Podcast Episodes

Episode 2133 notes Sportscaster Ryan Lefebvre , the storied broadcaster of the Kansas City Royals baseball team, joins me on this special show along with Kristin Gernon, Blue KC Behavioral Health Program Manager. Kirstin has over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field, focusing on children and families. She has been involved in initiatives like the "Shut Out the Stigma" campaign and has spoken on mental health topics, including its importance in youth sports and the new documentary "Not Good Enough". "Not Good Enough" is available at: https://www.shutoutthestigma.com/documentary  Learn more about Blue KC: https://www.bluekc.com/ And if you need help or have something to share, contact me Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate at https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us And let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns.

Episode 2134 notes My guest Misty Snodgrass and I explore why only one carrier services 103 Kansas counties and even goes below five lives in small group coverage. They are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, and they are truly the hometown carrier. Misty is their Director of ACA & Medicaid and is my expert guest. At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, community involvement is a key component. Discuss how an EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) may be a great option and we’ll contrast PPO Designs, etc. Other carriers pull out of the state when claims go up. Not Blue Cross of Kansas. They are here to stay and in all 103 counties. We’ve been here for 80 years and we aren’t going anywhere. This is episode 2134 of America’s Healthcare Advocate. I’m Cary Hall.  Learn more about BCBSKS.com or call (866) 906-5253. And if you need help or have something to share, contact me Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate at https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us And let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns.

Episode 2131 notes JMy guest, Ron Miller is BlueKC’s FEP Senior Sales Consultant & Labor Liaison and Ron and I have all the things to know Right Now and why Federal Employees should consider Blue Cross Ble Shield for their health insurance needs! The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program is the number one health insurance choice for federal employees, retirees, and their families. For nearly 60 years, we’ve been committed to offering federal employees the best healthcare coverage in the U.S. More than 99% of our members stay with us year over year. Our preferred provider network includes 95% of doctors, 96% of hospitals and 65,000 pharmacies nationwide. And you never need a referral to see a specialist. 24/7 care provided by Teladoc Health – treatment for minor injuries and illnesses, mental health support, dermatology care and more by phone or video. Preventive care is always covered when you see a Preferred provider. OPEN ENROLLMENT SEASON runs from Monday, Nov. 11th through Saturday, Dec. 8, 2025. Virtual Fairs: https://www.fepblue.org/events To learn more about the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, visit fepblue.org or call 800-411-BLUE. And if you need help or have something to share, contact me Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate at https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us And let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns.

Episode 2132 notes John Massey and a couple of his friends came together and created a program called Zuzu's Petals. Born out of a great love of Christmas and how each of them were impacted by Chrfistmas when they were young, this non-profit takes care of families that cannot afford to have a Christmas, and they do it in a very unique way. John, Mak and Dan love Christmas so much, they created a way to share it and help local families. John joins us this year in a heartwarming show that you really need to hear. To help them visit: https://zuzus-petals.org/ Or, call John at 816-977-1955 And if you need help or have something to share, contact me Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate at https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us And let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns.

Episode 2130 notes Misty Snodgrass is Director, ACA & Medicaid at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and she'll let us know what you Must Know if you have an ACA insurance plan . MISTY: This is unprecedented. At BCBSKS we're doing our best to hold the rates down and even taking a hit financially. But we want to make sure that people in Kansas have access to coverage. CARY: Like Misty said, they're more than happy to talk to you and just explain what's happening because there are a massive number of changes coming in the marketplace and ACA. Misty leads the strategic and operational direction for the ACA line of business and oversees the Healthy Blue Medicaid partnership. She is responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance, financial performance, product and market strategy, and operational excellence. She is known for her compassionate, results-oriented approach as syays she prioritizes access, quality care, and member satisfaction—delivering sustainable success in a complex, highly regulated healthcare environment. This is episode 2130 of America's Healthcare Advocate Learn more about anything discussed on this program. Visit https://www.bcbsks.com/ or call 866-906-5253 Episode Producers: Audio: Garner Cowdry Camera: David Thiessen As always, if you need help or have something to share contact me with this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns. Visit: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2129 notes I've wanted to do this show for a long time. It's personal to me. This is on what I call the big four weight loss drugs. Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mountjaro. And the reason I wanted to do this show was because I was struggling with some weight issues and went to see my primary care doc, and she goes, well, let's just go ahead and give you Wegovy. And I thought, you know, I think I'm going to go find a weight loss clinic. I'm going to get into a program and see what I can do. And I did. So I’ll let you know how that went, but also that it made me think about these products and I started doing a little research, started looking around, and I'm like, you know what? We don't know what we don't know. And it gave me, some significant hesitation about using these, so this show today is about that. It's about what do we know? What don't we know? What do we know that are side effects, potential problems down the road for other kinds of diseases and comorbidities because most studies go back only 3.5 years or less. Some additional questions are: What are the long-term effects and what happens if you’re on them on them for a lifetime? I’ll also review the manufacturer country Green List, so if you are getting one of these from another country to save cost, which are considered safest. We have the research, and I'll lay it out in detail in this episode and I’ll let you know what I think. The studies we've referenced are listed below. This is episode 2129 of America's Healthcare Advocate. I'm Cary Hall.  As always, if you need help or have something to share contact me with this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns. Visit: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us Episode Producers: Audio: Garner Cowdry Camera: David Thiessen Research - Nathan Haldeman Research for this episode: Semaglutide and tirzepatide basic info: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf Timing of risks involving weight loss drugs : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37952131/ Info related to weight regain with weight loss drugs: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9542252/ Info about suicidal signals with weight loss drugs (no signals found): https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/update-fdas-ongoing-evaluation-reports-suicidal-thoughts-or-actions-patients-taking-certain-type/ Gastrointestinal complications with weight loss drugs : https://gi.org/journals-publications/ebgi/phil_paul_nov2023/ https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf Thyroid risks with weight loss drugs: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf Pancreatitis, gastroparesis/obstruction caution: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf Human relevance with thyroid issues: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf Success stories with meaningful weight loss using the drugs: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02026-4/ Findings regarding weight loss drugs helping heart health: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-treatment-reduce-risk-serious-heart-problems-specifically-adults-obesity-or/ Findings regarding weight loss drugs ability to help prevent diabetes: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eli-lilly-says-weight-loss-drug-cut-diabetes-risk-by-94-trial-2024-08-20/ Basic side effects of weight loss drugs: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/215256s011lbl.pdf Warnings regarding who should and shouldn’t take these drugs: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/215256s011lbl.pdf Specifics with body composition during weight loss drug use - how to maintain the loss and what you're actually losing: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183/ Cost and healthcare surrounding weight loss drugs: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/127bd5b3347b34be31ac5c6b5ed30e6a/medicare-coverage-anti-obesity-meds.pdf More regarding prices and utilization pressure: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/glp-1-weight-loss-diabetes-drugs-cost-deprescription-medicaid-north-carolina/ Real- world persistence about weight loss drugs: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2823644 How to take the drugs and dose them properly: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/215256s011lbl.pdf Lifestyle tips to help the drug’s effectiveness: https://dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dom.16275 Planning timelines for weight loss with and without the weight loss drugs: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35441470/ Necessary things to do prior to taking the drugs that can improve your safety with them: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/215256s011lbl.pdf How do these drugs actually work: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/209637s025lbl.pdf Warnings about lack of long term data for these drugs: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2307563 Stopping often leads to weight regain: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9542252 Drug warnings about pulmonary aspiration: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/209637s025lbl.pdf Signals about serious GI events: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2810542 Suicide relations to these drugs, how it’s a misconception: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/update-fdas-ongoing-evaluation-reports-suicidal-thoughts-or-actions-patients-taking-certain-type Patients with diabetes may have retinopathy complications: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/209637s025lbl.pdf Pregnancy cautions: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/215256s024lbl.pdf These drugs can affect your ability to digest other medications: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2025/217806Orig1s020lbl.pdf We need more data about the effects of body composition: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183 Warnings about unapproved versions of these medications: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/fdas-concerns-unapproved-glp-1-drugs-used-weight-loss

Episode 2128 notes Today my friend and guest is Philip Sarnecki a Kansas businessman, a job creator, a husband, and father who rose from humble beginnings (the son of a janitor and a secretary) who then built one of the nation’s largest financial services companies and has led businesses that today employ nearly 1,000 people across multiple industries. This is Ep2128 of America's Healthcare Advocate. Learn more about Philip and his plans for the state of Kansas: https://philipsarnecki.org Learn about me, Cary Hall: America’s Healthcare Advocate: I have a strong desire to empower my fellow Americans and cancel the noise and confusion surrounding the US healthcare system. My goal is to enable you to become the expert for your own healthcare management, saving you time, money, and effort. Learn even more: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com As always, if you need help or have something to share? Contact me with this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, the issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns. https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2126 notes There’s a lot of chatter out there. That's about the best way I can put it about what's going to happen with ACA . And, you know, I'm seeing pieces in the media that are portraying what's going to occur and the changes that are going to happen and how they're going to impact people, and unfortunately, there's a lot of false narrative out there. So I'm going to I'm going to explain where we're at on the individual health insurance market on Obamacare and ACA . Then I'm going to talk with two experts about what can you do to prepare yourself so that you're not caught up in a trap and you can't make a decision to solve the problem? Then we’ll discuss give you the kind of coverage you need and how to find it. That's what we're talking about in this episode, and that's the message we're trying to get out to everyone to is be prepared. This is coming. It's going to be like a tsunami. There going to be a lot of people displaced off of these plans are going to be looking for alternatives and so how do you deal with it, what are the best solutions and show you how you can do that and make sense of it for you and your family. If you're an employer, what do you need to be looking at? Because the ACA plans for small group are going to get hit hard, hit just as hard as the individual plans are, if not harder in some cases. Learn more from our guests Carolee Steele and Maria Ahlers from RPS Benefits by Design by visiting https://www.rpsbenefitsbydesigninc.com or call 877-385-2224 Learn about me, Cary Hall: America’s Healthcare Advocate: I have a strong desire to empower my fellow Americans and cancel the noise and confusion surrounding the US healthcare system. My goal is to enable you to become the expert for your own healthcare management, saving you time, money, and effort. Learn even more: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com As always, if you need help or have something to share? Contact me with this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, the issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns. https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Episode 2127 notes Barron Roberts is my expert today on this Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas City update show. How will it play out for all of you out there in the audience for your coverage in '26? We will cover the individual side and what Blue Cross is doing to lead the way. They're actually going to have premium reductions on the individual side, and we'll talk about what are the answers to the employers out there, the small group employer, the employer under the 100 lives. Get all the details and find the best way to go now, because come January 1st, all the Aetna plans are pulling the pin on ACA. They're going to be gone. And I will cover what's going to happen with the other plans. They're going to be significant increases across the board. BlueKC continues to lead the way as the local hometown carrier. This is Ep2127 of America's Healthcare Advocate. Learn more at https://www.bluekc.com/ or 833-467-2145 Learn about me, Cary Hall: America’s Healthcare Advocate: I have a strong desire to empower my fellow Americans and cancel the noise and confusion surrounding the US healthcare system. My goal is to enable you to become the expert for your own healthcare management, saving you time, money, and effort. Learn even more: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com As always, if you need help or have something to share? Contact me with this form on my website and let me know what's on your mind, the issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns. https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us