We are in the middle of America, literally! Kansas City is halfway to everywhere and sits at the crossroads of distribution as Interstate 35, going north and south, intersects with Interstate 70, which runs east and west.

We know Fentanyl, Heroin, Marijuana along with Human Trafficking using the I-35 corridor and then being dispersed out into the communities. The Sheriff’s here today and this is: Our Health and the Health of our Communities, Part 2.

From this episode, Sheriff Cal Hayden: "fentanyl and overdose poisonings are the number one cause of death for men between 18 and 40, it's the number one cause of death. We've almost had as many deaths as Covid. "

Learn more: CalHaydenforsheriff.com or call 913-944-2623

Need help or have something to share? Contact Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate and let Cary know what's on your mind, issues you are dealing with, or other health, healthcare, and health insurance questions and concerns: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Whether you are wanting to lose weight, prevent Type 2 Diabetes or both, you now can consider the class of drugs described as "glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists" that work by binding to GLP-1 receptors, which in turn results in lower blood sugar levels and A1C levels and are now being prescribed to reduce appetite and help with weight loss. But there is a high financial cost and you may need to stay on the drug for life. In this episode, I will discuss the latest on Ozempic and Wegovy and which is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes and which to help with weight loss or to lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Then we contrast these drugs with the latest knowledge about the effectiveness of "Brisk Walking" as I bring you the latest health and well-being news in this Multi-Topic episode! I'm Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate.

Need help or have something to share?

https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Today my Spira Care guests are Dr. Becky Gernon, Department Vice President and Medical Director at Spira Care and Sharon Wilkinson who is the Clinical Performance manager at Spira Care centers as we discuss Spira Care’s integrated behavioral health component designed to see that patients’ needs are met both physically and mentally.

This is a great episode, and we delve into how behavioral health, like physical health, affects all our lives and that even though we rarely look at it that way. and how Spira Care continues to be on the forefront of behavioral health care and reports to us that nearly 15% of all of their patients also had a visit with a BHC (Behavioral Health Clinician) in 2023.

Ep: 2010

Learn more by calling 833-605-6901 or visit SpiraCare.com

I'm Cary Hall, and if you need help or have something to share, you can send me a message here:

https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

The Sheriff’s here today: Our Health and the Health of our Communities

Joining me in studio today is Cal Hayden. He is the sheriff of Johnson County, Kansas and we’ll be discussing our personal health and highlight issues that we're dealing with in our communities in this country and how they affect community health. Kansas City is halfway to everywhere. We're right in the middle of the country. So anywhere you go, you're going to go through Kansas City one way or another. I-35 is the artery interstate highway for trucking and transportation all the way from Mexico to Canada. And as a result, here in Johnson County we get a lot of activity especially now with border the way it is we're seeing a lot of nefarious activity centered around I-35 including human trafficking, drug traffic and almost anything you can think of that's illegal. As a result, the county jail has incarcerated citizens of from everywhere: a parole violation out of Russia, aggravated robbery out of Honduras, domestic battery from Kenya, and first-degree murder from India, murder from Kenya, Canada, the Philippines, aggravated arson, Guatemala, Azerbaijan, assault. It goes on and on.

From the show: Cal Hayden: “What moves through our county? So, let's talk about fentanyl. There's an enormous amount of discussion going on in between the federal and state government and state governments and everything that's going on on the border for the majority of this is coming over. Fentanyl coming up through the I-35 corridor and then being dispersed out into the communities. And if it's not shipped, it's being mailed out. We're finding a lot in the US mail as well as UPS & FedEx. We take our dogs in and we'll run them up and down the lines and find lots of fentanyl. Also, they're trucking it in. Our officers will make stops on I-35. We've got cartel members here doing it. “ America's Healthcare Advocate, Cary Hall is broadcast on over 220 radio stations across the USA. Podcast S20 Ep8 This episode contains discussion specific to the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, but we feel it is of interest and potentially affects listeners across the USA.

Learn more about Sheriff Cal Hayden: https://jocosheriff.org/public-information/sheriff-calvin-hayden https://www.calvinhaydenforsheriff.com

From your Host, Cary Hall: Got an idea or need help with a problem? Send me a message! https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

If you’re a 1099 employee you are part of what’s called the GIG economy, and you know that finding good, affordable health insurance is difficult, if not impossible. In this episode of America's Healthcare advocate, I'll explore GigCare, offering a variety of affordable plans with doctor office copays, labs, x-rays, prescription drugs and major medical coverage, just like traditional employer sponsored healthcare plans have and GigCare provides access to one of the largest PPO networks of doctors and hospitals in Nebraska.

Learn about this inovative plan from our expert guest Richard Haldeman: "So if you think about what we were trying to solve at Detego Health... a company that really wanted to develop products to address the needs of the market as opposed to just administering somebody else's plans. So we noticed right away two things. One is cost related to plan, meaning small employers as individual gig economy workers couldn't afford to have a plan that they could work with and there was really no products out there that addressed directly that segment of the market. So, you know, the largest segment of our market is the self-employed individual. So whether you're a computer programmer, web design web designer an Uber driver or if you have an Amazon delivery truck, one of the major concerns we heard from the market and everything we do is based on what we hear from the market is that there wasn't anything out there a decent plan for them."

Learn more: https://gigcare.net/

866-200-2513

Have a question or topic? Send me a message: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

My guests are Medicare and Medicare Advantage experts! Joining me from RPS Benefits by Design are Carolee Steele, who is the Director of Medicare, and Maria Ahlers, Chief Operating Officer, Employee Benefits at RPS Benefits By Design.

Together, they offer Medicare Advantage plans from every carrier out there that has a Medicare Advantage plan: Blue Cross, Aetna, Humana, United… they all have zero premium plans.

Hear how they can help ensure you find the right plan that fits your needs with allowances for dental, vision, hearing and even transportation via a debit card that are built into the Medicare Advantage plans.

Did you know, the “extra benefits” that are built into the Medicare Advantage plans is how the carriers compete with each other? That’s important and they tell us why. And, most people start with comparing prescription benefits. Find out why that matters.

Ep 2006

Terms used in this episode:

Simply Blue plan the Blue Cross of Kansas City

RPS Benefits by Design:

877-385-2224 https://www.rpsbenefitsbydesigninc.com/

Primary Care: Spira Care: https://spiracare.com/

Primary Care: CenterWell https://www.centerwell.com/

Medicare Part B

Medicare Part D

Medicare Advantage Plans

I'm Cary Hall. Contact me if I can help you: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

They say that 40 cents of every $1 that’s paid for Primary Care services goes to the relationship between the Insurance company and the Doctor. So we're going to talk about a different model of primary care today.

It's an alternative. It's something different, and I'm intrigued by it. And I think you will be, too. It's a model that obviously is working well because they continue to expand the number of clinics they have here in the KC Metro, and you'll find similar value based primary care throughout the USA.

My experts this episode are Troy A. Burns, MD, a pioneer in healthcare reform. He was among the first to adopt the new Direct Primary Care model that fixes many of the problems with our broken healthcare system.

Dr. Burns is joined by Angela Prato, M.D., who joined ProPartners Healthcare in 2018.

Learn more about ProPartners Health Care:

ProPartnersHealthCare.com or call 913-451-4776

Have an idea, or an issue you need help with? Send me a note or submit a topic here: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

This is S20 Ep 4 and I'm Cary Hall, America's Healthcare Advocate.

Today we visit with CenterWell Market President Drew Hare and back for a second visit is Dr. Stephanie Ikeme. I am a fan of the CenterWell model for Senior Primary Care and I think you will find this to be a fascinating episode as we investigate what makes CenterWell so amazing.

CenterWell Senior Primary Care features a care team approach that helps each patient live a healthier, happier life by supporting the mind, body and spirit. As a result, our patients frequently mention how they don't feel rushed when they come in for an appointment. They feel like they can be heard.

Our returning guest, Dr. Stephanie Ikeme, is the regional medical director for CenterWell Senior Primary care.

If you are a senior or if you are the care giver to a parent or relative who is, this episode is for you! While we discuss the Kansas City market specifically, the information is for all seniors in the US who are seeking a better level of primary care. For those outside of Kansas City, CenterWell is in 26 states currently and it is well worth it to see if they operate near you.

• Learn more about CenterWell by calling 816-640-8522 or visit http://seniorfocusedkansascity.com

Do you have a problem I can I help you with? Let me know by sending an email: https://www.americashealthcareadvocate.com/contact-us

Thank you!

-Cary Hall