Medicaid Episodes
385
Aug. 29, 2025
980: New Rural Health Program, Synthetic Opioid Policy Update
Madison Hluchan, ASTHO assistant director of Medicaid and value-based payment, details how a new ASTHO resource can help your team with the Rural Health Transformation Program; and JoAnne Deehr, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, shares prevention and response policies to reduce overdoses involving synthetic opioids.
Guests: JoAnne Deehr MSW , Madison Hluchan MPH
376
Aug. 18, 2025
971: Medicaid & Public Health Team Up, Respiratory Virus Season
Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO, and Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, discuss a new partnership between the two organizations; Dr. Joseph Kanter, ASTHO CEO,...
374
Aug. 14, 2025
969: Record Low Infant Mortality, Island Areas Learning Series
Dawn Shanafelt, director of the division of maternal and infant health for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, shares the policies and program that helped the state record its lowest infant mortality rate on record; Dulce Mendoza, senior analyst of island support at ASTHO, explains...
Guests: Dulce Mendoza , Dawn Shanafelt MPA BSN RN
362
July 25, 2025
955: Medicaid Modernization with Leidos
Dr. Kris Mork, chief data officer for Leidos’ health & civil sector, explains how Leidos is modernizing Medicaid.
Guest: Kris Mork PhD
352
July 11, 2025
945: Workforce Capacity, BBB Public Health Impacts
Maggie Nilz, senior analyst for preparedness at ASTHO, explains how states can help support public health preparedness workforce resilience and capacity; Carolyn Mullen, senior vice president of government affairs and public relations at ASTHO, shares what Congress has been busy with in this week’s View from Washington, D.C. report...
Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Maggie Nilz, MPH, CPH
343
June 27, 2025
936: Reducing Opioid Overdoses, FY26 Budget Breakdown
Kelly Dougherty, deputy commissioner at the Vermont Department of Health, shares how drug testing has helped reduce the state’s opioid overdose deaths; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s senior director for government affairs, breaks down this week’s View From Washington, D.C. report on public health news from Capitol Hill; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, shares how he works with legislators to improve public health
326
June 2, 2025
918: Tick-Borne Diseases At All-Time High, PH Legislation Roundup
Laura Harrington, professor in the department of entomology at Cornell University and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, explains how public health can combat tick-borne diseases; Beth Giambrone, ASTHO senior analyst for state health policy, discusses public health legislation in states around the country...
Guests: Beth Giambrone, MPP , Laura Harrington PhD
325
May 30, 2025
917: World No Tobacco Day, One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Brian King, executive vice president for U.S. programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, explains how state and local programs are the lifeblood of tobacco prevention; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO's senior director for government affairs, updates us...
Guests: Jeffrey Ekoma, MBA, MS , Brian King, PhD, MPH
506
May 2, 2025
898: Community Crisis Centers, Congress Back In Session
Kelly Crosbie, director of the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Use Services, tells us about the community crisis center initiative in her state; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO's senior vice president of...
Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Kelly Crosbie MSW LCSW
505
May 1, 2025
897: Baston Steps Down, AI for Vaccine Misbelief Correction
Dr. Kaitlan Baston, ASTHO alum and the former New Jersey commissioner of health, reflects on her time in the role as she steps down; Dr. Hang Lu, assistant professor in the department of communication and media at the University of Michigan, discusses an...
Guests: Kaitlan Baston MD MSc , Hang Lu PhD MS
495
April 17, 2025
887: Keep America Safe Coalition, Puerto Rico Health Priorities
Sharon Gilmartin, executive director of the Safe States Alliance, tells us about the Keep America Safe Coalition; Dr. Victor Ramos, secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Health and an ASTHO member, breaks down the health priorities for Puerto...
Guests: Sharon Gilmartin MPH , Victor Ramos Otero MD
485
April 3, 2025
877: Getting Further Faster Webinar, CNMI Capitol Hill Needs
John Vick, director of the Office of Primary Prevention at the Tennessee Department of Health, discusses how important partnerships are since many industries affect public health; Esther Muna, chief executive officer of the CNMI Commonwealth...
Guests: Esther Muña, PhD, MHA, FACHE , John Vick PhD
484
April 2, 2025
876: PH Workforce Lessons, Interagency Leadership Convening
Ryan Jury, assistant division director for operational excellence with the Department of Health and Human Services in North Carolina, tells us what he has learned from the ASTHO Leadership Institute and the ASTHO Spring Leadership Forum; Justa Encarnacion...
477
March 24, 2025
869: ASTHO Awarded on World TB Day, Island Priorities
Amelia Poulin, assistant director of emerging infectious disease at ASTHO, gives an update on public health’s battle against tuberculosis on World TB Day; Moses Pretrick, assistant secretary for health for the Federated States of Micronesia, tells...
Guests: Amelia Poulin, MPH, PMP, CPH , Moses Pretrick
470
March 12, 2025
861: Avian Influenza Update, Rethink Novel Data
Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, provides an update on avian influenza; Dr. Susan Hernandez, an epidemiologist at Public Health Seattle and King County, explains how her team used novel data...
449
Feb. 10, 2025
840: Our Healthy Kentucky Home, Dementia Set To Double
Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO immediate past president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, tells us more about the Our Healthy Kentucky Home initiative; Dr. Josef Coresh, director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman...
Guests: Steven Stack, MD , Josef Coresh MD PhD
434
Jan. 17, 2025
825: National Day of Racial Healing, New Administration Early Priorities
Natasha Harper-Levy, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at ASTHO, tells us the importance of racial healing as we get ready to celebrate the National Day of Racial Healing; an ASTHO blog article dives into how you can integrate race and...
Guests: Jeffrey Ekoma, MBA, MS , Natasha Harper-Levy
433
Jan. 16, 2025
824: AHEAD Model, NEMA Hurricane Response Webinar
Dr. Laura Herrera Scott, secretary of health for the Maryland Department of Health and an ASTHO Member, tells us how Maryland was the first state to sign on to the AHEAD Model released by CMS; Jessica Byrski, senior policy analyst for the National...
Guests: Laura Herrera Scott MD MPH , Jessica Byrski
425
Jan. 6, 2025
816: New Office of Healthy Aging, Vape Devices with Video Games
Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health and an ASTHO member, tells us why his team decided to create an Office of Healthy Aging; Dr. Jennifer Unger, a professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University...
Guests: Ralph Alvarado MD FACP , Jennifer Unger PhD
383
Oct. 21, 2024
774: Elimination of Health Inequities, Partnering With Community Action Agencies
Dr. Sejal Hathi, Director of the Oregon Health Authority and an ASTHO Member, dives into her state’s strategic plan to eliminate health inequities by 2030; Shalini Nair, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Infectious Disease, wrote an article about ASTHO’s...
Guests: Shalini Nair MPH , Sejal Hathi MD MBA
327
July 31, 2024
718: Funding Community Health Workers, Legal Map Surveys Overdose Laws
Dr. Karen Hacker, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC, says Medicaid and Medicare may be able to help keep community health workers on the front lines; Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, vice president and...
326
July 30, 2024
717: Online Hub Offers Heat Relief, Medicaid Benefit Keeps Oregon Members Cool
Christine Schell, manager for the department of environmental protection at the Office of Environmental and Public Health Analysis in New Jersey, tells us about an online portal in New Jersey that explains to people the health impacts of hot summer...
316
July 16, 2024
707: New National Suicide Prevention Strategy Explained, Washington State Launches 9-8-8 Campaign
Dr. Deborah Stone, lead behavioral scientist for Suicide Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains the strategies that make up a new national strategy to prevent suicide; Nikki Meline, Social Marketing and Public Health...
Guests: Deborah Stone ScD MSW MPH , Nikki Meline MA
300
June 21, 2024
690: Medicaid Letter Supports Territories, FDA Food Code Resources
ASTHO CEO Dr. Joseph Kanter and Executive Director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, Kate McEvoy, have sent a letter to Congress to lift the Medicaid funding cap on all U.S. territories and approve a permanent 83 percent federal...