Working Healthcare

The truth reshaping America’s $5 trillion healthcare system. This show provides a front-row seat to the policies, powerhouses and forces. Candid conversations no one else is telling with the most fascinating healthcare leaders, every week hosted by trailblazer Meredith Hirsh. You can’t fix what you don’t understand. Watch full video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@WorkingHealthcare Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workinghealthcarepodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workinghealthcare TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@workinghealthcarepod Meredith LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredith

Working Healthcare is a health podcast hosted by Meredith Hirsh, with 122 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Meredith Hirsh hosts Working Healthcare, a health show with 122 episodes published.

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  Working Healthcare

  Ep. 122 - Get on the Bus: The Mammogram Should Come to You (ft. Dr. Ryan Polselli)

  Sep 29, 202651 min

  Discover why breast cancer screening still falls behind busy schedules and how one physician is bringing 3D mammography directly to the women who need it. In this Breast Cancer Awareness Month episode of Working Healthcare, host Meredith Hirsh speaks with Dr. Ryan Polselli, Navy veteran, fellowship-trained breast radiologist and founder of Mammolink. Dr. Polselli challenges the assumption that awareness alone drives screening. He argues that access creates the real barrier when women must navigate referrals, insurance questions, time away from work and multiple appointments before they can get a mammogram. Dr. Polselli shares how Mammolink brings mobile 3D mammography to workplaces, schools and communities across Florida. His model aims to make screening faster, more convenient and more personal: women can schedule from their phones, step onto a mobile unit near work and receive results directly on their devices. The conversation also explores dense breast tissue, follow-up imaging, patient communication, employer-supported screening and the role AI can play in reducing delays. Dr. Polselli explains why breast imaging needs more than new technology—it needs a patient-centered system that removes friction, shares information quickly and helps women stay on track year after year. His message is clear: women should not have to fight the healthcare system to access a lifesaving screening. Pull up a chair to hear how Mammolink is reimagining breast cancer screening and why easier access could save lives. Contact Dr. Polselli: Website: mammolink.com Instagram: @ryanpolselli Facebook: 3DMobileMammography LinkedIn: @ryanpolselli YouTube: @RyanPolselli Contact Meredith: Website: meredithhirsh.com Instagram: @workinghealthcare Facebook: WorkingHealthcare LinkedIn: @meredithfhirsh YouTube: @WorkingHealthcare

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  Working Healthcare

  Ep. 121 - Medicare Advantage: The Payer Tactics Practices Need to Know (ft. Stephanie Allard)

  Sep 22, 202659 min

  Listen now to uncover how Medicare Advantage plans can create costly barriers through restrictive networks, prior authorization, drug formularies and opaque coverage rules — and learn how your practice can protect patient access before, during and after the sale. In this episode of Working Healthcare, host Meredith Hirsh speaks with healthcare compliance and reimbursement expert Stephanie Allard of Stephanie Allard Consulting about Medicare Advantage, Original Medicare, Medigap, claim denials and the rules that shape access to care. Stephanie explains why low premiums and attractive extras like dental, vision, gym memberships or grocery benefits should not be the only factors driving a coverage decision. Listeners will learn what to review before enrolling, including provider networks, specialist access, prescription drug formularies, prior-authorization requirements, coverage limitations and appeal options. The conversation also explores the challenges medical practices face when working with payers. Stephanie draws on her experience in coding, billing, audits and payer investigations to discuss downcoding, bundled services, changing payer policies, payment clawbacks and denial patterns. She shares practical insight on protecting practice revenue while maintaining compliance. Press play for practical guidance on evaluating Medicare coverage, asking smarter questions and advocating for the care you or your loved one needs before accepting a plan’s promises—or a payer’s denial. Contact Stephanie: Website: stephanieallardconsulting.com Facebook: Stephanie Allard Consulting, LLC LinkedIn: @stephanie-allard-cpc-cema-rhit YouTube: @stephanieallardconsultingllc Contact Meredith: Website: meredithhirsh.com Instagram: @workinghealthcare Facebook: WorkingHealthcare LinkedIn: @meredithfhirsh YouTube: @WorkingHealthcare

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  Working Healthcare

  Ep. 120 - When Doctors Lose Autonomy, Patients Lose More: Dr. Kayvan Amini on Saving Independent Medicine

  Sep 15, 202649 min

  Listen to a doctor’s passionate case for protecting the physician-patient relationship and keeping care centered on people—not metrics, corporate targets or insurance barriers. On this episode of Working Healthcare , host Meredith Hirsh speaks with Dr. Kayvan Amini—an independent cardiologist, physician advocate and leader in organized medicine—about the forces reshaping American healthcare and what is at stake when physicians lose autonomy. Kayvan shares why independent medicine matters and why doctors need a meaningful voice in healthcare leadership. He discusses the pressures facing private practices, including physician burnout, workforce shortages, administrative demands and the growing movement toward employed care models. The conversation also explores how healthcare organizations can better support and retain women physicians through more flexible workplace structures, creative practice models, and leadership opportunities that recognize the realities of rigorous training and family responsibilities. Kayvan’s commitment to service and resilience is rooted in his personal story. After political exile disrupted his family’s life, he rebuilt from the ground up—an experience that strengthened his belief in independence, public service and building a medical practice around patients’ individual needs. Press play for an honest conversation about compassionate care, physician leadership and the changes needed to preserve the human connection at the heart of medicine. Contact Dr. Amini: LinkedIn: @Kayvan Amini, DO, FACC Contact Meredith: Website: meredithhirsh.com Instagram: @workinghealthcare Facebook: WorkingHealthcare LinkedIn: @meredithfhirsh YouTube: @WorkingHealthcare

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  Working Healthcare

  Ep. 119 - Who Really Controls Your Healthcare? Shelly Starks Exposes the Hidden Insurance Maze

  Sep 8, 202650 min

  Shelly Starks knows the raw isolation that comes when healthcare leaves a patient with life-altering questions and no clear path forward. A breast cancer diagnosis in her 20s. More than 30 surgeries. Surgical menopause with little guidance and even less support. Today, she sits on the other side of the system, helping employers, carriers and brokers shape benefit strategies that influence access, premiums and patient choices. On this episode of Working Healthcare, host Meredith Hirsh sits down with Shelly for a candid, high-energy conversation about the hidden structure behind employer-sponsored health insurance. Shelly breaks down the maze of carriers, third-party administrators, managing general agencies, brokers and benefit plans that stands between an employee and care. She explains why employers often select from limited options, why brokers may not know every available product and why rising premiums place intense pressure on both businesses and families. Shelly also translates Section 125 plans into plain English and explores how pre-tax benefits can help employees stretch healthcare dollars. Then the conversation turns personal. Shelly shares the struggle to find menopause support after a radical hysterectomy, the frustration of being told she would simply “be fine” and the fierce drive that pushed her to search for better answers. The healthcare system does not need another Band-Aid. It needs leaders who ask harder questions, demand better options and refuse to accept confusion as the cost of care. Press play if you lead a business, manage benefits, work in healthcare or want to understand who makes the decisions behind your health insurance card. Contact Shelly: Website: inlineconsultingservices.com Instagram: @shellystarks Facebook: ShellyStarksICS LinkedIn: @shelly-starks Contact Meredith: Website: meredithhirsh.com Instagram: @workinghealthcare Facebook: WorkingHealthcare LinkedIn: @meredithfhirsh YouTube: @WorkingHealthcare

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  Working Healthcare

  Ep. 118 - The CEO, the Clinician and the Cost of Caring (ft. Ann Monis)

  Sep 1, 20261h 1m

  Ann Monis knows how to build under pressure. She worked her way through college, tested out of courses to save tuition and carried that grit into healthcare. Today, she leads a growing behavioral health organization while raising two young sons and navigating life as a clinician, entrepreneur and CEO. In this episode of Working Healthcare, host Meredith Hirsh sits down with Ann for a candid conversation about leadership, motherhood, mental health and the business realities behind patient care. Ann shares why no MBA or leadership book can prepare someone for a missed payroll, a home-backed line of credit or the lonely decisions that come with leading a healthcare organization. Together, Meredith and Ann explore the pressure behind scaling behavioral healthcare, where rapid growth can threaten quality and insurance reimbursement fails to keep pace with inflation, labor costs and patient needs. They also tackle the double standard for powerful women, the sacrifice behind career ambition and the importance of building teams around skill rather than ego. Ann makes one point crystal clear: doctors need the freedom to be doctors again. When reimbursement shrinks, debt rises and administrative burden grows, clinicians struggle and patients pay the price. Listen in for a bold conversation about grit, leadership and protecting patient care in a strained healthcare system. Contact Ann: Website: drann.com Instagram: @drann____ Facebook: Dr-Ann-Monis LinkedIn: @ann-monis-mba-psyd Contact Meredith: Website: meredithhirsh.com Instagram: @workinghealthcare Facebook: WorkingHealthcare LinkedIn: @meredithfhirsh YouTube: @WorkingHealthcare

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