MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic and Congressional Action: Representative Rosa DeLauro on Protecting Families and Businesses Through Crisis

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, on the passage of the Families First and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Act, two bills passed in Congress to address the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Congresswoman Delauro discusses the need for more resources for testing and for health systems support, the need for paid sick leave and family leave, the rise of telehealth to meet demand and the need for the public to heed the warnings to stay home through the worst of the crisis.

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2020

Pandemic Expert Dr. Sheri Fink on Reducing Harm From Coronavirus in US

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Sheri Fink, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times Correspondent and one of the Executive Producers of “Pandemic: How to Avoid an Outbreak” on Netflix. She has covered numerous catastrophes, epidemcis and war zones, and shares her insights into public health interventions that reduce harm from pandemics, and how institutions and individuals must prepare to protect themselves.

MONDAY, FEBRAURY 24, 2020

What You Need to Know About COVID-19 With Dr. Saad Omer of the Yale Institute for Global Health

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Saad Omer, Director of the Yale Institute for Global Health, on the expanding COVID-19 outbreak. A renowned epidemiologist, Dr. Omer discusses the best protocols against spread of the Coronavirus epidemic, the need for evidence-based science to guide government responses, and how the global research community is working together to tackle this outbreak and create a vaccine in record time.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020

Pulitzer Prize Winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn Chronicle America’s ‘Deaths of Despair’ in Their Latest Book “Tightrope”

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Pulitzer Prize winners, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and journalist and consultant Sheryl WuDunn. The prolific husband-and-wife writing team discuss their latest book about a humanitarian crisis happening right here in America. In “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope”, they explore the decline in life expectancy and the rise of ‘deaths of despair’ in the US. They also examine solutions to address this growing public health crisis.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Guns are Killing American Children: University of Michigan Researcher Rebecca Cunningham is Seeking To Find Out Why

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, Director of the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center. Dr. Cunningham is leading a national team of scientists in ground-breaking collaborative research to examine the myriad causes of the gun violence epidemic in this country, now the leading cause of death for America’s teens, and second leading cause of death for American children overall. Congress has recently allocated money for gun violence research after a two-decade drought. Her team is examining social causes, policy requirements and prevention interventions to address the crisis.

MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2020

2020 Voters Call for Health Care Fix – Not Repeal or Replace

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Marilyn Serafini, Director of the Health Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center which recently conducted a poll of voters in early polling states in the 2020 Presidential Election. Results show voters are most concerned about the costs of health care, preferring to fix the existing system, rather than repeal the Affordable Care Act or replace it with a Medicare For All approach.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2019

Protecting Your Personal Health Data: US Senator Bill Cassidy on Bipartisan Smartwatch Data Act

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with US Senator Bill Cassidy (R) LA, on the bipartisan bill he co-sponsored aimed at protecting personal health information from industry profiteering. He discusses the “Smartwatch Data Act” which seeks to protect data generated on smart watches, personal electronic devices and genomics testing, to give patients more control over how their data is used for commercial gain.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Ending HIV Epidemic in a Decade: CDC Director Robert Redfield on Treatments, Prevention and Hope For Vaccine

This week, on the eve of World Aids Day, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter revisit their conversation with Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on the quest to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in ten years. They discuss the CDC’s efforts to advance infection prevention in high risk groups through the use of PrEP, better treatment protocols for those already infected, and the ongoing quest to develop an AIDS vaccine.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Democratic Presidential Hopeful John Delaney on His Market-Based Approaches to Universal Health Care and Addressing Climate Change

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome another 2020 Presidential candidate to Conversations on Health Care, former Maryland Congressman and entrepreneur John Delaney. They discuss his record as a centrist Democrat who favors more market-based approaches to universal health care, which gives all Americans access to coverage, but keeps private payers in the mix, providing more consumer choice than Medicare for All. He favors a carbon tax approach to addressing climate change to foster US innovation to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Vaping and the Rise of Teen Nicotine Addiction: Warnings and Solutions from Matthew Myers, CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter welcome Matthew Myers, co-founder and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a leading organization dedicated to reducing tobacco use and harm around the country and the world. He discusses the dramatic decline of teen tobacco use, until the recent rise in vaping and e-cigarettes among the nation's youth - leading to a dramatic increase in nicotine addiction. He discusses the best approach to addressing this public health crisis.

MONDAY, SEBTEMBER 9,2019

From Civil Rights to the ACA: House Majority Whip James Clyburn on Fight for Health Equity in America

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter celebrate 10 years on the air and our 500th episode with Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), House Majority Whip and the third ranking Democrat in Congress. He talks about the legacy of the Affordable Care Act in advancing health equity, and the need to strengthen the nation's community health centers through a national broadband and telehealth initiative to more effectively deploy quality health care to all Americans.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2019

2020 Democratic Presidential Contender Montana Governor Steve Bullock on Health Care, Climate Change and Gun Safety

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Montana Governor and 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Steve Bullock. They discuss his views on strengthening the Affordable Care Act, protecting women's health rights, taking action on climate change, enacting sensible gun laws, and reducing the influence of dark money on American politics.

MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019

AMA's First African American Female President, Dr. Patrice Harris on Quest for Health Equity

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Patrice Harris, the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman to hold the post. She talks about the AMA's efforts to innovate for the evolving health care of the 21st century, with a focus on tackling the opioid crisis, addressing racial disparities in the medical profession, and advancing health coverage, equity and behavioral health parity for all Americans.

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019

Medicare-for-All on the Campaign Trail: Kaiser's Larry Levitt Explains It All

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President for Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation who looks at the differences in proposals from the Democratic presidential candidates. He looks at variations in the "Medicare-for-all" proposals, how it would impact consumers, and examines the shifting role of insurance companies in the ongoing health policy debate.

MONDAY. JULY 29, 2019

The Art of Compromise: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Navigating Health Policy in Hyper-partisan Times

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, now Senior Fellow at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, on ways to create effective health policy in this hyper-partisan era. He discusses successful strategies he deployed as a Democratic governor in a red state that might prove effective across the country and in Washington.

MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2019

Flint Water Crisis Whistle Blower Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha on the Aftermath of the Poisoning of a City

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Pediatrician and public health activist, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who exposed the Flint Water Crisis brought on by state and city officials who switched Flint's water supply. She discusses her book on the crisis, "What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City" which exposes government efforts to deny their role, and the ongoing community-wide effort to address the public health crisis.

MONDAY, MAY 27, 2019

2020 Presidential Contender Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on Community Health Centers, Health Equity and Safer Gun Laws

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a contender for the Democratic 2020 Presidential nomination on the importance of health equity in this country and the important role of Community Health Centers. They discuss his vision for more comprehensive gun safety laws, addressing health inequity in rural America and addressing America's opioid crisis.

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

Propelling Primary Care Towards Value-Based Care: Adam Boehler, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at HHS on Their Bold Agenda

This week hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Adam Boehler, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at HHS. They discuss ways the agency hopes to "blow up fee for service" and the efforts underway to propel the nation's primary care reimbursement structure towards shared risk and value-based care, rewarding clinicians for better outcomes.

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2019

Governor Bill Weld Mounts Challenge against President Trump: Discusses Health Care, Climate Change and Bipartisanship



This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter kick off a series of interviews with presidential candidates. Our first interview was with Governor Bill Weld, who announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination yesterday. They discuss his views on the Affordable Care Act, climate change, and his thoughts on how to bring the divided nation together.

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019

Tackling the Opioid Crisis: Bipartisan Policy Center's Dr. Anand Parekh Examines State-Based Approaches

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Anand Parekh, Chief Medical Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank committed to fostering bi-partisan solutions to America's biggest challenges. He discusses their recent report, a first-of-its kind analysis, on how states are utilizing Federal dollars in different ways to battle the opioid crisis, examining interventions that are working.