Healthy Communities Online

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Chip Kahn, CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals which represents over a thousand of the nation’s owner-operated hospitals. The long time health industry strategist speculates on changes to health coverage for millions of Americans under the GOP health reform bill, and what it might mean for the hospital industry and health care in this country.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Paul Gionfriddo, CEO of Mental Health America, the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to advancing access to mental services for all Americans. He discusses the need to change the nation’s response to mental illness from a public safety to a public health approach.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Katherine Hayes, Director of Health Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which has issued a report to Congress urging them to move slowly on repeal of safety net programs supported by the ACA. She warns that states and vulnerable populations will suffer consequences under repeal of support for CHIP as well as federal matching grants for the Medicaid expansion.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Dr. Jennifer Walthall, Indiana’s Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, which oversees the state’s Medicaid program. She discusses their unique approach to expanding Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of residents, as well as the state’s comprehensive response to the spike in opioid and HIV cases.

This week, hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter speak with Allan Coukell, Sr. Director for Health Programs at the Pew Charitable Trusts, where he oversees the FDA, drug and medical device safety and the opioid crisis.  He discusses suggested changes to the FDA made by the Trump Administration, and how best to promote reforms at the US Food and Drug Administration to better respond to 21st century advances in research and discovery.