Pophealth Podcast

California Department of Health Care Services' Chief of the Benefits Division Lisa Murawski joined host Gavin Ward to provide details on the new Community Health Worker (CHW) benefit that has been years in the making.  The new benefit delivery doesn't require someone with a clinical background to make a big impact in the healthcare community, and will likely be a new career pathway for individuals seeking to serve their local healthcare community members that may have previously been underserved and/or unsure how to navigate the healthcare system.

Dora joins the show and shares how a combination of blessings, hard work as a healthcare leader (and mom), as well as a miracle have paved the way to today, where Dora and HC2 Strategies are leading large scale CalAIM collaborations between health plans, providers, and the community.

Dr. Schultz shares how his work serving individuals goes beyond just the Inland Empire and San Diego, but also to the Himalayas. He also shares how Federally Qualified Health Centers like Neighborhood Healthcare provide services for individuals that may otherwise struggle to access primary and other medical care.

California Department of Health Care Services' Anastasia Dodson helps give an overview of the "dual eligible" population in California and how upcoming changes will impact the delivery of care for Californians who have both Medicare and Medi-Cal (Mediciad in California), now called Medicare Medi-Cal Plans (MMPs or Medi-Medi plans), for Exclusively Aligned Enrollment Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (EAE D-SNPs).

Martha, a Medi-Cal beneficiary as a child in Ventura County, shares how her journey in the managed Medi-Cal world has ultimately led her to help lead a team that manages the care of millions of lives in California, including many that receive care in rural areas.

Yingjia, who serves in the role of Assistant Deputy Director, Health Care Benefits and Eligibility for California's Department of Health Care Services, joins the show to share how the significant eligibility adjustments shown during the pandemic (ie public health emergency) will be unwound and what that means to some of the millions of Californians on Medi-Cal.

Health plan and CalAIM expert Paige Brogan joins the show to share how the opportunity to make a big impact inspired her to join BSC Promise Health Plan. Paige gives some insight into the early days of CalAIM and while she is enthiusiastic about CalAIM, she shares why other medical leaders may be more in a sit and wait approach before celebrating the initiative.

Palav joins host Gavin Ward to discuss the new Popation Health Management efforts that DHCS is launching in 2023 in California. Before getting into the details, Palav reveals her competiveness in board games and where her passion for serving the safety net was inspired.

Rebecca shares how her journey to become a nurse and experience with worker's compensation set a foundation that allowed her to build a population health department at Partnership Health Plan of California.

Michael joins the show ande breaks down new opportunities for care and support that are available through California's new CalAIM initiative. CalOptima is the largest insurer in Orange County, caring for over 25% of the Orange County population, which may be a surprise vs. what the general public may think of when it comes to the OC demographics.

L.A. Care's Senior Director of Safety Net Initiatives' background in policy and community service helped prepare her to serve beneficiaries for California's largest managed Medi-Cal provider. Cynthia breaks down how the new CalAIM community supports are helping equip L.A Care to better serve its 2+ million membership.

SCAN's Sr. VP of Healthcare Services Eve Gelb joins SCAN backed myPlace Health Founder and CEO Robbie Pottharst in a 2-part episode that explores how SCAN is leveraging innovative models of care (ie CalAIM, PACE) that bring together both health and social services that historically were either unavailable and/or unable to be managed well with traditional models of care.

Dr. Wada shares how both his parents and UCLA were inspirtation in his choice to become a public servant, but not until after a stint as a bartender in London. Dr. Wada gives an overview of IEHP and how CalAIM is bringing enhanced care management and community supports to managed medi-cal beneficiaries across the Inand Empire and throughout California.

Social workers, whether we know it or not, are in our lives direclty or indirectly on a daily basis, caring for us, our loves ones, and our community.  Chris joins the show to share how the Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care brings together up and coming social work leaders alongside veterans to advocate, collaborate, and cultivate an envionrment that ultimately benefits all served by social workers in healthcare.  Chris also shares about their upcoming annual conference in October in Nashville, TN.

Case Management leaders help ensure hospitals are running smoothly and efficiently, while at the same time leading a team that equips patients for success once they discharge from a hospital, or what Providence may call a "ministry."  Debbie joins the show and will touch on her journey and how she leads a team serving patient populations of all types in Santa Monica, CA.

Hospital Readmissions Guru and Healthcare Futurist Dr. Josh Luke takes a look back over the past 10 years to share what strategies have worked with readmission prevention. Josh also shares about how he became known as a expert in the readmission and care transitions space through his development of the National Readmission Prevention Collaborative, which took off in the early days of the readmission penalties.

Liz shares how the Center for Medicare and Medicaid's (CMMI's) "Innovation Center" tests care and reimbursement models that often become the norm, including accountable care models and much of what we've have seen in the value movement.  

Angel shares his story of going from "unemployed dad" to becoming an executive leader that oversees the delivery of care in the home for one of Kaiesr Permanente's largest regions.  In our episode, Angel reveals how earlier chapters in his life, including time in the military and owning a computer business, helped him become the leader he is today.

Josh, Paul, and Bob joined us at our first all-star event to touch on the latest in home health and post-acute care, including the Choose Home Act and workforce shortage.

Syl and Smitha joined our first live All-Star event, where they discussed their expertise on ambulatory care, nursing, and the workforce shortage.