com/charts/viral/world. Accessed 14 May 2025. “Spotify Viral 50 - Global.” Spotify.Com, Spotify, open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZEVXbLiRSasKsNU9?si=4zvmJR7bQnajf6_StIGfuw. Accessed 14 May 2025. “Viral Chart on Apple Music.” Music.Apple.Com, Apple Music, music.apple.com/us/playlist/viral-chart/pl.b127c05305ad413fb742e8585599ec84. Accessed 14 May 2025.   Potential Heart Health Benefit in Shingles Vaccine: McLendon, Russell. “Shingles Vaccine Can Reduce Risk of Stroke And Heart Attack, Study Finds.” Sciencealert.Com, ScienceAlert, 12 May 2025, www.sciencealert.com/shingles-vaccine-can-reduce-risk-of-stroke-and-heart-attack-study-finds. Rudy, Melissa. “Shingles Vaccine Has Unexpected Effect on Heart Health.” Foxnews.Com, FOX News Network, 9 May 2025, www.foxnews.com/health/shingles-vaccine-has-unexpected-effect-heart-health. “Shingles Vaccine Lowers the Risk of Heart Disease for up to Eight Years.” Escardio.Org, European Society of Cardiology, 6 May 2025, www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/shingles-vaccine-lowers-the-risk-of-heart-disease-for-up-to-eight-years. Griesser, Kameryn. “Shingles Vaccine Reduces Risk of Heart Disease by 23%, Study of One Million People Finds.” Cnn.Com, Cable News Network, 12 May 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/health/shingles-heart-disease-vaccine-shots-wellness.   Possible Hints at ACA Subsidy Direction for 2026: Tong, Noah. “CMS Hints at Possible Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments for Insurers, Impacting ACA Enrollment.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 7 May 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/cms-hints-possible-cost-sharing-reduction-payments-insurers-impacting-aca-enrollment. “Explaining Health Care Reform: Questions About Health Insurance Subsidies.” Kff.Org, KFF, 25 Oct. 2024, www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/explaining-health-care-reform-questions-about-health-insurance-subsidies/. “Offering of Off-Exchange-Only Plans without ‘CSR Loading.'” Cms.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2 May 2025, www.cms.gov/files/document/offering-exchange-only-plans-without-csr-loading.pdf. “Plan Year 2026 Individual Market Rate Filing Instructions.” Cms.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2 May 2025, www.cms.gov/files/document/py-26-individual-market-rate-filing-instructions.pdf.   AHIP 2026 Certification Dates: “AHIP Medicare + Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Online Course.” Ahipmedicaretraining.Com, AHIP, www.ahipmedicaretraining.com/page/login. Accessed 13 May 2025.   Resources:   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.

The Friday Five for May 9, 2025: Rite Aid Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Again Apple WWDC 2025 Dates & Rumors Discount Medicare Insurance Scam Alert Rueppel Recommends Books & Streaming Picks May 2025 Aetna Health Plans to Exit ACA Marketplace for CY 2026   Rite Aid Files for 2nd Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Download the “Rite Aid Letter to Customers - May 5, 2025.” Restructuring.Ra.Kroll.Com, Kroll Restructuring Administration, restructuring.ra.kroll.com/RiteAid/Home-DownloadPDF?id1=MzM0MTA2Mg%3D%3D&id2=0. Accessed 6 May 2025. Grothaus, Michael. “Rite Aid Bankruptcy: What to Know about Store Closings, Prescription Transfers, Layoffs, Gift Cards, and More.” Fastcompany.Com, Fast Company, 6 May 2025, www.fastcompany.com/91329223/rite-aid-bankruptcy-2025-stores-closing-prescription-transfers-gift-cards. Arias, Pilar. “Rite Aid Files for Bankruptcy for Second Time in Less than 2 Years.” Foxbusiness.Com, Fox Business, 6 May 2025, www.foxbusiness.com/economy/rite-aid-files-bankruptcy-second-time-less-than-2-years. Powel, James. “Rite Aid Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Promises ‘smooth Transfer' of Prescriptions.” Usatoday.Com, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 6 May 2025, www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2025/05/05/rite-aid-chapter-11-bankruptcy/83467189007/. “Rite Aid Store Locater.” Riteaid.Com, Rite Aid, www.riteaid.com/locations/. Accessed 6 May 2025. Urie, Daniel. “Rite Aid Tells Vendors It ‘Has Generally Stopped Purchasing Goods and Services.'” Pennlive.Com, PennLive, 5 May 2025, www.pennlive.com/business/2025/05/rite-aid-tells-vendors-it-has-generally-stopped-purchasing-goods-and-services.html. Mills, Sean I. “What to Do with Your Prescriptions Now That Rite Aid Is Closing All Stores.” Romesentinel.Com, Daily Sentinel, 6 May 2025, www.romesentinel.com/news/rome-new-hartford-rite-aid-store-closings/article_98f2300b-600c-4937-b8d0-686ece8d36e9.html.   Apple WWDC 2025 Dates & Rumors: Lovejoy, Ben. “90% of People Shouldn't Buy the iPhone 17 Air, per Apple.” 9to5mac.Com, 9to5Mac, 6 May 2025, 9to5mac.com/2025/05/06/90-of-people-shouldnt-buy-the-iphone-17-air-per-apple/. Schroeder, Stan. “Apple Is Planning a New iPhone Launch Schedule, Report Claims.” Mashable, Mashable, 5 May 2025, mashable.com/article/apple-iphone-launch-schedule. “iOS 7 vs iOS 6 Side-by-Side Visual Comparisons.” Osxdaily.Com, OS X Daily, osxdaily.com/2013/06/11/ios-7-vs-ios-6-visual-comparison/. Accessed 6 May 2025. Christoffel, Ryan. “iOS 19: Three New Features Are Being Announced next Month.” 9to5mac.Com, 9to5Mac, 5 May 2025, 9to5mac.com/2025/05/05/ios-19-three-new-features-are-being-announced-next-month/. Clover, Juli. “iOS 19: Everything We Know.” Macrumors.Com, MacRumors, 5 May 2025, www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-19/.   Discount Medicare Insurance Scam Alert: “Emerging Discount Medical Insurance Scams.” Ic3.Gov, Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 30 Apr. 2025, www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250430. Dimuro, Claudia. “FBI Alerts Public in Pa., beyond to Emerging Scam: Here's What to Know.” Pennlive.Com, PennLive, 5 May 2025, www.pennlive.com/life/2025/05/fbi-alerts-public-in-pa-beyond-to-emerging-scam-heres-what-to-know.html. Burman, Theo. “FBI Issues New Warning Over Health Insurance Scams.” Newsweek.Com, Newsweek, 6 May 2025, www.newsweek.com/fbi-issues-new-warning-over-health-insurance-scams-2068626.   Rueppel Recommends: Wynn-Williams, Sarah. “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism.” Spotify, Flatiron Books, open.spotify.com/show/279JRLPYDjvmsS81C7SOzg?si=215e5504c3ea4510. Accessed 6 May 2025. Ridgely, Charlie. “Everything Coming to Netflix, Max, Disney+ & Other Streaming Services in May 2025.” ComicBook.Com, ComicBook, 30 Apr. 2025, comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/new-streaming-movies-tv-shows-may-2025-netflix-disney-max/. Bet-David, Patrick. “Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy.” Spotify, Gallery Books, https://open.spotify.com/show/1mCTkhoZxUOH6iA9b8Dx2y?si=b11263c88e3a43ff. Accessed 6 May 2025. Bet-David, Patrick. Your Next Five Moves, Gallery Books, www.yournextfivemoves.com/. Accessed 6 May 2025.   Aetna Health Plans to Exit ACA Marketplace for CY 2026: Minemyer, Paige. “Aetna to Exit the ACA Exchanges in 2026.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 1 May 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/aetna-exit-aca-exchanges-2026. Pifer, Rebecca. “CVS Plans to Exit ACA Individual Exchanges, Strikes Wegovy Deal with Novo Nordisk.” Healthcaredive.Com, Healthcare Dive, 1 May 2025, www.healthcaredive.com/news/cvs-aetna-exit-aca-novo-nordisk-wegovy-deal/746833/. Japsen, Bruce. “CVS Plans To Exit Obamacare In 2026, Affecting 1 Million Aetna Members.” Forbes.Com, Forbes Magazine, 1 May 2025, www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2025/05/01/cvs-plans-to-exit-obamacare-in-2026-impacting-1-million-aetna-members/. How Plan Crosswalks Work in the ACA Marketplace: https://lnk.to/ASG664   Resources: 5 Myths About Selling ACA Health Insurance Plans: https://lnk.to/asg660  5 Things from the CMS 2026 MA and Part D Final Rule: https://lnk.to/asgf20250502  Agent Requirements for ACA Sales: https://lnk.to/ASG662 Learn How to Sell ACA Products During the Off-Season ft. Danica Stover: https://lnk.to/asg661  Leveling Up: From Chill Mode to Growth Mode ft. Christian Brindle: https://lnk.to/brindle2025   Follow Us on Social!  Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital. News sources for this episode: Alex Montero et. al, “KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: The Public's Views on Measles Outbreaks and Misinformation,” April 23, 2025, https://www.kff.org/health-information-and-trust/poll-finding/kff-tracking-poll-on-health-information-and-trust-the-publics-views-on-measles-outbreaks-and-misinformation/, KFF Health News. CDC SchoolVaxView, “Vaccination Coverage and Exemptions among Kindergartners,” October 2, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/schoolvaxview/data/index.html.  Bram Sable-Smith et. al, “Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge,” April 9, 2025, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/vaccine-clinics-canceled-measles-surge-federal-funding-cuts/, KFF Health News. Madeline Ashley, “4 hospital closures in 2 weeks,” April 22, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/4-hospital-closures-in-2-weeks/?origin=BHRE&utm_source=BHRE&utm_medium=email&utm_content=newsletter&oly_enc_id=8018I7467278H7C, Becker's Hospital Review. Richard Menger, MD, MPA, “Hospital Job Cuts Leave Local Economies Struggling,” April 2, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardmenger/2025/04/02/when-hospitals-slash-jobs-towns-suffer-economic-pain/, Forbes. Madeline Ashley, “Prime to suspend pediatric inpatient care at Illinois hospital,” April 23, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/prime-to-end-pediatric-inpatient-care-at-illinois-hospital/, Becker's Hospital Review. Kelly Gooch, “Providence freezes nonclinical hiring amid economic ‘perfect storm,'” April 21, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/providence-freezes-nonclinical-hiring-amid-economic-perfect-storm/, Becker's Hospital Review. Paige Minemyer, “Walgreens launches program to support pharmacy techs in securing a PharmD,” April 23, 2025, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/retail/walgreens-launches-program-support-pharmacy-techs-securing-pharmd, Fierce Healthcare. Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com

  The Friday Five for April 25, 2025: Dr. Oz shares MAHA vision as CMS admin CY 2026 Part D Coverage Cost Breakdown CY 2026 Selected Drug Subsidy Cost Breakdown Provisions Not Finalized in 2026 MA and Part D Final Rule Impact of Non-Finalized Provisions on Agents   Dr. Oz shares MAHA vision as CMS admin: Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “5 Things to Know as Dr. Oz Prepares to Lead Medicare and Medicaid.” NPR.Org, NPR, 3 Apr. 2025, www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/25/g-s1-55766/dr-mehmet-oz-medicare-medicaid-cms-trump. “Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 25 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/dr-mehmet-oz-shares-vision-cms. Olsen, Emily. “Dr. Oz Sworn in as CMS Administrator.” Healthcaredive.Com, Healthcare Dive, 21 Apr. 2025, www.healthcaredive.com/news/dr-mehmet-oz-sworn-in-cms-administrator/745880/.   CY 2026 Part D Coverage Cost Breakdown: “Final CY 2026 Part D Redesign Program Instructions.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/final-cy-2026-part-d-redesign-program-instructions. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025. “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.” Federalregister.Gov, Federal Register, 15 Apr. 2025, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/15/2025-06008/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-to-the-medicare.   CY 2026 Selected Drug Subsidy Cost Breakdown: John, Stephnie A., and Abdie Santiago. “The IRA in 2025: The Future of Medicare Part D.” Mintz.Com, Mintz, 13 Feb. 2025, www.mintz.com/insights-center/viewpoints/2146/2025-02-13-ira-2025-future-medicare-part-d. “Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Manual – Chapter 5.” Cms.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.cms.gov/files/document/chapter-5-benefits-and-beneficiary-protection-v92011.pdf. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025. “Factsheet: Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.” Cms.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.cms.gov/files/document/fact-sheet-medicare-selected-drug-negotiation-list-ipay-2026.pdf. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.   Provisions Not Finalized in 2026 MA and Part D Final Rule: “Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (CMS-4208-F).” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-medicare-advantage-program-medicare-prescription-final. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025. Tong, Noah. “Medicare Advantage Final Rule Excludes Anti-Obesity Drug Coverage under Medicare, Medicaid.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 4 Apr. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/medicare-advantage-final-rule-excludes-anti-obesity-drug-coverage-under-medicare-medicaid. “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly.” Federalregister.Gov, Federal Register, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/15/2025-06008/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-to-the-medicare. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025. “Medicare Coverage of Anti-Obesity Medications.” Aspe.Hhs.Gov, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 26 Nov. 2024, aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/127bd5b3347b34be31ac5c6b5ed30e6a/medicare-coverage-anti-obesity-meds.pdf.   Resources: 2025 Maximum Broker Commissions for Medicare Advantage & Medicare Part D: https://ritterim.com/blog/2025-maximum-broker-commissions-for-medicare-advantage-and-medicare-part-d/ 3 Additional Effective Techniques for Closing Insurance Sales: https://lnk.to/asg656 4 Effective Techniques for Closing Insurance Sales: https://lnk.to/asg655 5 Things About the 2026 CMS MA and Part D Rate Announcement: https://lnk.to/asgf20250411 CMS Updates, Content Library, & More! https://lnk.to/asgf20250328 Recent ACA Coverage Changes Reversed with 2025 Marketplace Proposed Rule: https://ritterim.com/blog/recent-aca-changes-reversed-with-2026-marketplace-proposed-rule/ Subscribe to the Ritter Blog: https://ritterim.com/blog/ The Best Appointment Schedulers for Insurance Agents: https://lnk.to/asg657   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.

CMS just released the 2026 MA and Part D Rate Announcement! Listen to learn more about what this means for the upcoming coverage year.   Resources: 3 Additional Effective Techniques for Closing Insurance Sales: https://lnk.to/asg656 4 Effective Techniques for Closing Insurance Sales: https://lnk.to/asg655 CMS Updates, Content Library, & More! https://lnk.to/asgf20250328 Introducing a Content Marketing Solution for Insurance Agents: https://lnk.to/contentlibrary  The Best Appointment Schedulers for Insurance Agents: https://lnk.to/asg657   References: “2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Advance Notice Fact Sheet.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 10 Jan. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-advantage-and-part-d-advance-notice-fact-sheet. “2026 Medicare Advantage and Part D Rate Announcement.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-advantage-and-part-d-rate-announcement. “Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/files/document/2026-announcement.pdf. Tong, Noah. “CMS Finalizes 5.06% Medicare Advantage Benchmark Increase.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 8 Apr. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/cms-finalizes-506-medicare-advantage-benchmark-increase. “CMS Finalizes 2026 Payment Policy Updates for Medicare Advantage and Part D Programs.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-finalizes-2026-payment-policy-updates-medicare-advantage-and-part-d-programs. “Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (CMS-4208-F).” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/contract-year-2026-policy-and-technical-changes-medicare-advantage-program-medicare-prescription-final. “Final CY 2026 Part D Redesign Program Instructions.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7 Apr. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/final-cy-2026-part-d-redesign-program-instructions.   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.

  The Friday Five for March 28, 2025: CMS Medicare $2 Drug List Model Cancelled Oz Confirmed by Senate Finance Committee CMS Withdraws Changes to MA and Part D FEMA SEP Sarah Appears on The Seven Figures or Bust Podcast Content Library for Insurance Agents Launches   CMS Medicare $2 Drug List Model Cancelled: “CMS Innovation Center Announces Model Portfolio Changes to Better Protect Taxpayers and Help Americans Live Healthier Lives.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 12 Mar. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cms-innovation-center-announces-model-portfolio-changes-better-protect-taxpayers-and-help-americans. Bell, Allison. “Trump Administration Ends Medicare's $2 Drug Project.” Thinkadvisor.Com, ThinkAdvisor, 14 Mar. 2025, www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/03/14/trump-administration-ends-medicares-2-drug-project/.   Dr. Oz Confirmed by Senate Finance Committee: Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “5 Things to Know as Dr. Oz Gets One Step Closer to Leading Medicare and Medicaid.” Npr.Org, NPR, 25 Mar. 2025, www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/03/25/g-s1-55766/dr-mehmet-oz-medicare-medicaid-cms-trump. Tong, Noah. “Oz Confirmation Vote Advances out of Senate Finance Committee.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 25 Mar. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/oz-confirmation-vote-advances-out-senate-finance-committee. Hubbard, Kaia. “Senate Committee Advances Dr. Mehmet Oz's Nomination to Head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.” Cbsnews.Com, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2025, www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-oz-centers-for-medicare-and-medicaid-senate-finance-committee-vote/. Olsen, Emily. “Senate Committee Advances Dr. Oz to Lead CMS.” Healthcaredive.Com, Healthcare Dive, 26 Mar. 2025, www.healthcaredive.com/news/dr-oz-nomination-cms-clears-senate-finance-committee/743570/.   CMS Withdraws Changes to MA and Part D FEMA SEP: CMS Withdraws Changes to Disaster SEP Availability for Medicare Beneficiaries: https://ritterim.com/blog/cms-withdraws-changes-to-disaster-sep-availability-for-medicare-beneficiaries/ Medicare Advantage Emergency-Related SEPs: https://ritterim.com/blog/medicare-advantage-emergency-related-seps/    Sarah Appears on The Seven Figures or Bust Podcast: Episode 79 – What Is CMS Doing? w/ Special Guest Sarah Rueppel! https://lnk.to/qzTwIw  The Seven Figures or Bust Podcast: https://sevenfigure.com/seven-figures-podcast/ The Seven Figure Medicare Agent Summit: https://sevenfiguremedicareagentsummit.com/   Content Library for Insurance Agents Launches: Check Out the Content Library: https://library.ritterim.com/ Introducing a Content Marketing Solution for Insurance Agents: https://lnk.to/contentlibrary Register with Ritter Insurance Marketing: https://app.ritterim.com/public/registration/   Resources: 5 Insurance Marketing Tips to Help Agents Stand Out in a Crowd: https://lnk.to/asgf20250321 Apps for Content Creation: https://lnk.to/ASGA81 CMS 2025 Marketplace Integrity & Affordability Proposed Rule: https://lnk.to/asgf20250314 Get Access to Exclusive Leads When You Become a PlanEnroll Network Agent: https://lnk.to/3pKJsF   Follow Us on Social!  Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.

  The Friday Five for March 7, 2025: Starbucks and Dunkin' Spring 2025 Menus Amazon Announces Alexa+ Changes to MA and Part D Disaster/Emergency SEP Effects of ACA Subsidy Expiration by Demographic Clarification on HHS Proposed Rule Comment Periods   Starbucks and Dunkin' Spring 2025 Menus: Beams, Sophia. “Dunkin' Brings Back Two Fan-Favorite Drinks Just in Time for Spring.” Bhg.Com, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2025, www.bhg.com/dunkin-spring-menu-2025-11690288. Tyko, Kelly. “Dunkin' Spring Menu Launches, Nondairy Surcharge Removed.” Axios.Com, Axios, 5 Mar. 2025, www.axios.com/2025/03/05/dunkin-spring-menu-2025-dunkalatte-pistachio-coffee. “New Iced Cherry Chai Joins Lavender Drinks on Starbucks Spring Menu.” About.Starbucks.Com, Starbucks, 3 Mar. 2025, about.starbucks.com/stories/2025/new-iced-cherry-chai-joins-lavender-drinks-on-starbucks-spring-menu/. Palan, Michael. “We Tried Starbucks' New Spring Menu Items, and These 2 Drinks Stole the Show.” Tastingtable.Com, Tasting Table, 3 Mar. 2025, www.tastingtable.com/1801587/starbucks-reserve-new-spring-menu-2025-drinks-food/.   Amazon Announces Alexa+: “50 Things to Try with Alexa+.” Aboutamazon.Comt, Amazon, 26 Feb. 2025, www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-top-features. Haselton, Todd, et al. “Amazon Alexa Event Live Blog: All the News from the Keynote.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 26 Feb. 2025, www.theverge.com/news/618261/amazon-alexa-event-live-blog-2025. Panay, Panos. “Introducing Alexa+, the next Generation of Alexa.” Aboutamazon.Com, Amazon, 26 Feb. 2025, www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-generative-artificial-intelligence. Diaz, Maria. “Not All Echo Devices Will Get Alexa+ Initially - See If Yours Made the List.” Zdnet.Com, ZDNET, 28 Feb. 2025, www.zdnet.com/article/alexa-plus-will-run-on-select-echo-devices-see-if-yours-is-on-the-list/. Ellis, Cat. “Want to Try Alexa+? Here Are the Echo Devices It'll Work On.” Techradar.Com, TechRadar, 27 Feb. 2025, www.techradar.com/home/smart-speakers/want-to-try-alexa-plus-here-are-the-echo-devices-itll-work-on. Aten, Jason. “With Its AI-Powered Alexa+, Amazon Just Put Apple on Notice.” Inc.Com, Inc, 26 Feb. 2025, www.inc.com/jason-aten/with-its-ai-powered-alexa-plus-amazon-just-put-apple-on-notice/91153371. Stanley, Alyse. “You Can Get Alexa+ Early — Here's How to Sign up.” Tomsguide.Com, Tom's Guide, 1 Mar. 2025, www.tomsguide.com/ai/you-can-get-alexa-early-heres-how-to-sign-up.   Changes to MA and Part D Disaster/Emergency SEP: Crowe, Edward. “New Medicare FEMA SEP Rules.” Pfsinsurance.Com, Pinnacle Financial Services, 29 Jan. 2025, pfsinsurance.com/blog/new-medicare-fema-sep-rules-crowe-associates. “Change to Beneficiary Use of the SEP for Individuals Affected by a Government Entity-Declared Disaster or Other Emergency.” Cms.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 3 Dec. 2024, 20178637.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20178637/42%20ea%20-%20Product%20Profile.pdf.   Effects of ACA Subsidy Expiration by Demographic: Lambrew, Jeanne. “Enhanced ACA Marketplace Tax Credits Worked—And Shouldn't Be Eliminated.” Tcf.Org, The Century Foundation, 7 Aug. 2024, tcf.org/content/commentary/enhanced-aca-marketplace-tax-credits-worked-and-shouldnt-be-eliminated/. Richards, Carson, and Sara  R. Collins. “Enhanced Premium Tax Credits for ACA Health Plans: Who They Help, and Who Gets Hurt If They're Not Extended.” Commonwealthfund.Org, Commonwealth Fund, 18 Feb. 2025, www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2025/feb/enhanced-premium-tax-credits-aca-health-plans. Sullivan, Jennifer. “Enhanced Tax Credits Keep ACA Marketplace Coverage Affordable for 2025.” Cbpp.Org, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 18 Nov. 2024, www.cbpp.org/blog/enhanced-tax-credits-keep-aca-marketplace-coverage-affordable-for-2025. “How Much More Would People Pay in Premiums If the ACA's Enhanced Subsidies Expired?” Kff.Org, KFF, 18 Dec. 2024, https://www.kff.org/interactive/how-much-more-would-people-pay-in-premiums-if-the-acas-enhanced-subsidies-expired/ Ortaliza, Jared, et al. “Inflation Reduction Act Health Insurance Subsidies: What Is Their Impact and What Would Happen If They Expire?” Kff.Org, KFF, 26 July 2024, www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/issue-brief/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/. Banthin, Jessica, et al. “Who Benefits from Enhanced Premium Tax Credits in the Marketplace?” Urban.Org, Urban Institute, June 2024, www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2024-06/Who_Benefits_from_Enhanced_Premium_Tax_Credits_in_the_Marketplace.pdf. Lo, Justin, and Cynthia Cox. “Who Might Lose Eligibility for Affordable Care Act Marketplace Subsidies If Enhanced Tax Credits Are Not Extended?” Kff.Com, KFF, 28 Feb. 2025, www.kff.org/policy-watch/who-might-lose-eligibility-for-affordable-care-act-marketplace-subsidies-if-enhanced-tax-credits-are-not-extended/.   Clarification on HHS Proposed Rule Comment Periods: “Compilation of the Social Security Laws.” Ssa.Gov, Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title18/1871.htm. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025. “HHS Rescinds Policy Regarding Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking – Implications for Health Care Industry.” Www.Hoganlovells.Com, Hogan Lovells, 3 Mar. 2025, www.hoganlovells.com/en/publications/hhs-rescinds-policy-regarding-noticeandcomment-rulemaking-implications-for-health-care-industry. “Policy on Adhering to the Text of the Administrative Procedure Act.” Federalregister.Gov, Federal Register, 3 Mar. 2025, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/03/03/2025-03300/policy-on-adhering-to-the-text-of-the-administrative-procedure-act. Goldman, Maya. “RFK Jr. Move to Kill Public Comment Roils Providers.” Axios.Com, Axios, 3 Mar. 2025, www.axios.com/2025/03/03/rfk-transparency-rule-elimination-fallout. Cueto, Isabella. “RFK Jr. Moves to Eliminate Public Comment on HHS Decisions.” Statnews.Com, STAT, 28 Feb. 2025, www.statnews.com/2025/02/28/rfk-jr-eliminating-public-comment-hhs-decisions-richardson-waiver/. Muoio, Dave. “RFK Jr. Orders HHS to End ‘extra-Statutory' Notice, Public Comment Process in Rulemaking.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 3 Mar. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/rfk-jr-orders-hhs-end-notice-public-comment-process-rulemaking. Howe, Amy. “Supreme Court Strikes down Chevron, Curtailing Power of Federal Agencies.” Scotusblog.Com, SCOTUSblog, 26 July 2024, www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-curtailing-power-of-federal-agencies/.   Resources: Diversify Your Insurance Portfolio & Reap Real Rewards: https://lnk.to/asg651 FAQs About Registering with Ritter Insurance Marketing: https://ritterim.com/blog/faqs-about-registering-with-ritter-insurance-marketing/   How To Better Market Yourself: https://ritterim.com/blog/how-to-better-market-yourself/   Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Do's and Don'ts: https://lnk.to/oRft1p SNP Summit Registration is Live: https://lnk.to/asgf20250228   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency. Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.

  The Friday Five for February 28, 2025: Budget Reconciliation & Healthcare More iPhone Silent Alarm Issues Adobe Launches Photoshop Mobile Streaming Picks for March 2025 SNP Summit Registration is Live   Register for the Ritter Insurance Marketing SNP Summit!   Budget Reconciliation & Healthcare: Tong, Noah. “House Budget Plan Advances, Paving Way for Major Medicaid Cuts.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 26 Feb. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/house-budget-plan-advances-paving-way-major-medicaid-cuts. “Overview of Potential Medicaid Changes in 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill.” Gih.Org, Grantmakers In Health, 25 Feb. 2025, www.gih.org/publication/issue-focus-overview-of-potential-medicaid-changes-in-2025-budget-reconciliation-bill/. Sanger-katz, Margot, and Alicia Parlapiano. “The House Wants to Pass Trump's Agenda in One Big Bill. Here's What's in It.” Nytimes.Com, The New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/21/upshot/house-gop-budget-blueprint.html. Wendling, Mike. “US House Narrowly Passes Trump-Backed Spending Bill.” Bbc.Com, BBC News, 26 Feb. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9yx7e13ryo.   More iPhone Silent Alarm Issues: Shakir, Umar. “Apple's Weird iPhone Alarm Problems Are Still Happening.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 10 Jan. 2025, www.theverge.com/2025/1/9/24340238/apple-iphone-alarm-broken-timing-failed. Neely, Amber. “If Your iPhone Alarms Aren't Going off, You're Not Alone.” AppleInsider.Com, AppleInsider, 23 Jan. 2025, appleinsider.com/articles/25/01/23/if-your-iphone-alarms-arent-going-off-youre-not-alone. Bologna, Caroline. “Some iPhone Users Are Reporting A Major Issue With Their Alarm. Here's What's Happening.” HuffPost.Com, HuffPost, 24 Feb. 2025, www.huffpost.com/entry/iphone-alarm-silent-issue_l_67bc894be4b05645f4fee06e.   Streaming Picks for March 2025: Koc, Demet. “Coming to Streaming in March 2025.” Nexuspointnews.Com, Nexus Point News, 25 Feb. 2025, www.nexuspointnews.com/post/coming-to-streaming-in-march-2025.   Adobe Launches Photoshop Mobile: Weatherbed, Jess. “Adobe's New Photoshop App for iPhone Is More like the Real Thing.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 25 Feb. 2025, www.theverge.com/news/618859/adobe-photoshop-mobile-iphone-android-app-availability. “Adobe Photoshop Brings World's Leading Image and Design App to Mobile to Empower Next Generation of Creators.” News.Adobe.Com, Adobe, 25 Feb. 2025, news.adobe.com/news/2025/02/photoshop-mobile-web. Wilson, Mark. “At Last, Adobe Photoshop Comes to the iPhone (and It Just Might Be Great).” Fastcompany.Com, Fast Company, 25 Feb. 2025, www.fastcompany.com/91283790/at-last-adobe-photoshop-comes-to-the-iphone-and-it-just-might-be-great.   SNP Summit Registration & Other Events for Agents: Integrity Webinars: https://learningcenter.tawebhost.com/MedicareCENTER-Webinar-Schedule.pdf Ritter Insurance Marketing Events: https://ritterim.com/events/ Registration for Ritter SNP Summit: https://summits.ritterim.com/   Resources: 4 Myths About Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNP) Sales: https://lnk.to/asg650  Apps for Cyber Security: https://lnk.to/asga80 Guidelines for Sharing Personal Beneficiary Data with Other TPMOs: https://lnk.to/asg647 The Beginner's Guide to D-SNPs: https://lnk.to/asg648 The Postseason Game Plan for Agents: https://lnk.to/asgf20250214   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.

  The Friday Five for February 21, 2025: Golden Birthday Cake Oreos Return Amazon Kindle Update RFK Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary ACA Navigator Program Funding Cut Nursing Home Demand Projections   Golden Birthday Cake Oreos Return: Fink, Bailey. “Oreo Is Releasing 2 New Flavors—and Making One Permanent.” Allrecipes.Com, Allrecipes, 18 Feb. 2025, www.allrecipes.com/oreo-new-cookies-february-2025-11680020. Bivins, Kenn. “Oreo Just Brought Back a ‘GOAT' Flavor That Has Fans ‘Beyond Excited.'” Parade.Com, Parade, 19 Feb. 2025, parade.com/food/oreo-golden-birthday-cake-returns-2025. Robledo, Anthony. “Oreo Reveals New Flavors: Double Chocolate Cakesters and Golden Birthday Cake.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 19 Feb. 2025, www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/02/18/oreo-new-flavors/79126601007/.   Amazon Kindle Update: Liszewski, Andrew. “Amazon's Killing a Feature That Let You Download and Backup Kindle Books.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 14 Feb. 2025, www.theverge.com/news/612898/amazon-removing-kindle-book-download-transfer-usb. “Download Your Kindle Books ASAP - before Amazon Kills This Feature next Week.” Zdnet.Com, ZDNET, 18 Feb. 2025, www.zdnet.com/article/download-your-kindle-books-asap-before-amazon-kills-this-feature-next-week/. Younker, Scott. “Hurry! Download Your Kindle eBooks before Amazon Won't Let You Anymore.” Tomsguide.Com, Tom's Guide, 19 Feb. 2025, www.tomsguide.com/tablets/e-readers/hurry-download-your-kindle-ebooks-before-amazon-wont-let-you-anymore. Heinzman, Andrew. “Kindle Is Making It Harder to Switch to Rival eReader Brands.” Howtogeek.Com, How-To Geek, 14 Feb. 2025, www.howtogeek.com/kindle-discontinues-download-transfer-via-usb/.   RFK Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary: Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “RFK Jr. Confirmed as Trump's Health Secretary, over Democrats' Loud Objections.” Npr.Org, NPR, 13 Feb. 2025, www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5294591/rfk-jr-trump-health-human-services-hhs-vaccines. Weber, Lauren, and Rachel Roubein. “RFK Jr. Confirmed, Elevating Anti-Vaccine Activist to Nation's Top Health Post.” Washingtonpost.Com, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2025, www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/02/13/robert-kennedy-hhs-secretary-confirmation-vote/. Beavins, Emma, and Dave Muoio. “RFK Jr. Sworn in as Head of HHS Following 52-48 Senate Vote.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 13 Feb. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/senate-confirms-rfk-jr-head-hhs-52-48-vote. Cueto, Isabella. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Health Secretary.” Statnews.Com, STAT, 13 Feb. 2025, www.statnews.com/2025/02/13/rfk-jr-confirmed-hhs-secretary-vote-vaccine-critic-to-top-trump-health-official/.   ACA Navigator Program Funding Cut: Pestaina, Kaye. “A 90% Cut to the ACA Navigator Program.” KFF.Org, KFF, 18 Feb. 2025, www.kff.org/quick-take/a-90-cut-to-the-aca-navigator-program/. “Biden-Harris Administration Awards $100 Million to Navigators Who Will Help Millions of Americans — Especially in Underserved Communities — Sign Up for Health Coverage.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 26 Aug. 2024, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-awards-100-million-navigators-who-will-help-millions-americans. “CMS Announcement on Federal Navigator Program Funding.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 14 Feb. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-announcement-federal-navigator-program-funding. Tong, Noah. “CMS Slashes ACA Navigator Program Funding 90% to $10M.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 14 Feb. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/cms-slashes-aca-navigator-program-funding-10-million.   Nursing Home Demand Projections: “CDC WONDER Database.” Wonder.Cdc.Gov, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://wonder.cdc.gov/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025. Shuman, Taylor. “How Will America's ‘Silver Tsunami' Impact Demand for Nursing Homes?” SeniorLiving.Org, SeniorLiving.org, 23 Jan. 2025, www.seniorliving.org/nursing-homes/nursing-home-demand-projections/. Berger, Chloe. “The Boomer Housing Crisis Is Pacing to Get Even Worse: ‘We've Never Had a Population Pyramid That Looks like This.'” Msn.Com, MSN, 12 Feb. 2025, www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/the-boomer-housing-crisis-is-pacing-to-get-even-worse-we-ve-never-had-a-population-pyramid-that-looks-like-this/ar-AA1yUKUG. “The US Population Is Aging.” Urban.Org, Urban Institute, www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/program-retirement-policy/projects/data-warehouse/what-future-holds/us-population-aging. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025. “State Health Facts: Average Number of Certified Nursing Facility Beds.” KFF.Org, KFF, 5 Dec. 2024, https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/average-number-of-certified-nursing-facility-beds/. “State Health Facts: Total Number of Certified Nursing Facilities.” KFF.Org, KFF, 5 Dec. 2024, https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/number-of-nursing-facilities/.   Resources: 5 Types of Content to Share on Social Media: https://lnk.to/asgf20250131  Best eBook & Audiobook Apps: https://lnk.to/WsIGZ5 Guidelines for Sharing Personal Beneficiary Data with Other TPMOs: https://lnk.to/asg647 MedicareCENTER FAQs: https://lnk.to/asg645 PlanEnroll FAQs: https://lnk.to/asg646  The Postseason Game Plan for Agents: https://lnk.to/asgf20250214   Follow Us on Social!  Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://x.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail.   Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.

Today we’re talking about bird flu. It’s infecting flocks of chickens, causing egg prices to rise across the country, plus herds of dairy cattle and people are getting sick too. And all of this is happening amid sweeping changes at U.S. federal health agencies. The Trump administration has ordered mass firings and limits on public communications at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control, hindering its ability to keep the public informed. On the show today,  Jessica Malaty Rivera, an epidemiologist and science communicator explains the scale of the current bird flu outbreak, how the response in the United States has been disrupted by chaos in the federal government, and why state health systems may struggle to fill the gaps after years of underfunding. Plus, for one listener, doing something is better than nothing. And, another listener shares how they changed their mind about the value of government work. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate” from KFF Health News “Mass firings at HHS: Thousands impacted across federal health agencies including CMS, FDA” from Fierce Healthcare “RFK Jr. confirmed, elevating anti-vaccine activist to nation's top health post” from The Washington Post “How Trump's Medical Research Cuts Would Hit Colleges and Hospitals in Every State” from The New York Times “The U.S. and the WHO: An Imperfect but Essential Relationship” from Johns Hopkins What’s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Today we’re talking about bird flu. It’s infecting flocks of chickens, causing egg prices to rise across the country, plus herds of dairy cattle and people are getting sick too. And all of this is happening amid sweeping changes at U.S. federal health agencies. The Trump administration has ordered mass firings and limits on public communications at agencies including the Centers for Disease Control, hindering its ability to keep the public informed. On the show today,  Jessica Malaty Rivera, an epidemiologist and science communicator explains the scale of the current bird flu outbreak, how the response in the United States has been disrupted by chaos in the federal government, and why state health systems may struggle to fill the gaps after years of underfunding. Plus, for one listener, doing something is better than nothing. And, another listener shares how they changed their mind about the value of government work. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate” from KFF Health News “Mass firings at HHS: Thousands impacted across federal health agencies including CMS, FDA” from Fierce Healthcare “RFK Jr. confirmed, elevating anti-vaccine activist to nation's top health post” from The Washington Post “How Trump's Medical Research Cuts Would Hit Colleges and Hospitals in Every State” from The New York Times “The U.S. and the WHO: An Imperfect but Essential Relationship” from Johns Hopkins What’s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

  The Friday Five for February 14, 2024: Apple iOS 18.3.1 Updates Trend Alert: Smart Ankle Watch? Egg Substitutions for Baking & Protein Healthcare Regulatory Update (of sorts) The Postseason Game Plan   Download Your FREE Copy of The Postseason Game Plan Now!   Apple iOS 18.3.1 Updates: Adorno, José. “IOS 18.3.1 Now Available Ahead of Big Ios 18.4 Upgrade.” Bgr.Com, BGR, 10 Feb. 2025, bgr.com/tech/ios-18-3-1-now-available-ahead-of-big-ios-18-4-upgrade/. Disotto, John-Anthony. “iOS 18.4 Could Be the Biggest iPhone Upgrade Ever – Here's Why.” TechRadar.Com, TechRadar, 11 Feb. 2025, www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/ios-18-4-could-be-the-biggest-iphone-upgrade-ever-heres-why. Phelan, David. “Apple iOS 18.4 Release Date: The Major iPhone Update Is On Its Way.” Forbes.Com, Forbes Magazine, 8 Feb. 2025, www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2025/02/08/apple-ios-184-release-date-the-major-free-iphone-update-is-on-its-way/. Rossignol, Joe. “iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone.” MacRumors.Com, MacRumors, 5 Feb. 2025, www.macrumors.com/2025/02/05/ios-18-4-expected-features/.   Trend Alert: Smart Ankle Watch? Lovejoy, Ben. “The Five Reasons Some People Wear Their Apple Watch on Their Ankle.” 9to5Mac.Com, 9to5Mac, 10 Feb. 2025, 9to5mac.com/2025/02/10/the-five-reasons-some-people-wear-their-apple-watch-on-their-ankle/. Skwarecki, Beth. “Why (and How) to Wear Your Apple Watch on Your Ankle.” Lifehacker.Com, Lifehacker, 11 Feb. 2025, lifehacker.com/health/why-and-how-to-wear-an-apple-watch-on-your-ankle. Heater, Brian. “Tiktok Influencers Are Wearing Apple Watches on Their Ankles.” Techcrunch.Com, TechCrunch, 10 Feb. 2025, techcrunch.com/2025/02/10/tiktok-influencers-are-wearing-apple-watches-on-their-ankles/.   Egg Substitutes for Baking & Protein: David, Lauren. “8 Egg Substitutes for Cooking and Baking.” Aarp.Org, AARP, 10 Feb. 2025, www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2025/egg-substitutes-cooking-baking.html. Valente, Lisa. “10 Foods with More Protein Than an Egg.” Eatingwell.Com, EatingWell, 18 Nov. 2024, www.eatingwell.com/article/291485/10-foods-with-more-protein-than-an-egg/. McDonell, Kayla. “13 Effective Substitutes for Eggs.” Healthline.Com, Healthline Media, 7 Feb. 2024, www.healthline.com/nutrition/egg-substitutes. Phaneuf, Taryn. “Egg Prices Are Rising Again. Here's Why They're So High.” Edited by Laura McMullen, Nerdwallet.Com, NerdWallet, 11 Feb. 2025, www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/why-are-eggs-so-expensive. Lannon, KJ. “Egg Prices Got You Scrambling? Here's 3 Substitutes to Use in Your Cake Mix.” Tastingtable.Com, Tasting Table, 10 Feb. 2025, www.tastingtable.com/1780478/egg-substitutes-boxed-cake-mix/.   Healthcare Regulatory Update (of sorts) Bell, Allison. “10 House GOP Health Program and Tax Change Ideas.” Thinkadvisor.Com, ThinkAdvisor, 24 Jan. 2025, www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/01/24/10-house-gop-health-program-and-tax-change-ideas/. Muoio, Dave. “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Shake-up Leaves Medical Debt Reform in Limbo.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 6 Feb. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-shakeup-leaves-medical-debt-reform-limbo. Muoio, Dave, et al. “Healthcare Lobbying 2025: Here Are the Top Policy Issues for Hospitals, Payers, Docs and Tech.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 12 Feb. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/healthcare-lobbying-2025-here-are-top-policy-issues-hospitals-payers-docs-and-tech.   The Postseason Game Plan: https://postseasongameplan.com/   Resources: 5 Types of Content to Share on Social Media: https://lnk.to/asgf20250131 Best Apps for Sports Fans: https://lnk.to/asga78 Guidelines for Sharing Personal Beneficiary Data with Other TPMOs: https://lnk.to/asg647 MedicareCENTER FAQs: https://lnk.to/asg645 PlanEnroll FAQs: https://lnk.to/asg646   Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://twitter.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance     Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel  Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare or any government agency.

    January 10, 2025: Sarah's 2025 Goals Highlights from CES 2025 First HIPAA Update Since 2013 ACA DACA Enrollment Eligibility Update 2025 ACA Enrollment Snapshot #2   Sarah's 2025 Goals: Cement City: https://www.cementcity.org/   Highlights from CES 2025: Carlson, Jeff. “CES 2025: We're Obsessed With These 28 New Products So Far.” CNET.Com, CNET, 9 Jan. 2025, www.cnet.com/pictures/ces-2025-were-obsessed-with-these-28-new-products-so-far/. Kastrenakes, Jacob. “CES 2025: All the News, Gadgets, and Surprises.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 4 Jan. 2025, www.theverge.com/2025/1/4/24307731/ces-2025-tvs-gaming-smart-home-wearables-news. Halliday AI Glasses: https://hallidayglobal.com/products/reservation  Ortiz, Sabrina. “Halliday Just Unveiled the AI Glasses That Meta, Google and Apple Have Been Trying to Build.” ZDNET.Com, ZDNET, 8 Jan. 2025, www.zdnet.com/article/halliday-just-unveiled-the-ai-glasses-that-meta-google-and-apple-have-been-trying-to-build/. Mirumi: https://mirumi.ux-xu.com/ Segway Navimov X3 Series: https://navimow.segway.com/uk/product/navimow-x.html Stolyar, Brenda. “The 31 Best Gadgets From CES 2025 You Can Buy Right Now.” Wired.Com, Conde Nast, 9 Jan. 2025, www.wired.com/story/the-gadgets-from-ces-2025-you-can-buy-right-now/. Weatherbed, Jess. “These Smart Glasses Have a Tiny Little Screen Hidden in the Frame.” Theverge.Com, The Verge, 6 Jan. 2025, www.theverge.com/2025/1/5/24334030/halliday-smart-glasses-ai-tiny-display-frame-availability-price-ces.   First HIPAA Update Since 2013: Olsen, Emily. “HHS Proposes HIPAA Update to Boost Healthcare Cybersecurity.” Healthcaredive.Com, Healthcare Dive, 3 Jan. 2025, www.healthcaredive.com/news/hhs-hipaa-security-rule-update-cybersecurity/736451/. Beavins, Emma. “HHS Proposes New Cybersecurity Requirements as First Major HIPAA Update in 10 Years.” Fiercehealthcare.Com, Fierce Healthcare, 7 Jan. 2025, www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/hhs-proposes-cybersecurity-updates-healthcare-organizations. “HIPAA Security Rule To Strengthen the Cybersecurity of Electronic Protected Health Information.” Federalregister.Gov, Federal Register, 6 Jan. 2025, www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/06/2024-30983/hipaa-security-rule-to-strengthen-the-cybersecurity-of-electronic-protected-health-information.   ACA DACA Enrollment Eligibility Update: “DACA Eligibility Update.” Khbe.Ky.Gov, Kynect Health Coverage, khbe.ky.gov/Agents-kynectors/Documents/kynector-FAQ.pdf. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025. “HHS Final Rule Clarifying the Eligibility of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Recipients and Certain Other Noncitizens.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 3 May 2024, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/hhs-final-rule-clarifying-eligibility-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca-recipients-and-certain. “Immigration Status to Qualify for the Marketplace.” HealthCare.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/immigration-status/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025. “Kansas et al. v. United States of America et Al..” Litigationtracker.Law.Georgetown.Edu, Georgetown University, 2 Jan. 2025, litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/kansas-et-al-v-united-states-of-america-et-al/. Pillair, Drishti, and Samantha Artiga. “Overview and Implications of the ACA Marketplace Expansion to DACA Recipients.” KFF.Org, KFF, 6 Jan. 2025, www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/overview-and-implications-of-the-aca-marketplace-expansion-to-daca-recipients/. “Recent Court Decisions Impacting the Marketplace.” HealthCare.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, www.healthcare.gov/court-decisions/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025. “State-Based Marketplaces: 2025 Open Enrollment.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 17 Oct. 2024, www.cms.gov/files/document/state-exchange-oe-chart-py-2025.pdf. “State Health Insurance Marketplace Types, 2025.” KFF.Org, KFF, 26 Oct. 2024, www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/state-indicator/state-health-insurance-marketplace-types/. “State of Kansas, et al. Appellees v. United States of America and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Appellants.” Litigationtracker.Law.Georgetown.Edu, Georgetown University, litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Kansas_2024.12.16_ORDER.pdf. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.   2025 ACA Enrollment Snapshot #2: “Marketplace 2024 Open Enrollment Period Report: Final National Snapshot.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 24 Jan. 2024, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/marketplace-2024-open-enrollment-period-report-final-national-snapshot. “Marketplace 2025 Open Enrollment Period Report: National Snapshot.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 8 Jan. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/marketplace-2025-open-enrollment-period-report-national-snapshot-1. “Nearly 24 Million Consumers Have Selected Affordable Health Coverage in ACA Marketplace, With Time Left to Enroll.” CMS.Gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 8 Jan. 2025, www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/nearly-24-million-consumers-have-selected-affordable-health-coverage-aca-marketplace-time-left.   Resources: 5 Tips for Finding Supplemental Coverage for ACA Plans: https://lnk.to/xDtALf Lessons Learned in 2024: https://lnk.to/asg637 Marketing Trends for 2025: https://lnk.to/asg639 Setting SMART Goals in 2025: https://lnk.to/asgf20250103 Why Gen Z is a Good Fit for Selling Insurance: https://lnk.to/asg640   Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! 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