PopHealth Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gavin Ward
PopHealth Podcast is here to provide various thought leaders of population health the opportunity and platform to discuss the different dynamics of population health, care transitions, and readmission prevention
Raine shares about her journey as a social worker, including gaining her JD while winning runner up in the Ms. Hawaii pageant, starting as a frontline social worker in a hospital setting, to ultimately leading a social work team while building programs around the CalAIM initiative at Blue Shield California. Raine closes out the show discussing her next chapter and the start of her own consulting firm.
Nicole joins host Gavin Ward and shares about U.S. VETS recent groundbreaking of a new 30-unit community in San Bernardino as part of U.S. VETSs goal of eradicating homelessness among veterans. She also shares about the upcoming Steps for Vets 5k, honoring social workers, and recapping all of what U.S. VETS does for our veteran community.
MedZed's Chief Growth Officer Enrique Balaguer joins host Gavin Ward to discuss MedZed's impact as one of the largest enhanced care management and community supports providers in California.
Riverside County DPSS leaders Allison Gonzalalez and Sandra Bowlan discuss some of the changes to Medi-Cal eligibility in 2026. They share what the nearly 1 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Riverside County (and similar to all CA counties) can do to maintain eligibility not just this year, but in the years ahead with the federal government's changes being phased in.
The former Medicaid leader for the CA Department of Health Care Services Jacey Cooper discusses the creation of the CalAIM initiative what she sees as the future of services like Enhanced Care Management, Community Supports, and more.
Blue Shield of California's Julianne Holloway joins host Gavin Ward to help explain the often conplex world of DSNP, or Duals Special Needs Plans, for individuals that qualify for both Medi-Cal (known as Medicaid Nationally) and Medicare
Pair Team VP Megan Carlson shares how her background in building care navigation systems (e.g. Unite Us) has equipped her to help Pair team enable existing organizations to launch enhanced care management services. Pair Team is now one of the largest ECM organizations on California.
Ryan Iwamoto, Executive Producer of PopHealth Podcast and Co-Founder of 24 Hour Home Care, joins the show to look back on 10 years of the podcast and some of his favorite memories as he reminisces with host Gavin Ward.
Charles returns to the show, touching on his past as a soccer coach before sharing the realities health plans are facing in California. Charles also shares with host Gavin Ward about the upcoming fall CAHP conference, including how leaders from health plans, providers, and DHCS will be attending to present as well as network.
Former DHCS leader Athena Chapman, President of Chapman Consulting, and Chapman's VP Elizabeth Evenson join host Gavin Ward to give an update on Medi-Cal Transformation/CalAIM, including touching on the 2024 annual report recently released by DHCS on Community Supports.
Health Net's Regional Medical Director Dr. Anshul Dixit and Vivant Health's Utilization Management Review Supervisor Kathleen Loredo share how they partner together with Dignity Health's greater Sacramento hospitals, including one recent effort that reduced unnecessary hospital stays by 400 while increasing provider show up rates by 20% after discharge.
Lisa Ramsey, a former Medi-Cal worker who created Medi-Cal Consulting Services, joins the show to share about updates on Medi-Cal eligibility, including reminders about some often misunderstood limits on income requirements.
Chrisina Mills, a leading advocate for the disability community, was recently appointed to serve as the Executive Director for the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Christina, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (bones can easily break), has led a 25 year career in advocacy for the disabled community and looks forward to supporting older adults with initiatives that often align with both the aging and disability communities.
California Department of Health Care Services' Joanna Allboe joins the show to share about the continued evolution of California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM)/Medi-Cal transformation as well as how managed care organizations (MCOs) will start to be measured in 2025 and beyond.
Cancer Resource Center of the Desert CEO Helen Palomino joins the show and shares how her organization has a large impact on the Mexican American community, majority of whom are on Medi-Cal, in navigating an often complex system in which residents choose to receive care on both sides of the border.
Dora returns to the show to recap Medi-Cal Transformation and the CalAIM initiative in 2024, including what's worked as well as challenges still to overcome in 2025 and beyond. Dora helps lead HC² Strategies, a statewide consultancy/facilitator that helps health plans, community based organizations, as well as other providers of social and medical care come together to create positive outcomes leveraging the new resources available via the CalAIM initiative.
Dr. Jauregui's parents were an inspiration to the work he now does in the Inland Empire, including serving with IEHP and even volunteering as a DJ at various community events. Dr. Jauregui shares about the impact his team has in serving over 1.5M IEHP members and how the Inland Coalition is developing a master plan to be rolled out to the 4.6+M individuals living in the Inland Empire
Disability Right California (DRC) and its 350 employees serve the community of over 10 millions individuals in california with developmental, behavioral, as well as physical health disabilities. Andy Imparato shares about the history of DRC, it's connection to federal efforts, and how he was inspired to get involved and ultimately have a career in serving as a leader in advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities.
InnovAge leaders Maria and Shadie join host Gavin Ward to give background on InnovAge (including its growth in CA and other states), the "secret" of PACE, and why PACE's growth nationally may not be as rapid as other service types.
John joins the show and shares how he went from thinking he'd be a Summer Camp Director to leading the implementation of California's Data Exchange Framework. He discusses how his role as the Chief Data Officer for CAHHS as well as his Director role for the Center for Data Inisghts and Innovation is to help lead organizaitons, whether healthcare, county, or community based, to share pertinent information to best impact those they care for in California.
California Association of Health Plans (CAHP) President and CEO Charles Bacchi joins host Gavin Ward to discuss CAHP's 2024 Initiatives, upcoming CAHP Conference with over California 1,000 healthcare leaders, and more.
From a small clinic in downtown LA to impacting tens of thousands of lives in California and beyond, Gray shares how Titanium has expanded in scope and location to help the historically underserved access care in meaningful ways through traditional medical services as well as CalAIM funded enhanced care management, community supports, and more.
Colby Takeda, Pear Suite Co-Founder and CEO, shares how his upbringing, including serving in a nursing home as a teenager, was an inspirtation into serving his community and and ultimately becoming a national leader in the community health worker space. Since 2022's approval of the community health worker benefit in California, Colby shares how his tech enabled platform organization, Pear Suite, has helped community based organizations, including a barber shops, become commuinty health worker sites that are able to bill for their important work in the community.
Beginning no later than 2024, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) required all Medi-Cal managed care organizations to have a chief health equity officer (CHEO). Valerie shares how BSC Promise Health Plan gave her the opportunity in 2022 to be its first CHEO and some of the progress she's made in her first 18 months.
The California Medical Association has partnered with Health Tech 4 Medicaid (HT4M) at its upcoming 2nd annual CMA HIT Summit, "Health IT In the Safety Net." HT4M's founder Adimika Arthur, whose career has been instrumental in ensuring access to care, joins the show to share the importance of Health IT on health equity and ensuring a safety net for those that may otherwise struggle to get the care they need.
From the highlights and challenges in 2023 to what to expect in 2024 and beyond, Gavin discusses CalAIM with guests Michel Huizar, Branch Chief, DHCS Managed Care Quality and Monitoring Division, and Dora Barilla, Co-Founder, HC² Strategies.
Michael's history with health plans and advocacy played a key role in his recruitment to lead C4A, an organization established to advocate and collaborate on behalf of California's "Triple As." Michael shares how his organization supports older adults throughout the state and what their focus is in 2024 and ahead.
Under the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, Elizabeth shares how the newly created Officer of Healthcare Affordability is helping the most populous state to manage healthcare costs through growth targets and other efforts for 40M Californians.
Over 15M Californians are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, yet there are so many misceptions about Medi-Cal and very few Californians truly understand Medi-Cal eligibility. Lisa shares how she went from an entry level Medi-Cal worker to an expert, where she now leads a team that helps families navigate Medi-Cal, including asset and income limits, or lack thereof.
Beau shares how an initial stint as a temporary worker landed him a role with California's In-Home Supportive Sevices that became a springboard into his career as he ultimately become well versed in California's long term supports (LTSS) and services as well as home and community based services (HCBS). That foundation has helpd Beau become one of Anthem and California's leaders for the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM).
L.A. CARE is one of the largest health plans in CA, serving millions in L.A. County, primarily Medi-Cal beneficiaries. L.A. CARE CMO Dr. Sameer Amin joins host Gavin Ward to share some of the highlights of his first year and what we can expect in 2024 with the state's largest Medi-Cal managed care organization.
Charles joins the show and shares about the latest CAHP initiatives and what to expect at the annual 2023 conference where over 1,000 leaders from DHCS, Health Plans, and providers gather in the desert.
WellSpace Health has been serving the Greater Sacramento area for many decades, and the CalAIM initiative is only going to increase its impact. Wellspace leaders Christie Gonzales and Cordia Losh join the show to share about the impact WellSpace has had in the community and what's to come through the CalAIM initaitive, enhanced care management, and more.
Susan Phillip joins the show to discuss the process and results of DHCS' procurement and results for the 2024 managed care plan contracts. Susan, who serves as DHCS' Deputy Director, Health Care Delivery Systems, shares how she came into the role and what we can expect heading into 2024 and beyond.
Leza joined the show and shares how her passion for older adults has led to her work wtih CCOAin the Golden State. CCOA's latest initiatives include efforts to ensure the aging population has access to legislative meetings as well as a recognized voice and influence into lawmaking.
Health Net's VP of Communications and Marketing joined the show to share how the end of the pandemic and Public Health Emergency (PHE) is making the annual Medi-Cal redetermination of eligibility unlike recent years before as Californians were automatically renewed during the PHE. The state, Health Net, and other Medi-Cal plans are making significant outreach attempts to ensure Medi-Cal beneficiaries know how to renew their eligibility, but 2-3 million Californians are still expected to lose eligibility.
Dan discusses his journey as the son of immigrant parents that inspired Dan to make a difference in Kern County where he's spent his entire life. From ICU nurse to leading enhanced care management efforts of the 20th largest county in the US, Dan's shares how he's played a role in saving lives both literally and figuratively as he now helps lead enhanced care management efforts in Bakersfield and Kern County.
So many Californians provide care to their loved ones and often don't know where to turn for help and support. Michelle shares how her own journey as a caregiver led to her receiving support from Valley CRC. Now as the Executive Director, Michelle shed lights on how caregiver resource centers throughout the state like hers in the Central Valley region can be a great resource for caregivers.
Dr. Wada returns to PopHealth Podcast to share some of the initial results of IEHP's California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) efforts as well as what's to come next for IEHP, including how the end of the Covid-19 related Public Health Emergency (PHE) may have a significant impact on eligibility for the Medi-Cal population.
Jon joins the show to give some insight into what the American College of Health Care Executives is all about and how it has helped shape him into the leader he is today as VP, Ancillary Services, at MLK Community Healthcare. We also learn how Jon just welcome his 4th child and his unexpected connection with party buses.
America's Physican Groups' New President and CEO Susan Dentzer joins the podcast to share about her first 9 months in the role as well as what's to come in 2023, including ACO Reach and direct contracting, for the organization that is "taking responsibiity for America's health."
Lisa joins the show and shares how she's grown into a policy expert during the 2000s and how Transform Health got its start in Sacramento. Lisa typically is the facilitator of meetings and discussions, but it's great to have her "on the other side" to hear her story as well as she and Transform Health are literally transofrming healthcare in California and througout the country, including a focus on Medicaid waivers.
CCHP Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dennis Hsieh discusses the inspiration behind his passion for his leadership role at Contra Costa Health Plan, the county operated health system serving the East Bay. We learn of his shared passion for soccer with host Gavin Ward, but more importantly how his time as a young man serving in Chinatown was an inspiration for him to be a leader that seeks quality care delivery for his members in Northern California.
California Association of Health Plans' (CAHP) Charles Bacchi joins the show to give some background on the work of CAHP, including some of its memorable moments in his nearly 2 decades with CAHP. Charles also shares about his cowboy background and CAHP's upcoming annual conference in October with some of California's biggest names in healthcare.
California Association of Health Plans' (CAHP) Charles Bacchi joins the show to give some background on the work of CAHP, including some of its memorable moments in his nearly 2 decades with CAHP. Charles also shares about his cowboy background and CAHP's upcoming annual conference in October with some of California's biggest names in healthcare.
California Department of Health Care Services' Chief of the Benefits Division Lisa Murawski joined host Gavin Ward to provide details on the new Community Health Worker (CHW) benefit that has been years in the making. The new benefit delivery doesn't require someone with a clinical background to make a big impact in the healthcare community, and will likely be a new career pathway for individuals seeking to serve their local healthcare community members that may have previously been underserved and/or unsure how to navigate the healthcare system.
California Department of Health Care Services' Chief of the Benefits Division Lisa Murawski joined host Gavin Ward to provide details on the new Community Health Worker (CHW) benefit that has been years in the making. The new benefit delivery doesn't require someone with a clinical background to make a big impact in the healthcare community, and will likely be a new career pathway for individuals seeking to serve their local healthcare community members that may have previously been underserved and/or unsure how to navigate the healthcare system.
Dora joins the show and shares how a combination of blessings, hard work as a healthcare leader (and mom), as well as a miracle have paved the way to today, where Dora and HC2 Strategies are leading large scale CalAIM collaborations between health plans, providers, and the community.
Dora joins the show and shares how a combination of blessings, hard work as a healthcare leader (and mom), as well as a miracle have paved the way to today, where Dora and HC2 Strategies are leading large scale CalAIM collaborations between health plans, providers, and the community.
Dr. Schultz shares how his work serving individuals goes beyond just the Inland Empire and San Diego, but also to the Himalayas. He also shares how Federally Qualified Health Centers like Neighborhood Healthcare provide services for individuals that may otherwise struggle to access primary and other medical care.
Dr. Schultz shares how his work serving individuals goes beyond just the Inland Empire and San Diego, but also to the Himalayas. He also shares how Federally Qualified Health Centers like Neighborhood Healthcare provide services for individuals that may otherwise struggle to access primary and other medical care.
California Department of Health Care Services' Anastasia Dodson helps give an overview of the "dual eligible" population in California and how upcoming changes will impact the delivery of care for Californians who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal (Mediciad in California), now called Medicare Medi-Cal Plans (MMPs or Medi-Medi plans), for Exclusively Aligned Enrollment Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (EAE D-SNPs).
Martha, a Medi-Cal beneficiary as a child in Ventura County, shares how her journey in the managed Medi-Cal world has ultimately led her to help lead a team that manages the care of millions of lives in California, including many that receive care in rural areas.
Yingjia, who serves in the role of Assistant Deputy Director, Health Care Benefits and Eligibility for California's Department of Health Care Services, joins the show to share how the significant eligibility adjustments shown during the pandemic (ie public health emergency) will be unwound and what that means to some of the millions of Californians on Medi-Cal.
Health plan and CalAIM expert Paige Brogan joins the show to share how the opportunity to make a big impact inspired her to join BSC Promise Health Plan. Paige gives some insight into the early days of CalAIM and while she is enthiusiastic about CalAIM, she shares why other medical leaders may be more in a sit and wait approach before celebrating the initiative.
Alex Briscoe has gone from school counselor in Oakland to one of California most respected visionary's for kids' behavioral health. Alex joins co-hosts April Stewart and Gavin Ward to share how California Children's Trust is reshaping how we think about children's mental health and why a diagnosis is not required for our kids to get the support they need.
Palav joins host Gavin Ward to discuss the new Popation Health Management efforts that DHCS is launching in 2023 in California. Before getting into the details, Palav reveals her competiveness in board games and where her passion for serving the safety net was inspired.
Rebecca shares how her journey to become a nurse and experience with worker's compensation set a foundation that allowed her to build a population health department at Partnership Health Plan of California.
Michael joins the show ande breaks down new opportunities for care and support that are available through California's new CalAIM initiative. CalOptima is the largest insurer in Orange County, caring for over 25% of the Orange County population, which may be a surprise vs. what the general public may think of when it comes to the OC demographics.
L.A. Care's Senior Director of Safety Net Initiatives' background in policy and community service helped prepare her to serve beneficiaries for California's largest managed Medi-Cal provider. Cynthia breaks down how the new CalAIM community supports are helping equip L.A Care to better serve its 2+ million membership.
SCAN's Sr. VP of Healthcare Services Eve Gelb joins SCAN backed myPlace Health Founder and CEO Robbie Pottharst in a 2-part episode that explores how SCAN is leveraging innovative models of care (ie CalAIM, PACE) that bring together both health and social services that historically were either unavailable and/or unable to be managed well with traditional models of care.
Dr. Wada shares how both his parents and UCLA were inspirtation in his choice to become a public servant, but not until after a stint as a bartender in London. Dr. Wada gives an overview of IEHP and how CalAIM is bringing enhanced care management and community supports to managed medi-cal beneficiaries across the Inand Empire and throughout California.
Social workers, whether we know it or not, are in our lives direclty or indirectly on a daily basis, caring for us, our loves ones, and our community. Chris joins the show to share how the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care brings together up and coming social work leaders alongside veterans to advocate, collaborate, and cultivate an envionrment that ultimately benefits all served by social workers in healthcare. Chris also shares about their upcoming annual conference in October in Nashville, TN.
Case Management leaders help ensure hospitals are running smoothly and efficiently, while at the same time leading a team that equips patients for success once they discharge from a hospital, or what Providence may call a "ministry." Debbie joins the show and will touch on her journey and how she leads a team serving patient populations of all types in Santa Monica, CA.
When recording this episode, Chris was actually the head of corporate development for Landmark, one of the innovators of truly having skin in the game for serving the sickest of the sick in the home. Chris shares how Landmark doesn't take a penny unless it saves its partners through deployment of healthcare providers in the home.
Hospital Readmissions Guru and Healthcare Futurist Dr. Josh Luke takes a look back over the past 10 years to share what strategies have worked with readmission prevention. Josh also shares about how he became known as a expert in the readmission and care transitions space through his development of the National Readmission Prevention Collaborative, which took off in the early days of the readmission penalties.
Liz shares how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMMI's) "Innovation Center" tests care and reimbursement models that often become the norm, including accountable care models and much of what we've have seen in the value movement.
Angel shares his story of going from "unemployed dad" to becoming an executive leader that oversees the delivery of care in the home for one of Kaiesr Permanente's largest regions. In our episode, Angel reveals how earlier chapters in his life, including time in the military and owning a computer business, helped him become the leader he is today.
Josh, Paul, and Bob joined us at our first all-star event to touch on the latest in home health and post-acute care, including the Choose Home Act and workforce shortage.
Syl and Smitha joined our first live All-Star event, where they discussed their expertise on ambulatory care, nursing, and the workforce shortage.
Caitlin and Kevin joined us at our first ever live All-Star event to share how mobility and speed are changing the way healthcare is accessed and delivered.
Kicking off our first ever All-Star Event, Sachin shares about SCAN's growth into other states, it's new initiative to sustainably seve the homeless population, and how action speakers louder than words.
Dr. Agarwal joins the show and shares about his journey from frontline emergency department physician (he still does 2 shifts per month) to a leader focused on robust care in the home at one of the nation's largest health plans.
As part of our Open Enrollment Series, Dr. Sharp shares how at an early age she developed a passion for serving others, which served as a catalyst into some of the work she is leading today at Aetna. Dr. Sharp mentions Aetna's focus on social determinants of health to promote aging in place to nearly 10 million older adults.
SCAN Group, mostly known for SCAN Health Plan, is expanding not just on the Medicare Advantage side in 2022, but also through it's Healthcare in Action medical group, addressing care for the homeless population. Our episode checks out what's new with executives Jill Selby (SCAN Health Plan) and "street medicine" expert and SCAN Group's Healthcare in Action CEO Dr. Michael Hochman.
With over 7,000 leaders from around the world coming together in Boston, I had the privilege of sitting down with leaders from a variety of impactful organizations. Part 1 includes:
• Paul Muret- Google Health's VP and General Manager for Care Studio
• Chris Waugh- Sutter Health's Chief Design and Innovation Officer
• Aloha McBride- Ernst and Young's Global Health Sector Leader
• Darius Chehrzad- Chief Commercial Officer of Payient
With over 7,000 leaders from around the world coming together in Boston, I had the privilege of sitting down with leaders from a variety of impactful organizations. Part 1 includes:
• Micky Tripathi- US Dept of Health and Human Services' National Coordinator for Health IT
• Amy McDonough-Fitbit's Managing Director and General Manager
• Krish Ramakrishnan-Co-Founder of BlueJeans by Verizon
• Peter Schlecht-Founder of Braingrade
Dr. Jeffers discusses how getting admitted to med school while in high school prepared her to become a CMO and also lead the Integrated Breast Center, a free resource by St. John's in Ventura County where Dr. Jeffers now practices in her home town.
One of the nation's leaders of the post-acute industry (home health, hospice, caregiving), Bill Dombi, joins the show and shares about his journey, as well as the journey of care in the home, over the past few decades and what we can expect to come in the near future as more care is delivered in the home. Co-host April Stewart makes her debut on the show as well.
Dr. Charbonneau explains how Encompass Health has become an expert for the care and expertise it provides in the acute rehabiltation hospital setting. We explore her long tenure with Encompass Health and how confusion exists as what the term "rehabilitaton hospital" actually means.
Syl joins the show and shares about his journey that started in Quebec, Canada. Caring for his father at a young age was an inspiration that would ultimately lead him to become one of North America's leaders in nursing, where he now oversees the efforts of 48,000 nurses under the Providence umbrella. Syl doesn't shy away from the discussion as we explore the role of a CNO and nursing executive, addressing how he leads with a union presence, not always an easy feat. Syl also touches on his other passion, and how we can expect to find him acting on stage when he retires.
Dr. Fong joins the show to break down what the physician advisor role is when serving as a liaison between care coordination or case management departments and the frontline physicians providing patient care in an acute care hospital setting.
DispatchHealth has made waves across the country as it has served over 300,000 patients to date in the home. Kevin shares how Dispatch has grown into 18 states and how Dispatch has lead the waypreventing Emergency Department visits and bringing healthcare home.
Fresh off big acquistion news of Healthy Living Network (HLN), Damien shares how Mission is transforming home health, hospice, and palliative care services as it becomes the largest provider of these services in the west.
Vicki Hoak hops on the show to address some of the national challenges of the home care industry, including changes in the industry that will impact our ability to age in place such as new funding for care.
Returning guest Pam Foster, VP Care Coordination, joins colleague Allison Rose, Network Director of Clinical Effectiveness, to share with host Gavin Ward and our audience about their initiatives at their muti-hospital system serving Scottsdale and Phoenix that end up leading to great outcomes for the patients that they ssrvice.
Gwen and Bruce joined the show from their headquarters in Lafeyette where LHC, one of the nation's largest providers of home based care, has figured out some of the "secret sauce" to land joint ventures with some of the nation's largest health systems.
Jeannee Parker Martin, a pillar in the California aging community, joins the show and discusses the recent initiative among LeadingAge and other organizations to address the growing shortage of good caregiver jobs to serve our growing aging population.
Former Molina Healthcare executive and entrepreneur John Molina discusses the vision he and his team had in investing in the relaunch of Community Hospital Long Beach, which recently reopened to support the healthcare community during the COVID-19 pandemic. John also shares how his departure in 2017 from Molina, while not easy, was a teaching moment to his kids.
Dr. Dale discusses growing up in Illinois, including playing basketball with Barrack Obama, and his journey into serving in geriatrics and caring for those near end of life. We devote time in the episode to discuss "The Elephant in the Room," a film Dr. Dale helped produce that brings both comedy and emotion to the often difficult conversations regarding end of life.
APG President and value-based care nationall pillar Don Crane rejoins the show to share updates on the continued move from "volume to value." APG's members include some of the largest medical groups across the country, including those from 45 states and including some of the biggest names in the healthcare industry, with a focus on outcomes instead of fee for service.
Michelle comes from a family of "informal social workers." She joins the show to discuss how she ultimately became a formal social worker after first being a mom, and how social workers play such a critical role in helping patients transition from a hospital setting to the community. Michelle shares some touching stories displaying what social workers do for their patients in often trying and emotional times.
Matt has been a pillar in the Bay Area social work community for over 20 years. Matt shares his journey from serving the HIV community in San Francisco in the 90s to frontline socail work and leadership roles in large healthcare organizations like Sutter and Stanford. Join us in our first of 2 episodes honoring social worker leaders during Social Work Month in March.
Rod returns to the show but this time in a new role, or should I say roles, as he's now the acting/interim CEO of Keck Medicine of USC, while also serving in his ongoing COO role. Rod gives us an update since our last time having him on the show a few years ago, including how USC has responded during the pandemic, as well as why 2 of its 3 hospitals do not have emergeny rooms.
LA County Department of Public Health's (LACDPH) Chair of the Healthcare Outreach Unit and infeciton disease expert Dr. Zachary Rubin, along with LACDPH Healthcare Outreach Unit's Alejandro Ramirez, RN, share the facts on the vaccine with 24 Hour Home Care frontline caregivers and support staff during a virtual townhall meeting in February, 2021.
California's Master Plan on Aging, released in January of 2021, has been 2 years in the making with hundreds of stakeholders lending their exerptise. Kim McCoy Wade joins the show to share what California has in store to serve a 60yr old+ population that will reach over 10 million by 2030.
John shares how the family founded business started over 45 years ago and how SuperCare has evolved since. SuperCare now manages millions of lives annually as one of the largest in-home providers of post-acute care respiratory services throughout multiple states.
Dr. Akrami has served and lived in multiple continents as he has developed expertise in infectious disease and crirtical care. Kevan joins the show to share his first-hand experience about battling COVID-19 on the frontline in 2021, while also addressing some of the myths about the disease and vaccine.
The Genworth 2020 Cost of Care Survey is the leading tool for seniors and their loves ones to get true private pay costs of in-home care, senior living, adult day care, and nursing home care. Gordon shares how it all comes together and how it's the go-to resource for care seekers across the country.
Chris uprooted from Oklahoma not too long ago after throwing his name in the hat to lead Sharp. Little did he know that early in his tenure a global pandemic would hit. Chris shares how he and his team have created a positive "Sharp experience."
Don, who recently started his own podcast, has helped lead successful efforts in multiple states for Blue Shield. Don spends some time sharing a bit about Blue Shield in CA and what's new in 2021.
Karen joins the show to shed some light as to how Health Net is helping its many members throughout the state through a variety of offerings. Karen also addresses the challenge of healthcare accessibility that remains a hot topic in the healthcare community.
Dr. Batra joins us for our of our Fall Health Plan Miniseries where she shares about SCAN's specific focus on seniors, how COVID-19 has impacted members in 2020, and how SCAN is moving forward into the new plan year for its over 200,000 older adult members.
Martin rejoins the show as the first health plan leader in our 2020 Open Enrollment Miniseries. Martin gives an update into how Anthem continues to evolve while, in certain ways, remaining the same as many of Anthem traditional and supplemental benefits are working well for its Medicare members.
Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, is not as prevalent as one may think due to certain restrictions the government has recently lifted. Up and coming WelbeHealth, led by Matt Patterson, has quickly grown to be able to provide care to thousands (and growing) of low income older adults. Matt shares how WelbeHealth came together and how it is helping drive the growth of PACE in the southwest.
David spent time with the show sharing about his journey from one side of the country, South Florida, to the other side with UC Davis Health in Northern California. Located in the Greater Sacramento area, David shares how UC Davis Health was the first system to treat a COVID-19 community spread case and the lessons learned from the national news story earlier this year.
Senator Daschle helped lead America post 9/11 and also was one of only two in US history to serve twice as both Majority and Minority leader. Tom shares about his experiences as a US Senator, his role prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and his outlook on healthcare in America.
Genworth is considered the largest long term care insurance provider in the United States, but a big focus for Larry nowadays is caring for the caregiver. Larry shares how Genworth's Carescout network, and its new Caregiver Support Services, can help employers ensure their employees have the support they need when caring for an aging loved one.
Bill has had the opportunity to serve at KP for many decades. In this episode, Bill touches on his love for Dodgers, the impact of KP's great former leader, the late Dr. Bernard Tyson, & how Bill has been able to bridge the gap between the various organizations under KP umbrella to help KP grow in California & beyond.
Karen joined the show to discuss the differences between American and Canadian healthcare, as well as how Stanford case managers and social workers have been successful transitioning patients during the pandemic
LHC Group is one of the largest post-acute providers in the United States, encompassing most states with a variety of home health, hospice, and other services. Josh and Dr. Ben join the show to discuss how LHC's clinical and joint venture expertise with health systems has helped its many locations become marketplace leaders.
Paul's vast experience serving some of the nation's largest providers, including Vitas Hospice and Gentiva, have helped shape him into the leader he is today. Paul shares how he's taken his national experience and mentality of doing what's right for the patient to help Mission in its efforts to deliver quality home health and hospice.
After initially joining the show in 2017 as "the new guy" to Southern California, Erik has helped Providence St. Joseph Health transform into arguably the largest provider of health services in Southern California. Erik touches on some of the key initiatives over the years, including the current partnership with Cedars Sinai, as well as how PSJH is positioned to serve during the pandemic.
Eva and Jenna join the show to discuss how community based organizations like ONEgeneration, serving the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, are needed more than ever in serving our seniors and those in need through services like meal delivery, care management, and much more.
Hear the inspiring story of how Torrie, who dealt with personal illness at a young age, knew of her caalling early and has helped build out chronic illness programs for groups like Blue Shield and is now positioned to help our healthcare system nationally through Votive Health.
Maddie, who unlike most Southern Californians actually walks to work, welcomed me to Oscar's offices and shared about one of the nation's newest health plans, including d her team's efforts in managing its members' health and Oscar's efforts expanding into Medicare Advantage.
Don returns to the show to give the latest of APG's efforts with the 195,000+ physicians it supports through advocacy, education, and efforts towards taking responsibility for America's health.
Dr. Vijay Trisal joins the show to discuss City of Hope's historic work over the years, starting with TB treatments, to the creation of man-made insulin and other drugs that have saved millions of lives.
In our special COVID-19 episode, leaders from one of the nation's fastest growing Medicare Advantage focused health plans join homecare industry experts to share why home is now, more than ever, the best place to prevent illness and receive care. Our guests are:
- Alignment Healthcare's President, Consumer and Markets, Dawn Maroney and her colleague Dr. Arta Bakshandeh, Chief Medical Information Officer
- Cameron Akrami, VP of Oasis In-Home Care and President of the American Board of Home Care
- Sterling Miles, Founder and Managing Director, San Diego Home Caregivers
The team at DaVita in Denver welcomed me warmly as I sat down with DaVita's Group Vice President, Martha Wofford. Martha shares how DaVita is focusing significant efforts on preventing end-stage kidney disease and how dialysis in the home is becoming more common.
Cindy joined us in our Carlsbad studio to share her journey of going from nurse to geriatric care manager, and how she has become a pillar in the San Diego Community in both geriatric care management and in-home care for nearly 30 years.
PopHealth Podcast was onsite during the multi-day conference that brings together AAA leaders from throughout the state, and we heard from a variety of leaders, including Kim McCoy Wade from the CA Dept of Aging as she discussed California’s Master Plan For Aging.
Those in the healthcare field are probably familiar with Encompass Health. As one of the four largest home health & hospice providers in the nation, they care for thousands of lives each day all across the country. What you might not know is that CEO, April Anthony, bought her first home health company at age 25...after being in the health care industry for only 58 days! Fired from her own company 11 months after selling it for $40MM, she "got the band back together" to start Encompass Health and the rest is history.
In his last week as Executive Director for the Home Care Association of America, Phil joined us in our home studio to dish on the latest happening in the in-home care industry, including online match-making services not taking responsibility for care
HLTH took over the MGM Grand Conference Center at the End of October, bringing over 6,000 attendees and the biggest names in healthcare. Hear what’s happening with some of the key players from FitBit, UberHealth, GoHealth, Vively, and others.
Anthem is one of the nation’s largest insurers and providers of Medicare Advantage Plans. Martin gives an inside look at Anthem’s benefits for its senior population, while also sharing about his passion for video games.
SCAN Health Plan, based in Southern California, is a pillar in the Medicare Advantage Health Plan realm and now serves over 200,000 individuals. Jill shares how SCAN has often been at the forefront when it comes to serving the aging population.
Humana’s “bold goal” of improving the health and wellness of its members by 20% is a large focus of Humana, and Dr. Renda shares some insight as to how Humana aims to get that done.
Ravnyssa is leading up and coming Kara Health, which has grown tremendously by leveraging state of the art technology and clinical care for the chronically ill.
In 2003, Angela went from an RN working at a hospital to the founder of one of the nation’s first senior living placement organizations, and the first to franchise. Angela noticed there was a need in the Arizona community to help navigate families along the senior living path, and 16 years later she’s considered a visionary and pillar of the often referred to senior living placement industry.
Jim McAleer returns to the show and shares how his organization is helping to lead the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Gavin and Zac highlight some memorable moments/unknown stories from the podcast and review key healthcare updates from the first half of 2019.
The average wait to see a doctor is over 15 days, but Heal has solved that problem and can have a physician to you often within just two hours. Heal has solved the “physician shortage” for many and accepts most major insurances, including Medicare. Greg shares how Heal is changing the way care is delivered.
Cedars-Sinai and Providence Health and Services are two of the most respected names in healthcare. Dale Surowitz joins the show to discuss both his and Tarzana Medical Center’s journey and transitions over the years, as well as how the hospital he saw under construction in the 70's while riding his bike will soon be known as Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center.
MLK, Jr Community Hospital is a relatively newly built hospital that is on the same grounds of the closed MLK/King Drew Hospital that drew national attention for the wrong reasons. Jon Westall, a former corrections officer and security leader for Playstation, joins the show to discuss how behind the scenes, nearly 50% of hospital staff is performing unsung work that can make a huge impact on a patient’s experience.
Chris has been a pillar in the healthcare community for nearly 20 years with Scripps, but healthcare wasn’t always his calling. Chris started his career in law enforcement, but a major accident while on duty as a police officer transformed his journey towards healthcare. Chris shares how Scripps has become one of the leading integrated healthcare systems in California, and how partnerships are a key to the future.
Kaiser Permanente recently made headlines with the announcement that their new medical school will provide free tuition for the first 5 classes of students, or nearly 250 future physicians. Dr. Connelly shares about Kaiser Permanente’s vision for the 2020 opening and future for the school.
Bob returns to the show to share the latest legal news in household employment, and why hiring a caregiver from different organizations is not always an apples to apples decision.
Mary joins the show and shares how her decision to not run away from her fear of nursing school was a catalyst to where she is today.
Don rejoins the show to discuss how America’s Physician Groups (APG) continues to shape American healthcare through its advocacy, strategy, and efforts in accountable care.
Dan has been a pillar in the on-demand transportation since on-demand giants looked at healthcare/senior care as an opportunity. Dan recently joined Uber to lead Uber Health, which focuses on bringing HIPAA Compliant accessible transportation for the medically fragile and elderly population.
On-demand transportation has been all the rage lately, but one challenge yet to be solved has been a similar experience for the medically fragile or disabled, some of which may require wheelchair accessible vehicles. Uber and Lyft have yet to solve this challenge with a reliable solution. Airron Roy from Butterfli Technologies shares how Butterfli is solving that problem today.
As the healthcare industry continues to merge and organizations begin to take on more risk, Independent Physician Associations (IPAs) are gaining in popularity. Allowing independent physicians to remain that way, groups like Sharp Community Medical Group (SCMG) band them together to help lower costs and accept more risk. Check out my conversation with SCMG CEO, Paul Durr, to learn more about these organizations and why you’ll probably be hearing about them more-and-more as healthcare delivery continues to evolve in America.
PopHealth Podcast attended and spoke to some of the thought leaders at 2018’s USC’s Center for Body Computing Conference. Exploring tech-connected healthcare from sports, military and private applications to data security and ownership, this conference is focused not on the questions of the present, but of the future.
As 2018 draws to a close, Gavin and Zac look back on the year that was, share some behind-the-scenes stories and share their thoughts on what to watch for as we head into 2019.
VITAS Healthcare is arguably the most-recognized name in Hospice and end-of-life care. In fact, they are the Nation’s largest provider of hospice and palliative care services, caring for more than 18,000 patients every day. As experts on care and comfort at the end-of-life, we sit down with Dr. Christine Koniaris, Medical Director for VITAS East Bay, and Brian Pienta to discuss the clinical and holistic aspects of hospice care working to preserve quality of life with limited time to live.
Generations Healthcare is one of the leading healthcare organizations in the west focused on skilled nursing, rehab, memory care, behavioral health, and assisted living. Tom discusses his personal journey, where he saw the opportunity to do something better than the status quo. Tom discusses the Generations story, from a single facility organization to now 27 locations with operations throughout California and Las Vegas.
So what are all those mustaches in November about, and what’s up with Movember? The Movember Foundation is the only charity tackling men’s health on a global scale, year-round. Global leaders Paul Villanti and Kellie Paich join the show to share how those mustaches and $837 million (USD) raised by Movember globally are going to good use.
UCLA Health is often recognized as one of the leading health systems in the world, with UCLA Medical Center ranked as #7 in the nation by US News and World Report. Dr. Raja joins the show to discuss UCLA’s growing role in patient centered care, and how UCLA’s decades of population health experience have made it such a prestigious organization.
Dr. Jain joined the show to share about his journey and experiences that eventually helped shape CareMore into a leading integrated health plan and delivery system serving 10 states including California and Arizona. Dr. Jain has advised and interacted with some of the most influential decision makers in our nation’s healthcare ecosystem and is #36 on Modern Healthcare’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.
Dawn Maroney has a strong background working for established health plans, including CareMore, Care First, Health Net, and Secure Horizons. Dawn’s shares how she’s helped work closely with Alignment consumers and providers to develop benefits and services that have helped Alignment grow from a startup into a successful multi-state health plan.
Dr. Josh Luke took a bold step in 2012 to form the National Readmission Prevention Collaborative, one of the nation’s first organizations dedicated to bringing the best transitional care leaders together in multiple formats, including conferences, webinars, podcasts, and other collaborative settings. Dr. Luke discusses his often-blunt approach to the future of healthcare and how it has helped him gain notoriety as healthcare futurist, a term that’s become more common in today’s society.
Managing the population of over 2 million members is no easy task. Dr. Katrina Miller joins the show to give the audience a snapshot into one of the largest, state funded public health plans in the country. Dr. Miller breaks down how LA Care serves a diverse patient population, including 40% of its members that prefer to discuss their medical care in a language other than English.
Dori and Jason share their unique stories about their opportunity to support the growth of the population health department at one of Arizona’s most prestigious health systems, Banner Health, which employs over 50,000 employees and is Arizona’s largest private employer.
When Paul Irving received his law degree (from Loyola Law – Go Lions!) and began practicing, he had no intention of devoting his life’s work to the field of aging. Now, years on, he’s the Chairman of the Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging, and is considered one of the most prominent voices on the topic. In this episode, we discuss how it all came about and how the Center is working to change the perception of aging- including highlighting the enormous business potential and evolving messaging around living a purposeful life in your later years.
Tom Jackiewicz has built an impressive reputation for himself following his leadership of academic medical centers across the US. When he left UCSD to assume the role of Senior VP & CEO at Keck Medicine of USC, he knew he was in for a challenge but felt he was the right person to lead an organization with such incredible potential. In the midst a turbulent year for USC’s medical school, Tom has led Keck Medicine to continued growth in size and reputation, while maintaining exciting ideas for what’s to come. Join us as we discuss the hospital of the future and, since he’s known to use football metaphors, whether he views his role at Keck Medicine as Quarterback, Head Coach or General Manager!
Typically when you picture a “Tech Accelerator” program, you envision an incubator of companies hoping to create the next social network or app. However, in a modern building on the Cedars-Sinai campus you’ll find a unique partnership between the hospital and TechStars looking for foster some of the next great health-tech breakthroughs. Join us for a conversation with the program’s Director, Anne Wellington, where we discuss her experience as an entrepreneur, some of the exciting advances her program is making, as well as her thoughts on leadership and growing presence of women in technology startups. And make no mistake, while this shared workspace might look like it could belong to google or twitter, it might just produce the next great breakthrough to impact your health and how you receive it!
Gary joined co-host Gavin in the show’s El Segundo headquarters and they discuss how OM is going to disrupt healthcare and empower consumers to more save on their healthcare costs while having access to providers of their choice.
Co-host Gavin Ward traveled to Oakland to record an episode with Marty Ardron, a physical therapist by trade. Marty discusses the various aspects of care outside the acute care setting in which he and his team serve over 4 million Kaiser members in Northern California.
Co-host Gavin Ward and returning co-host Joe Zimmer sit down with returning Guest Karen Vanaskie joins long-time industry partner Pam Foster to discuss the special relationship in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area that exists between Innovation Care Partners, a clinically integrated network, and prestigious hospital system HonorHealth.
Cliff Daniels walks us through the responsibilities of a Chief Strategy Officer at one of the highest rated stand-alone community hospitals in California. Cliff shares about the challenges and strengths of being a stand-alone hospital, Methodist’s involvement in upcoming changes to bundled payment arrangements, and about a brand new, state of the art orthopedic wing to better serve its patient population.
The organization formerly known as CAPG has grown rapidly since we last had CEO Don Crane on the pod. Re-branded as America’s Physician Groups (APG), the organization has expanded their influence nationwide and continued its rapid growth. Ahead of their upcoming national conference in San Diego, Don sits down with the guys to discuss the “new” organization, his view for the future of healthcare and how APG is exercising its influence in Washington.
DJ Wilson’s experience in government and public policy gave him a unique perspective on how things get done in America and ability to navigate the political environment. Following his time in Washington, he focused those skills on healthcare in America and founded State of Reform to provide consulting services and also put on some of the most influential conferences industry-wide. Join us as DJ talks in depth about where healthcare is in both California and America at large, and identifies some of the biggest opportunities and challenges he sees on the horizon. You may be surprised some of his predictions!
Charene Platon joins the show to share about the history and growing importance of advanced practice clinicians, such as nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, in our constantly changing healthcare climate.