Healthy Communities Online

Originally broadcast August 14, 2025 One in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, yet only a fraction of philanthropic dollars goes toward mental health, addiction, and well-being. Alyson Niemann, CEO of Mindful Philanthropy, joined Conversations on Health Care hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to share how her organization is closing this gap and inspiring bold new investments. “We issued a challenge … to increase the funding to mental health, addiction, and well-being to $35 billion annually by…

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Originally broadcast August 7, 2025 Experts who believe in the “food is medicine” concept say recent decisions made in Washington could have a devastating effect. Dr. Hilary Seligman, a nationally recognized expert on food insecurity and health outcomes at the University of California San Francisco, spoke to “Conversations on Health Care.” The interview highlighted that cutbacks to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are projected to reduce federal spending by $186 billion over the next decade. She believes this could…

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Americans are living longer for many reasons and experts credit Medicare and Medicaid for some of this success. This week, these federal programs are celebrating their own birthdays. Sixty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. However, recent moves are expected to result in decreased enrollment and payments to health care providers. “Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Mark Updegrove about this situation. Updegrove is the president and CEO…

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“I would have never, ever in my whole life have said, ‘we’re going to cure addiction.’ I think we now have knowledge and tools that could potentially, definitely lead us to a cure for addiction.” —  Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse Dr. Volkow shared her attention-getting belief with “Conversations on Health” at Aspen Ideas: Health. Healthcare providers and society at large have spent decades dealing with substance use disorders and the loss of life has been…

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Dr. Betancourt, president of the influential The Commonwealth Fund, is committed to “Affordable, quality health care. For everyone.” Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter interviewed him at Aspen Ideas: Health at the Aspen Institute. Here are some of the Fund’s top concerns right now: Dr. Betancourt, the first Latino to lead the Fund, is also proud of health equity as he defines it: “My lived experience informs a lot of my ideas around how our foundation can go forward…it’s about…

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President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4 and now leaders such as Stephanie Carlton are in charge of implementing it. She’s the deputy administrator and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Carlton and the administration see the law’s benefits because Medicaid reimbursement rates “were allowed to go up to commercial rates and states are at varying levels towards that cap. But as we sat back and looked at…

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