Hope, Power, and Healthcare

Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
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Insights and news for healthcare's innovators. Hear from change makers in healthcare & health technology about, and maybe even join us for a show!

  1. 1D AGO

    How Personal Finance Apps are Failing Neurodivergent People: A Conversation with Natasha Barber

    After years of navigating trauma, ADHD, and financial instability, Natasha Barber decided to build the financial tool she always wished existed. In this episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, Chris and Melissa sit down with Natasha Barber, the founder and CEO of Pistachio Pay. Pistachio Pay is a trauma-informed financial wellness platform, designed specifically for neurodivergent individuals, or those whose brains do not respond to the traditional budgeting tools. Natasha shares her powerful journey, and the personal experiences that inspired her to build a completely new category of “fintech”. After years of navigating through financial instability and systemic barriers, Natasha set out to create a new tool that actually meets neurodivergent people where they are. This conversation explores why traditional budgeting apps fail so many neurodivergent users, and the connection between financial stress, mental health and suicide risk. The conversation gets personal covering resilience, entrepreneurship, and the importance of building systems that work for people, not against them. This episode has something for everyone, you won’t want to miss it. Links from this episode:Visit Pistachio Pay, and get on the Waitlist!:https://pistachiopay.com/ Follow Natasha Barber on LinkedIn, to stay up to date on all things Pistachio Pay!:https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-barber-pistachio-pay/ Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    57 min

  2. JAN 30

    Does Spring + Alma = Good for Behavioral Health?

    Spring Health and Alma just merged? This is a moment we can’t ignore. This quick-hitter episode breaks down the implications of this merger, without the hype and without the headlines. Our hosts, Chris and Melissa, dive into what this consolidation really means for payers, providers, and most importantly, patients. They explore how modern EAPs, payer infrastructure, and direct-to-consumer mental health platforms are starting to converge, and why this signals a major shift in the mental health ecosystem heading into 2026. No hot takes in this episode. Instead, a thoughtful, grounded analysis of where the market is going, and what innovators should be thinking about now. Melissa and Chris also zoom out to talk about founder journeys, creativity under pressure, and what is giving them hope right now - because healthcare innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Join the Conversation: We continue to grow a community of healthcare innovators, founders, operators and thinkers. If you’re scoping, building, or wrestling with big ideas in healthcare, you’re not alone. Join our Discord community, and connect with people who get it Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of healthcare, innovation, and humanity #HopePowerandHealthcare Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    42 min

  3. JAN 27

    The Work is Personal: How Leaders are Healing Themselves While Building the Systems of Change

    Behind every healthcare leader is a story. A story about why they chose their work, and why they stay. In this week’s episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, Chris and Melissa reflect on a powerful conversation with Ben Gonzalez, System Lead for Behavioral Health at Geisinger, whose recovery journey intersects with his art, photography, leadership, and purpose-driven healthcare innovation. Through Ben’s story, the episode explores why so many people working in behavioral and digital mental health aren’t here by accident - they’re here because of lived experience. This is one episode you’ll want to watch, not just listen to - featuring Ben’s stunning photography and moments captured in nature, that bring the conversation to life. Chris and Melissa also open up about their own journeys, what brought them into mental health, what keeps them here and how working inside complex healthcare systems have shaped their perspectives on life. This is a conversation about what fuels us when the world feels heavy, and how hope shows up, through people who refuse to give up. We want to hear from you: What brought you into healthcare or mental health care? And what fuels you to stay? Learn more about Ben Gonzalez’s journey here: https://www.pbs.org/video/bens-story-portrait-long-term-recovery-uvzyud/ Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    1h 14m

  4. JAN 14

    Built for Difference: How Human-Centered Leaders are Changing Healthcare

    You don’t need to change who you are to lead. You need a system that can grow and change with you. In this week’s episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, our hosts Melissa and Chris are joined by two special guests - Dr. Sarah Adler, Founder & CEO of Wave Life and Allison Holzer, Founder & CEO of Aha2Impact, for a thoughtful conversation about neurodivergent leadership, innovation under pressure, and building cultures that actually work for real humans. This episode is a masterclass in how leaders can stop forcing themselves into systems that weren’t designed for them, and how to start building something better. Because neurodivergence isn’t something to be “fixed”, it’s something to be leveraged. 🔗About our Guests: Dr. Sarah Adler is the Founder & CEO of Wave Life; a virtual mental health solution that offers evidence-based care through personalized mental health programs. She is also a Stanford-trained clinical psychologist, as well as a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford. Read More about Dr. Adler and Wave Life here: https://www.wavelife.io/home2 Allison Holzer is the Founder and CEO of Aha2Impact; a firm dedicated to blending human psychology, with innovation and strategy, to empower leaders and organizations to achieve transformational change. With over 20 years of experience, she brings a deep understanding of human motivation and performance, to every engagement. Read More about Allison and Aha2Impact here: https://www.aha2impact.com/ Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of Hope, Power and Healthcare 🗨️Join our Discord Community: https://discord.gg/E9Zu2SBa #HopePowerHealthcare #NeurodiversityAtWork #HealthcareFounders #TheFutureofHealthcare Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    1h 3m

  5. JAN 7

    Going Against the Grain: Why You Shouldn't Listen to the Healthcare Status Quo

    What does it take to move healthcare forward? Beyond hype, beyond panels, beyond pitch decks? In one of our last episodes from 2025, Chris and Melissa reflect on a week that spanned Ivy League campuses, founder wins, and uncomfortable truths about innovation, ethics, and the true power in healthcare. From judging early-stage research at Yale, to moderating a digital health marketplace panel at Dartmouth, this conversation explores what happens when clarity meets courage and why mission-driven leadership matters more than ever. This episode gives a reminder that healthcare only changes when science, ethics, and humanity move together. We want to hear from you! Drop your thoughts in the comments, share your favorite Christmas movie, and try your LLM prompt discussed in the episode: “Give me a summary of what you learned about me in 2025, including my wildest dreams and questions. What growth patterns do you see, and what do you predict for next year?” Subscribe and Like for weekly conversations on the future of healthcare. Join our Community on Discord: https://discord.gg/E9Zu2SBa #HopePowerHealthcare #MentalHealthInnovation #EthicalAI #FutureofHealthcare Hosts: Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    1h 1m

  6. 12/12/2025

    Is Innovation Dying? Wrapping Up Our 2025 + Setting the High Stakes for Who "Survives" Into 2026

    The 2025 Conference Season is over, and our hosts are TIRED. In this episode, the indefatigable team of Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly are improvising their way through the chaos of event stacking and post-conference recovery. Chris and Melissa sit down, and talk about their time together at the “Super Bowl of mental health technology” - Behavioral Health Tech 2025, and their takeaways from the week with some of their favorite innovators. The two talk about innovation becoming increasingly challenging. With market consolidation and first-movers, new entrants must be sharper than ever to compete against venture-backed players. Melissa and Chris reflect on gratitude, community, and the major personal transitions of the last year; finding more joy and freedom as entrepreneurs, even if they are “always on”. As 2025 is coming to an end, we want to thank all of our fam for being on this journey with us. Tell us what you’ve learned from us this year, and how we can continue to empower all you innovators in healthcare. Join our Discord Community! Our Hope, Power and Healthcare Discord Community is growing by the day. Click the link below to join our conversations:https://discord.gg/k2DYEHUN Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    52 min

  7. 11/14/2025

    Guess Who's "Bach"! Avoid Bankruptcy from Rising Medical Costs + The Future of Programming with LLMs

    Have you missed us? Because we’ve missed YOU! In our Halloween episode, our hosts, Chris Hemphill (Johann Sebastian Bach) and Melissa Reilly (ChatGPT 5.0), are back to tackle collapsing systems, sky-high medical costs, and the wild world of AI-assisted software development. Chris and Melissa dive into the tough conversations affecting everyone, particularly the unsustainable nature of healthcare costs - with the average medical bill per family now reaching $27,000. The two also ponder the question, “are LLMs the future of programming?”. Chris breaks down the concepts of vibe coding and trash coding, which involve letting an LLM develop code for an entire system. Melissa and Chris both share highlights from their recent events, and what they’re excited for in the upcoming weeks. As always, thank you for tuning in, fam! Links from today’s episode:AI used in billing battle with health system, reducing bill from almost $200k to $33k - http://threads.com/@nthmonkey/post/DQVdAD1gHhw AI Billing Arms race covered by STAT: https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/health-insurer-ai-fights-hospital-ai-coding-billing/ Bach Remix from beginning of episodehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3c1zmuK_cA Extreme Makeover Home Edition, The Gaudet Family, S1E21:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1073411/ Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    1h 5m

  8. 11/05/2025

    Beyond the Session: Planning Your Conference Playbook Amid the Rising Cost of Healthcare

    Hope, Power and Karaoke? This week, our hosts come together, in the middle of conference season, to create their own Conference Survival and Thrival Guide. This episode is essential for innovators who are trying to make a dent in the world, and get their product seen and heard by the right people, especially at industry gatherings. Melissa gives some of her best tips and tricks on maximizing your time, leveraging your connections, and being open to unplanned conversations and experiences. Chris and Melissa also tackle the topic of rising costs and systemic barriers that are taking a toll on the healthcare environment. Sharing posts from LinkedIn about driving costs for both medical expenses and operational expenses. This episode is your “one-stop shop” for all things conferencing, you won’t want to miss it. Links from today’s episode: Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

    57 min
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About

Insights and news for healthcare's innovators. Hear from change makers in healthcare & health technology about, and maybe even join us for a show!

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly
  • Show Website
    Hope, Power, and Healthcare