DC EKG
Join former White House policy expert Joe Grogan as he cuts through the complexities of healthcare legislation and its real-world implications. Each episode of DC EKG aims to demystify the policies shaping our healthcare system, uncovering how these changes impact patients, providers, and payers across the country. New episodes drop every Monday.
Episodes
March 20, 2026 • 55 mins
In Episode 129 of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with returning guest Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the R Street Institute, to break down the surge of state by state AI laws and why a patchwork approach could slow innovation, especially in healthcare.
Adam explains how more than a thousand state AI bills are flooding the zone, what types of “everything bills” are emerging, and why some states ...
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March 16, 2026 • 54 mins
In Episode 128 of DC EKG, Joe Grogan is joined by Kat McDavitt and Lisa Bari, co-hosts of the Health Tech Talk Show, for a practical conversation on what the next wave of health IT policy could unlock for patients and innovation.
They break down the proposed HTI 5 rule from ONC, why it is framed as deregulation, and how it aims to shift the market away from long EHR certification checklists toward one core goal: data that moves. T...
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March 6, 2026 • 43 mins
Episode 127
Rural Health on the Front Lines: Dr. Manny Sethi on Access, Private Equity, and Prevention
In Episode 127 of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with Dr. Manny Sethi of Vanderbilt and Healthy Tennessee to talk about what rural health looks like up close and what policy changes could actually improve access.
Dr. Sethi shares his story growing up in small town Tennessee as the son of immigrant physicians, then training as an...
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February 16, 2026 • 48 mins
In Episode 126 Joe speaks with Sue Peschin, President and CEO of the Alliance for Aging Research, about what Alzheimer’s and dementia look like in the real world and how policy determines who gets help and when.
Sue explains the mission and 40–year history of the Alliance for Aging Research and lays out the scope of the Alzheimer’s crisis in plain language: who is affected, how dementia types differ, and why neuropsychiatric symp...
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January 27, 2026 • 43 mins
"Obamacare Exempt" Plans - STLDI and ACA Coverage: Costs, Choice, and Tradeoffs
Joe Grogan is joined by Michael Cannon (Cato Institute) to break down short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI), also known as “Obamacare-exempt” plans. They explain why STLDI can be far cheaper than ACA exchange coverage, how renewal guarantees work, and why allowing more consumer choice can reduce pressure on exchange risk pools.
They also dig ...
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January 27, 2026 • 49 mins
Podcast TitleDC EKG with Joe Grogan: A Healthcare Policy Podcast
Episode124
Episode TitleRyan Long on the ACA Subsidy Fight, Phantom Enrollees, and Reforming 340B
Episode DescriptionJoe Grogan is joined by Ryan Long of Paragon Health Institute and the University of Southern California to break down two fights shaping health policy right now: a California wealth tax pitch framed as a health care fix, and the battle over extending...
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January 22, 2026 • 47 mins
DC EKG with Joe Grogan: A Healthcare Policy Podcast
Ep. 122
In this episode of DC EKG with Joe Grogan: A Healthcare Policy Podcast, Joe recaps the first Healthcare AI Policy Summit, held on December 10th in Washington, DC, with his co-host for the event, Naomi Lopez, founder of Nexus Policy Consulting.
They walk through the big themes shaping healthcare AI right now: how HHS is approaching AI adoption, what real regulatory clari...
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January 22, 2026 • 52 mins
In Episode 123 of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with Jackson Hammond (Senior Policy Analyst, Paragon Health Institute) to unpack what the latest CMS National Health Expenditure (NHE) data says about where U.S. health care is headed.
They break down the June 2025 NHE release, compare it to Jackson’s earlier “Paragon Prognosis” analysis, and explain what changed, what didn’t, and what it means for affordability, Medicare, Medicaid, ...
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December 10, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of DC EKG with Joe Grogan: A Healthcare Policy Podcast, Joe sits down with health economist Tony LoSasso to dissect what serious, workable Obamacare reforms could look like without blowing up the Affordable Care Act entirely. They dig into the structure of healthcare subsidies, why current premium tax credits dull price sensitivity, and how that undermines insurance competition, drives up healthcare costs, and threa...
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Joe Grogan sits down with James Gelfand, president and CEO of The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), to break down the future of employer-sponsored insurance and the challenges shaping healthcare policy. They discuss how rising healthcare costs affect both employers and employees, the evolution of health savings accounts, and why direct primary care and telehealth represent major shifts in employer benefits.
The conversation highlig...
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September 24, 2025 • 52 mins
In this episode of DC EKG, host Joe Grogan is joined by Ryan Long, Capitol Hill veteran and senior research fellow at the Paragon Institute, to unpack two big health policy debates: the 340B drug discount program and the enhanced ACA premium tax credits. Ryan explains how 340B drives higher drug spending, hospital consolidation, and rising premiums, while often benefiting wealthier hospitals over safety-net providers. He also break...
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September 15, 2025 • 53 mins
In this episode of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with healthcare entrepreneur and advocate Dutch Rojas to unpack some of the most pressing and misunderstood issues in American healthcare. From his unconventional path from accounting into healthcare to his outspoken advocacy for physician-owned hospitals, Rojas brings a fresh, unapologetic perspective to how we can break through the gridlock of consolidation and outdated policy. Roja...
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August 24, 2025 • 55 mins
Join host Joe Grogan for an exclusive masterclass with Dr. Robert Burns, James Joo-Jin Kim Professor of Health Care Management at the Wharton School. A nationally recognized expert on the U.S. healthcare system, Dr. Burns unpacks the complex forces driving healthcare costs.
With a background in sociology, anthropology, and decades of research, Dr. Burns reveals why so many healthcare reforms fail, what policymakers and business l...
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August 13, 2025 • 56 mins
Critics have been quick to attack the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), but how much of what you’ve heard is true? In this episode, Joe Grogan sits down with Brian Blase to set the record straight on the bill’s health policy reforms and why they matter. From Medicaid funding changes to the role of provider taxes, Brian and Joe break down the bill’s impact, debunk common myths, and explore what’s next for U.S. healthcare policy. They ...
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August 4, 2025 • 53 mins
In this episode of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary and host of The Sean Spicer Show. Spicer shares his experiences from working in various political roles, his thoughts on Republican strategies for the midterms, and the challenges of communicating healthcare policies. The discussion also delves into the differences between legacy media and new media, highlighting the need for self-...
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August 4, 2025 • 59 mins
Stephen Parente, former White House Chief Economist for Health Policy and current Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance and Associate Dean at the Carlson School of Management, joins host Joe Grogan to discuss the state of healthcare transparency. They dive into the pros and cons of price transparency, the impact of the No Surprises Act, challenges for insurers and providers, and what transparency means for healthcare...
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July 21, 2025 • 59 mins
In this episode of DC EKG, host Joe Grogan sits down with Dan Troy, former Chief Counsel of the FDA and a nationally recognized expert on healthcare law and the First Amendment. They explore Troy’s unique journey from free speech litigator to one of the FDA’s top legal voices, examining how the agency regulates what drugmakers, doctors, and companies are allowed to say—and what they’re not. The conversation dives into the legal bou...
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June 10, 2025 • 56 mins
In this episode, Michael F. Cannon, the Cato Institute’s Director of Health Policy Studies, dives into the policy decisions that shaped Medicare and fundamentally distorted the U.S. health insurance market. From how tax incentives nudged Americans into employer-sponsored plans to the unintended consequences that left many seniors uninsured, Cannon breaks down the government’s role in creating systemic challenges in health care. He ...
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May 23, 2025 • 46 mins
In this conversation, Joe Grogan interviews Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner and current president of the Center for Medicine and the Public Interest. They discuss the role of FDA advisory committees, the importance of transparency in regulatory processes, and the intersection of vaccination and nutrition in public health. Pitts emphasizes the need for better dosing guidelines for obese patients and the significance...
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May 14, 2025 • 47 mins
In this episode of DC EKG, host Joe Grogan interviews historian and political veteran Tevi Troy about the complex relationship between U.S. presidents and powerful industries. They discuss themes from his book The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry and his op-ed In Defense of Big Pharma. The conversation explores why pharmaceutical companies are often political targets and the i...
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