POLITICO's Pulse Check

Only a few people know what it's like to lead the White House's response to a public health crisis. Ron Klain is one of them. He was chosen in 2014 by President Obama to steer the U.S. effort to fight Ebola, just when it looked like the outbreak was about to spiral out of control.

Ron joined POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain how he became the U.S. Ebola "czar" (starts at the 2:00 mark), why he thinks the nation is losing the current fight against Zika (8:25), why a travel ban was a "horrible idea" for Ebola and would be "pointless" for Zika (17:00), why he wouldn't cancel Brazil's Olympics yet (23:00), how he'd design a new federal agency to fight the next public health emergency (24:30), and how fighting Ebola compares to his experiences in the Bush v. Gore recount, the Clarence Thomas hearings, and other high-profile Washington battles (32:00). Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 36:45.

In a bonus, POLITICO's Jen Haberkorn — who's been covering the Zika funding fight on the Hill — offers details on the latest funding packages and why Congress is dawdling (41:00). Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Pick a health care battle in D.C. over the past three decades. Chip Kahn's been at the center of it — first as a top insurance lobbyist, then as a key Capitol Hill staffer, and now as the head of the Federation of American Hospitals. Chip sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to talk about how he shaped the infamous "Harry and Louise" ad campaign (starts at the 3:10 mark), what it takes to be an effective Washington lobbyist (11:00), how the hospital industry is evolving amid reforms (16:00), whether bipartisan health policymaking is doomed (23:00), if supporting Obamacare hurt him among Republicans and his perspective on Medicare's controversial Part B demo (30:00), and how he sees the 2016 election for health care (37:45) Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 44:45. Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Farzad Mostashari has been on the frontlines of health care's biggest stories — from New York City's war on smoking to the Obama administration's $30 billion push for electronic health records. Now he's the CEO of Aledade, a fast-growing company that blends digital and population health and riding the wave of Obamacare startups. 

Farzad sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to discuss his beginnings in public health (starts at the 2:20 mark), his move to become the nation's leader on health IT (8:55), his thoughts on the Meaningful Use program (15:00), what it's like to be a government regulator (20:30), why he started Aledade (28:00), whether MACRA is a boon for the industry (34:00), if independent doctors are endangered and how new Medicare pilots will help (41:00). 

Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 48:00.

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Where's health care headed? No one knows better than Andy Slavitt, who runs Medicare and Medicaid — the nearly $1 trillion gorilla that shapes the industry — and who runs point on implementing Obamacare. Andy sat down with POLITICO's Dan Diamond to explain what it's like to lead one of the government's biggest agencies (starts at the 2:00 mark), how he got into health care and his efforts to demystify CMS (5:45), what it was like to be a contractor on the failed Obamacare exchange launch (18:00), how a Republican president could pick his successor (26:45), his thoughts on payment reform pilots (31:00), UnitedHealthcare pulling out of the ACA exchanges (39:00), why rising drug prices could be the top issue for Andy's successor (43:00), and how CMS lost the hearts and minds of doctors — and how the new physician payment rule, called MACRA, is going to get them back. (46:45) Plus: Don't miss the lightning round quiz at 54:45. Have questions, suggestions or feedback? Email [email protected].

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Introducing POLITICO's new health policy and politics podcast — Pulse Check, hosted by Dan Diamond! Subscribe to this feed for the latest updates.

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