Community Health Centers. Unfiltered.

Advocates for Community Health
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Politics
  • Updated Semimonthly

Community Health Centers. Unfiltered. is the official podcast of Advocates for Community Health, where we dive deep into the policy, politics, and people shaping the future of America’s health care safety net. Hosted by ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly, each episode strips away the jargon to deliver honest conversations with policymakers, community leaders, and health center champions on the frontlines. From Capitol Hill to local neighborhoods, we explore how community health centers are driving change, expanding access, and standing up for a healthier America. If you care about the health of communities—and the policies and people that make it possible—this podcast is for you.

  1. 14h ago ·  Video

    S2 E13: How Trust Shapes Better Care

    Season 2, Episode 14: How Trust Shapes Better Care Trust is essential to effective health care, but it can be difficult to build and easy to lose, particularly among patients who have experienced discrimination or felt unseen by the healthcare system. In this episode, ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly speaks with Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health in Washington, DC, about how creating spaces where patients feel seen, heard, and treated with dignity can improve access, engagement, and health outcomes. For more than 50 years, Whitman-Walker has served the community and helped shape patient-centered care, from its leadership during the HIV epidemic to its work today as a nationally recognized provider, researcher, educator, and advocate. Shafi discusses how that history continues to inform Whitman-Walker’s approach, how the organization integrates care delivery with research and advocacy, and what health centers must do every day to earn their communities’ trust. She also examines the financial, workforce, and policy pressures threatening access to community-based care and the changes needed to help health centers continue meeting patients where they are.

  2. Jul 9 ·  Video

    S2 E12: Not If, But When: How Health Centers Stay Ready

    When Hurricane Helene devastated eastern Tennessee, River Valley Health became far more than a healthcare provider. It became a lifeline for the community. In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly sits down with River Valley Health CEO Parinda Khatri, Ph.D., to discuss how the health center responded when roads washed away, communications failed, and patients were cut off from essential care. Dr. Khatri shares how an innovative clinical risk dashboard, developed through ACH's Entrepreneur Challenge with support from UnitedHealthcare Community & State, helped identify high-risk patients who needed medications, water, and other critical resources. From supporting first responders to addressing the long-term mental health impacts of disaster, this conversation highlights why investing in community health center readiness and resilience is essential before the next crisis arrives.

  3. Jun 25 ·  Video

    S2 E11: Inside Medicaid: What Health Plans and CHCs Need from Each Other Right Now

    Medicaid is one of the nation's most important—and most misunderstood—health care programs. It covers nearly half of all births in the United States, finances more than half of nursing home care, and serves millions of children, older adults, people with disabilities, and working families. But with sweeping federal policy changes on the horizon, Medicaid is entering a period of significant change. In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly sits down with Craig Kennedy, President and CEO of Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA), for a candid conversation about what lies ahead for Medicaid, managed care organizations, and community health centers. Together, they explore the real-world implications of Medicaid work requirements, eligibility redeterminations, and long-term funding reductions, and what these changes could mean for patients, providers, and communities nationwide. Craig explains why Medicaid's complexity matters, dispels common misconceptions about who relies on the program, and discusses how stronger collaboration between health plans and community health centers will be essential to maintaining access to care during a time of unprecedented policy change. Whether you're a health center leader, policymaker, managed care executive, or simply interested in the future of Medicaid, this episode offers practical insights into the challenges ahead, and the partnerships needed to navigate them.

  4. Jun 11 ·  Video

    S2 E10: Are Community Health Centers Built for What Comes Next?

    What happens when one of the nation's leading advocates for community health centers sits down with one of Washington's most prominent libertarian health policy experts? In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, Amanda Pears Kelly welcomes Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute—a think tank known for its emphasis on limited government, free markets, and individual choice—for a thoughtful conversation about the future of community health centers. Together, they explore the role of federal funding, workforce shortages, Medicaid reform, 340B, and the policies shaping the nation's primary care safety net. Along the way, they tackle a bigger question: Can community health centers continue to thrive under the current model, or is it time to rethink the incentives and structures that support them? Whether you agree with every viewpoint or not, this episode offers a fresh perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing community health centers, and why understanding different approaches to health policy has never been more important.

  5. May 28 ·  Video

    S2 E9: Carrying It Forward: A 50-Year Legacy of Community Health and Leadership

    In this episode, Amanda Pears Kelly sits down with John Jenkins, CEO of LifeLong Medical Care, as the organization celebrates 50 years of serving communities across California. The conversation explores legacy, leadership, and the future of community health centers through a deeply personal lens, as John reflects on the impact of his father, Dr. William Jenkins, and what it means to now lead in the same communities his family helped shape. Together, they discuss what has changed—and what hasn’t—in community health over the past five decades, the urgent challenges facing health centers today, and what it will take to sustain this mission-driven work for generations to come.

  6. May 14 ·  Video

    S2 E8: Why Disability Policy is Primary Care Policy

    In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly sits down with national disability policy expert and former White House advisor Rachel Patterson to explore why disability policy is primary care policy. From inaccessible equipment and Medicaid policy barriers to long-term care and patient-led governance, the conversation unpacks how public policy shapes real-world healthcare access — and why community health centers are central to building a more inclusive system.

  7. Apr 30 ·  Video

    S2 E7: Behind the Budget: How Policy Shapes Community Health Centers Today

    In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, host Amanda Pears Kelly takes listeners behind the budget—where critical decisions about federal funding, Medicaid, and state spending priorities determine how community health centers (CHCs) operate every day. Joined by health policy expert Jessica Schubel, the conversation puts a clear lens on how budget policy—not just legislation—drives real-world outcomes for providers and patients. Drawing on her experience at the White House, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and CMS, Schubel breaks down the most consequential budget shifts affecting CHCs right now—from federal appropriations battles to Medicaid financing changes and state-level budget decisions. The episode also dives into how state budgets can either reinforce or undermine federal investments, the policy risks emerging in upcoming budget cycles, and the growing financial pressures tied to caring for an aging population. Schubel highlights the importance of data-driven advocacy, offering insight into how CHCs can use outcomes and evidence to strengthen their position in budget negotiations and policy debates. At its core, this episode underscores a simple truth: budgets are policy in action. And for community health centers, what happens behind the budget directly determines what’s possible at the front lines of care.

  8. Apr 17 ·  Video

    S2 E6: 60 Years of the Health Center Movement: What the Past Teaches Us About the Future

    In this episode of Community Health Centers Unfiltered, host Amanda Pears Kelly marks the 60th anniversary of the Community Health Center Program by exploring the history, purpose, and enduring impact of America’s most vital safety-net programs. Joined by Dr. Thomas Ward, author of Out in the Rural: A Mississippi Health Center and Its War on Poverty, the conversation looks beyond the idea of health centers as simply clinics and revisits their roots in the Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty. Together, they discuss how early health centers were built around community empowerment, local governance, and addressing the social and economic conditions that shape health. The episode also examines why the health center model has endured through six decades of political and economic change, maintaining bipartisan support while continuing to serve underserved communities nationwide. Dr. Ward shares lessons from history that remain deeply relevant today as policymakers debate the future of funding, workforce shortages, and access to care. This episode is a timely reminder that community health centers are more than health care providers—they are trusted community institutions woven into the social fabric of America.

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8 Ratings

About

Community Health Centers. Unfiltered. is the official podcast of Advocates for Community Health, where we dive deep into the policy, politics, and people shaping the future of America’s health care safety net. Hosted by ACH CEO Amanda Pears Kelly, each episode strips away the jargon to deliver honest conversations with policymakers, community leaders, and health center champions on the frontlines. From Capitol Hill to local neighborhoods, we explore how community health centers are driving change, expanding access, and standing up for a healthier America. If you care about the health of communities—and the policies and people that make it possible—this podcast is for you.

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