Next week former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez will testify in a Senate hearing. The reporters who cover health care in Washington think there could be big revelations about why Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. fired her.

Sandhya Raman, health care reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call, and Michael McAuliff, who covers policy for Modern Healthcare, join our Reporters’ Roundtable. McAuliff says no matter what is discovered during the testimony, Kennedy’s future still rests with President Trump.

In addition, McAuliff notes the federal health care workforce challenges right now. “If you look across…all the agencies in the HHS, you would find similar sorts of things where normal processes that help folks in the country just can’t happen because they just don’t have the people,” he observes.

Hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter also talk to the guests about the COVID vaccine controversy, the new Make America Healthy Again children’s health report and the looming threat of a government shutdown.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 Mark Olshaker are the co-authors of a new book, “The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics.”

The effort to suspend development and availability of certain vaccines is “not based on science. It's not even based on a political philosophy. These are dangerous decisions that have been made and we will pay a big price for them as we are now in preparedness freefall,” Osterholm says.

“Conversations on Health Care” hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter ask him point-blank to respond to National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya’s contention that they’re winding down mRNA vaccine development because the technology had “failed a crucial test: earning public trust.”

Osterholm responds that “distrust has been sown by the very people who are supposed to be promoting vaccines.” Olshaker says, “We've taken for granted how much vaccines have changed our lives.”

Osterholm adds, “There's still a substantial trust in public health. When you have a megaphone the size of one that the Secretary now has, it does start to basically drown out science … but I think we have to continue to remember that the science is on our side.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 patient’s problems, and minimally disruptive, of patients’ lives and loves.”

For example, the initiative offers tools and materials they’ve developed over the last 18 years to support patients and clinicians. The Plan Your Conversation cards help patients think through what they’d like to share and “practice” a conversation they’d like to have with the clinician. The cards can be used for any condition or issue and in any care setting.

“Revolution is not about branding. It’s about turning away from the processing of people, and toward care,” Montori explains. He yearns for a return to “careful and kind care for all,” and for health systems to re-center themselves on the relationships that make healing possible.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 fitness levels to help inform schools and families about how to help children get healthier. “Why don’t they test fitness like they test the mind? Data drives decisions.”

At 94, Dr. Cooper remains a passionate advocate for reshaping our national approach to health, particularly through the lens of prevention — a theme at the center of his new book, “Grow Healthier as You Grow Older.” He tells host Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter, “We’ve got to stop and spend the money for the prevention of disease, rather than waiting for too much care, too late.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 2035,” Niemann explained during the interview at the Aspen Ideas: Health conference. “If invested in the right places, it can produce incredible savings, economic productivity, and well-being across our entire ecosystem.”

Mindful Philanthropy is convening more than 1,100 funders across all 50 states; launching state-based collaboratives; and connecting funders, uplifting community-led solutions, and providing strategic guidance to break down silos and scale impact.

“We’re hoping to have all of those [funder collaboratives] learn from one another,” Niemann said, underscoring the power of collaboration to advance lasting change.

Whether it’s strengthening the mental health workforce, supporting youth from birth to young adulthood, or investing in community-rooted solutions, this conversation offers practical and inspiring insights for anyone passionate about building a healthier future.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 result in more people getting sicker and then ending up in emergency departments with severe conditions.

Yet Dr. Seligman also sees some rays of optimism. “This administration has done a really deep dive into chronic disease. There is a desire to help make the population of the U.S. healthier again. And there is an interest in supporting better dietary intake. The challenge is to amplify those efforts in a way that is based in science, that is based in evidence and that will support everyone in the U.S. equally. That really is the opportunity that we have,” she told hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 of the LBJ Foundation, presidential historian for ABC News and a recent guest on “The View.”

Join us for this important conversation, which examines the history and continuing impact of how we pay for health care for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“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 staggering. Dr. Volkow leads NIDA, the world’s largest funder of biomedical research on addiction, and she explains why she’s so confident with her assessment:

The wider availability of naloxone and knowledge about how to quickly use it when needed;

Neuroplasticity as a pathway to recovery; and

Perhaps surprisingly, smartphones and video games are so distracting to some young people that they no longer need to seek other forms of escape.

Join hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter as Dr. Volkow also explains the challenges and opportunities for NIDA within the National Institutes of Health.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.