Tuning In to The C-Suite

In this episode of his “Conversations With Perry and Friends” podcast, Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, spoke with Rita Shane, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive (MHE) editorial advisory board, is host of the "Conversations with Perry and Friends" podcast. In this episode, Cohen speaks with Jon Bloom, M.D., co-founder and CEO of Podimetrics, about the evolving role of physicians in U.S. healthcare.

Featured in this latest episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast is Paul Fronstin, director of health benefits research at EBRI, who shed light on the evolving landscape of health benefits with editors of Managed Healthcare Executive. Fronstin discussed the challenges employers face in designing health plans that steer employees toward high-value care. He also shared insights on high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), noting that while they initially lead to reduced healthcare usage, they don’t deliver significant long-term savings. Looking ahead, he highlighted the potential of technology, such as AI and mobile apps, to empower employees to better understand their health benefits and make more informed decisions during open enrollment.

In this latest episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast, Briana Contreras, an editor with MHE had the pleasure of meeting Loren McCaghy, director of consulting, health and consumer engagement and product insight at Accenture, to discuss the organization's latest report on U.S. consumers switching healthcare providers and insurance payers. One of those surveys were on payer experiences and the other on patient experiences. McCaghy shared that ease of interaction, rather than clinical experience, is a primary reason for switching. He stressed the importance of building trust through positive experiences and meeting patient needs digitally, starting with basic functionalities could help patient turnover.

In our latest "Meet the Board" podcast episode, Managed Healthcare Executive Editors caught up with board member, Eric Hunter, CEO of Care Oregon, to discuss a number of topics, with one including the merger that never closed with SCAN Health Plan due to local opposition from Oregonians, emphasizing the need for partnerships to meet scaling and capital requirements. 

On the other hand, Hunter also praised Oregon's careful Medicaid redetermination, resulting in a smaller enrollment decline than expected. 

He also highlighted a new preventive medicine residency program with Oregon Health and Science University to improve healthcare for populations most at need. 

Before concluding the conversation with a question on what public official or figure of past or present he'd love to sit down over dinner with, Hunter briefly covered cybersecurity challenges and the potential impact of healthcare issues in the upcoming election.

In the latest episode of the Meet the Board podcast series, Managing Editor, Peter Wehrwein, catches up with Chief Clinical Officer at Optum Rx and EAB member, David Calabrese, about his new role alongside his team's progress in improving quality, patient safety and health equity in healthcare. David highlights efforts to address pharmacy deserts and medication shortages; and the two discuss the challenges and future of retail pharmacies, the impact of cell and gene therapies and the rise of GLP-1 weight loss drugs, noting their cost and regulatory scrutiny. David also emphasized the importance of comprehensive patient support programs.