Episodes

Dr. Deborah Birx Reacts to Vice President Testing Positive for COVID; Criticizes Trump White House Pandemic Communications

Former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx shared her perspective about Vice President Kamala Harris testing positive for COVID with “Conversations on Health Care.”

Birx says, “I think [the vice president’s diagnosis] illustrates our very dilemma right now. She was vaccinated, boostered and then reboosted just a month ago and I’m sure she will do incredibly well. She has access to all of the really critical therapeutics…people get infected despite full vaccinations and boosting.”

Birx told hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that the “mishandling of communications by the Trump White House caused significant issues on the ground no matter what state I went into and caused amazing confusion among the American people.”

Birx answered questions as she talked about her new book “Silent Invasion: The Untold Story of the Trump Administration, Covid-19, and Preventing the Next Pandemic Before It’s Too Late.”

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TV’s Jane Pauley’s Personal Story: Why Community Health Centers Matter to Her

Jane Pauley has been a familiar face on America’s TV screens since she started on NBC’s “Today” and continues as anchor of CBS “Sunday Morning.” Her interest in mental health has grown through the years as she faced her own challenges and as she became connected to behavioral health leaders in her home state of Indiana. Now her name graces the front doors of the Jane Pauley Community Health Center and she’s a powerful advocate for the services they, and all community health centers, provide.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter talk exclusively to Jane about this work and with Marc Hackett, CEO of the Jane Pauley Community Health Center.

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Reaction to Philadelphia’s New Mask Orders: “A Little Premature”

“It feels a little premature…I might have waited a little longer to see what happens.”

That’s the reaction from COVID expert Dr. Robert Wachter to Philadelphia’s decision to again require people to wear masks indoors, including in schools and daycares. It’s the first major American city to take this step. Wachter is chair of the Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco and a popular voice on Twitter.

He also shares that policymakers, including those looking at renewing public transportation mask orders, must consider that the public is tired of wearing masks after over two years.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter’s full interview with Dr. Wachter is available now.

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APHA Executive Director: $10B in New COVID Funding Needed, Being Spent Responsibly

Dr. Georges Benjamin,

executive director of the American Public Health Association, says the legislative agreement for $10 billion in new federal COVID funding is “really a drop in the bucket.” He says more dollars are needed to build up public health in all parts of the U.S. He responded to some political complaints by assuring taxpayers that public health officials are indeed financially accountable.

Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also asked Dr. Benjamin about the reorganization plans for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; he says it needs a greater focus on emergency preparedness.

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CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Breaks Down President Biden’s Health Budget Goals

CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure discusses President Biden’s increased health budget proposal for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is focused on health equity, mental health parity, and nursing home safety as key goals in the coming year. 

The Administrator says more resources are being allocated to address the nation’s mental health crisis, especially for the nation’s children still being impacted by the pandemic. Administrator Brooks-LaSure, the first African American woman to hold that office, says nursing home vaccine requirements and safety regulations should continue to inform that health sector. She says that all US government health agencies have been tasked with making health equity the centerpiece of their policies and programs moving forward. She says supports for insurance subsidies provided by the American Rescue Act are vital to maintaining health coverage for millions of vulnerable Americans. 

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Ukraine Doctor’s War Dispatch: Horrific Criminal Acts

Dr. Iryna Voloshyna, a primary care medical professor in Ukraine, shares a harrowing account of how she and others have tried to deliver urgently needed oncology medication to patients but “can’t give them to our people…because there is no road, there are only Russian military soldiers who try to kill everyone who tries to bring boxes.”

Dr. Voloshyna tells Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that she and her daughter had to sleep on the subway station floor for a week, and their lives are still interrupted by air sirens. She says the Russians have “criminally interrupted” the Ukrainian way of life.

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