Dr. Len D’Avolio, CEO and co-founder of Blue Circle Health, sat down with Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D host Scott Johnson to discuss why today’s healthcare system makes living with type 1 diabetes harder than it should be and how better is possible.

Drawing on decades of experience building and studying healthcare systems, Len explains why type 1 diabetes has become the “poster child” for what’s broken in chronic care today. Together, Scott and Len explore how a complex web of insurers, administrators, and financial and operational incentives can distort care, limit access, and leave people with T1D feeling unsupported despite trying their best to navigate their healthcare.

Through real stories, this episode exposes the gap between what people with T1D need to live well and what the healthcare system typically provides. The conversation also highlights why Blue Circle Health exists, what it’s trying to fix, and where there is still room for hope and meaningful change.

What You'll Learn

• Why T1D is a “poster child” for a broken system: How chronic conditions reveal the cracks in modern healthcare more clearly than almost anything else.
• Who actually influences your care: A look at the many invisible players — beyond your doctor — who shape access, coverage, and treatment decisions.
• Why healthcare often feels impersonal: How financial and operational incentives can override human-centered care.
• What’s been tried before: Past attempts to “fix” the system — and why many haven’t worked as intended.
• Where hope lives: How new care models, including Blue Circle Health, aim to realign incentives around people instead of profit.
• What change really requires: The difference between incremental fixes and true systemic transformation. 

Key Quotes

• “Type one is the plane that never lands. You didn’t ask for this job, but now it’s your job for the rest of your life.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “Our healthcare system is designed to make it more difficult, more expensive, in some cases impossible to gain access to the medicine and the knowledge and the training that you need.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “The problem is the misalignment between all of the things that people need to live a long and healthy life with type one versus what they currently get from our healthcare system.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “It’s not that we [the U.S.] don’t spend enough money to dramatically improve hundreds of thousands of lives right now. It’s that we spend it on the wrong things.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio

Resources & Links

• Community Partner Spotlight: Diversity in Diabetes

Diversity in Diabetes works to create a more equitable diabetes landscape, with education, advocacy, and monthly “Insulin Inclusive” virtual meetups.
🌐 Visit: https://diversityindiabetes.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org