Healthy Communities Online

Supporters say Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is fulfilling his vision to be “pro-safety,” not anti-vaccine. His recent actions have included restricting COVID eligibility, dissolving expert panels, installing skeptical voices and defunding mRNA development.  Michael Osterholm, Ph.D., director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, is pushing back and says, “I’ve never in my 50 years in public health experienced anything like this in terms of the threat to good public health.”  Osterholm and…

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Originally broadcast Wednesday, August 27 Dr. Victor Montori, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, internationally recognized researcher, and author of “Why We Revolt,” joins hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter to talk about what it really means to fix a health care system that he believes has lost its way. Montori leads The Patient Revolution, a global movement aiming to make health care more elegant with “no waste or haste, focused on the biology and biography of each person, responsive to each…

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Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s FitnessGram is on the ropes. President Trump recently reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test; over 10 years ago, the government replaced the test with Dr. Cooper’s FitnessGram, “the first student fitness report card.” Dr. Cooper has a cautious reaction. “Whether they’re going to be using exactly as the test [in the new process] is not really known. I am delighted to see that they realize the importance of childhood fitness.” To him, it just makes sense to measure…

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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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