Podcast Episodes

Episode 2237 notes America's Healthcare Advocate for 22 years, Cary Hall with longtime friend and Medicare Expert Carolee Steele. Here is how to enroll, what to look out for, when to enroll, and what's new for 2027.  They talk Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and have details on some of the major plan changes. Medicare enrollment period is October 15 to December 7th, 2026 (for 2027 benefits) Learn more, contact Carolee Steele at RPS Healthcare Solutions: (913) 521-4300. Medicare, ACA, for anywhere in the country. As always, if you need help or have something to share, contact me using this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, the issues you are dealing with, or any other health, healthcare, or health insurance questions or concerns. Visit: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us If you have a service, product or insight related to healthcare, health lives and heathy business, consider partnbering with us: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/sponsors

Episode 2236 notes Macaela and Rebecca bring us their strategy and share with me their community initiatives in Kansas City: For example, Macaela tells how working with over 200 nonprofits in Kansas City and passionately supports them including some of our veterans annually with a group from Blue KC to help out with the tiny houses over at Veterans Community Project. We also supply funds to them to make sure that they can continue to thrive. Then there's Cornerstones of Care and its vocational program, Build Trybe, Kansas City Community Gardens and the Giving Grove to work with students at DeLaSalle Education Center in transforming an empty field next to the school into a new Learning Farm that will positively impact hundreds of young adults in surrounding neighborhoods. Rebecca reminds me when you look at Kansas City, about 1 in 7 adults don't know where their next meal is coming from, and we know one of the greatest inputs to chronic disease and the things that drive up health care costs are the foods. So if you're eating fast food and you're not eating healthy, you're likely to develop hypertension. You're likely to develop diabetes. It's all connected. You can't you can't unconnect it. and it's impacting every part of these people's lives. For me, I find what there two are doing is impactful and it’s making a difference. In this show I hope to educated you and inform you about what this company, Blue KC does be part of Kansas City. This is season 22 episode 36 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall Learn more here: https://www.bluekc.com/about/community-impact/giving-back / -- Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate brings you topics and guests that are relevant to your health, the health of your business, healthcare needs, as well as critical health insurance information. https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/ Additional links from our show today: https://bionexuskc.org/ https://kccg.org/giving-grove-orchards/ https://buildwyco.org/community-programs/health-programs/ https://www.kanbesmarkets.org/ https://vcp.org/about-vcp/our-locations/kansas-city/ https://vcp.org/about-vcp/faqs/#tiny-homes If you have a service, product or insight related to healthcare, health lives and heathy business, consider partnbering with us: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/sponsors

Episode 2230 notes The focus of this shows is on rural health . There is a crisis in this country, in rural communities trying to keep their hospitals open, not being swallowed up by the giant conglomerate hospital systems and being able to run their hospitals and make enough profit to keep the doors open and serve their community. It's a tricky issue. It's difficult for them. And that's why we started doing these shows because we are on an enormous number of rural stations around the country, and we think this is an important issue. Luckily, today we have Pam Stewart in studio. She is the CEO of Washington County Regional Medical Center , a 56 bed hospital with a 60 bed nursing home serving patients since 1961 that is located in a "landlocked" county, meaning it is surrounded by counties with no hospital. See how rural Washington County hospital in Sandersville, Georgia comes back from the brink of closing and hear their recovery story after partnering with Aletheia Health Partners . In fact, once on the brink of closlin, now lists on the Chartis 2026 Top 100 Rural Hospitals Our guests tell it firsthand: Pam Stewart is the CEO at Washington County Regional Medical Center, and Abby Summers from Aletheia Health Partners is my returning guest. You’ve heard the term “urban food desert” which are city neighborhoods where residents lack easy access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food? Well, this is the same thing for rural families and small cities across the USA. This is a fantastic hospital turnaround story! This is season 22 episode 30 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall Learn more here: https://aletheiahp.com/from-crisis-to-comeback-washington-county-regional-medical-center/ -- Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate brings you topics and guests that are relevant to your health, the health of your business, healthcare needs, as well as critical health insurance information. https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/ If you have a service, product or insight related to healthcare, health lives and heathy business, consider partnbering with us: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/sponsors

AHA Honors HM3 Russell Jacobson

Episode 2228 notes Shannon Schneller knows why most people don’t come in with mild hearing loss and wait until they have moderate hearing loss. “But moderate hearing loss responds very well if it's treated it's just so much easier if we can catch it mild to moderate than if the loss goes to severe hearing loss”.  She will tell us why you could lose more of your ability to discern speech the longer you wait and the hearing aid will be less effective once loss has gone on too long. Today, we explore the Hearing Aide Experience , and if you think you’re too young, the fact is, untreated hearing loss can start as early as 35 years old. This is season 22 episode 28 of America's Healthcare Advocate. I'm Cary Hall. And if you need my help or have something to share? Send me a message: Contact Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2225 notes How Healthy is your hospital? Many rural hospitals either close or they are taken over by a large group. But Abby Summers and Kerry Trapnell from Aletheia have a much better plan for rural hospitals that is making them stronger and helping them succeed, lead and grow. We'll discuss 340B for rural hospitals and how it works, how to go from losing money to breaking even and making a profit at your rural hospital, and how both of my guests share a passion for Aletheia Health Partners’ mission to improve the operations and sustainability of rural hospitals. This is season 22, episode 25 of America's Healthcare Advocate. I'm Cary Hall. To learn about Aletheia Health: https://aletheiahp.com  And if you need my help or have something to share? Send me a message: Contact Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2227 notes NebraskaBlue’s Heather Rollin s is a ICHRA Plan Specialist and in this, our second show on the topic of ICHRA, we open up the discussion with all the details on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska‘s defined contribution medical plan and how it can help control costs, reduce administrative burden and still offer employees a lot more choice. If you are a business owner, CEO/CFO, HR Director, or anyone in business or industry with cost concerns and/or a complex workforce, even if you have workers outside of Nebraska… you’ll find today’s show a must watch! Even though the information concerns employers in Nebraska, I think it’s very helpful; to anyone in any location to identify and seek these amazing health benefits, plans and approaches. Learn more: http://nebraskablue.com/getaquote This is season 22, episode 27 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall. Need help or have something to share? Send me a message. Contact Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us For advertising options, email us at advertise@hianetwork.com For in-show SageonRQ mentions, go to: SageonRQ.ai or https://app.sageonrq.ai/

Episode 2226 notes My guests from Blue KC are Barron Roberts, the director of small Group and individual and Drew Hatten, the vice president of underwriting. There's some very interesting things going on with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Blue KC, right now as we move into the fourth quarter of next year. For our broker partners in the market: how we can drive additional value, to the small group space in the Kansas City market. Blue Select plus reporting, including Heatmaps to help our broker partners understand where members live in regard to the Spira Care locations. Incentives to drive and reward. Additional work and education support provided when they introduce Spira Care and Blue Select Plus. We’ll discuss Curve Underwriting and advanced reporting for level funded ASO customers. Spira Care is at 80,000 members and was built on the belief that advanced primary care and the primary care component of health care being the front door of health care, would drive better outcomes, better outcomes for patients, better outcomes from a cost perspective with which then made affordability more achievable. And we're now up to nine care centers. This is season 22, episode 26 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall. Learn more about the information on today’s show and more by calling 816-467-2145 , or visit: https://bluekc.com/sgvalue Need help or have something to share? Send me a message. Contact Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2219 notes Remember when your kids came home with their report cards and how that felt? What if the difference between a good retirement and a great retirement isn't just how much you've saved ... but the strategy behind it? Rick Dwyer has created a way to analyze the strategy in your retirement. He created SageonRQ.ai, where you will find the tools to verify your strategy, because with retirement decisions every decision affects another and the SageonRQ algorithm will show you opportunities to strengthen your retirement. Listen and learn, the financial Doctor is in the house.  This is season 22, episode 19 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall. After the show, visit: https://sageonrq.ai/