A CONVERSATION ON POLICY, PATIENTS, AND WHO REALLY SHAPES HEALTHCARE

In this episode of the Apex Health Podcast, Dr. Alex Evans and Candice Caesar, PMHNP, speak with Ronald A. Brisé, Vice President and Senior Advisor at Arrow Group, a subsidiary of Gunster. Ronald has seen policy from nearly every seat. He began his career as a science teacher, served as a North Miami planning commissioner and in the Florida House of Representatives, and went on to chair the Florida Public Service Commission. Today he advises companies and executives on how to work with government.

That path gives him a clear view of how healthcare decisions are made and who is in the room when they are. The conversation starts with a gap. Policymakers think in terms of coverage, programs, and funding. Patients think in terms of access, affordability, and outcomes. Providers are caught between the two and are often consulted only after a law is written. From there, the discussion turns to mental health parity, the incentives that favor treatment over prevention, and the questions worth asking before AI or any new technology is brought into care. At the center of the discussion is a simple idea: coverage is not the same thing as care. Patients are the one group without an organized seat at the table, and Ronald lays out practical ways for them to be heard.

IN THIS EPISODE - Why coverage is not the same thing as care - How policymakers, patients, and providers each see healthcare differently - Why clinicians are often heard only after a law is written - Mental health parity and the four levers for access: workforce, fair reimbursement, integration, and technology - Who influences healthcare policy, and why patients lack an organized voice - What two decades of autism advocacy by parents shows about changing coverage - Why incentives favor treatment over prevention - How any citizen can track a bill, contact a legislator, and testify - The questions to ask before adopting AI in care, and how it can help clinicians stay present with patients

Chapters 00:00 Welcome

02:07 Ronald A. Brisé: from teacher to policy advisor

06:11 How policymakers and patients see healthcare differently

08:30 Coverage is not the same as care

10:21 Why providers are heard too late

16:02 Mental health access and parity

21:53 Four levers for mental health access

25:13 Who really shapes healthcare policy

31:22 Why prevention is undervalued

36:40 How patients can be heard

41:36 AI, telehealth, and closing gaps in care

51:28 The one change Ronald would make