Episodes

Right now, the Moses/Weitzman Health System is focused on transforming primary care delivery nationally for the people who need it most. 

But it all started over 50 years ago with Community Health Center, Inc. in Connecticut, and three young men who dreamed of making health care “a right, not a privilege.”

“Conversations on Health Care” co-host Mark Masselli brings together his two close friends who were there on July 26, 1976, when their fledgling program needed to find a permanent home and they pooled their resources to purchase what became known as the Hilda building. 

One of them, John Hickenlooper, went on to serve as a mayor, governor and now U.S. Senator from Colorado. He says that in that Bicentennial Year, there was a real sense that “our democracy really could solve some of these problems of why all people can’t have health care.” 

Another supporter, Matt Vinikas, has gone on to share their values and vision with similar health programs across the country. 

“If you don’t know where you’ve been, you don’t know where you’re going,” Mark believes. 

Join us for this special program and learn the secret role that John’s beloved dog Hilda played in inspiring them all.

$100 billion.

It’s a huge number but that’s the total amount the Trump Administration believes it can find in fraud across Medicaid and Medicare by 2029.

The person helping lead that initiative is Stephanie Carlton, the deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She’s now directing efforts to make CMS an “AI First” agency and to harness its power to crack down on waste.

“I think when you show the data to the American people and show them what’s going on with their tax dollars, they get pretty frustrated about the kinds of things that just slid…and that government that is supposed to be stewarding their resources is not focused on,” she tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

Carlton also addresses:

• If her agency and the states are ready for the work/volunteer requirements for Medicaid recipients starting next year
• The administration’s view on the fiscal crisis facing rural hospitals
• How the new Rural Health Transformation Program aims to make a difference  

Don’t miss this wide-ranging conversation, focused on some of the most pressing issues in health care, recorded on location at Aspen Ideas: Health.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, it’s important to highlight what makes the country unique. Here’s an example: A group of concerned people set out over 50 years ago to build the community health center movement. Matt Vinikas is among the pioneers who poured his intellect and passion into what has evolved into the Community Health Center, Inc. and later the Moses/Weitzman Health System, America’s first health system dedicated to primary care for underserved populations.

Matt explains the humble origins of the efforts and provides inspiration for the next generation of those working to ensure “health care is a right, not a privilege.” This life-long commitment has taken him far and wide as a leader and advocate for the movement.

Matt tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that “the part that really excites me is doing community development within an organization…getting a group of people, working together, sharing a vision, becoming passionate about achieving a goal.”

As we celebrate America’s birthday, we should recognize that the founders also revolutionized public health when they formed the United States. 

• George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams all supported smallpox inoculation efforts.
• Benjamin Franklin established the first public hospital and medical school in the American colonies.
• The leaders helped advance the then-novel idea that government has a role in protecting the health and well-being of its citizens.

 What influenced their thinking and how do these actions still affect health care today? Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter explore these questions with Jeanne Abrams, author of “Revolutionary Medicine: The Founding Fathers and Mothers in Sickness and in Health.”

“What is at stake is whether people stay alive, stay in care, stay on medications, stay virally suppressed…these cuts will reverse all the progress we’ve made to date toward ending the HIV epidemic.” 

That’s the eye-opening view from Dr. Marwan Haddad as he assesses potential multi-million-dollar cuts to America’s HIV efforts. Dr. Haddad is the medical director for the Center for Key Populations, a program of Community Health Center, Inc., part of the Moses/Weitzman Health System. He has also served as chair of the HIV Medicine Association. 

However, some argue that HIV treatment is now more widely covered through Medicaid, Medicare, Affordable Care Act plans and private insurance than when Congress first created the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. 

Yet even as Dr. Haddad and others highlight how federal cuts would hurt people with HIV, new hope has arrived. The Food & Drug Administration recently approved a new PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) injection that only requires two treatment visits per year. This replaces the need to take a daily tablet. 

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter for this important conversation that also focuses on the value of mobile and street medicine models of health care.

When we first featured a guest discussing GLP-1 therapies, the public’s understanding of these drugs to treat obesity was still developing. In 2023, our expert was Dr. Jamy Ard, the then-incoming president of The Obesity Society. Even then, Dr. Ard was stressing that more choices would lower prices for consumers. We look back on that conversation with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as we also highlight what has occurred in the past three years:

• Some oral GLP-1 products are now being positioned as alternatives to weekly injections.
• The benefits beyond weight loss are becoming clearer. One of the biggest surprises since 2023 is how many conditions may improve with GLP-1 therapy (such as cardiovascular disease risk reduction, inflammatory conditions and potential effects on addiction and reward pathways)
• Research shows tirzepatide has emerged as more effective than semaglutide for weight loss. Recent analyses continue to find average weight loss exceeding 20% in many patients.

Reports indicate 18% of Americans have used a GLP-1 at some point, making this an important topic to revisit.