Daniel Williams: Well, hi everyone.
Welcome to the MGMA Weekend Review podcast.
I am one of your hosts, Daniel Williams.
I'm here with our co-host Colleen Luckett.
We're both editors and writers here at MGMA and love bringing you.
The news each week, whether it's healthcare, industry, news, policy
updates, expert insights, or just really cool stories we find from the
field to help keep medical practice leaders informed and inspired.
So this week, Colleen, what are you finding that's inspiring or informing you?
Colleen Luckett: well, this week in Washington, a storm is brewing over
the house, GOPs proposed budget plan, which aims to fund substantial tax
cuts for the wealthy by implementing significant reductions to Medicaid.
I'm sure most people listening have heard of this, but the proposal
has ignited fierce debate among healthcare leaders and policymakers.
So in my article, first article, it's titled, hospitals say Medicaid
Cuts in GOP plan would leave millions without coverage and force closures.
Ron Southwick of Chief Healthcare Executive reports
on the potential ramifications of the proposed Medicaid cuts.
Healthcare leaders warned that these cuts could lead to millions
losing access to care and may force some hospitals to shut down.
So Bruce Siegel.
MD President and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals describes the plan
as a direct assault on our nation's healthcare system, emphasizing that
essential hospitals, which already operate on thin margins cannot absorb
such losses without reducing services or closing their doors altogether.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the plan would cut $715 billion
from Medicaid by 2034, resulting in 8.6
million Americans losing coverage.
Rick Pollock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association.
Labels the proposal, a quote, devastating blow to vulnerable communities, warning
that it would lead to millions of hardworking Americans losing access to
healthcare and many hospitals struggling to maintain services Similarly.
Sister Mary Haddad , President and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the
United States urges Congress to consider the moral implications stating that
the cuts would threaten access to care for millions in vulnerable communities.
As debates continue, the healthcare community remains vigilant,
emphasizing the critical role of Medicaid plays in providing access
to care for millions of Americans.
The proposed cuts have sparked a broader conversation about the
nation's healthcare priorities.
And the potential impact on both patients and providers.
So for more detailed information, you can read the full article by
Ron Southwick on Chief Healthcare Executives website, or of course
we'll link it here in our show notes.
Okay.
Daniel over to you.
Daniel Williams: Thanks, Colleen.
All right, everybody.
Let's dive into story number two.
This piece comes from medical economics and it's titled, when Doctors Don't
Listen, patients Stop Talking.
This article was written by Austin Latrell and it was fact checked by Keith A.
Reynolds.
Here goes.
A doctor shrugs off a patient's concern.
Test results are normal and the patient leaves, assuming it's probably
anxiety, but the impact lingers.
Well, a new Rutgers Health report finds that when clinicians dismiss
or downplay symptoms called symptom invalidation or medical gaslighting,
patients can suffer long-term psychological and behavioral harm.
The review published in psychological bulletin synthesized 151 studies
involving more than 11,000 patients.
With illnesses like fibromyalgia, long covid, endometriosis, and lupus
invalidation led to a range of negative outcomes, including shame, suicidality,
anxiety, and avoidance of future care.
Consequences fell into four categories.
Emotional harm, which is self-doubt or hopelessness.
Healthcare related distress, anxiety and trauma.
Behavioral changes, avoiding doctors downplaying symptoms and diagnostic
delays, which can worsen disease outcomes.
Increasingly visits involving uncertain or difficult diagnoses driven by
syndromes like long covid are common.
Yet many clinicians lack training in how to manage uncertainty, relying
on workflows that often overlook complex patient stories, bon tempo
stress that validating a patient's experience doesn't require a diagnosis.
Patients appreciate clinicians communicating uncertainty rather
than offering hollow reassurance.
She said the researchers built a model linking invalidation to
emotional distress, withdrawal from care and poor health outcomes.
They call for improving clinician training to address this.
Patients often must advocate for themselves a difficult and
sometimes unsustainable burden.
Bon Tempo advises bringing a partner or friend to appointments for support.
Ultimately, the study highlights that even small changes in how clinicians respond to
patient concerns could reduce harm, and I.
Offer much needed validation to those struggling with misunderstood illnesses.
And we're gonna bring this up again in my next story.
This is May and it's Mental Health Awareness month.
So our other story's gonna touch on that as well.
So with that said, Colleen, I'm gonna turn it back over to you.
Colleen Luckett: Right.
That's a really important topic and I'm glad they're
putting a name to it, actually.
That's good.
All right, well let's get into some some MGMA stat polling results.
So in this week's stat poll, we asked healthcare leaders to weigh in on
how their staff turnover rates are trending in 2025, and there seems to be
a bit of cautious optimism out there.
Seven outta 10 respondents reported turnover as either holding steady.
It's about 35%.
Improving 35% compared to last year, while 29% said it had increased.
So medical assistants and front office staff remained the most cited.
Pain points for turnover, whether things are holding steady or getting
worse, but many practices seeing improvement shared the same theme,
strategic role, specific retention.
That means clear career ladders, better pay onboarding, upgrades,
and even character-based hiring to build stronger teams.
Hiring and retention strategies now often include everything from sign-on bonuses
and education stipends to partnerships with local schools and centralized
admin support to reduce burnout.
Some practices are getting really creative, bringing EMTs or
nursing students into MA roles.
Retraining existing staff and offering flexible work where possible.
Meanwhile, the Borough of Labor statistics data shows that the average
healthcare quit rate has dipped to 2%.
Its lowest since before the pandemic.
Though the pace of new hires is also slowing in early 2025, ambulatory
care practices in particular are still feeling the lingering effects
of the post 2020 workforce disruption.
But signs of stabilization are growing stronger.
So as we move into 2026, building a resilient and committed workforce will
require continued investment, cultural alignment, and a touch of creativity.
our ability at MGMA to provide great resources, education, and
advocacy depends on a strong feedback loop with you healthcare leaders.
So to be part of this effort, sign up for MGMA.
Stat and make your voice heard in our weekly polls.
Sign up by texting stat STAT 2 3 3 5 5 0 or you can visit mgma.com/mgma.
Stat polls will be sent to your phone via text message weekly.
Okay, Daniel, back to you.
Daniel Williams: All right.
Thanks again, Colleen.
And as mentioned earlier, may is Mental Health Awareness Month, and
it's the perfect time to dive into a story that really hits home.
Today's story is unique generational mental health needs highlight
demand for personalized care.
This was published by Fierce Healthcare and it was written by Anastasia.
Glia Koski.
I hope I got that right.
Anastasia.
According to a nurse new survey from ULA Health, more than half of Americans
have accessed mental health services at some point in their lives over a quarter
or currently in therapy, and another quarter had therapy in just the past year.
And here's the good news.
Nearly 80% of those who sought help said their mental health.
had improved.
The survey also pulls back the curtain on why people are reaching out for support.
Top drivers include economic uncertainty, political tension, and the ongoing
ripple effects of the pandemic.
Anxiety, depression and stress still dominate, but trauma is now front and
center, especially for younger adults.
In fact, one in three individuals aged 18 to 24 said trauma was
the main reason they saw therapy.
Doug Newton rulers chief medical Officer, summed it up perfectly.
Trauma is deeply personal.
And care has to be personal too.
But even as the conversation around mental health grows louder, real
barriers still stand in the way.
A quarter of respondents said cost kept them from seeking care.
Others cited insurance issues.
Or struggling to find the right therapist.
This survey reminds us that while we've come a long way in breaking the stigma,
access to personalized, affordable mental health care remains a serious challenge.
The more we listen and truly hear what patients are experiencing, the
better chance we have of building a system that meets people where they
are with compassion and understanding.
So again, everybody may is mental health awareness month.
We'll drop in some additional links where you can access tools,
data, and perhaps help as well.
So, Colleen, back over to you.
Colleen Luckett: Well, I was gonna say, Daniel has done a lot of good work
toward our mental health here at MGMA.
And you just had a little anniversary, right?
Do you wanna
Daniel Williams: Yeah.
Yeah, tell everyone we are celebrating in May.
We are celebrating five years of Mindful Monday at MGMA.
I did post something on LinkedIn.
I tried to stay off of social media as I was telling Colleen earlier today.
But, this was something that I just thought was really cool during the
lockdown, during the heat of the pandemic, when we literally didn't even know.
How, COVID-19 was being transferred that far.
you know, or that early into that, that trauma and that terrible situation
that we were all dealing with.
some people at MGMA gathered together and decided to create Mindful
Monday, which basically every Monday, 8:00 AM Mountain time, where we
are, we gather for 15 minutes to.
Be mindful to meditate, to have some guided meditations,
different things there.
if anybody wants to know about Mindful Monday, a Mindful Monday program, how
it might fit into your organization,
Email me, dWilliams@mgma.com.
I'd love to walk through it with you and share it with you.
Colleen Luckett: course.
Yeah.
Here at MGMA we not only talk the talk, we walk the walk.
Thanks to Daniel there.
All right, well, let's close with a forward-looking story that
centers innovation in patients.
An article titled The FDA's AI Leap Ushering in a New Era of Drug Review
published by the gMed team a few days ago, highlighted how the FDA is going
full speed ahead with a generative AI rollout across the agency.
The goal.
Fully integrate AI tools by June 30th, 2025.
Pretty aggressive there.
So these tools won't replace scientists, don't panic.
They're designed to support them by automating repetitive tasks like sorting
data and summarizing clinical trials.
For healthcare leaders, this means quicker drug approvals, more efficient
trials, and ultimately faster access to lifesaving therapies.
Hopefully the effort is being customized across departments
to ensure secure compliant use.
The FDA is also working with OpenAI and other tech leaders to get it right
before rolling out it's AI tools.
The FDA issued draft guidance outlining a risk-based framework
for regulatory decision making.
The document stresses the importance of transparency, reproducibility and
trust, and makes it clear that AI must be credible, not just capable.
It signals to industry that while innovation is encouraged, it
must be implemented with strong guardrails and ethical oversight.
Still, some experts are urging caution.
So Dr.
Katie Specter bag.
A bioethics professor at the University of Michigan has warned
that quote, there's a real risk of over-reliance on opaque systems.
If we don't know how the AI makes decisions, how can we ensure those
decisions are fair or accurate?
That's a fair question.
Dr.
Alex John London, director of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie
Mellon emphasized the importance of transparency, saying quote, the
promise of AI in healthcare is real.
So is the danger of bias if we let black box systems make high stakes
calls without adequate human oversight.
There's also concern about regulatory capture or pressure to approve drugs
faster without enough scrutiny.
If AI is perceived as a shortcut rather than a tool, public trust
could erode, especially if the rollout is rushed for political wins.
Even former FDA Commissioner Robert Kaif has noted that AI systems can
quote amplify disparities if they're trained on data sets that under
represent marginalized communities.
So yes, the bots are here to help, but healthcare leaders
still need to read the fine print.
AI could be a revolutionary ally in the drug review process, but
only if it's deployed responsibly with clear guardrails, diverse
data and human oversight.
As always, tech is only as ethical as the people guiding it.
And that's a wrap for me today.
Daniel, back to you.
Daniel Williams: All right, and that's a wrap for this week of
MGMA Weekend Review Podcast.
Thank you all for listening, and again, just as a reminder, may
is Mental Health Awareness Month.
Seriously, y'all, if any of you are feeling anything, any mental health issues
or anybody you love or know out there.
I'm so glad that the stigma of all that is, is going away, that people
can feel, open, that they will not be stigmatized if they go to their
bosses or their workplace or wherever it might be to get the help they need.
So with that said, I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend, and, y'all take care.
Colleen Luckett: Thanks everyone.
See you next time.