Richard Helppie's Common Bridge
The problems we have in the country are solvable, but not solvable the way we’re approaching them today, because of partisan politics. Richard Helppie, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist seeks to find a place in the middle where common sense discussions can bridge the current great divide.
Episodes
303 episodes
Episode 299- Inside The Fight To Fix Health Care Financing. With Nate Kaufman
The real fight in U.S. healthcare isn’t between doctors and patients—it’s against a financing maze that raises premiums, hides quality, and rewards middlemen. We pull back the curtain on why ACA plans look the same yet cost more, how public und...
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Season 7
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Episode 299
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16:59
Episode 298- Unfiltered Consciousness: Laughing Through Life’s Absurdities. With author Terence Duncan as well as Greg Jbara
Season Seven of The Common Bridge features host Richard Helppie in an episode that concludes with foaming mayonnaise dispensers in this lighter, story-driven talk with Tony Award–winning actor Gregory Jbara and longtime friend, designer-turned-...
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Season 7
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Episode 298
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37:30
Episode 297- How a System CEO Drives Access and Affordability with Optimism. With Jeff Flaks
Healthcare can feel stuck, but the ground is moving under our feet in the best possible way. We sit down with Hartford Healthcare’s CEO, Jeff Flaks, to unpack how a statewide system is using scale with purpose: pushing care into more convenient...
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Season 7
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Episode 297
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17:58
Episode 296- Inside Michigan Medicine: Access, AI, And A New Era Of Care. With Dr. David Miller, M.D.
What happens when a powerhouse research enterprise, a statewide health system, and a relentless push for access all meet at the same table? Our conversation with Dr. David Miller, CEO of Michigan Medicine, opens the door to a candid look at how...
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Season 7
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Episode 296
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48:59
Episode 295- GLP-1, Obesity, And The Cost Of Change. With Dr. David Harlan
What if blockbuster weight-loss drugs and a broken food system are two sides of the same story? We sit down with Dr. David Harlan—physician, researcher, and former NIH diabetes branch chief—to trace the unlikely path from the “incretin effect” ...
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Season 7
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Episode 295
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31:00
Episode 294- Inside America’s Access Crisis And Why Wait Times Keep Rising. With Rich Helppie.
Host Nate Kaufman brings Rich Helppie back for a discussion about healthcare access. A 30-day wait for a first oncology visit after hearing the word leukemia is not an edge case—it’s the new normal in a system where demand outpaces supply...
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Season 7
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Episode 294
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16:15
Episode 293- Subsidies, Shutdowns, And The Healthcare Squeeze. With Nate Kaufman
Politicians argue about subsidies while families face premiums that can top $26,900 and deductibles big enough to delay basic care. We step past the slogans to map how the ACA exchanges actually work today—standardized benefits that reduce real...
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Season 7
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Episode 293
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25:45
Episode 292- From Crisis To Reform: A Mother, A Judge, And A Broken System
One mother’s plea and a judge’s blueprint collide with a terrifying truth: the systems meant to protect people with serious mental illness—and the communities around them—often wait until harm is done. We bring Beverly Gille and Judge Milton L....
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Season 7
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Episode 292
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43:48
Episode 291- How A Neurosurgeon Heals Broken Spines With A Broken Health System. With Dr. Rod Oskouian
Spine surgery sits at the crossroads of need, nuance, and noise—and few people explain that terrain better than Dr. Rod Oskouian, a high-volume neurosurgeon who has led a complex spine program and also navigated care as a patient. Dr. Osk...
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Season 7
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Episode 291
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37:25
Episode 290- Season Seven, New Bridges. With Rich Helppie
Season seven opens with a clear promise: fewer teams, more truth. We look straight at the incentives that keep America mad—legacy media chasing rage clicks, politicians swapping positions to score points, and a culture that treats every topic l...
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Season 7
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Episode 289
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33:11
Episode 289- College Sports' Money Game. With Dr. Thomas Dieters
The money is already here—so why are the rules still stuck in limbo? We sit down with Tom Dieters to map how NIL evolved from booster-led collectives into university-controlled revenue sharing after House v. NCAA, and what that shift means for ...
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Season 6
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Episode 289
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28:51
Episode 288- Healthcare at a Tipping Point: Insider Perspectives from Dr. Leo Spector
What's the secret to maintaining physician independence when 70% of doctors now work for corporations or health systems? Dr. Leo Spector, CEO of OrthoCarolina and practicing spine surgeon, offers a masterclass in healthcare leadership and strat...
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Season 6
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Episode 288
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29:07
Episode 287- Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Series- Jocelyn Benson
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson brings her vision for Michigan's future to The Common Bridge, outlining why she's running for governor in 2026 and what she hopes to accomplish for the state's citizens.At the heart of Benson's...
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Season 6
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Episode 287
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45:26
Episode 286- Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Series: Tom Leonard
What does it take to transform a state facing serious economic and educational challenges? In this illuminating conversation, former Michigan House Speaker Tom Leonard outlines his vision for revitalizing Michigan as he campaigns for the govern...
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Season 6
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Episode 286
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48:57
Episode 285- Healing the Divide: After Charlie Kirk
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has shaken our nation to its core, prompting a raw, emotional response from Rich Helppie in this urgent episode of The Common Bridge. Beyond expressing profound grief for Kirk's family and friends, Helppie grie...
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Season 6
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Episode 285
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15:26
Episode 284- The Healthcare System Is Broken, But We Can Fix It. With Dr. Jeff Goldsmith
What happens when healthcare experts become patients themselves? Dr. Jeff Goldsmith shares his transformative experience of undergoing five major surgeries in 29 months, revealing how it fundamentally altered his perspective after nearly five d...
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Season 6
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Episode 284
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30:17
Episode 283- Unraveling America's Pharmaceutical Cost Crisis: A Deep Dive with host Nathan Kaufman and Richard Helppie. Pt. 3
Drug pricing in America is a shell game where patients always lose. Healthcare Bridge host Nathan Kaufman and his guest Richard Helppie pull back the curtain on why Americans pay drastically more for the same medications than patients anywhere ...
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Season 6
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Episode 283
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15:28
Episode 282- Show Me The Money- A Closer Look at NIL. With Greg Dooley
The college sports landscape is undergoing a revolution that few fans truly understand. In this eye-opening conversation, University of Michigan lecturer Greg Dooley breaks down the complex world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) compensation ...
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Season 6
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Episode 282
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43:25
Episode 281- Medicare Disadvantage: Nate Kaufman and Rich Helppie Pt. 2
Are you getting what you pay for with your Medicare plan? This eye-opening conversation between healthcare insiders Nathan Kaufman and Rich Helppie pulls back the curtain on what they provocatively call "Medicare Disadvantage" plans.Whe...
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Season 6
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Episode 281
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12:02
Episode 280- Laughing Through the Gaslight: Unspinning the News- With Jenna McCarthy
Ever wondered how a successful women's magazine writer and humor columnist became one of Substack's most incisive media critics? Jenna McCarthy never planned to write about "government corruption, health policy, and politics" - she was perfectl...
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Season 6
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Episode 280
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37:19
Episode 279- The Problem with Employer-Sponsored Healthcare. Nate Kaufman's conversation with Rich Helppie.
The fundamental flaw in American healthcare might be hiding in your benefits package. In this compelling conversation, host Nathan Kaufman and Common Bridge's Rich Helppie challenge the very foundation of how most Americans receive health cover...
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Season 6
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Episode 279
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10:04
Episode 278- The Crisis of Healthcare Economics: A Conversation between Nate Kaufman and Brandon Edwards
When did healthcare marketing become so disconnected from the people it needs to reach? Brandon Edwards, founder of Unlock Health and a 30-year veteran in healthcare marketing, joins us for a provocative conversation about why traditional appro...
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Season 6
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Episode 278
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34:44
Episode 277- What's Really in the Big Beautiful Bill for Medicaid? With Rich Helppie
The American healthcare payment system isn't just broken—it's a non-system that systematically fails providers and patients while generating enormous profits for middlemen. The Healthcare Bridge host Nathan Kaufman and his guest Rich Helppie cu...
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Season 6
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Episode 277
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18:43
Episode 276- Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Series: Garlin Gilchrist II
Garlin Gilchrist II, Michigan's Lieutenant Governor and gubernatorial candidate, shares how his unique background as a software engineer and tech entrepreneur shapes his vision for the state's future. This fascinating conversation reveals how e...
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Season 6
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Episode 276
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38:06
Episode 275- Who Guards the Guardians? Inside Healthcare Governance with Jamie Orlikoff
What happens when you put one of America's leading healthcare governance experts in conversation with a veteran industry insider? You get a rare, unfiltered look behind the curtain of hospital boardrooms where life-and-death decisions get made ...
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Season 6
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Episode 275
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26:50