Building a Healthier Arkansas | Curtis Barnett
Curtis Barnett from Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield discusses healthcare costs and trends affecting Arkansans in the state's $30 billion healthcare market.
Episode notes
In this episode of Free Arkansas, host Andy McNeill talks with Curtis Barnett, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, about how health insurance works, why medical costs continue to rise and what it will take to improve health care across the state.Curtis breaks down Arkansas’ roughly $30 billion health care system, explains where the money comes from and discusses the challenges facing patients, employers, insurers and medical providers. He also shares his journey from growing up in central Arkansas to leading the state’s largest health insurer.Topics include:
- How health insurance works in Arkansas
- Why health care costs continue to rise 📈
- Employer plans, Medicare and Medicaid
- Prescription drugs and high-cost treatments 💊
- Arkansas’ chronic health challenges
- Mental health and substance-use treatment
- Rural hospitals and access to care
If this resonated, you might also hear
More conversations that pick up on related people, places, and themes.
