Podcasts about healthcare costs

Food as Medicine: Why Medical Nutrition Therapy and Medically Tailored Meals Belong in Modern Healthcare: Registered dietitian nutritionist Leyla Muedin argues that food should be treated with the same rigor as medication through medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and “diet prescriptions,” integrating nutrition into treatment plans rather than leaving it as optional advice. She cites evidence that medically tailored meals (MTMs) can improve outcomes and reduce costs, including a Health Affairs simulation estimating $23.7B in first-year net savings nationwide and a Nature Medicine analysis of a Massachusetts Medicaid demonstration (2020–2023) showing MTM recipients had 31% fewer hospitalizations, 20% fewer emergency visits, and $3,433 lower total healthcare costs, offsetting 98% of program costs. She discusses food insecurity, expanding Medicaid coverage via Section 1115 waivers, EHR integration, and how MTMs support adherence for conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, depression, and IBS (including low FODMAP).

In 2000, Katie Couric underwent a live colonoscopy on national television following the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, from colorectal cancer at age 42. The broadcast demystified a procedure many Americans feared, led to an estimated 20% increase in colonoscopy screenings, and became one of the clearest examples of how public storytelling can change healthcare behavior.This episode examines how celebrities, journalists, filmmakers, and entertainers helped reshape the public conversation about cancer during a period when survivorship was becoming increasingly visible. As breakthroughs in targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and early detection allowed more people to live beyond cancer, public figures used their platforms to encourage screening, reduce stigma, and accelerate research. Their influence extended far beyond awareness campaigns, helping transform cancer from a private diagnosis into a national public health conversation.Central to this story is Laura Ziskin, the Hollywood producer behind Pretty Woman and the Spider-Man films, whose metastatic breast cancer diagnosis inspired the creation of Stand Up To Cancer. Working alongside Couric and leaders from entertainment, journalism, and biomedical research, Ziskin championed a new funding model that required multidisciplinary scientific collaboration, helping accelerate discoveries that contributed to multiple FDA-approved cancer therapies. The episode also highlights the advocacy of actor Patrick Dempsey, whose family's experience with ovarian cancer led to the creation of the Dempsey Center, expanding support for patients and caregivers beyond medical treatment.The story also asks what celebrity advocacy often leaves unsaid. Financial toxicity, caregiver burden, chronic pain, mental health, and the long-term effects of treatment rarely receive the same attention as dramatic diagnoses or breakthrough cures. As cancer survivorship continues to evolve, the greatest challenge may not be convincing people to care about cancer, but helping them understand what it truly means to live with and beyond it.RELATED LINKSStand Up To Cancer⁠Katie Couric Media⁠Dempsey Center⁠American Association for Cancer Research⁠National Cancer Institute⁠Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Adult Survivorship Program⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2006, a landmark report titled Closing the Gap: Research and Care Imperatives for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer confirmed what young survivors had been saying for years. While survival rates for children and older adults had steadily improved, adolescents and young adults had experienced decades of stalled progress. They had become cancer's lost generation.This episode explores how young adult survivors transformed their shared isolation into one of the most influential grassroots movements in cancer advocacy. Diagnosed during the years typically devoted to education, careers, relationships, and starting families, patients between the ages of 15 and 39 confronted challenges that extended far beyond treatment. Fertility preservation, sexual health, employment, financial toxicity, insurance, and long-term quality of life were rarely discussed in oncology clinics, leaving many to navigate survivorship alone.The episode follows advocates including Tamika Felder, Lindsay Avner, Heidi Adams, Doug Ulman, and Dr. Archie Bleyer, whose research and advocacy fundamentally changed how medicine understands adolescent and young adult cancer. Through organizations including Planet Cancer, Fertile Hope, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and later Stupid Cancer, survivors built online communities, educational resources, conferences, and national partnerships that challenged long-standing assumptions about cancer care. Their work helped establish fertility preservation as a standard discussion before treatment, expanded research dedicated to adolescent and young adult oncology, and elevated quality of life as a critical clinical outcome alongside survival.The movement also demonstrated the power of lived experience to reshape medicine. Survivors became researchers, educators, nonprofit founders, and policy advocates, insisting that cancer care account not only for years of life saved, but for the lives patients hoped to build afterward.What began as a search for peers evolved into a national movement that permanently transformed adolescent and young adult oncology. Today, dedicated research programs, clinical fellowships, survivorship resources, and patient advocacy organizations continue to build on the foundation these young cancer mavericks created.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer Institute | Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program⁠Closing the Gap: Research and Care Imperatives for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer⁠American Society of Clinical Oncology | Fertility Preservation Guidelines⁠Stupid Cancer⁠Livestrong Foundation⁠Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could a market downturn, an unexpected inheritance, or rising healthcare costs derail your retirement plans faster than you think? This week on the How to Retire Radio Show, the team from America’s Retirement Headquarters explores why retirees need more than investment growth to stay on track. Learn how a two-bucket income strategy may help manage market volatility, why healthcare costs before and after Medicare deserve close attention, how inherited assets can create tax and insurance surprises, and what changes when you join the “millionaire club.” The conversation highlights the importance of coordinating income, taxes, healthcare, and legacy planning as retirement approaches. About America's Retirement Headquarters: We are dedicated to helping retirees achieve the retirement they deserve. From crafting personalized retirement income strategies to providing a single location for all your retirement solutions, our goal is to guide you every step of the way. Let us help you navigate the complexities of retirement so that you can enjoy financial confidence and peace of mind.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a number attached to every patient's chart that quietly shapes the resources they receive, the care they're offered, and whether their health conditions are fully seen — and most providers don't fully understand it. In this episode, Jamie sits down with Ericka Bauman, Director of Quality Assurance at Your Health, to break down the Risk Adjustment Factor — better known as the RAF score. Ericka has spent years traveling across Georgia and South Carolina, walking into provider offices, sitting with care teams, and doing the work of turning confusing data into meaningful patient outcomes. What you'll hear in this episode: What the RAF score actually is — explained the way Erica explains it to every team she visits, from providers to front desk staff Why most RAF scores are too low — and how underdocumenting a patient's conditions leaves them exposed to missed care, hospitalizations, and unmet needs The biggest misconception providers have about RAF (hint: it's not another box to check) How RAF and quality measurement are really asking the same question from two different angles — and why treating them separately is a mistake What changes for patients when care teams show up prepared, proactive, and looking at the whole person — not just the reason for today's visit The numbers will follow when you take care of the patient. This episode will show you how. www.YourHealth.Org

1044. Are rising healthcare costs ruining your budget? Laura answers a listener's question about how to maximize every tax advantage available for healthcare costs. You'll learn the rules for deducting them on your tax return or paying them with tax-advantaged savings accounts like HSAs and FSAs. We'll cover which expenses are tax-free and simple strategies to optimize your healthcare spending.Key Takeaways:You can only claim the medical tax deduction if you itemize deductions on Schedule A instead of claiming the standard deduction on your tax return.You can only deduct unreimbursed healthcare expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), making the medical deduction best for years with high medical bills.Tax-advantaged medical savings accounts are powerful because they allow you to save 20% to 35% on qualified costs without claiming a medical deduction.Health savings account (HSA) balances roll over forever, can be invested for tax-free growth, and can be withdrawn penalty-free for non-medical expenses after age 65 (subject to ordinary income tax).Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are employer-sponsored perks for cutting healthcare costs.You cannot claim an itemized medical deduction on Schedule A for any healthcare expense paid for or reimbursed using pre-tax funds from an HSA, FSA, or HRA.Lawmakers have expanded HSA, FSA, and HRA qualified expenses to cover various over-the-counter (OTC) medications and products.Discover more from Money Girl!FacebookNewsletterTranscripts available at QuickandDirtyTips.com.Email: Laura@LauraDAdams.com or leave a voicemail: (302) 364-0308. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine published From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, concluding that millions of Americans were surviving cancer only to find themselves navigating a healthcare system unprepared for life after treatment. The report challenged oncology to recognize that curing cancer was not the end of care, but the beginning of survivorship.This episode explores how the growing cancer survivorship movement exposed the long-term consequences of cancer treatment that medicine had largely overlooked. As survival rates improved following the National Cancer Act of 1971, millions of survivors faced chronic fatigue, neuropathy, infertility, cognitive impairment, financial hardship, employment discrimination, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. These were not rare complications. They became defining features of survivorship for many patients.Drawing on the work of oncologist Dr. Patricia Ganz, survivor advocate Ellen Stovall, and researchers, clinicians, and survivors across the country, the episode examines how survivorship research expanded beyond recurrence and mortality to include quality of life, psychosocial care, rehabilitation, and long-term follow-up. Their efforts helped establish survivorship care plans, multidisciplinary survivorship clinics, and a broader understanding that cancer affects every aspect of a person's life long after treatment ends.The episode also confronts persistent inequities in survivorship care. Insurance coverage often ends when treatment stops, supportive services remain inconsistent, financial toxicity continues to drive medical hardship, and racial, geographic, and socioeconomic disparities still influence who receives comprehensive follow-up care. For many survivors, finishing treatment simply marks the beginning of another struggle.Modern oncology increasingly recognizes that surviving cancer is measured by more than years of life. It is also measured by quality of life, dignity, access to care, and the ability to rebuild a future after treatment. That evolution remains one of the most significant legacies of the cancer survivorship movement.RELATED LINKSNational Academy of Medicine | ⁠From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition⁠National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship⁠American Society of Clinical Oncology | Survivorship Compendium⁠CancerCare⁠HopeWell Cancer Support⁠National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Protect Our Care estimates that 8 million Americans have lost Medicaid, CHIP or Affordable Care Act coverage, while more than 1,100 health care providers have closed, cut services or are considered at risk. The Congressional Budget Office projects the number of uninsured Americans will rise from 30 million this year to 37 million by 2036. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed with the latest news from a leading Black-owned & controlled media company: https://aurn.com/newsletter Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's another big episode of Healthcare Now! Doctor Mark and Larry take a look at the numbers behind fixing administrative spending! What alternative plans are out there to overspending? We follow-up on some issues from last week. Learn what a "nick queue" is! And even some talk about AI! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1967, breast surgeon Dr. Harold P. Freeman arrived at Harlem Hospital expecting to treat cancer. Instead, he confronted a healthcare system where poverty, racism, lack of insurance, and institutional barriers often determined who lived long enough to receive treatment. Patients frequently arrived with advanced disease, not because medicine lacked answers, but because access to care had failed them.This episode explores how cancer survivorship expanded beyond medical breakthroughs to include healthcare access, health equity, and organized advocacy. Building on the early work of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), it examines the recognition that surviving cancer depended not only on research, but also on whether patients could navigate a fragmented healthcare system.Freeman responded by creating one of the nation's first patient navigation programs at Harlem Hospital in 1990. Community-based navigators helped patients overcome practical barriers including insurance, transportation, appointments, communication, and fear. The model dramatically improved timely diagnosis and treatment, increased breast cancer survival in Harlem, and ultimately inspired the Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005, establishing navigation as a cornerstone of modern oncology care.The episode also follows cancer survivor Ellen Stovall, whose leadership transformed survivorship into a national policy movement. Through the NCCS, she united advocates across cancer types, fought for insurance protections, expanded access to clinical trials, helped shape the creation of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute, and organized the landmark 1998 National March for Cancer Survivorship in Washington, D.C. Her work reframed survivorship as a public policy issue rather than a personal experience.Together, Freeman and Stovall demonstrated that scientific progress alone could not eliminate disparities in cancer outcomes. Their work established two enduring principles that continue to shape oncology today: patients need someone to help them navigate care, and survivors must have a voice in the policies that govern it. Modern cancer survivorship depends on both.RELATED LINKSNational Coalition for Cancer Survivorship⁠Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute⁠National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship⁠Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005⁠American Cancer Society⁠Tuskegee Study Timeline | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Few things say “welcome to adulthood” quite like opening a medical bill and realizing you have absolutely no idea what you're looking at. There are billing codes, insurance adjustments, deductibles, coinsurance, and somehow a procedure that costs one amount on one line costs something completely different on another. In this episode of Grown-Up Stuff, Matt and Lea tackle the confusing world of medical bills and healthcare costs with patient advocate and healthcare transparency expert Cynthia Fisher. They break down how medical billing actually works, what all those codes and numbers mean, and why the amount a hospital says it charges isn't necessarily the amount you’ll pay. You'll learn how insurance-negotiated rates, deductibles, copays and coinsurance factor into your final bill, why it's worth asking for an itemized bill, and what to do when something doesn't look right. Cynthia also explains how to question charges, negotiate medical bills, and advocate for yourself when you're faced with a bill you can't, or don't think you should have to, pay. Because being a grown-up means knowing how to make a doctor's appointment. But apparently it also means knowing what to do when the bill arrives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most nursing homes think they're measuring success by how many patients move through their building. What they're not measuring is how many of those same patients end up right back in the hospital — and who pays the price when they do. In this episode of The Disrupted Podcast, Scott Middleton — Owner of Your Health and Chief Disruption Officer — pulls back the curtain on the facility partnership model Your Health is rolling out across the Southeast. It's a model that doesn't just serve patients in skilled nursing facilities; it pays those facilities for the care coordination work their staff is already doing, while creating the kind of presence that actually moves the needle on outcomes. Scott and Jamie cover the mechanics, the competitive landscape, and the cultural shift required to make it all work: Why Your Health is contracting with nursing homes to pay up to $20,000 a month for care coordination — and what that's worth annually to a facility with 200 Medicare patients The difference between "popping in" and genuine presence — and why only one of them drives real cost savings and keeps patients from bouncing back to the hospital Why physicians working in isolation are the biggest liability in a team-based care model, and how a September 1st bonus restructure is designed to change that culture How 80% of what used to require an in-person visit can now happen via telehealth — and the one thing technology will never replace: the relationship that makes a patient actually follow through Scott's 10-year urgency: why Your Health is already three steps ahead of the competition — and why that lead only matters if the model scales fast enough If you work in a nursing facility, lead a care team, run a healthcare organization, or believe the system needs a fundamentally better architecture — this is what building it actually looks like. Press play. www.YourHealth.Org

Guest: Damian McHugh | Chief Marketing Officer at Momentum Health Solutions South Africans are increasingly turning to health insurance as the cost of traditional medical aid continues to put pressure on household budgets. Damian McHugh, Chief Marketing Officer at Momentum Health Solutions, joins Africa Melane to unpack the shift. Early Breakfast with Africa Melane is 702’s and CapeTalk’s early morning talk show. Experienced broadcaster Africa Melane brings you the early morning news, sports, business, and interviews politicians and analysts to help make sense of the world. He also enjoys chatting to guests in the lifestyle sphere and the Arts. All the interviews are podcasted for you to catch-up and listen.Thank you for listening to this podcast from Early Breakfast with Africa Melane For more about the show click https://buff.ly/XHry7eQ and find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/XJ10LBUListen live on weekdays between 04:00 and 06:00 (SA Time) to the Early Breakfast with Africa Melane broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3NSubscribe to the 702 and CapeTalk daily and weekly newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetcFollow us on social media:702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalkCapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalkCapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalkCapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a very, very, very special bonus episode of Out of Patients, and one unlike anything published on this feed before. For nearly 20 years, Matthew Zachary has handed these microphones to patients, caregivers, doctors, advocates, troublemakers, and people with something worth saying. This time, he handed them to his daughter. Hannah Greenzweig grew up around this show, and now she has commandeered the studio with 3 of her wonderfully creative high school friends to talk about something they built entirely themselves. There is an enormous amount of Dad Pride baked into this episode, along with the strange and wonderful realization that sometimes your kid grows up, takes your chair, takes your microphone, and produces a better show without you.Hannah Greenzweig, Michael Aidinov, Gwendolyn Baldini, and Astronomy are student artists from the Roundabout Youth Ensemble at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. Working alongside teaching artists from Roundabout Theatre Company, they spent a school year creating an original play from the ground up, writing every scene, developing every character, and producing the performance themselves.Instead of discussing a Broadway production, they dissect one they invented.Their play, Subject Matter, began with a room full of improbable ideas. Murderous bounce houses, pirate family sagas, underwater adventures, courtroom dance battles, and birthday parties at math museums all competed before the group settled on an absurd rivalry between New York's fictional History Museum and Math Museum. From there, they built a fully staged comedy about institutional competition, sabotage, oversized personalities, and the unexpected discovery that history and mathematics need each other more than either side wants to admit.The conversation pulls back the curtain on a creative process most audiences never see. The students explain how scenes evolved through constant rewrites, how characters emerged from improvisation, how costumes came together with last minute ingenuity, and how rehearsals often collapsed into uncontrollable laughter. They recount cutting favorite ideas, solving production problems with limited resources, and trusting each other enough to keep rewriting until the story worked.The episode also captures something harder to script: teenagers speaking honestly about collaboration without adults translating their experience. They celebrate classmates who stepped into unexpected roles, teachers who quietly held the production together, and the strange joy of creating something that exists only because everyone showed up.It is a conversation about theater, friendship, education, creativity, and what happens when 4 young artists get the microphones and the adults get out of the way.RELATED LINKSRoundabout Theatre CompanyRoundabout Youth EnsembleJames Madison High SchoolFEEDBACKLike this bonus episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

August 14, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes. Today's top stories: JG Wentworth survey finds 92% of US adults have delayed or abandoned medical care due to cost, creating an opening for lower-cost consumer health models Regenerative farming products hit $2B in annual US retail sales as 40 global food companies sign onto an initiative tying sourcing to soil health Eli Lilly files six lawsuits against sellers of unapproved retatrutide as CBP intercepts nearly 90,000 illicit GLP-1 vials in July alone Today's episode is brought to you by AIIR — a modern communications and experiential agency for health, wellness, fitness, and performance brands. From earned media to events and creator-led campaigns, AIIR helps companies sharpen their story, earn attention, and build trust that compounds. Visit https://aiir.agency to learn more. More from Fitt: Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital. Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/ Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/ Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider Reach out → insider@fitt.co

A man is struck by a car on the streets of Los Angeles. In the emergency department, a CT scan ordered to look for traumatic injuries reveals something nobody expected: a mass in his colon. Days later, sitting across from Dr. Belinda Waltman, he calls the accident “a blessing in disguise.” Then he changes the subject. He is less worried about cancer than about whether he can afford to miss another day of work. In this season finale of Standard Deviation, host Dr. Oliver Bogler explores what happens when biomedical science collides with the realities of the healthcare safety net. Dr. Waltman, a primary care physician in Los Angeles County, specializes in expedited cancer workups for uninsured and underinsured patients. Every diagnosis arrives carrying another set of questions about housing, transportation, food insecurity, wages, and survival that rarely appear in medical records or scientific literature. For years, Waltman carried those stories without knowing how to bring them into the academic record. As a full-time clinician without a research lab, grant funding, or publication pipeline, she faced barriers familiar to many working scientists and physicians whose most important observations happen outside traditional research settings. With support from the Life Science Editors Foundation's JEDI program, those experiences became The Margins Matter, a narrative medicine essay published in JAMA that argues the social realities surrounding cancer care are not background details. They are part of the disease itself. Bogler traces how editorial mentorship transformed lived clinical experience into published scholarship while asking a larger question about who gets to shape the scientific record. The conversation examines cancer care, Medicaid, health-related social needs, medical publishing, and the structural incentives that determine which stories become evidence and which disappear from view.The result is a conversation about documentation, visibility, and why the margins of medicine often determine who survives long enough to benefit from its advances.RELATED LINKSDr. Belinda Waltman⁠The Margins Matter | JAMA⁠The Margins Matter | PubMed⁠Life Science Editors Foundation⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Medical Matters Podcast, Dr. Peter Brier and Nurse Practitioner Kelly McCormick discuss the ongoing costs of healthcare.Topics include the expenses, but also the business aspects: free-standing hospitals and practices began to be bought up under the belief that costs would come down. There is also the inflationary aspect, with pressure on healthcare providers to raise their prices in order to get better reimbursement from insurance companies.There is also the issue of monopolies. A recent story in the Washington Post describes how hospitals under such collectives are driving up costs. Dr. McCormick also relates her own recent experiences. The subject also shifts to the potential for national, single-payer healthcare, with some examples of residents traveling to the US from Canada or other nations. Older residents appear to travel here more for specialized care.

What would it take for Texas to become the national leader in health, wellness, and regenerative medicine? On this episode of Texas Talks, host Brad Swail sits down with Jack Collier, co-founder and CEO of Optimized Health and Performance, a nationwide telehealth clinic based in the Austin area. Collier explains how his own experience with hormone testing led him into the health and wellness industry and why he believes patients need more information and control over their healthcare decisions. The conversation covers: Preventive health, hormone optimization, and regenerative medicine Healthcare costs and the role of insurance Peptides and the growing online gray market How Texas could encourage research while protecting consumers The Make Texas Healthy Again movement and health education Why Austin has become a hub for health and wellness innovation Collier argues that Texas has an opportunity to become a national center for emerging healthcare research and innovation while improving health education and giving patients greater choice in how they manage their health. 00:00 — Introduction & Jack Collier 02:09 — Hormone Optimization & Jack's Health Journey 05:09 — The Future of Health & Regenerative Medicine in Texas 09:17 — Prevention, Nutrition & the Current Healthcare Model 16:03 — Healthcare Costs, Insurance & Patient Choice 20:17 — The Long-Term Value of Preventive Health 23:27 — What Texas Can Do Through Public Policy 24:53 — Peptides, Safety & the Online Gray Market 28:53 — Peptide Therapies & Medical Innovation 31:04 — Regulation, Research & the Future of Healthcare 32:40 — Make Texas Healthy Again & Health Education 36:17 — Austin's Health & Wellness Boom Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks Follow us on social mediaX: @Texas_DispatchInstagram: thetexasdispatchLinkedIn: The Texas DispatchTikTok: texas_talks_podcast Find more at The Texas DispatchYour source for state news, policy, and investigative journalism.https://thetexasdispatch.com

Send us Fan MailA cancer diagnosis used to be enough to qualify as medically frail and exempt from Medicaid work requirements. A new federal rule says it no longer is, and nobody has defined what will be enough instead.In this clip from our episode “The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Work Requirements”, hosts David E. Williams and John Driscoll break down the last-minute rule change narrowing the definition of medical frailty and why 25 states say the federal government has gone beyond what Congress ever authorized.Listen to the full episode here

In 1986, 23 survivors, physicians, nurses, attorneys, and community organizers gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a weekend that would permanently change the language and politics of cancer. Working late into the night, they debated not only strategy, but identity, ultimately declaring that from the moment of diagnosis, every person with cancer is a survivor.This episode traces the social and political forces that gave birth to the modern cancer survivorship movement. As advances in early detection and treatment allowed more people to live beyond cancer, survivors discovered that finishing treatment did not mean returning to normal life. Many faced employment discrimination, loss of insurance, social stigma, infertility, chronic health complications, and a healthcare system that viewed survival as the end of care rather than the beginning of a new chapter.Against the backdrop of the civil rights, disability rights, and community health movements of the 1960s and 1970s, physicians, activists, and survivors challenged medicine's paternalistic culture and demanded a greater voice in decisions affecting their lives. Central to this story are physician and survivor Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, whose landmark 1985 essay, Seasons of Survival, redefined survivorship as a lifelong continuum, and community organizer Katherine Logan, whose determination united dozens of grassroots organizations into what became the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.The coalition's founding established principles that continue to shape oncology today. Survivors were no longer defined solely by disease or treatment outcomes. Their experiences became evidence. Their voices became essential to clinical research, healthcare policy, and patient advocacy. By redefining survivorship as an ongoing experience rather than a destination, the movement challenged medicine to recognize the lasting physical, emotional, financial, and social consequences of cancer.The ideas forged during that weekend in Albuquerque became the foundation of modern cancer survivorship. Nearly 40 years later, the coalition's defining principle, that survivorship begins at diagnosis, continues to influence cancer care, research, policy, and the way millions of people understand life after cancer.RELATED LINKSNational Coalition for Cancer Survivorship⁠National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship⁠The New England Journal of Medicine⁠Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.gov)⁠Library of Congress | Civil Rights History Project⁠White Coat, Clenched Fist by Fitzhugh Mullan⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Kyle Rickner heard about Direct Primary Care in a side room at the AAFP National Conference in October 2014 and committed to it 50 minutes later. Today Primary Health Partners cares for employee lives in 30 states, and it started with a patient named Jason who owned a 22 person company and handed Dr. Rickner a check covering every employee for a full year, six weeks after opening.In this episode, Dr. Rickner talks with Dr. Maryal Concepcion about what it takes to build a DPC practice that serves employers without giving up autonomy. He opened with 198 members on day one after a 15 month runway, a $1,000 equipment haul from a shuttered nursing program, and a lot of honest conversations with patients he wanted to bring with him.He also gets direct about the mistakes he sees. Enrollment is not engagement. A 375 employee contract can gut a 600 patient panel overnight if that company sells or closes. And overpromising to an employer poisons the well for the next DPC doctor who walks through that door.What you will hear:Why commitment and enthusiasm persuade patients faster than any marketing budgetThe three pillars Primary Health Partners built on before opening the doorsHow to identify a good employer partner, and when to say noUtilization differences between retail members and employee members, and why adoption rates range from 10% to 92%How he built a 28 doctor affiliate network in three weeks using DPC MapperWhat he thinks about private equity and venture capital money entering DPC, and the two non-negotiables that protect your practiceWhy passive customer acquisition channels may be how DPC reaches the next tens of thousands of patientsLessons on autonomy from practicing inside the Army health systemFind resources and your next step at mydpcstory.com, including the free startup checklist and the Physician Owner's Planner built for the business side of practice ownership.Leave a voice message at mydpcstory.com/contact and your question could be featured on a future episode.Follow My DPC Story on socials @mydpcstory.Stand With Dr. Nyasha Spears and the Future of Patient-Centered Healthcare. Get your copy of the Physician Owner's Planner today at mydpcstory.com/librarySupport the showGET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOADBecome A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE PODMy DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG!FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

Send us Fan MailMedicaid work requirements take effect in every expansion state by January 1, 2027. But half the states just sued to stop the rules that govern them. They're challenging a new federal rule that narrows who counts as “medically frail” and adds paperwork for people trying to prove they're exempt. We'll discuss what the fight means for coverage, providers, and for the states preparing to implement.In our latest episode, David E. Williams (President, Health Business Group) and John Driscoll (Chairman, UConn Health) dig into what these cuts will really cost. They break down the CBO's projections for coverage and dollars over the next decade, and why a last-minute federal rule narrowing the definition of "medical frailty" may be the most consequential, and least understood, piece of the whole debate.

Prior to becoming an anesthesiologist, Alyssa Burgart trained in bioethics. She now counts herself among a growing number of certified clinical bioethicists who help doctors, nurses, patients, and their families handle ethically complex medical decisions at the bedside. Bioethicists are critical to care, Burgart argues, helping patients facing difficult choices to clarify personal values and weigh a complex array of risks and benefits, as well as emotions and familial, cultural, and religious norms. While much of her work is in pediatrics and maternal-fetal cases, she also studies how moral distress and moral injury impact clinicians, contributing to burnout among doctors and nurses. Having a strong ethical community brings resilience to these challenging environments, Burgart tells host Russ Altman in this episode of Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast. Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu. Episode Reference Links: Stanford Profile: Alyssa Burgart Connect With Us: Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Chapters: (00:00:00) Introduction Russ Altman introduces guest Alyssa Burgart, a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative pain at Stanford University. (00:03:16) Path into Bioethics & Anesthesiology How Burgart became a bioethicist and then chose anesthesiology. (00:05:18) What Bioethics Means How bioethics helps connect medical decisions to values, risks, and benefits. (00:07:03) Making Hard Decisions Manageable How ethics consultation helps clinicians act with integrity. (00:08:33) Ethics Consults A detailed explanation of hospital ethics services  (00:12:23) Pediatric Ethics Examples of Dr. Burgart's work with children, families, and clinicians (00:15:45) Culture, Faith, and Trust Navigating cultural and religious differences as a bioethicist. (00:17:57) Family Decision-Making How ethics consultants help families and care teams honor a patient's voice. (00:21:55) Moral Injury What is moral injury and how do clinicians specifically experience it? (00:24:52) Institutional Betrayal Why barriers like policies, laws, and denied approvals can create moral strain. (00:26:37) Moral Distress What is moral distress and how does it manifest itself in healthcare. (00:28:28) Moral Residue When clinicians experience repeated moral strain and cannot recover between incidents. (00:29:33) Treating Moral Injury & Distress Strategies for helping clinicians manage these parts of their work. (00:33:54) Future In a Minute Rapid-fire Q&A: clinical bioethics, human dignity, and moral resilience. (00:36:15) Conclusion Connect With Us:Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything WebsiteConnect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / MastodonConnect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act, transforming cancer research with an unprecedented federal investment and launching what became known as the War on Cancer. The legislation did not emerge from scientific discovery alone. It was the culmination of decades of relentless advocacy by researchers, philanthropists, journalists, and patients who believed cancer demanded the same national commitment that had put astronauts on the Moon.This episode traces the origins of the cancer survivorship movement by returning to a time when cancer was rarely discussed in public, many physicians withheld diagnoses from their patients, and surgery offered few lasting cures. It follows the pioneering work of pathologist Dr. Sidney Farber, whose early chemotherapy research challenged conventional thinking, and Mary Lasker, whose political strategy, fundraising, and public campaigns helped transform cancer from a private tragedy into a national public health priority. Together, they built the coalition that reshaped federal support for oncology research and forever changed the relationship between science, government, and the American public.The story then turns to journalist and breast cancer survivor Rose Kushner, whose refusal to accept the standard one-step radical mastectomy challenged nearly a century of surgical dogma. Working alongside surgeon Dr. Bernard Fisher, Kushner helped bring evidence-based medicine to breast cancer treatment through randomized clinical trials that demonstrated less invasive surgery could achieve equivalent outcomes. Their efforts changed clinical practice, strengthened informed consent, and helped establish the principle that patients should participate in decisions about their own care.The breakthroughs explored in this episode extended far beyond new treatments. They redefined the role of patients in medicine, accelerated clinical research, and laid the foundation for modern cancer survivorship. The movement that followed would not simply help more people live longer. It would change what surviving cancer meant.RELATED LINKSNational Cancer Institute⁠National Cancer Act of 1971⁠American Cancer Society⁠Dana-Farber Cancer Institute⁠National Library of Medicine⁠The New England Journal of Medicine⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Please send any questions to podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

HCAHPS produces 11 publicly reported measures of patient experience. Not one of them asks about a bill. The financial/billing experience sits outside most ways this industry uses to define patient experience. And it arrives with your logo on it. Chris Boyer and Reed Smith discuss what that gap costs. The financial experience decides whether the next clinical experience happens at all. In most health systems, brand standards govern the digital experience, website, campaigns, and the call center. But the statement, the denial letter and the financial assistance page are managed separately. They also discuss the requirements to reach the people in the community most likely to need financial help but describe how these efforts read like a marketing campaign, but marketing never got this memo.  Then Cassandra Skinner from Xsolis makes the case for collecting correctly rather than collecting less, arguing that compassion and accountability were never opposites. She also describes how patient advocacy acts as quiet work that lives in questioning one authorization or catching one coordination of benefits error. On automation she draws the line at can versus should. And she lands somewhere worth sitting with, that patients do not lose trust because a machine was involved, they lose trust when nobody will own the decision. Why the instrument that defines patient experience has no question about cost, and what that does to budgets and attention What marketing gave up when the billing statement became somebody else's document The financial assistance requirements already written into federal law, and why satisfying them has not made patients aware Why a decade of mandated price disclosure produced more published data and not more patient understanding What revenue cycle sees about a patient that marketing never does Where accountability has to sit when part of the decision is automated If your health system's financial assistance page would fail the standard you apply to any campaign you would sign your name to, you just found work that has been yours the whole time. Mentions from the Show: IRS, Financial Assistance Policy and Emergency Medical Care Policy, Section 501(r)(4): https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/financial-assistance-policy-and-emergency-medical-care-policy-section-501r4 AHRQ, CAHPS Adult Hospital Survey (11 measures effective January 1, 2025): https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/surveys-guidance/hospital/about/adult_hp_survey.html CMS, HCAHPS Patients' Perspectives of Care Survey (administered 48 hours to six weeks after discharge): https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/initiatives/hospital-quality-initiative/hcahps-patients-perspectives-care-survey KFF, Americans' Challenges with Health Care Costs, updated April 2026 (about half of adults could not pay an unexpected $500 medical bill): https://www.kff.org/health-costs/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/ KFF Health Care Debt Survey (41% with health care debt, 51% of those with debt skipped recommended care): https://www.kff.org/health-costs/kff-health-care-debt-survey/ KFF, Hospital Charity Care, How It Works and Why It Matters: https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/hospital-charity-care-how-it-works-and-why-it-matters/ Dollar For, Fixing Hospital Financial Assistance Programs (52% never informed, 65% unaware it existed). Patient advocacy nonprofit, labeled as such on air: https://dollarfor.org/fixing-hospital-finaid/ AHA, Hospital Price Transparency, Current Landscape and a Better Path Forward, June 5 2026: https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2026-06-05-fact-sheet-hospital-price-transparency-current-landscape-and-better-path-forward AHA, Improving the Patient Billing Experience issue brief, October 2021: https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2021/10/Improving-Patient-Billing-Experience_IB_Final_10-22-21.pdf CMS, CY 2026 OPPS and ASC Final Rule, Hospital Price Transparency Policy Changes: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cy-2026-opps-ambulatory-surgical-center-final-rule-hospital-price-transparency-policy-changes HFMA, CMS's latest transparency rule aims to make price estimates more exact, November 2025 (named executive on the machine-readable file): https://www.hfma.org/price-transparency/cmss-latest-transparency-rule-aims-to-make-price-estimates-more-exact/ Ways and Means Committee, H.R. 9504 Tax Exempt Hospital Transparency Act reporting elements, July 2026: https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2026/07/20/what-they-are-saying-ways-and-means-committee-bringing-transparency-to-americas-nonprofit-hospital-sector/ Cassandra Skinner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cskinner-health/  XSOLIS website: https://www.xsolis.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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Send us Fan MailMedicaid and Medicare used to pay first and chase fraud later. That model is changing fast, and the providers who haven't adapted are about to feel it.In this clip from our episode “AI and The Future Of Behavioral Health”, host John Driscoll and Alon Joffe, Co-Founder and CEO of Eleos Health, break down why the shift to audit-first payment in Medicaid and Medicare is an existential threat for behavioral health organizations already operating on razor-thin margins.Listen to the full episode here

Long before cancer survivors organized into a movement, Hollywood had already shaped how Americans understood the disease. Films rarely used the word “cancer,” physicians often withheld diagnoses from patients, and the people who survived were almost nowhere to be found on screen.Recorded before The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship became a documentary series, this bonus conversation explores where the project first began. Matthew Zachary sits down with his mother, Roz Greenzweig, a retired educator and lifelong film enthusiast whose memories of classic cinema became an unexpected lens for understanding how cancer was portrayed throughout the twentieth century.Together, they revisit landmark films including Dark Victory, Love Story, and other iconic portrayals that reflected an era when cancer was treated as unspeakable, inevitable, and almost always fatal. Their conversation contrasts those carefully constructed Hollywood narratives with the lived reality of a family confronting a brain cancer diagnosis in 1995, revealing how popular culture both reflected and reinforced the fears surrounding the disease.The discussion also foreshadows many of the themes explored throughout the documentary series: the evolution of patient advocacy, the emergence of cancer survivorship, the role of caregivers, and the power of storytelling to influence public understanding. Before policy changed, before advocacy organizations grew into national movements, conversations like these were already challenging long-held assumptions about what cancer looked like and who had the right to tell its story.Consider this the prologue to The Cancer Mavericks. Before the movement found its history, it began with a family trying to make sense of the stories they had inherited.RELATED LINKSAmerican Cancer Society⁠National Cancer Institute⁠American Film Institute⁠ER (NBC)⁠50/50 (Official)⁠Chasing Life (ABC Family Archive)⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review The Cancer Mavericks: A History of Survivorship on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, visit CancerMavericks.com. Questions? Email podcasts@matthewzachary.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Healthcare affordability continues to be one of the defining challenges facing the industry. In this episode of PwC's Next in Health, Glenn Hunzinger is joined by Thom Bales, Derek Skoog, and Philip Sclafani to discuss the findings from PwC's Behind the Numbers 2027 report and the forces driving medical cost trends toward 9% in 2027. From AI-enabled documentation and provider reimbursement to GLP-1 therapies, behavioral health, and payment integrity, the conversation explores what's contributing to rising costs—and where healthcare leaders can focus to improve affordability while continuing to advance innovation and patient care. Discussion highlights:Medical cost trends approaching 9% and the forces driving healthcare inflationAI's growing influence on clinical documentation, payment integrity, and reimbursementInnovation's impact on affordability, from GLP-1 therapies to cell and gene therapiesStrategies health plans, employers, and providers are using to improve affordability and reduce frictionThe evolving role of reimbursement, utilization management, and payment integrity in managing costsWhat rising medical costs mean for employers, consumers, and the future of healthcareSpeakers:Glenn Hunzinger, US Health Industries Leader, PwCThom Bales, US Health Services Advisory Leader, PwCDerek Skoog, Principal, Health Services, PwCPhilip Sclafani, Principal, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences, PwCFor additional insights, check out our Behind the numbers 2027 report at https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/behind-the-numbers.htmlFor more information, please visit us at: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/health-research-institute/next-in-health-podcast.html.

Healthcare costs have been climbing around 7% a year. Andrew sits down with Doc G (Dr. Jordan Grumet), hospice physician and author of The Healthcare Heist, to break down exactly how a routine ER visit turns into a five-figure bill and where every one of those dollars actually goes.

Send us Fan MailA triplet birth in the United States costs roughly $577,000. A twin birth runs about $155,000. For a self-insured employer, that cost hits the bottom line directly.In this clip from our episode “Making Fertility Benefits An Employer Priority”, host David E. Williams and David Stern, CEO of Kindbody, break down how Kindbody puts skin in the game with employers through contractual guarantees on multiple birth rates, miscarriage rates, and time to care.Listen to the full episode here

Rebecca Bloom is a former employee benefits and executive compensation attorney who spent more than 25 years helping women navigate cancer, work, insurance, disability coverage, and financial survival. She is the founder and author of When Women Get Sick, a book built from decades inside the legal, workplace, and patient advocacy systems most people only discover after diagnosis.Bloom started in Big Law at Simpson Thacher handling employee benefits and compensation work she originally chose to pay off student loans. Then her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly the language she used in corporate law offices became the language of survival at home. Explanation of benefits forms. Coverage disputes. Second opinions. Disability protections. Medical leave. Bills no one could explain.That collision changed the direction of her life.In this episode, Bloom explains how serious illness quietly turns patients into unpaid administrators managing paperwork, logistics, financial risk, and emotional labor while trying to survive treatment. She breaks down how employer based health insurance shapes nearly every aspect of cancer care in America and why women often carry the invisible burden of protecting everyone else from discomfort while they themselves fall apart.The conversation digs into workplace power, the illusion of the healthcare “safety net,” caregiver exhaustion, and the class divide hiding underneath patient empowerment culture. Bloom explains why educated, insured women with resources still struggle to navigate healthcare bureaucracy and what happens to patients without those advantages.This episode explores cancer care, health insurance, employee benefits, patient advocacy, workplace protections, caregiving, and the structural incentives that force sick people to become project managers of their own survival.RELATED LINKSRebecca BloomWhen Women Get SickBay Area Cancer ConnectionsSimpson Thacher & BartlettFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the biggest threat to your retirement isn’t a market crash, but the expenses you never saw coming? In this episode, Mike Douglas breaks down the hidden costs that can quietly impact a retirement plan. From rising healthcare expenses and housing maintenance to taxes, inflation, and everyday spending that adds up over time, the conversation explores why retirement often costs more than people expect. Learn how surprise expenses can affect long-term plans and why building flexibility into your retirement strategy may be just as important as saving for it. Schedule your complimentary appointment today: MichigansRetirementCoach.com Follow us on social media: YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedInSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill and Andy Bush open with the one regret they've never heard from a retiree: "I saved too much." Drawing on conversations with plan participants, they explore the regrets people do voice — wishing they'd started earlier, stayed invested, or captured more of the company match — and why those missed opportunities can't be recovered once a contribution year lapses. The brothers make the case for balance, weighing Bill Perkins' "Die with Zero" philosophy of enjoying the here-and-now against the risk of shortchanging your future self. Along the way they dig into maximizing the match, the underused 50-plus and 60-to-63 "super" catch-up contributions, the new Roth catch-up rule for high earners, and the triple-tax-advantaged power of the HSA. They close with a mid-year nudge to review your savings rate and a reminder that money should buy choices, not guilt. ⏱ Episode Timeline & Key Topics 00:03 – Welcome & The Regrets We Hear Bill and Andy open the show with the common regrets they hear from plan participants: "I wish I'd saved more," "I wish I'd stayed in the market," "I wish I'd started earlier," and "I wish I'd taken the match longer." 00:53 – The One Regret Nobody Voices Nobody ever says they saved too much. Andy reframes the goal as balance — saving for later without abandoning a reasonable lifestyle now, or vice versa. 01:34 – Why Retirement Feels Too Far Away Bill notes how "retirement feels far away" leads people to defer saving, even though early dollars have the most time to compound. Life gets expensive as competing priorities — marriage, kids, college, car and house payments — crowd out saving. 02:08 – "Die with Zero" and Valuing What Feels Endless Andy shares Bill Perkins' insight from "Die with Zero": when something feels abundant or endless, we don't fully value it — which is exactly the trap with retirement saving that still feels far off. 02:53 – Missed Opportunities, Not Saved Dollars People nearing retirement rarely regret the money they saved; the regret is around opportunities missed. Each year's contribution limit lapses and can't be refilled later. 03:34 – Deathbed Regrets and Living with Balance Andy recalls that the biggest end-of-life regrets are rarely about working harder — they're about relationships, taking risks, and speaking up. The takeaway: plan forward for a long life while keeping balance today. 04:41 – Know How Your Company Match Works Bill urges participants to understand and maximize the match — an instant return, whether dollar-for-dollar or 50 cents on the dollar — and to capture that opportunity every year. 05:06 – When "Just the Match" Isn't Enough Andy raises the flip side: maxing the match may still fall short. The key questions are whether a match exists, what it is, and whether hitting it will actually be enough for your situation. 05:50 – Catch-Up and Super Catch-Up Contributions Bill covers catch-up contributions starting at age 50 and the SECURE 2.0 "super" catch-up for ages 60 to 63. Despite peak earning years, usage is low — roughly 5% of eligible 50-plus savers per the Public Retirement Research Lab, and low teens in Vanguard's How America Saves. 06:49 – Freeing Up Dollars in Your 50s As kids leave home and certain expenses fall away, your 50s can be a window to put more toward retirement — after assessing where you stand on your savings track. 07:39 – The New Roth Catch-Up Rule for High Earners Bill explains the rule rolled out this year: high earners (making $150,000 or more with an employer the prior year) who are 50-plus must make catch-up contributions as Roth. Some savers are balking — even skipping catch-ups entirely — rather than going Roth. 08:19 – Roth vs. Taxable: Why the Rule May Be a Gift Andy points out that money saved outside the plan gets taxed on dividends and gains along the way, while Roth is taxed up front and then grows and distributes tax-free. Bill notes high earners often can't deduct a traditional IRA anyway. 09:16 – The Value of Tax-Advantaged Space and the HSA The brothers highlight the range of tax-advantaged vehicles — 401(k), IRA, and the HSA, the triple-tax-advantaged account tied to a high-deductible health plan that blends the best of Roth and pre-tax. 09:49 – HSAs, Healthcare Costs, and Reimbursing Yourself Later Andy explains why the HSA may be the best retirement vehicle: healthcare becomes a bigger expense with age, and saving receipts now lets you reimburse yourself tax-free years later for big-ticket costs. 11:09 – An HSA Catch-Up Strategy for Couples Bill shares a lesser-known tip: when both spouses are 55-plus, the family contribution plus two catch-ups is allowed — but the second catch-up must go in a separate HSA. IRAs and HSAs can be funded up to the April tax deadline. 11:59 – Planning for Taxes Down the Road Andy notes most people focus only on today's taxes and overlook RMDs and legacy planning. Structuring your accounts thoughtfully can improve your future tax picture without costing much now. 12:35 – Can You Actually Save Too Much? Back to the opening question: yes, it's possible — high earners who live well within their means, or those who live so frugally the balance tips too far toward later at the expense of enjoying now. 14:01 – Money Should Buy Choices, Not Guilt Bill frames it as the balance of financial security and financial sacrifice. Savings should give you more choices in retirement — not maximize an account balance for its own sake. 15:08 – Confidence Scores and the Science of a Plan Andy describes the individual financial planning process: taking inventory of assets, income sources, and expenses to produce a confidence score across retirement ages, factoring in Social Security timing, Roth conversions, RMDs, and guaranteed income. 17:04 – Mid-Year Savings-Rate Checkup At the midpoint of 2026, Bill encourages listeners to review what they've saved in the first six months and adjust for the second half, aiming for a household savings rate near the often-cited 15% (including any match). 18:10 – "My Spouse Handles That" Andy addresses participants who leave saving entirely to a spouse — trust is great, but both partners should know whether the plan will be enough down the road. 18:39 – Wrap-Up: Better to Have Extra Than Be Short Bill contrasts arriving at retirement with $200,000 extra versus $200,000 short. Savings rates matter and long-term thinking gets you there. The brothers close with contact info — brothers, but not twins. ✅ Key Takeaways Quick Reference •             Nobody regrets saving — they regret missed opportunities — each year's contribution limit lapses and can't be refilled later, so capture it while you can •             Aim for balance, not extremes — don't sacrifice today's life entirely for the future, or the future entirely for today •             Start early to let time do the work — early dollars have the most time to compound, even when retirement feels far away •             Understand and maximize your match — a dollar-for-dollar or even 50-cents-on-the-dollar match is an instant return you should capture every year •             Maxing the match may not be enough — check whether hitting the match actually funds the retirement you want •             Use catch-up and super catch-up contributions — available at 50, with an enhanced amount for ages 60 to 63, yet only about 5% of eligible savers use them •             The Roth catch-up rule can work in your favor — high earners ($150K+) doing catch-ups must go Roth, which grows and distributes tax-free rather than getting nibbled by taxes in a taxable account •             The HSA may be your best retirement vehicle — triple-tax-advantaged, and you can save receipts now to reimburse yourself tax-free later •             Plan for future taxes, not just today's — think about RMDs, Roth conversions, and legacy before they arrive •             Money should buy choices, not guilt — the goal is confidence and options in retirement, not the biggest possible balance •             Do a mid-year savings-rate check — review the first six months and adjust; a common benchmark is around 15%, including any match

WORT 89.9FM Madison · Healthcare Costs Upend Small Business Between 1987 and 2024, health insurance premiums in the United States rose by a staggering 1000% – almost four times the rate of inflation.  The 1.4 trillion dollars spent on premiums accounts for one in every five dollars spent in the U.S. economy.  With the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, much has been made of the impact on these costs on individuals.  But skyrocketing health care costs affect businesses as well – especially small businesses.  That's the focus of a recent series of articles entitled “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach” on StatNews.  Bob Herman is the Business of Health Care Reporter for Stat News, and he joined the Monday Buzz on July 27, 2026. Image courtesy, Our World in Data. Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereThe post Healthcare Costs Upend Small Business appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

Senior housing equity has reached another record, but that's only part of this week's story. In this episode of HECM World Weekly, we unpack the biggest developments shaping the reverse mortgage, housing equity and retirement industries, including: Senior housing equity climbs to a record $14.92 trillion • Exclusive ATTOM insights into where America's deepest housing equity is really being built • California's growing home equity tax problem • Tennessee's first real-world success story following expanded access to proprietary reverse mortgages • Fidelity says retiree healthcare costs have risen another 7.5% • Housing affordability emerges as America's top political issue for younger voters • Why the World Economic Forum says we need to rethink housing • And the debate over whether housing is still the best long-term investment. Whether you're a reverse mortgage professional, lender, financial planner or housing industry leader, this episode brings together the week's most important news and explains what it means for the future of housing equity. Read the full article: https://hecmworld.com/2026/07/24/hecm-world-weekly-record-senior-housing-equity-rising-retirement-costs-and-a-bigger-conversation-about-housing/ Subscribe for weekly news, expert interviews and insights from across the U.S. housing equity and reverse mortgage industry.

Vasanta Pundarika built her career inside healthcare investment banking before launching Lotuspring, an advisory firm focused on women's health and behavioral health. She spent nearly 20 years advising healthcare systems, treatment providers, and growth stage companies on mergers, financing, and operational strategy while watching the industry repeatedly misunderstand the people it claimed to serve.The conversation starts unexpectedly with anthropology, bread, and language. Vasanta explains how she spent years changing the pronunciation of her own name to make other people comfortable before eventually reclaiming it. That thread opens into a much larger discussion about adaptation, identity, and what institutions quietly train people to tolerate.From there, the discussion moves into behavioral health, women delaying care, and the invisible labor that healthcare business models routinely ignore. During COVID, Vasanta noticed men's behavioral health units refilled faster than women's units. The reason had nothing to do with demand. Women were still home managing caregiving responsibilities, children, aging parents, and households while their own mental health collapsed in the background.The episode examines what happens when healthcare companies become “snazzy big brands” before building real clinical substance underneath. Vasanta describes the tension between mission and margin inside healthcare startups, private equity backed care models, and behavioral health expansion. The conversation pushes on who benefits when healthcare scales aggressively, who absorbs the operational pressure, and how patient trust erodes long before executives notice it on a dashboard.They also discuss patient advocacy culture, anthropology as systems analysis, healthcare capitalism, prior authorization, investor language, and why some clinically excellent companies never survive long enough to scale.RELATED LINKSVasanta PundarikaLotuspringWomen's Health HorizonsSakhi for South Asian SurvivorsNACDPrinceton University Anthropology DepartmentFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What if the biggest threat to your retirement isn’t the market—but the assumptions behind your budget? On this episode, Mike Douglas breaks down six common reasons retirement budgets can fall apart, including poor withdrawal strategies, overspending early in retirement, healthcare costs, inflation, longevity risks, and the dangers of a “set it and forget it” mindset. Learn why small planning gaps can compound over time and why retirement planning often requires ongoing adjustments as life changes Schedule your complimentary appointment today: MichigansRetirementCoach.com Follow us on social media: YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedInSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brad Power spent years advising major corporations on systems design, process engineering, and decision making before lymphoma shoved him into the patient side of American healthcare. Instead of accepting the experience at face value, he started reverse engineering the machinery around cancer itself. Brad is the founder of Cancer Patient Lab and Open Cancer AI, two projects built around a blunt reality most patients discover too late: the healthcare system rewards people who know how to navigate it. Everyone else risks getting steamrolled by information asymmetry, insurance barriers, administrative friction, and institutional incentives designed around efficiency instead of human survival.The conversation starts with Harvard Business Review and Tumblr blogs before moving directly into the darker architecture underneath modern cancer care. Power explains how hospitals optimize for throughput, how insurance companies reward operational consistency over personalized medicine, and why many patients quietly end up needing a crash course in oncology, reimbursement policy, and behavioral psychology while fighting for their lives.The discussion digs into CAR-T therapy, functional testing, AI assisted decision support, and the growing collision between personalized medicine and standardized care pathways. Power argues that engaged patients often get better outcomes because they learn how to push for off guideline treatments, contest denials, and ask smarter questions. The counterpoint lands hard: patients should never have needed to become experts in the first place.The episode also explores the cultural consequences of AI entering cancer care. OpenAI advertising, data privacy, trust erosion, pharmaceutical influence, and “agentic AI” all collide inside a healthcare economy already drowning in distrust. Power sees artificial intelligence as a force multiplier for patient literacy and access. The larger system still decides who gets approved, who gets delayed, and who gets left behind.By the end, the conversation lands exactly where modern healthcare keeps forcing people to land: survival increasingly depends on learning how the machine works before the machine works on you.RELATED LINKSBrad PowerCancer Patient LabOpen Cancer AIHarvard Business ReviewResearch to the PeopleCAR T Cell TherapyFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could retiring sooner than expected be possible—or are there important trade-offs you need to consider first? Frankie Guida explores the financial and lifestyle factors behind early retirement, including income replacement, healthcare costs, Social Security timing, and retirement spending strategies. He discusses why understanding your goals matters just as much as running the numbers, and how evaluating different retirement timelines can help you make informed decisions about your next chapter. Schedule a complimentary appointment: A Better Way Financial Learn more about Frank and Frankie's book here! Buy Frank's book! Amazon Best Seller, “The Book on Retirement: A Better Way to Stretch Your Retirement Dollars While Living the Lifestyle of Your Dreams.” Buy Frankie's book! Amazon Best Seller, ""A Better Way to Retire: How a Fiduciary Retirement Planner Can Be the Key to Financial Success" CLICK HERE to register for one of our upcoming Tax-Smart Retirement Planning Dinner Workshops. Follow us on social media: Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American healthcare system is built around a simple idea: get sick, get treated. But what if the problem isn't how we treat illness — it's that we've never seriously tried to prevent it? In this first installment of a two-part conversation, Jamie sits down with Brody Wall, Division President of Operations at Your Health, to trace the arc from a broken, reactive healthcare system to one where data tells you what's coming before the patient even knows something is wrong. Brody's path to healthcare wasn't through a textbook — it was through a father who was a Methodist minister and a mother who spent her career caring for underprivileged children. The mission was always there. The data just became the most honest way to fulfill it. In Part 1, Jamie and Brody cover: Why fee-for-service healthcare financially rewards volume of sick visits — not health — and how that one incentive structure explains why 17-20% of America's GDP goes to healthcare costs with outcomes that still lag behind other developed nations What Your Health was flying blind on before it committed to building a real data infrastructure — and what gut-feeling decisions look like when data finally proves them wrong How social determinants of health (Z codes) and behavioral health conditions (F codes) reveal which patients are actually at the highest risk of hospitalization The finding that changed everything: patients with four or more behavioral health conditions were ten times more likely to have multiple ER visits — and the clinical response that followed This isn't just a conversation about numbers. It's about what happens when an organization decides that preventing the crisis matters more than reacting to it. Part 2 drops next week. www.YourHealth.Org

Tens of millions of healthy people are contributing to the health insurance pool since the Republicans cut Obamacare subsidies- and the consequences are coming for all of us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By the time the paper hit version 71, Dr. Nirosha Murugan had already done the hard part. The data were real. The experiment had worked. A team of researchers had used a wearable bioreactor to trigger limb regeneration in frogs, a result with obvious implications for regenerative medicine. But the science still wasn't getting over the line. The problem wasn't the work. It was the translation.On this episode of Standard Deviation, host Oliver Bogler talks with Dr. Nirosha Murugan, a biophysicist and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Tissue Biophysics at Wilfrid Laurier University, about what happens when a scientist working at the edges of quantum biology, bioelectricity, and tissue regeneration runs headfirst into the unwritten rules of academic publishing. Murugan's research asks biologists to think beyond molecules and chemistry alone, and to consider the physical signals, electromagnetic fields, and invisible forces that shape development and healing. It is ambitious science. It is also exactly the kind of work that can make gatekeepers nervous.Bogler follows Murugan through the less glamorous part of discovery: the hidden curriculum of getting a paper published, securing scientific credibility, and learning that data do not simply “speak for themselves.” Murugan describes how jargon buried the pitch of her own work, how a lack of editorial support left her at a disadvantage, and how the JEDI program at the Life Science Editors Foundation paired her with a former journal editor who taught her how to structure a manuscript, write a cover letter, and survive peer review.The result was publication in Science Advances, but the larger story is about power. Who gets taught the rules of biomedical research. Who has access to grant writers, editors, and institutional polish. Who is left to brute-force their way through the maze. And how one scientist, having finally found the map, now makes sure her own trainees do not have to learn it the hard way.RELATED LINKSDr. Nirosha Murugan⁠Wilfrid Laurier University⁠Life Science Editors Foundation⁠JEDI Program⁠Science Advances paper on limb regeneration⁠FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026   Today, the Maine Democratic Party is weighing its options for selecting a new candidate should Graham Platner drop out; a Trump-appointed judge blocks the government from getting the names of 2020 Georgia election workers; new data shows that Obamacare enrollment has dropped dramatically over the past year; a new lawsuit shows the United States shared asylum application details with Iran; an Afghan national who fought with US forces has died in ICE custody; the family of a man shot by the Tennessee National Guard is demanding answers; Belgium beats and then trolls the US Men's National Team on Monday night; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News. The Daily Beans is proud to partner with Miles Taylor and our friends at DEFIANCE.org For a limited time, members of the Daily Beans community can receive a FREE 3-month full membership to DEFIANCE.org and gain access to one of the fastest-growing pro-democracy movements in America. Join here: https://www.defiance.org/beans   Thank You, IQBAR Text DAILYBEANS to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply.  Join The Daily Beans and give a gift today to ensure The Trevor Project can continue its crucial work in the face of continued challenges. Donate to The Trevor Project - Daily Beans Podcast Guest: Miles TaylorDefiance.org The Latest Breakdown:The Breakdown | Todd Blanche Could Be in Contempt Days Ahead of His Confirmation Hearing Stories Bernie Sanders Calls on Graham Platner to Drop Senate Bid After Rape Allegation | The New York Times Federal judge rejects Trump administration effort to get names of 2020 election workers in Fulton County Obamacare rolls shrank dramatically in many states over the past year, new federal data shows | AP News New lawsuit alleges U.S. shared asylum application details with Iran | NPR The family of a man shot by the Tennessee National Guard demands release of video | AP NewsGood TroubleContacting U.S. Senators | Senate.gov →Show up for our Libraries - action.ala.org →goodtroubleliveson.org/ July 17-19 →How to help those impacted by the Venezuela earthquakes|AP →Oppose House Amendment to Defund the Peace Corps! →Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance -  Open For Comments →Stand With Minnesota →ICE List  →iceout.org Good NewsThe Bloggess | Jenny Lawson Sistrum - Lansing, Sister Singers Network dana-goldbergs-southwest-funnyfest Oct 9 -Email Dana@DanaGoldberg.com for sponsorship information Tour - DANA GOLDBERGTickets for Dana Goldberg: Outrageous - Sep 23 - Den Theater - Chicago  →Share your Good News & Good Trouble - The Daily Beans   →Beans Talk audio -beans-talk.simplecast.com →Email Dana LGBTQ Owned eating establishments in your area - hello@mswmedia.com Subject: “Dana's Project” Subscribe to the MSW YouTube Channel - MSW Media - YouTube Our Donation Links The Trevor Project - trevorproject.org/beans Blue Wave California - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/msw-bwc Donate to Public Citizen - https://citizen.org/beans/ The Daily Beans is donating $10,000 and invites you to give what you can to support their life-affirming work - Donate to It Gets Better / The Daily Beans Fundraiser Pathways to Citizenship link to MATCH Allison's Donationhttps://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_86ff5236-dd26-11ec-b5ee-066e3d38bc77&WidgetId=6388736 Join Dana and The Daily Beans in support of Human Rights Campaign http://onecau.se/_ekes71 More Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - Donate, ActBlue.com/donate/msw-bwc, WhistleblowerAid.org/beans Dr. Allison Gill - The Breakdown | Allison Gill, Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com - Bluesky, MSW & The Daily Beans Podcast @muellershewrote - Instagram, MSW Media - YouTube →Federal workers - email AG at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen.  Dana Goldberg - Dana is on Patreon! At Dana's Dugout, @dgcomedy - Bluesky, @dgcomedy - IG, Dana Goldberg - Facebook,  DanaGoldberg.com More from MSW Media - Shows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 pod, The Breakdown | Allison Gill Reminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! patreon.com/muellershewrote Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:https://apple.co/3XNx7ckWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?https://patreon.com/thedailybeanshttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/https://apple.co/3UKzKt0 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Jess Peatross trained in conventional medicine and worked as a hospitalist before she started questioning why so many chronically ill patients kept getting worse inside the healthcare system she trusted. Her perspective carries weight because she spent years following every protocol exactly as taught before walking away from hospital medicine entirely.Raised in Huntington, West Virginia during the opioid crisis, she entered medicine believing the system existed to heal people. Instead, she found hospitals driven by billing codes, liability management, and pharmaceutical dependence while patients with chronic illness, autoimmune disease, mold exposure, and chronic pain cycled endlessly through appointments and prescriptions.Dr. Peatross explains what pushed her toward functional medicine, cannabis therapy, and prevention focused care after watching patients improve only after leaving conventional treatment pipelines behind. The conversation tackles physician burnout, chronic illness stigma, healthcare incentives, and the growing collapse of trust between patients and institutions.The discussion also moves into supplements, environmental toxins, ultra processed food, and the uncomfortable economics behind keeping people permanently sick but continuously billable. Dr. Peatross describes the professional backlash that comes with challenging medical orthodoxy while Matthew connects her experience to the broader erosion of public trust across American healthcare.Together they unpack what happens when patients stop believing the system can help them and start searching elsewhere for answers.RELATED LINKSDr. Jess PeatrossInstagramMarshall UniversityBrave New WeedFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Farla Efros is a senior retail executive and former CEO who built and sold companies before facing her own breast cancer diagnosis. She brings that same operational mindset into a healthcare system that expects patients to manage complexity while they are at their most vulnerable.She was on a client call in Spain when the diagnosis came through. A clear mammogram had missed it. An MRI caught it. Within hours, she was ordering binders, building a plan, and structuring her treatment like a turnaround strategy. Every appointment became a meeting. Every doctor faced an agenda with dozens of questions. She paid out of pocket for PET scans that were denied and hired a third party firm to validate her treatment path when her own doctors resisted outside input. The conversation tracks what happens when a high-functioning executive enters a system built on delay, denial, and fragmentation. Efros describes negotiating for tests, managing physician relationships, and assembling an “executive board” of advisors across conventional and alternative care. She calls the experience “the worst client I ever had,” exposing how administrative burden shifts onto patients and families.The tension sits between what worked for her and what is inaccessible to most. Her approach requires confidence, time, and fluency in navigating power. The system rewards that behavior while quietly failing patients who cannot replicate it. Insurance coverage still left her paying out of pocket. Doctors pushed standard protocols over precision medicine. Survivorship offered little support once treatment ended.This episode examines how cancer care operates as a series of incentives rather than a coordinated system, and why patients are forced to become operators just to get through it.RELATED LINKSFarla EfrosFarla Efros on LinkedInF*ck CancerF*ck Cancer on AmazonAccentureCTOAMPULL QUOTES“I treated cancer like the worst client I ever had.”“They wouldn't approve the test, so I paid for it myself.”“Every appointment was a negotiation.”FEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Healthcare costs are consuming a growing share of school district budgets—and the consequences extend far beyond employee benefits.In this episode of School Business Insider, host John Brucato is joined by Elleka Yost and Jim Rowan of ASBO International to discuss the findings of a new national report released jointly by ASBO International and AASA: Rising Premiums, Falling Opportunities: The Budgetary Impact of Healthcare Costs on School Districts.Drawing on responses from more than 750 school leaders across 42 states, the report reveals how rising healthcare costs are forcing districts to make difficult choices involving staffing, instructional materials, technology investments, capital projects, and student programs.The conversation explores the drivers behind these increases, the financial realities facing districts, and the advocacy efforts needed to address one of the most significant budget challenges in public education today.Contact School Business Insider:Check us out on social media:LinkedInTwitter (X)Website: https://asbointl.org/SBIEmail: podcast@asbointl.orgMake sure to like, subscribe and share for more great insider episodes!Disclaimer:The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker's own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the Association of School Business Officials International. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "ASBO International" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service. The presence of any advertising does not endorse, or imply endorsement of, any products or services by ASBO International.ASBO International is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and does not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for elective public office. The sharing of news or information concerning public policy issues or political campaigns and candidates are not, and should not be construed as, endorsements by ASBO International....

June 26, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes. Today's top stories: America spent $5.7T on healthcare last year up 7.3%, now 18.4% of the economy with prescription drug spending jumping 11%, projected to reach $9T by 2034 ABC Fitness finds new gym memberships declined 9% with cancellations up 8%, while studio visits climbed 27% as retention and community become key differentiators London Marathon expands to two days and 100,000 participants in 2027 as demand outgrows supply, with races introducing lotteries amid bigger fields and prize purses More from Fitt: Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital. Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe  Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/ Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/ Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider  Reach out → insider@fitt.co 

Healthcare is one of the biggest unknowns in any FIRE plan. If you're considering early retirement, self-employment, or leaving a traditional job, understanding health insurance costs could save you thousands of dollars per year and prevent costly planning mistakes. In this episode, we break down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance, premium tax credits, MAGI planning, and how healthcare costs vary by state. We also walk through a healthcare cost estimator tool that can help you project future expenses and build a more resilient financial independence plan. Resources Featured in the Episode: Healthcare Cost Projection: https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/healthcarecosts/ 2026 Tax Projection: https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/income-tax-projection/ How Health Insurance Works in Early Retirement Blog Post: https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/how-health-insurance-works-in-early-retirement-and-self-employment-2026/ How to Plan for Healthcare Over Early Retirement Blog Post: https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/planning-for-healthcare-costs-over-a-decades-long-early-retirement/ To go beyond the podcast: Kick start your financial independence journey with our FREE financial resources - https://biggerpocketsmoney.com/ Subscribe on YouTube for even more content- www.youtube.com/biggerpocketsmoney  Connect with us on social media to join the other BiggerPockets Money listeners - https://www.facebook.com/groups/BPMoney We believe financial independence is attainable for anyone no matter when or where you're starting. Let's get your financial house in order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, Emily Mendenhall drove from Washington, DC to Okoboji, Iowa, a town of 800 that swells to 200,000 every summer, and walked into a pandemic that looked nothing like the one dominating national headlines. Inside gas stations and bars, masks marked you as an outsider. In one stop, a man told her family they would not be served if they kept theirs on. Her 6 year old daughter cried, confused. Mendenhall, a medical anthropologist at Georgetown University, did what she always does. She started asking questions. Over months, she interviewed neighbors, former classmates, and local officials, including her own brother in law who helped lead the local COVID response. The result became Unmasked, a case study in how community identity, economics, and politics shaped public health decisions in real time. That work led directly into her latest book, Invisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long COVID, where she tracks a much older problem. Patients with chronic illness, especially women, often fail to meet medicine's demand for proof. Without a clear diagnosis, they lose access to care, insurance coverage, and legitimacy. Mendenhall argues that long COVID did not create this failure. It exposed it.This conversation centers on how healthcare systems reward certainty and punish complexity. Long COVID clinics send patients to 17 specialists without resolution. Insurance structures require diagnoses that many conditions cannot provide. Medical training still struggles to integrate trauma, mental health, and chronic disease into a coherent model of care.Mendenhall brings lived experience into the conversation. After COVID, she dealt with months of fatigue and escalating anxiety that altered her baseline health. She does not claim the label of long COVID, but she understands how quickly the system becomes harder to navigate once symptoms stop fitting clean categories. The stakes are not theoretical. In the United States, access to healthcare, disability benefits, and treatment still depends on whether a condition can be measured, coded, and reimbursed. For millions living with invisible illness, the burden of proof becomes the illness itself.RELATED LINKSEmily MendenhallInvisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long COVIDScience PoliticsGeorgetown UniversityFEEDBACKLike this episode? Rate and review Out of Patients on your favorite podcast platform. For guest suggestions or sponsorship email podcasts@matthewzachary.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.