Episodes
-
This time on Code WACK!
What’s at stake for Medicaid—the lifeline for millions of low-income Americans—under President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress determined to slash spending? How would cutting Medicaid affect the more than 72 million people who rely on it for health care? And is Social Security next on the chopping block?
To break it down, we spoke with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, an organization fighting to protect and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; lower drug prices; and ensure health care as a human right. This is part one of a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
Why are some 200,000 Americans dying each year due to issues with their health insurance and access to care? Would a single payer healthcare system put a stop to this?
To find out, we interviewed Dr. James G. Kahn, an expert in health policy and economics, and advisor to Code WACK! and editor and primary blogger of Health Justice Monitor.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! -
Episodes manquant?
-
This time on Code WACK!
The strong reactions to the tragic murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson by alleged killer Luigi Mangione are bringing renewed attention to the abuses of for-profit health insurance. How does our complex, costly, and callous for-profit healthcare system contribute to America's high mortality rate and how many people are believed to die each year as a result?
To find out, we interviewed Dr. James G. Khan, an expert in health policy and economics, and advisor to Code WACK! and editor and primary blogger of Health Justice Monitor, a health policy blog. -
This time on Code WACK!
For the second episode in our two-part series on racism in medicine, in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, we’re asking the question: What is racially concordant care and how does it help save lives? What else can be done to reduce deadly disparities in medicine?
To find out, we spoke to Dr. Uché Blackstock. Blackstock, author of the New York Times best-selling book “Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine,” which is now available in paperback. She’s also the founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, an organization that aims to dismantle racism in healthcare and narrow racial health inequities. Blackstock was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in Global Health and one of the Top 13 Innovators Shaping the Future of Health by Fortune Magazine. -
This time on Code WACK!
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of equality and justice for all, we welcome Dr. Uché Blackstock, author of the New York Times bestselling book “Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine.”
Trained as an ER physician, the Harvard Medical School graduate is founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, an organization that aims to dismantle racism in healthcare and narrow health inequities. -
This time on Code WACK!
How is the Department of Veterans Affairs becoming increasingly privatized and what could this mean for those who have served and sacrificed for our country? Is corporate health insurance better than the VA healthcare system - or not? How is privatization affecting the financial viability of the VA -- and what can be done to stop it?
To find out, we recently spoke to Wendell Potter, a former health insurance industry executive turned whistleblower, the New York Times bestselling author of Deadly Spin and the president of the Center for Health and Democracy. He’s also the author of the Substack newsletter HEALTH CARE un-covered where he recently penned a post entitled “Privatizing the VA: The Unseen Costs to Veterans and Taxpayers Alike.” -
This time on Code WACK!
Why have U.S. administrations from both sides of the aisle chosen to privatize Medicare and how has that complicated health care for patients? How do mega insurance companies benefit as a result? How much is all this costing us, anyway? And what can we do about it?
To find out, we spoke with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance industry executive turned whistleblower, the New York Times bestselling author of Deadly Spin and the president of the Center for Health and Democracy. He’s also the author of the Substack newsletter HEALTH CARE un-covered which chronicles out-of-control profiteering in U.S. health care, its impact on everyday Americans, and potential policy solutions. -
THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!
In the wake of the recent presidential election, we’re revisiting one of our favorite podcast episodes from 2023 about the hurdles America's Indigenous peoples face in accessing health care.
What’s being done to help elder Native Americans receive culturally competent long term care? Would it surprise you to learn that relying on the Indian Health Service may not be enough to meet their needs? Why are some members of this highly vulnerable population buying health insurance too?
To find out, we spoke to Elder Billie Tohee, executive director of the Albuquerque-based National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) and former chair of the board. -
This time on Code WACK!
What could another Trump presidency mean for the rise in Medicare private plans and what would that mean for patient care and financial waste in our healthcare system and for the Medicare Trust Fund?
To find out, we recently interviewed Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist and incoming president of Physicians for a National Health Program [PNHP]. With more than 25,000 members across the United States, PNHP advocates for a universal, comprehensive, single-payer national health program. This is the second episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
Why are seniors between a rock and a hard place when choosing between various Medicare options? How do private Medicare plans, known as Medicare Advantage, limit patients’ options and why are they considered riskier than traditional Medicare? And what's the ‘Medigap Trap?’
To find out, we spoke to Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist and the incoming president of Physicians for a National Health Program [PNHP]. With more than 25,000 members across the United States, PNHP advocates for a universal, comprehensive, single-payer national health program. -
This time on Code WACK!
What questionable justifications did a major insurance company give to repeatedly deny coverage to treat a baby’s brain tumor? What would have been the financial impact on the family if they had to pay for their baby's treatment out-of-pocket? What specific health policies could we implement to avoid situations like this?
To find out, we spoke to Dr. Eunice Stallman, a psychiatrist in Idaho and mother of two-year-old Zoey, who has suffered seizures and developmental delays because of a brain tumor discovered when she was an infant. This is the second episode in a two-part series. -
Imagine learning that your baby girl has a brain tumor that’s causing seizures and disrupting her development, and your health insurance company is denying coverage for treatment her pediatric oncologist says she needs to survive and thrive? What would you do? Where did one mother turn when repeated health insurance denials delayed time-sensitive treatment to shrink her baby’s tumor?
To find out, we spoke to Dr. Eunice Stallman, a psychiatrist in Idaho and clinical faculty at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Washington Boise Psychiatry Residency Program. Her daughter Zoey is two years old now and still undergoing medical treatment. This is the first episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
What can be done to protect health care for the most vulnerable in the aftermath of Trump's victory? What does another Trump administration mean for single payer both nationally and in the states? How do many union leaders feel about single payer, and why? If we had Medicare for All, what other benefits could unions bargain for?
To find out, we recently interviewed Ada Briceño, chair of Orange County Democrats and co-chair of Unite Here Local 11, which represents tens of thousands of workers in hotels, restaurants, airports, and sports arenas in Southern California and Arizona. This is the second episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
What could a Trump White House mean for your health care and your family’s? What might it mean for public health at a time when the nation is still reeling from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic? And which populations stand to lose the most?
To find out, we spoke to Ada Briceño, chair of Orange County Democrats and co-chair of Unite Here Local 11, which represents tens of thousands of workers in hotels, restaurants, airports, and sports arenas in Southern California and Arizona. Ada is also a former National Steering Committee Member for the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer. This is the first episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
Why have healthcare giants like United Health and Cigna have been purging some of their commercial accounts and pivoting to government-funded programs like Medicare Advantage and Medicaid? How is this affecting patients? And what is the government doing about it?
To find out, we spoke with Wendell Potter, a former health insurance industry executive turned whistleblower, the New York Times bestselling author of Deadly Spin and the president of the Center for Health and Democracy. He’s also the author of the Substack newsletter HEALTH CARE un-covered which chronicles out-of-control profiteering in U.S. health care, its impact on everyday Americans, and potential policy solutions. -
This time on Code WACK!
How do some Australians, who have single-payer health care they call Medicare, view the American healthcare system? What do they think about the many people in America who need to have a job to get health insurance? Who set their wedding day with their health insurance in mind? Or who have health insurance but go bankrupt anyway, because it doesn't cover all their medical bills?
To find out, we spoke to Australian Anna Candler, founder and CEO of The Circular Water Company. Through frequent visits to family in the U.S., Anna has gained firsthand insight into the stark differences between the Australian and American healthcare models. This is the second episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
How does Australia's healthcare system work and why is it considered one of the best in the world? What are some of the ways the Australian healthcare system, which they call Medicare, and private health insurance differ from ours?
An Australian citizen, Anna is founder and CEO of The Circular Water Company in Sydney. Through frequent visits to family in the United States, particularly in Maryland, she's gained firsthand insight into the stark differences between the Australian and American healthcare models. This is the first episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
What is “data justice” and how does it inform and refine health policies for invisibilized communities? What policy solutions are needed to reduce health disparities among people, especially marginalized Latinx and indigenous communities? What role does the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California play in advancing the health of vulnerable communities throughout the state? And what are the hopes and fears of these communities when it comes to their health and the upcoming presidential election?
To find out, we recently interviewed Dr. Seciah Aquino, executive director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. This is the second episode in a two-part series. -
This time on Code WACK!
Public health advocacy requires considerable insight into the major issues that affect communities. How best to gain this insight? What role does direct personal experience play?
Today Seciah Aquino, DrPH, MS shares how her lived experience as an immigrant has informed her work as Executive Director of a leading health equity advocacy organization, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. How did her experience, first as a young child in Guatemala and later as an immigrant living in Gardena, California, inspire her to pursue higher education and transform her life, and the lives of others? And how did that experience inform her response to the COVID pandemic? -
This time on Code WACK!
Rebate aggregators? Group purchasing? Vertical integration? How exactly do Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, operate to maximize profit? And how are everyday Americans suffering from these practices?
To find out, we spoke to Dr. Ed Weisbart, national board secretary of Physicians for a National Health Program, a single-payer advocacy coalition that boasts more than 25,000 members, and former chief medical officer for one of the largest PBMs in the country. This is the second episode in a two-part series. - Montre plus
