Inside E Street Season Two Show Index

Episode 2021: Medicare’s Most Wanted
Medicare is under intense scrutiny in the budget crisis, because of its 519 Billion dollar budget, which is estimated to increase to 929 Billion in 2020 as the baby boomers age into the program…and Medicare Fraud is one of the nation’s top white-collar crime problems, with 3-9 percent of those billions being siphoned off by fraudulent billing.  The Healthcare reform act attempts to address that problem with better and faster access to records, more funding for investigations and targeted strike forces, and  using their exclusion power on corporations that abuse the system as well as street criminals who open sham healthcare and equipment companies. We update the progress in policy, crime fighting, and the use of fraud-fighting dollars, and question whether the system is still inherently vulnerable to massive fraud. Segment Three: Celia, the Video Robot.
Guests:
Peter Budetti, Director of Program Integrity, CMS
Greg Andres, Depty. Attny Gen. DOJ
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald

Episode 2022: The Brain Doctors
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas provides diagnostic evaluation and continuing care for patients with cognitive disorders, with a string emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. The facility also provides supportive services for caregivers, who are an integral part of its mission. Ruvo offers supportive services and programs specially designed for caregivers and family members including: social services, education, support groups, counseling and programs for caregiver well-being.  Segment Two features a conversation in the studio with husband and wife actors Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry, veterans of LA Law. They discuss the care of Jill’s 92-year-old mother, Lora, who has Alzheimers. Segment Three: Pedal Power Against Parkinson’s Disease.
Guests:
Charles Bernick. MD , Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker

Episode 2023: An Ounce of Prevention
As part of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government is rolling out a new prevention program that takes a more integrated approach to improving health.  Lark McCarthy discusses the Surgeon General’s office’s new guidelines to help Americans combat obesity.  Segment Three: Telomeres.
Guests:
Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General
Jeffrey Levi, PhD, Trust for America's Health

Episode 2024: Dialysis Dilemma
Dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment for nearly half a million Americans with kidney disease. It’s also big business, with more than four thousand privately owned dialysis centers dotting strip malls throughout the nation.  Recently revised guidelines issued by the Renal Physicians Association call into question the wisdom of dialysis for elderly kidney patients who also suffer from other maladies, such as heart disease or cancer. The guidelines suggest frank discussions between doctors and patients and families – discussions that in many ways mirror the broader debate over the future of healthcare in America. Segment Three: Anne Procter, International Development Consultant.
Guests:
Andrew Howard, MD, National Kidney Foundation
Professor Robert M. Veatch, Georgetown University

Episode 2025: When I’m 65: Mapping Change
In the final episode in our series looking at the policy implications of the first wave of baby boomers  turning 65-  We examine the incredible changes internationally during the boomer lifetime…  how those world events shaped this generation’s world-view… and discuss the new political alliances  and tensions in the world today with two noted International analysts.
Guest:
Fareed Zakaria, Author of The Post American World

Episode 2026: The Age of Longevity
Life expectancy is at an all-time high. Americans are living longer, working longer and staying active longer.  It is fundamentally changing the nature of who makes up the workforce.  We talk with two prominent examples: John Paul Stevens, whose passion is the law and who last year at age 90, retired from the intellectually demanding job of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and Betty White, who will be celebrating her 90th birthday in a matter of months but continues to enjoy a renaissance in her show business career – a hit TV show, commercials and as the highest-rated guest host last season on Saturday Night Live (not to mention a new book, her involvement in animal welfare causes and as spokesperson for AARP).
Guests:
Betty White
Justice John Paul Stevens