Creating a New Healthcare

Medicare for all. Not socialized medicine, just a single, government-run system that provides healthcare. 

Is it possible? Or even viable? Our guest this week on the Creating a New Healthcare podcast believes so. In fact, he sees it as the only way to ultimately address the affordability problem with healthcare, particularly for high cost conditions like cancer. In today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Troy Brennan about his book, The Transformation of American Health Insurance: On the Path to Medicare for All, and why a single payer, government system is needed, and how the changes the current administration has made to our public health systems is taking us backwards, not forward.

Troyen Brennan is an Adjunct Professor at Harvard Chan School of Public Health.  He was formerly the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for CVS Health and Aetna. Before that, he was the President of the Brigham and Women’s Physician Organization and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  He was also Professor of Law and Public Health at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health.  Brennan was formerly the Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has published six books and over 600 articles.

Last week, we talked about the six key drivers of personal health with Dr. Tom Frieden. But how does that factor into our conversation about the value (or not) of wearables and supplements?

This week, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth and Producer, Jess Greenwood, are back to unpack that for you. We discuss the role wearables do and potentially could play in helping each one of us achieve and maintain better health. We talk about how important it is to understand that the six drivers of personal health may be simple, but they’re not necessarily easy and why that means individuals are not to blame. 

Most importantly, we offer an invitation. To those who are creating, supporting, or changing their own environments to support better health for themselves or their community. We want to hear from you! Please get in touch so we can share your story on the podcast.

As a society, and as an industrial complex, we’ve made health complicated…and expensive. But, epidemiology suggests that what we need to do to achieve and maintain personal health is really quite simple.

Dr. Tom Frieden returns to the show to talk about the second half of his book, The Formula for Your Health. Through extensive research and review of hundreds of epidemiological studies, he distills the findings down to six basic things we need to be doing in order to be healthy. Dr. Frieden acknowledges that there is nuance, but he also affirms that history is clear. There are other societies in the world that were and are far healthier than the US population, and NOT because they had wearables, packaged food, home massagers, or Pelotons. 

Dr. Frieden is author of the book, The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own. He is also the founder and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a global health organization that accelerates action against the world’s deadliest health threats. Resolve to Save Lives has worked with governments and other partners in more than 60 countries to save millions of lives. Dr. Frieden previously served as director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New York City Health Commissioner, where he led efforts that increased life expectancy by 3 years and helped end major health crises including the largest US outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, and responses to H1N1, Zika, and other threats.

It’s the start of a new year, and that means resolutions and recommitments to personal health and wellness. Undoubtedly, there were thousands of wearable devices purchased as presents over the holidays and many more in the post-holiday sale madness. Supplement commercials and social media ads are going strong as we start this new year. But, are these things actually necessary for health? 

Today, we kick off our Winter Season of Creating a New Healthcare with a deep dive into the wellness industrial complex. Jess Greenwood, Producer of the podcast, joins Host, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth to dissect what we’ve heard from the experts interviewed on the show as well as our own personal experiences. We debate the role of wearables in behavior change, the influence of the wellness industrial complex, where supplements fit into a healthy diet, and what the companies that make these products really want and need from their users.

If you’ve been a bit skeptical if that Oura ring can help you achieve max readiness or even if you’re convinced those Magnesium supplements will be the game changer this year, this conversation is for you.

As we close out the year, Dr. Zeev Neuwirth steps away from his usual interviews to share a heartfelt, personal message directly with you, our listeners.