Someone in America dies by suicide every 11 minutes. It’s that common. But not normal.

Humans have evolved over centuries to survive. So when people try to kill themselves, something has gone wrong. Typically, the assumption is that something happened in the person’s mind — a mental illness.

But in recent decades, there’s been a growing movement to ask a different question: What went wrong in the world around that person?

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Schmeeka Simpson of Omaha works as a patient navigator for the American Civil Liberties Union and an administrative assistant at Nebraskans for Peace, plus picks up shifts at a Dunkin’ shop.

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Silvana Toska was playing in a grass field with her daughters late last fall when she felt a sting on her ankle. The family had come to listen for barred and great horned owls as the sun set on a large park near their Davidson, North Carolina, home.

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About this Episode

Episode 1, AI Series: The AI revolution is already here — but what does it mean for patients, clinicians, and health care industry leaders? Eric Larsen, veteran health care strategist and longtime advisor to CEOs across the industry, joins Chip for a discussion about why the U.S. health care industry is uniquely exposed to AI-driven disruption and the implications for patients, clinicians, and the health care workforce. Listen to Eric’s take on “the most consequential technology humanity’s ever developed.” 

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On a recent Monday, Sandy Guzman, a community health worker in rural Oregon, drove to visit a patient in her 60s in a small city called The Dalles.

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Like many parents, Tatiana Lafortune wants her children to get a good education, eat nutritious food, and see a doctor when they’re not feeling well.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that its temporary program to cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity in Medicare, called the BALANCE model, will not launch as scheduled on January 1, 2027. Instead, CMS is extending the duration of a separate short-term program, called the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge, which was originally scheduled to run from July-December 2026 but will now run through the end of 2027. Under the Bridge program, eligible beneficiaries can get Medicare coverage of GLP-1s for obesity for a $50 copay.

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After decades of selling insurance, Illinois-based broker John Jaggi had never seen anything like it.

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DELBARTON, W.Va. — A half-dozen cars had been in the queue for nearly four hours by the time the House of Hope mobile food pantry line began to move. Seventy or so more idled behind them by 11:30 a.m., when the food distribution began.

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Montana officials said they are moving forward with plans to allow Medicaid to pay doulas, reversing a previous statement that budget problems had prompted them to pause the effort to reimburse the birth workers.

But officials warned that all optional Medicaid services are still under review as the state health department looks for cuts to offset a shortfall driven by higher-than-expected Medicaid costs.

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