About Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton
Conversations On Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton is a podcast series about health care, health care systems and the connections we need to make them better. Each podcast will explore a different aspect of health or health care. Or a different country’s health care system as it compares to ours in the US. As a veteran reporter - I want to know why so many Americans still don’t have access to the comprehensive health care so normal in other advanced countries? How are health systems dealing with higher costs and changing demographics? And if, after the disastrous response to COVID 19, the US and other nations are now prepared for another major public health crisis.
Episode 49: A Conversation with Health Insurance Consultant William Hammett
In Episode 49 we’re talking health insurance for 2027. All of it. For big and small companies. Or individuals. Including Medicare. And I’ll just start with the cold, hard facts. At least as they seem to me. You will be paying more – we will all be paying more - for less coverage.
As I write this – open enrollment has begun for Medicare and it’s only a few weeks till state Obamacare marketplaces open as well. So let’s start with Medicare. And the popular advantage plans. The latest figures show more than 70 million Americans are using Medicare. 51 percent are enrolled in the Medicare Advantage or other private plans. The rest use traditional Medicare plus secondary plans. At least 2 million advantage plan users will be or have already been notified their plans will not exist for 2027. Leaving some without comparable alternatives even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid insist the total number of advantage plans will remain “stabile”. There are other changes or potential changes to Medicare – mostly involving lower payments to doctors and medical facilities and higher deductibles or payments for Medicare users. The maximum out-of-pocket cap for Part D drug costs rises to $2400 dollars. But there is a major financial boost for people who qualify for Medicare’s new “GLP-One Bridge”. Which started this summer and will run through 2027. Eligible Part D members pay no more than $50 a month for specific weight loss drugs.
If you use the ACA/Obamacare state marketplaces you’ll likely find fewer plans available in some states. If you don’t qualify for a subsidy, premiums are likely to go up an overall 15 percent for 2027. But again, this will vary from state to state. Many insurers are also raising out-of-pocket maximums and deductibles.
This is what we know as of this writing. Check the embedded links for updates and details.
Now what about people who get health insurance from their employers? In general, average employer costs are expected to rise between 8 and 9 ½ percent in 2027. And employees could find themselves paying as much as 11 percent more for the plans offered.
Many small business owners are simply dropping employee health insurance altogether. Because they just can’t afford to offer it. Which leads directly to my guest for this episode. William Hammett. He heads Hammett Consulting Group and he works with brokers and small business owners to find affordable answers to their growing health insurance issues. Hammett has more than 40 years of experience in employee benefits, ACA compliance strategy, and cost-effective health plan design. He is the author of two books on ACA compliance and broker strategy and is recognized for his expertise in practical, post ACA benefit solutions. Close to half of Americans work for small businesses and with health insurance costs becoming a crisis – I think you’ll find Bill’s ideas and solutions quite interesting.
YouTube Episode 49 link: https://youtu.be/5fc_v3_jywa
YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482
15 Sept 2026
Episode 48: A Conversation with Dr. Anil Dutta, Immunization Expert and Pediatrician
UPDATE: As of mid September PA health officials say a third person has died of measles - a 40 year old, unvaccinated woman.
We are all about vaccines in this episode. And appropriately. Summer already seems a distant dream; the kids are back at school and the signs reminding us to get our seasonal flu and Covid shots are everywhere. Along with the continuing battle in the US over all vaccines. But especially over the measles and other childhood vaccines. During the summer the number of measles cases continued to grow here, with over 31 hundred confirmed as I recorded this episode in early September.
It’s tempting to blame the controversy over vaccines on Covid or MAHA Moms or their one-time leader and now US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But actually, vaccines have been controversial ever since Edward Jenner introduced the first cowpox-based, smallpox vaccine in 1796. I’m told medical students are often shown this 1802 satirical engraving by the famous British caricaturist James Gillray. As an example of how far back people have feared and fought over vaccines.
So. We have the perfect guest to discuss the immeasurable contribution of vaccines to health and to life itself. Dr. Anil Dutta got his medical degrees in India and France and was a practicing pediatrician for almost a decade - before moving into vaccine manufacturing. Dr. Dutta headed the Medical Department of Sanofi Pasteur International in Lyon, France – with responsibility for all international clinical and epidemiological studies. He later worked to strengthen immunization programs worldwide. In 2009 Dr. Dutta joined GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals as Vice President and Head of Clinical Research and Development, and Medical Affairs. He has authored or co-authored 65 scientific publications and book chapters and has presented over 300 papers at medical conferences. Currently, Dr. Dutta is building support for vaccinations through his own venture – Vac-Science. Dr. Dutta is based in Belgium. And as usual on this pod – we use first names.
YouTube Episode 48 link: https://youtu.be/dVbPaqMbS9M
YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482
18 Aug 2026
Episode 47: An Update on AI and Heart Disease with Electrophysiologist Mohammadali Habibi, MD, Valley Health, NJ
It’s been nearly 3 years since we had a conversation about heart disease. Which sadly remains the number one killer of Americans - as it has been since 1921. It also remains number one in many other countries. But since we last talked about it - there have been huge advances in how heart disease - in its many different forms - is detected and treated. And I’ll bet you can guess the reason. Exactly. It’s AI.
So I asked one of the best specialists I know to come back and help us understand how AI is already improving the practice of cardiology and its many specialties. And how quickly there will be more breakthroughs. Many of these likely resulting in the prevention of heart disease as we know it today.
As you may recall from Episode 20 - Dr. Mohammadali Habibi is an electrophysiologist with the highly rated Valley Health and Hospital System in New Jersey - where he’s Director of its Ventricular Arrythmia Program. And before we got into the AI nitty gritty – I asked Ali to spend a few minutes explaining how the late Senator Lindsay Graham – who likely had the best healthcare coverage in the country as a US Senator – could have died so unexpectedly just a little over a month ago.
YouTube Episode 47 Link: https://youtu.be/ikK5Y1oveNk
https://youtube.com/shorts/_TAtBPyrra4
YouTube Channel Link: @conversationsonhealthhowwe482
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
3,108
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
15
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
27
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