Healthy Communities Online

Originally broadcast November 21, 2024 TV ads focused on health care issues — including transgender care, abortion and costs — ricocheted across the airwaves in the months leading up to election day. Erika Franklin Fowler, Ph.D., is a co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political ads. She joins “Conversations on Health Care” to discuss a controversial anti-transgender surgery ad from the Republicans that also benefited from free media attention, as well as House and Senate candidates picking up…

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Originally broadcast November 14, 2024 There are 27 million Americans who have medical debt on their credit reports right now—a drag on their pocketbooks and our health care system. Urban Institute researchers say they’ve found an interesting fact about those with medical debt: They live in communities with less healthcare competition because of common ownership. The data show that communities of color and people living in the South are disproportionately affected. Fredric Blavin, Ph.D. and Breno Braga, Ph.D. say medical…

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Originally broadcast April 9, 2024 The upcoming presidential election is stressing out 69% of American adults, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. If you’re with the majority in feeling that way, there’s important advice to consider from worldwide acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming. She’s the editor of “Music and Mind,” a curated collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators and health care providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health…

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Originally broadcast October 17, 2024 For nearly the first decade of the National Institutes of Health’s “All of Us” Research Program — aimed at increasing diversity in genetic research — a major component was missing: kids. “Children are approximately 24% of our population in the U.S. and 100% of our future,” Dr. Sara Van Driest, director of pediatrics for NIH’s All of Us Program, told hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter. “In order to provide them with the very best…

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Originally broadcast October 10, 2024 The countdown is on to election day with health care issues hanging in the balance as never before. The biggest one: Abortion and reproductive rights. Andrea Ducas, the Vice President of Health Policy at the Center for American Progress, says “What you see with Vice President Harris is a candidate who’s committed to protecting women’s freedoms, to protecting women’s right to choose.” On the other side of the political spectrum is Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., the…

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Originally broadcast October 2, 2024 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen described to “Conversations on Health Care” that their role right now is ensuring impacted residents understand the health risks that are present and could continue to grow in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Dr. Cohen says while local, state and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are in the acute response phase, CDC is doing its part by ensuring people realize there are growing…

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