POLITICO's Pulse Check - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Saving the VA, Chapter 4: Sen. Jon Tester on Congress' role Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

In the fourth episode of POLITICO's miniseries on the VA, "Pulse Check" and POLITICO's Arthur Allen sit down with Sen. Jon Tester, the ranking member of the Senate committee overseeing the VA.

Tester walks through how lawmakers have tailored legislation to boost the VA, where he thinks senators should push on oversight and what worries him about the agency's direction.

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Saving the VA, Chapter 3: The patient experience, with J.R. Wilson Nov 15, 2019

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In the third episode of POLITICO's miniseries on the VA, "Pulse Check" and POLITICO's Arthur Allen sit down with a permanently disabled veteran who relies on the agency.

Today, J.R. Wilson talks about his experience after getting injured during an Army parachuting accident, how he's relied solely on VA services to help with his recovery and his concern that privatizing the agency would harm its specialized quality of care.

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Saving the VA, Chapter 2: Leading the agency, with former Secretary David Shulkin Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

In the second episode of POLITICO's miniseries on the VA, "Pulse Check" and POLITICO's Arthur Allen delve deeper into the challenges of the long-troubled agency.

Today, former VA Secretary David Shulkin discusses his rocky tenure leading the agency under President Donald Trump, how he he tried to implement changes before being fired and what he sees as the biggest risks to the VA's future.

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Saving the VA, Chapter 1: Caring for veterans, with Andrea Plate Nov 11, 2019

Show notes

On this Veterans Day, "Pulse Check" and POLITICO's Arthur Allen kick off a four-episode miniseries: what does the future of the VA look like?

Today, we talk to former VA social worker Andrea Plate, author of the upcoming book, "Madness: In the Trenches of America’s Troubled Department of Veterans Affairs," about the challenges of caring for veterans amid funding crunches, structural problems and a battle for the agency's soul.

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Sponsored Content: Delivering better care for patients – Oncology leaders weigh in Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

The National Cancer Institute estimates that over 1.7 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually. Advancements in science and technology are paving the way for new cancer treatments that can make a huge difference for patients. And yet, many people don’t have access to them.

Hear from two health care leaders working to provide cancer patients with innovative, effective and affordable treatments.

This special branded episode of Pulse Check was produced by POLITICO’s in-house brand content studio, POLITICO Focus. POLITICO’s editorial team was not involved in the creation of this episode.

Interviews Include:

Andy Schmeltz, Global President & General Manager, Pfizer Oncology
Patricia Goldsmith, Chief Executive Officer, CancerCare

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Ebola, flu — and mudslides? Oct 31, 2019

Show notes

When there's an Ebola epidemic — or a natural disaster — that could threaten the world, a team at CDC springs into action: the Division of Global Health Protection, which deploys disease detectives and helps stand up emergency operations to fight the problem.

Capt. Nancy Knight, MD, joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to debrief on global health crises and the world's response, part of a special pop-up podcast at the Milken Institute's "Future of Health" summit.

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The fight to fix organ donation, with Greg Segal Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

An organ donation can save a life — or at least that's the message hammered home across public health, in advertisements or even when getting a driver's license.

But why does the U.S. system fail to recover so many transplantable organs? And why are some donated organs even thrown away?

Greg Segal of ORGANIZE joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss the current problems and the promising future for organ donation, part of a special pop-up podcast at the Milken Institute's "Future of Health" summit.

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Meet John Marty — the "Bernie Sanders of Minnesota" Oct 24, 2019

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John Marty ran for state Senate in Minnesota in the 1980s because he wanted to achieve social change. More than 30 years later, single-payer health care has become his defining mission — and Marty says that his local battle has been supercharged by Bernie Sanders and the national Medicare for All movement.

POLITICO's Dan Diamond looked at the political dynamics around Medicare for All and then sat down with Sen. Marty to discuss his policy, strategy and the difficult trade-offs behind single-payer.

MENTIONED ON THE SHOW

Marty has spent years pushing for what he calls the Minnesota Health Plan.

MinnPost wrote about Marty's "lonely quest" to achieve single-payer health care — a decade ago.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan advocacy organization, has thrown its support behind Medicare for All.

The Minnesota Nurses Association has pushed for single-payer health care and specifically backed Marty's bill.

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When immigration and health care collide, with Mark Greenberg and Scott Lloyd Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

President Donald Trump has repeatedly relied on HHS to help carry out his sweeping immigration agenda, and a new order that would limit visas to people who aren't "health care burdens" could be the latest dramatic change.

Mark Greenberg, who served as the acting assistant secretary for children and families during the Obama administration, sits down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss HHS' role in immigration and why he's so worried about Trump's recent order (starts at the 6:00 mark).

Then Scott Lloyd, the Trump appointee who led the HHS refugee office, joins Dan to discuss his experience after the administration began separating migrant families and thousands of children ended up in his office's custody (starts at the 25:45 mark).

REFERENCED ON THE PODCAST

The Migration Policy Institute predicted that Trump's recent proclamation linking health care and insurance could block as many as two-thirds of green card applicants.

Career health officials have raised concerns that Trump's latest order on immigration and health care could be illegal.

Watchdogs like GAO and the HHS inspector general have found that family separations began months before the Trump administration officially announced the policy.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar emerged as the face of the family-separation crisis last summer, even though HHS didn't lead the policy.

House Democrats and watchdog groups have pressed Lloyd over his decisions and testimony.

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One-on-one with Adam Boehler Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Adam Boehler took the reins of the powerful CMS Innovation Center in early 2018, pledging to help shift the U.S. health care system away from fee-for-service. Eighteen months later, he's leaving the agency, having launched a series of payment pilots that Boehler vows will lead to dramatic changes.

Boehler sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss why he originally took the job, how he evaluated possible payment reforms and why he thinks the Trump administration didn't fear "sacred cows" in health care.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Boehler founded multiple companies before joining the government, including Landmark Health, which focused on serving the sickest patients.

Boehler helped steer major payment pilots at the innovation center, including an effort to reshape kidney care.

The CMS Innovation Center could be eliminated if the Affordable Care Act is struck down in court.

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