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The MeidasTouch Podcast
Meidas Health, Episode 11: Dr. Tina Shah and the Nation's Most Flippable House Seat
00:19:59
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- [00:01]
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- [00:29]
Vin
Hi, everybody. Welcome to Midas Health. The reason we're doing Midas Health is the same reason we've done it since day one. We're trying to bank the nation's best healthcare leaders to all of you. It's a wide listenership. Midas Touch is doing amazing work and we get to reach all of you across the country. And you know what we've been doing since day one is bringing you the best healthcare thinkers, leaders, doctors, you name it. Because clearly those people are not populating the highest reaches of government. I'm really excited to have my friend, colleague, Dr. Tina Shah, fellow pulmonologist, joining us for episode 10. She just announced her candidacy in the Democratic primary for the New Jersey 7th congressional district. It's one of the top flip opportunities for the Democrats in 2026. So we're trying to get control of the House, Tina, and her district, and her race is critical. So even if you don't live in Jersey, this is a race that is going to get national attention and for good reason. And she's going to be the front runner to take that seat, and that's why we have her here today. So, Dr. Tina Shock, thanks for having. Thanks for coming on and letting us take a little bit of your time. I know this is a busy week.
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Dr. Tina Shah
Well, I love it. Thank you so much for having me, Vin. It's, it's so nice to be introduced by a fellow pulmonologist. Maybe we can nerd out about lungs later.
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Vin
Yeah, yeah. But, you know, we want to make sure that people stay engaged, so maybe that's, that's gonna be a lower priority here. But I always want to do that with you and I'm thrilled to see somebody with your backgrounds, frankly. Fellow pulmonologist, practicing clinician, Obama, Biden administrations, and deep, deep, serious policy rules. Tina, tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to jump into this race.
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Dr. Tina Shah
You know, I'm a Jersey girl and I was privileged to become a doctor. And what I always wanted to do was take care of people. I envisioned my whole life I would be this full time practicing doctor. And what I can tell you now is that it. It feels like it doesn't matter what I do. I practice just like You. I was just working last week in the hospital, and I know exactly what to do, but there's so much bureaucracy and there are so many roadblocks and, and there's so many patients that just say, hey, my insurance denied care, that I literally feel like I can't take care, take care of my, you know, my fellow human beings as much as I want to. And then you mentioned, I've been privileged to try and think through how do we actually change US Health care. I've served in two, you know, in, in the White House. I actually served in VA and for the Surgeon General. And it just feels like I keep hitting my head up against the ceiling. It really is time to go upstream. We now have this threat to science with cutting funding for the research that has allowed us to be able to provide medical treatments. We just passed a bill that is cutting Medicaid. And I know you've spoken a lot about that, and that is going to affect millions of people, especially folks in my district. But really it has a ripple effect. So no matter who you are, if you want to maintain your health, it's now at risk. And that's why I'm running in New Jersey seventh. I have a member of Congress, Tom Kaine Jr. Who literally just voted and he cast the deciding vote to cut Medicaid as he passed this, you know, big, ugly bill. It's just not okay. Enough is enough.
- [03:50]
Vin
Yeah. And I should make sure our listeners know this is in room 24. And correct me if I'm wrong here on the numbers, this is an R +2 district in 24. Something similar in 22. Biden won it in 20 by, I think, + 4. So, I mean, this is as, as flippable as it gets. Is that right?
- [04:09]
Dr. Tina Shah
That's right. That's right. And I think people are really starting to, to show their true colors. This is a district of folks that are moderate, that really just want to be able to live their lives. And it is one of the top, top 10 flippable districts in the country.
- [04:25]
Vin
You know, it's interesting you say that because I, I know you and I have had this conversation offline, but yesterday, as people under, start to understand what the big, you know, ugly bill, as you pointed out, what that's actually doing to Medicaid, which reaches 80 million people, just, it's not even the fine print. It's fundamentally, Medicaid provides more healthcare access for children than any other health insurance program in the country. And when I say that to people, it surprises them. It's just the lack of understanding on some of, you know, what actually is at stake here because the top line is work requirements. There's so much misunderstanding, misinformation and confusion. I'm wondering how you're going to break through that. Let's look past the primary. I'm treating you as the nominee because I think you're going to be the nominee. How are you going to deal with that? Because I'm sure Keem's going to throw everything and the kitchen sink at you.
- [05:22]
Dr. Tina Shah
Well, I think this is just about focusing to say, look, healthcare is under threat. Right now. We literally have a country that's in critical condition and I am a doctor who takes care of patients day in and day out and can feel the pain because I'm in the mix with everyone. And I want to tell you, Vin, I saw someone, I took care of a patient who got hospitalized recently who had this life threatening pneumonia, got put on a ventilator and his lungs were too weak for, for us to take him off. And he actually needed to go to a rehab for his lungs and he didn't have health insurance, but guess what, he was eligible for Medicaid and we were actually able to enroll him and send him to a rehab center. So now he will eventually get off the ventilator and be able to go back to living his best life. You know, Tom Kane Jr. He's not surrounded by people that have this story. I see these stories ever, every single day. And that's exactly what's happening in the district. So for me, this is really about bringing science and sanity back to Congress. And this is the right time for more doctors to come into Congress because this is our calling, it's our service. We take care of our patients and our community.
- [06:33]
Vin
I think it's so well said. I think so much of this is about the moment, Tina, and timing. And this is incredible timing. This is an incredible moment. And I think you just your background especially, you know, I, I want to take a step back and it wasn't just public service with Dr. Tina Shah. You've seen, you've seemingly seen every element of society, especially across the health care ecosystem. Tell us, tell us about your role at a bridge, sort of. You had a stint there at an interesting health technology company. And I say that because for our listeners here, it's really important to have people in Congress that understand where the puck is headed in society, much less healthcare, but Even more broadly, 7% of your future potential colleagues are part of the AI task force. That shocks me, the lack of Just involvement and deep understanding of something like artificial intelligence at the highest levels of government. And I'm wondering one if you can tell our listeners about your multidisciplinary background, especially in tech, and what and how are you going to leverage that, you know, to. To be a different type of leader?
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Dr. Tina Shah
I love this question, Vin. And what I'll say foundationally is that I think one of the most sacred things that we should protect is that relationship between a patient and their doctor and their nurse. And what I've experienced being a family member, being a patient, myself, being a doctor, is that for some reason, we literally designed healthcare to blow that up and put obstacles in our way. So my career trajectory has been about trying to take the things that are in between me and my patients out of the room so that we can just be together and then focus on their health. So, yes, I've been privileged to practice, and recently I worked for a company as the chief clinical officer, which is the chief medical officer. And this company's name is Abridge. Now, we've all gone to the doctor and, you know, the doctor is kind of paying attention to you, but also kind of paying attention to the computer. Right? I mean, you and me do this. We have to document for all those reasons to work, right? And we want to do the right thing and be present for our patients. But just the way things have been designed, we just can't. Now, what I want to share is that I was privileged to work for an AI company that is actually a great use case of how we can safely use AI and it's completely transforming us healthcare. So again with this theme of how do we get rid of the barriers and the friction in healthcare? When I was chief clinical officer, we took this company that literally was an app on your phone that listened to the doctor and the patient and whoever else was in the room, let's say the nurse or the spouse, and actually wrote the doctor's documentation and at the same time wrote a summary for the patient about what the heck was talked about during that visit. And so, you know, we have all of a sudden this shift of I'm a doctor, I'm distracted, I'm trying to type, and I'm trying to listen to my patient. And I feel all this pressure to get things done quickly to it's just you and me in the room. I'm looking at you straight in your eyes, and what we've seen is remarkable. We've seen this burn. We've seen this actually completely transform how physicians feel. We're now actually bending the curve where physicians are starting to stay in the HealthC workforce and patients are saying, my doctor listened to me. So I, what I want to do when I go to Congress is help bring this understanding of how we can leverage AI in a safe way and quickly because there really is a lot there. And you're right, we actually have an AI literacy problem up on the Hill. I want to solve for that.
- [10:20]
Vin
I love that I and, and just for our listeners here would Dr. Tina Shaw is a different type of leader. You know, there's other physicians in Congress, most of them actually just on the numbers tend to be Republican. All of them, by the way, as a reminder, voted for this bill that passed. And so just being a doctor isn't, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to vote in the best interests of the American people. We just saw that play out multiple times across a range of votes. You know, RFK getting confirmed the bill yesterday, essentially defunding a huge portion of Medicaid, staking it for 80 million Americans. And so just being a doctor isn't enough anymore. It's being the right type of doctor. It's being a modern physician. That's Dr. Tina Shah. She understands the public sector. She's been at the front lines of COVID She still is a practicing physician. She sees exactly what we're seeing in hospitals. And oh, by the way, she's versed in things like generative artificial intelligence, where the puck is headed. We need future facing leaders that understand where, where we're headed as a society now. You know, where we were at 30 years ago. And so Tina, I love that about you. You know, curious if you can give not just your future constituents but the all listeners across the country a sense of what your top priorities will be day one Congress.
- [11:46]
Dr. Tina Shah
Well, I think this is really a pivotal moment because what we're, what we're watching is the act of destruction of US Healthcare. Now I'm not saying our system didn't have problems to begin with, but we're literally dismantling it at a faster and faster clip. So one of the things that will happen when I become a member of Congress and flip the seat is that we'll contribute to the House and now turning blue and we've, you know, I, I think it's, it's astounding that RFK and Trump allowed the experts that determine our vaccines so that kids can stay healthy, adults can stay healthy. They just wiped out the experts and they put folks on there on the board to advise about the vaccines. For the country that are not scientists and are not medical professionals. So my first thing is going to be health care. First and foremost. We just need to make sure we restore science when we make health care and hold RFK accountable. And what I can tell you is that in the seventh district, the current member of Congress, Tom King Jr. Is just not doing that. So I think we really need to stabilize how U.S. health care is. Beyond that, I think there are many different aspects that we need to address. If you just take a step back, the biggest theme that's cross cutting is affordability. We can't afford medicines. I took care of a patient the other day who said he's rationing, rationing his insulin, taking it every other day. And he showed up with a life threatening complication called dka, which I know you take care of as well, where his sugar is way too high. But he had insurance and insurance company said, hey, this is not part of our, our plan. You got to pay out of pocket. That's unbelievable. But housing is unaffordable. You know, education's unaffordable. And these are the lived experiences that I will bring to the table so that I can help not only for the folks that live in New Jersey seventh, but this is a national issue. We really need to think about affordability because everyone is working harder these days, yet somehow our quality of life has gone down.
- [13:44]
Vin
Absolutely. I should. You know, it's Tina, it's three seats, right? We need some. The Democrats need three seats to flip the House. Is that, Is that the Martian?
- [13:54]
Dr. Tina Shah
That's right. And that's why we should consider my race, New Jersey seventh, a national race. This is one of the highest ranked seats that could flip. And when it flips and I become that member, then it'll be one of the three required to flip the House. And then we start seeing the checks and balances come back. Unfortunately, we're not seeing Trump being held accountable. It's playing out in every single facet of American life.
- [14:20]
Vin
That's right. Again, New Jersey seventh. It's been rated by the Cook Political Report. Other forecasters, Larry Sabato, you know, I was going through it right before we came on. This is one of the top, most competitive races in the country. Make no mistake about it. So everything that Dr. Shah is mentioning, this is not just if you live in New Jersey 7. This is for all of us, because Tina's vote can really flip. How we think about things like affordability, Medicaid access. You know, everything that's happening right now does not have to be irreversible. Everything is reversible. You know, Tina, I know you have a busy week and weekend ahead, so I do want to give you a chance to let our listeners know how we can be helpful to you. If what are the best ways and where can we learn more about your bio? If we're inclined to donate? Where can we donate?
- [15:17]
Dr. Tina Shah
Well, I would love for you to join the team and I'd like to direct you to go to Dr. Tina shawforcongress.com that is our official campaign website. And we're looking for everybody that wants to help because this really is about building a coalition and a movement to restore science and sanity back in Congress. You know, I want to say it's not rocket science, but it is really hard. And I really need your help to help unseat Tom Kane Jr. If you're able to. I'd love for you to donate to the campaign. It's a multimillion dollar race and that's just the reality of what it takes to put a doctor back into Congress. And we really need more. So, Vin, I just want to say this is such an exciting time. In a way, the silver lining is that we might finally be able to address the broken parts of US Healthcare and all these challenges we have with affordability because of where we are as a country. And I hope folks will be willing to join me because I'm going to need your help to do it.
- [16:15]
Vin
You know, whether it's $20, whether it's 200, if it's something more, go to Dr. Tina Shah. Dr. Tina Shah for Congress.com to learn more about Dr. Shah. I promise you, and I don't say this slightly. I really do not say this slightly. Her background is that of the modern physician, the modern healthcare leader. And what I think needs to be more and more common, the type of person that should be representing the United States in Congress. We need people that are actually credentialed, that actually know what they're talking about, that understand things that are going to dominate our future, like artificial intelligence. And Tina checks all those boxes, by the way. She's also just a great person. I've gotten to know her recently and I've loved every part of it. Tina, I want to do whatever I can to be helpful to get more doctors like you in Congress especially, you know, it's icing on the cake that you're a fellow pulmonologist. So, Tina, I'm going to give you a last word here. Just give us some. You know, I know a lot of people are struggling given the events of yesterday, and give us leave us with some words of optimism and hope.
- [17:25]
Dr. Tina Shah
Well, you know, we're sitting here recording on 4th of July and it always gives me pause to say what I love about being American is that our we are a democracy. We are allowed to be allowed. We are allowed to have our own opinions and share them and express them. And the American dream is real. And, and I don't want folks to forget that while we are disappointed with what Congress has done, there are people like me that are stepping up now to be the real voice of everyone in our communities to make sure that we protect reproductive rights, that we protect access to health care and restore Medicaid, and we make sure that it is affordable to live in the US So this is a time to take a beat and then to take out your, your arms and your hands and link them because we are going to win the House again and we are going to improve America to its highest heights. I'm so excited about this and I just can't wait to help and do that work.
- [18:24]
Vin
Awesome. Dr. Tina Shah, thanks so much, Dr. Tina Shaw, for being here. And we're going to have you back on soon.
- [18:30]
Dr. Tina Shah
All right, thank you.
- [18:32]
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