Katy Talento joins the show in-studio to share her unique journey from religious life to advising on healthcare policy at the highest levels of government - and what she believes it will take to fix the U.S. healthcare system.
With a background in epidemiology, public health, and federal policy, Katy brings rare insight shaped by her experience working in the U.S. Senate and advising on healthcare issues at the White House. Her career spans global public health work, infectious disease research, and shaping national healthcare policy that impacts employers, patients, and the broader healthcare system.
In this conversation, Katy shares how her early desire to change the world led her into public health, policy, and ultimately into healthcare reform efforts in Washington. She explains how incentives inside the healthcare system influence decision-making, why meaningful reform can be difficult to achieve, and why healthcare costs continue to rise despite ongoing policy changes.
We also discuss how employer-sponsored healthcare plays a central role in the U.S. system, why prevention-focused models such as Direct Primary Care (DPC) are gaining attention, and how transparency may help improve healthcare outcomes over time.
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#HealthcareReform #HealthPolicy #HealthcareCosts #DirectPrimaryCare #EmployerHealthcare #HealthcareInnovation #HealthcareLeadership #HealthInsurance #PublicHealth #HealthcareTransparency
00:00 Intro
00:23 Welcome Katy Talento
01:30 Early life and desire to change the world
04:30 Faith journey and decision to enter religious life
08:00 Global public health work and infectious disease research
12:30 Working internationally in public health
16:00 Entering Washington health policy
20:00 Writing healthcare legislation in the U.S. Senate
24:00 How healthcare policy is shaped in Washington
29:00 Speechwriting and political communications
32:30 Industry influence in healthcare policy
36:00 Why healthcare reform is difficult to achieve
40:00 How incentives influence healthcare decisions
45:00 Employer-sponsored healthcare and system complexity
52:00 Insurance incentives and unintended consequences
58:00 Why healthcare costs continue to rise
1:05:00 Transparency and accountability in healthcare
1:12:00 Direct Primary Care and prevention-focused models
1:18:00 Where meaningful reform may come from
1:25:00 The future of healthcare policy
1:31:00 Final thoughts on fixing U.S. healthcare
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