Category: Uncategorized

Originally broadcast on October 19, 2023

Dr. Mandy Cohen, the new CDC director, is facing big hurdles as she tries to explain to Americans the benefits of three vaccines now available at the same time: the updated COVID and the flu vaccine (for everyone 6 months and older) and the RSV vaccine (for eligible older adults). There’s vaccine skepticism and have been some issues with insurance payments. At the same time, she’s trying to rebuild trust in the CDC when polls show that has been eroding.

Dr. Cohen is committed to improving the agency’s data collection and explains that models for the flu season indicate it will not be an early flu season, despite earlier reports from the Southern Hemisphere that it could be. She also talks about how the government’s investment in Long COVID research could also provide insights into other viral illnesses with extended symptoms.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also ask her about the looming federal government shutdown and budget pressures she’s facing after only three months in the job.

Conversations on Health Care features in-depth discussions on health policy and innovation with industry newsmakers from around the globe. https://www.chcradio.com

While both parties in Washington dig in for a longer fight over the budget, health care policy hangs in the balance. Ben Leonard with POLITICO and Nathaniel Weixel with The Hill both cover health care policy and join us for a reporters’ roundtable to go over the pending issues as the government faces another funding shutdown in mid-November.

Join us as hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter highlight how the direction of Congress will impact America’s health care system.

Conversations on Health Care features in-depth discussions on health policy and innovation with industry newsmakers from around the globe. https://www.chcradio.com

Portions of this broadcast previously aired in May 2021.

As we mark Hispanic Heritage Month, we hear from Dr. Elena Rios, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association, which represents the interests of the nation’s 50,000 Latino physicians. This is an encore presentation from 2021 yet many of the issues we discussed then are still relevant, including Latino vaccine hesitancy and the pandemic’s mental health toll. Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for their conversation about how to address health inequities affecting the Hispanic community.

In addition, author Charles Barber sits down with Mark Masselli to discuss the publication of “Paz y Salud,” the translation of his book about Community Health Center, “Peace & Health,” into Spanish.

Conversations on Health Care features in-depth discussions on health policy and innovation with industry newsmakers from around the globe. https://www.chcradio.com

Researchers just announced they have found clear differences in the blood of Long COVID patients—this is the scientific proof that some in the health care sector want to see. Right before this news broke, we asked Dr. Lisa Sanders, the director of the new Yale New Haven Long COVID Multidisciplinary Care Center, about the lack of a Long COVID blood test.

She pushed back on skeptics because she has seen clinical evidence of the condition. Now, it appears Dr. Sanders and her colleagues will indeed be able to confirm Long COVID is a biological illness.  

Dr. Sanders, who also writes The New York Times Diagnosis column, explained her patients are getting better through a variety of approaches and she’s hopeful the caseload will continue to decrease.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for this important conversation that’s part of our continuing coverage of Long COVID.

Conversations on Health Care features in-depth discussions on health policy and innovation with industry newsmakers from around the globe. https://www.chcradio.com