Episodes

Republicans in the U.S. House passed a deal that lifts the debt ceiling along with spending cuts aimed at the nation’s health care safety net.

Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the Cato Institute, supports the move. She says, “I do think there’s quite a bit of improper spending, waste for certain and things the federal government shouldn’t be involved with anymore, where members of Congress could cut.”

Jennifer Wagner, Director of Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, is a critic of the GOP actions. “These cuts would devastate these programs especially when you protect certain programs that have been taken off the table…that means cuts to other programs like Medicaid like SNAP would be absurdly large,” she explains.

Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter give you the chance to hear both sides on this vitally important budget fight that will continue as President Biden and the Senate make the next moves.

Anti-tobacco advocates just had another big win: New York, California, and several other states reached a settlement worth nearly $500 million against e-cigarette maker Juul Labs.

How can states use these funds for public health good? And how is the truth initiative helping to spread messages about the dangers of vaping?

Truth Initiative is America’s largest nonprofit public health organization committed to making tobacco use and nicotine addiction a thing of the past. Experts credit it for helping significantly reduce teen cigarette use in the last 20 years.

Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter discuss their approach with CEO and president Robin Koval.

A federal judge’s decision to revoke the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone has led some politicians to ask the Biden Administration not to enforce the ruling. Yet NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju, who’s in close contact with the White House, tells “Conversations on Health Care” that’s not the right move. “I think calls for the FDA not to comply, while you know emotionally satisfying, are not actually helpful in a litigation strategy. And our goal is for the FDA and the DOJ to prevail in this case. The ruling…is riddled with serious disinformation.”

Timmaraju explains how the Supreme Court could hear the case by the end of this week and how this judge’s opinion could have an even bigger impact on the entire health care sector. Her interview with Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter is online now.

At a time of high misinformation and confusion, Americans need to count on journalists for getting the facts about the state of health care. Reporters are busy covering the top stories including the legal challenges to Affordable Care Act and medical abortion.

Join Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as they talk with three leading health care journalists: Amy Goldstein with The Washington Post; Joyce Frieden with MedPage Today; and Jessica Bartlett with The Boston Globe.

Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, the first openly gay person to be elected as president of the American Medical Association, joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to discuss potential cuts to federal health care and the need for more diversity in the doctors’ ranks.

He also explains the organization’s “Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians” to address burnout among its nearly 300,000 physician members.

Dr. Robert Califf, commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, discusses the promising research behind a new class of diabetes and obesity drugs that could improve tens of millions of lives in America impacted by the obesity epidemic.

He addresses the FDA’s pending new tobacco control rules, as well as improvements to the infant formula pipeline in the wake of recent shortages. Dr. Califf also voices deep concerns that health misinformation is the ‘leading cause of death in America now.’