Dr. Leana Wen, a health news commentator for The Washington Post and CNN, is known for trying to have an open view toward untraditional opinions. For instance, she tells “Conversations on Health Care” that the new National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration directors are both “qualified individuals who have credentials from major medical institutions, who have worked in those fields.”

She says her hope is that “behind the scenes they will act as tempering force… against the worse excesses around …Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and vaccine policy.”

But she also tells hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter that “Of course, this is an extremely worrisome time… many of the changes we’re seeing are even more extreme than may have been anticipated.”

In addition, Dr. Wen urges nuance in evaluating public health claims. “It’s important for us to evaluate each of these claims separately… and not have a knee-jerk reaction to everything [Kennedy] says.”

This episode dives into the politics of vaccines, the measles outbreak, food additives, artificial intelligence in medicine, and the evolving role of trust in public health.

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Very early this morning the U.S. House passed a bill that would result in more than 7 million people losing Medicaid coverage if it became law; that estimate is from the Congressional Budget Office.

As the bill was coming together, the chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News shared her analysis. Julie Rovner highlighted that to get a bill across the finish line was going to require overcoming the skepticism of some politicians. “There’s a growing group of Republicans who are unhappy with how many reductions there are to the Medicaid program… including people who voted for the Republican [Party] and President Trump,” she said.

Rovner also reviewed the Trump administration’s efforts to ignore congressional appropriations and other laws. “As I say, this administration… is not following the law” and Rovner explained how that threatens the country’s public health.

From the future of Medicaid and food assistance to questions about accountability and health infrastructure, this conversation offers crucial insights into the latest health policy flashpoints with hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

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Millions are still living with the effects of Long COVID and new research shows that for older adults, the consequences may be profound and lasting.

In part one of a special two-part series on “Conversations on Health Care,” Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist and leading Long COVID researcher at the University of Texas Health San Antonio, shares groundbreaking findings from his global study of over 3,500 patients. His work reveals a troubling connection: many Long COVID patients over 60 show cognitive decline that mirrors early signs of dementia.

“The parts of the brain that are affected by COVID overlap significantly with those that are affected early in the course of Alzheimer’s….the changes overlap, but they are not identical.”

His team is now studying brain imaging and biomarkers to understand the link between COVID-related cognitive decline and traditional neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. de Erausquin also explains how persistent loss of smell — a hallmark COVID symptom — may be the strongest predictor of ongoing cognitive issues, and how genetic sequencing is helping uncover inherited risk.

He highlights a dual reality: while many Long COVID patients show biological changes, others had prior diagnoses of depression, anxiety, or chronic fatigue — a nuance often missing from public conversations.

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