Why are patients losing trust in the healthcare system and who’s actually listening to them anymore?

In this episode, healthcare advocate Brandon Macsata joins us for a raw and honest conversation about patient advocacy, the failures of modern healthcare, insurance denials, AI in medicine, HIV activism, and why patients are still being excluded from decisions that directly impact their lives.

Brandon has spent over 30 years fighting for patients at the intersection of healthcare policy, HIV advocacy, and public health reform. From the early days of the AIDS crisis to today’s debates around AI-driven healthcare decisions, this conversation dives deep into the systems, incentives, and policies shaping patient care in America.

If you’ve ever felt ignored by the healthcare system, frustrated with insurance companies, or concerned about where medicine is headed next — this episode is for you.

In This Episode:

•  Why patients don’t trust healthcare anymore 
•  How HIV advocacy changed modern healthcare policy 
•  The hidden reality of prior authorization denials 
•  Why AI in healthcare could become dangerous 
•  How patient voices are being replaced by systems 
•  The truth about healthcare advocacy funding 
•  Why “Nothing About Us Without Us” still matters 
•  The real battle over 340B and patient access 
•  How grassroots advocacy actually changes policy 

About Brandon Macsata

Brandon Macsata is a nationally recognized healthcare and HIV/AIDS advocate with more than three decades of experience in patient advocacy, healthcare policy, and public health leadership. He serves as CEO of ADAP Advocacy and PlusInc, focusing on patient access, health equity, HIV policy, and healthcare reform.

Why This Conversation Matters

Healthcare impacts every person eventually but too often, patients are left out of the conversation. This episode explores how advocacy movements shaped healthcare as we know it today, why trust in the system is eroding, and what patients can do to reclaim their voice.

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco

What if life-saving medicine already exists… but patients still can’t get it?

In this episode, Sanofi’s Eric Racine breaks down the real crisis in healthcare and it’s not innovation. It’s access.

From personal tragedy to leading patient advocacy at one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Eric shares why millions of patients still fall through the cracks and what needs to change.

Eric Racine is a global leader in patient advocacy at Sanofi, with deep experience across healthcare systems worldwide. His work focuses on ensuring patients don’t just benefit from innovation but can actually access it.

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco

What if your diagnosis wasn’t the end… but the beginning?

After being diagnosed with HIV, everything changed but not in the way you might think. This powerful story is about finding purpose, strength, and a new life when it felt like everything was over.

Sometimes the hardest moments become the turning point.

We dive into:

Why patients feel ignored and unheard
How pharma and healthcare systems lose trust
The hidden struggles in rural healthcare
Why community-based care is the real solution
What needs to change to put patients first

This isn’t just a conversation, it’s a wake-up call.

If you’ve ever felt rushed, dismissed, or like “just another number” in healthcare… this is for you.

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco

Our goal is to help patients navigate the complex and often confusing world of the US healthcare system. In each episode, we discuss important topics, such as how to choose a healthcare provider, how to understand your insurance coverage, & how to advocate for yourself as a patient. We also interview healthcare experts and patients to provide a range of perspectives on these topics.

Building the Noise will also provide transparency into the many different elements of the healthcare system including: 
-Pharmaceutical Companies
-Biotech Companies
-Medical Device Organizations
-Insurance Companies (Payers)
-Pharmacy Benenfits Managers (PBMs)
-and much more!

We will conduct live interviews with industry leaders to provide you with transparency on how these organizations are looking to aid patients and change the healthcare system for the better. By conducting these deep, hard-hitting interviews, I hope to gain a better understanding of the work of these leaders and how they are working to support and empower patients!

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco

We sit down with Wendy Erler of Sarepta Therapeutics to understand how she developed her passion for patient advocacy, the value of engaging the patient voice and the need for the industry to engage patient communities further to maximize the impact of their lived experience. 

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco

In this introductory episode, Matt Toresco introduces his audience to what they can expect from the podcast, why he chose to start one, what he hopes to accomplish in building the noise, & what is to come!

Building the Noise with Matt Toresco