Episodi
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This time on Code WACK!
In the United States, as many as 30 million people are affected by eating disorders, including many children and adolescents, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that affect both mental and physical health.
How well does our corporate healthcare system respond to illnesses as complex as eating disorders? What happens when an insurance company decides treatment is costing too much, and pressures a patient to go home? Can your insurer really cut off coverage? And what if that decision turns out to be not just wrong, but catastrophic?
In “When Insurance Cuts Eating Disorder Care Too Soon,” host Brenda Gazzar speaks with Lisa Kantor, Founding Partner of Kantor & Kantor, LLP, about what can happen when insurers end coverage before a patient is medically ready to leave treatment. In “When Insurance Cuts Eating Disorder Care Too Soon,” host Brenda Gazzar speaks with Lisa Kantor, Founding Partner of Kantor & Kantor, LLP, about what can happen when insurers end coverage before a patient is medically ready to leave treatment.
This is part one of a two-part episode.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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Is it really normal that the health insurance we pay for often doesn't fully protect us? It may be ‘normal’ but is it right? Millions of Americans face soaring healthcare costs, coverage denials, medical debt, job lock, and even hospital closures. Have we simply come to accept these realities as part of life?
Retired pediatrician and healthcare reform advocate Dr. Ana Malinow says they don't have to be.
After three decades caring for immigrant, refugee, and underserved children, Dr. Malinow believes America is at a pivotal moment to rethink its healthcare system. As America marks 250 years of independence, she's helping lead a campaign calling for a "Declaration of Independence from the U.S. Medical-Industrial Complex" and a national single-payer healthcare system.
Dr. Malinow is the former president of Physicians for a National Health Program and currently serves on the steering committee of National Single Payer.
This is Part 2 of a two-part episode.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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Episodi mancanti?
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This time on Code WACK!
America's healthcare system doesn't only hurt us in big ways - like forcing us to choose between getting expensive medical treatments or living sick. Or having to choose the ‘least worst,’ but always very expensive health insurance policy. It also hurts us in small ways, forcing us to compromise to save a few bucks, to make a thousand little choices that can cost us our quality of life.
As we approach the 4th of July, we’re talking with Dr. Ana Malinow, a retired
pediatrician. She’s helping lead a campaign for a new Declaration of Independence … from the ‘US Medical-Industrial Complex.’ Dr. Malinow spent three decades working as a pediatrician with immigrant refugees and underserved children. She's past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and is currently on the steering committee of National Single Payer. This is part one of a two-part episode.
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This time on Code WACK!
Imagine being cut off from Mom - a nursing home resident - for months. You can't bring her favorite foods, or help dress her, hug her, or even hold her hand.
For thousands of families during the COVID-19 pandemic, this became a heartbreaking reality. And without new laws, advocates say, it could very well happen again.
That's why they are fighting to ensure our loved ones are never again separated from those they depend on most in nursing homes and other long-term care settings
Today we're speaking with Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, or CANHR. For decades, Tony has fought to protect the rights of nursing home residents. And he says the isolation and neglect that families experienced during COVID was one of the most painful chapters of his career.
This is part two of a two-part series on the Essential Caregiver’s Act.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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What role do family members and friends play in the lives of nursing home residents? When COVID hit, how were residents impacted when their loved ones were no longer allowed to visit them?
Today we share the story of Melody Taylor Stark, who became an advocate for the Essential Caregivers Act after her husband, a retired dentist and nursing home resident, dramatically declined, then died, after being denied her daily visits during the dark days of COVID.
Melody is a founding member of Essential Caregivers Coalition; a member of Caregivers for Compromise, and San Gabriel Valley Disability Collaborative; and Facebook co-administrator for Aging Enlightened, a group that was begun by a prominent reporter for Kaiser Health News. She works diligently to advance positive system changes in disability rights and long-term care.
This is part one of a two-part series on the Essential Caregiver’s Act.
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This time on Code WACK!
What happens when we get too sick to work in a healthcare system that is tied to our jobs? What is the ultimate cost?
The story of New York Health Act advocate Mariana Pineda is a case in point. After developing Long COVID, Mariana spent years navigating the same fragmented healthcare system she was fighting to change. She lost her job. She lost her health insurance. She lost her home. And earlier this year, in March, 2026, she lost her life. Mariana was just 46 years old.
This is part two of a two-part series featuring tri-chair of the New York State Poor People’s Campaign, Susan Karbiner, and LGBTQ and healthcare justice advocate Carly Paris.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on Code WACK!
This is the story of a dedicated advocate, organizer, and powerful voice in the fight for healthcare justice - Mariana Pineda.
Mariana was a teacher in the Roosevelt School District, Nassau County, Long Island, until she caught a serious case of COVID complicated by pre-existing conditions, including asthma and heart problems.
No longer able to work, she lost her employer-sponsored health insurance. Desperate to have some kind of coverage, she spent down her savings on COBRA. Despite financial help from friends, Mariana eventually ended up in a homeless shelter with her young son, Max, where they suffered from cockroaches and bedbugs.
Yet through it all, Mariana never stopped advocating for people's rights. A social justice activist and tireless organizer, she could command a rally one minute and spend the next making sure everyone had something to eat.
And before she died earlier this year at age 46… she spent years fighting for healthcare as a human right.
This is part one of a two-part series about Mariana Pineda, single mom, teacher, and healthcare justice fighter.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on Code WACK!
For millions of Americans, health care means fighting insurance companies, putting off costly treatment, wondering whether the hospital you prefer is in-network, or fearing financial disaster if you get seriously sick. But what if healthcare worked differently?
This is part two of our conversation with Dr. Bernard Ho, an emergency physician in Toronto and vice chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, a national evidence-based organization working to strengthen Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his M.D. Bernard is currently completing his Master's of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on Code WACK!
Today we’re taking an inside look at Canada’s public health insurance system known as Medicare. What are the biggest misconceptions Americans have about it? What works, what doesn’t, and why? And what happens when a public system starts drifting toward privatization?
This is part one of our conversation with Dr. Bernard Ho, an emergency physician in Toronto and Vice-Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, a national evidence-based organization working to strengthen Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his M.D. Bernard is currently completing his Masters of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. -
This time on Code WACK!
As of spring 2026, enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies have not been extended. Without congressional action, millions of Americans could face significantly higher premiums—or lose coverage altogether.
Around 22 million people receive ACA premium subsidies, many of whom benefited from pandemic-era enhancements. If those aren’t restored, affordability for individuals buying their own coverage will take a major hit.
Meanwhile, health care costs are rising across the board. Employer-sponsored insurance premiums have seen some of the largest increases in over a decade, shifting more costs to workers through higher premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses. Medicare premiums are also climbing, adding pressure on older adults.
As coverage becomes less affordable, many people delay care, skip medications, or make tough financial tradeoffs just to get by.
So what options do people have?
Today, we revisit a timely 2025 conversation with Rachel Madley, executive director at the Center for Health and Democracy and former advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on CodeWACK!
What if the rising cost of health care - the surprise bills, the shrinking choices, the long waits — weren’t random at all, but largely the result of quiet, strategic consolidation happening behind the scenes?
The Center for Health & Democracy has been working to reveal just this. Founded by former insurance executive-turned-whistleblower Wendell Potter, the organization shines a light on how corporate power shapes the American health care system — and what it means for patients and families.
Joining us today is Rachel Madley, the Center’s Executive Director. A scientist by training and a federal health policy expert, Rachel also brings lived experience navigating the health system with Type 1 diabetes — giving her unique insight into how policy decisions ripple into real lives.
Today, we’re talking about the Center’s recent Sunlight Report, a first-of-its-kind investigation into the corporate structure and expansion of UnitedHealth Group, the largest healthcare company in the world. The report pulls back the curtain on health care consolidation and reveals how deeply corporate expansion is reshaping who delivers care, how much it costs, and who ultimately benefits.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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Imagine two patients … same diagnosis, same medication, same country.
Each one needs the same prescription. One gets their care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the other gets it through Medicare. The price of the exact same drug could be half as much for one patient as for the other. That's not a glitch. It's how the system is designed.
Our guest is Bob Coleman, a retired healthcare professional who spent more than 40 years serving veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—as a clinical pharmacist, medical informaticist, and researcher. His latest ebook is called "Hostile Takeover: How Wall Street and Congress Hijacked American Healthcare and How We Can Take it Back."
This is the second of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on CodeWACK!
Today, we’re talking about insurance denials, hidden incentives… and why getting care can feel like navigating a system designed to stop you.
Our guest is Bob Coleman, a retired healthcare professional who spent more than 40 years serving veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—as a clinical pharmacist, medical informaticist, and researcher. His latest ebook is called "Hostile Takeover: How Wall Street and Congress Hijacked American Healthcare and How We Can Take it Back."
This is the first of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. -
This time on CodeWACK!
Most employers don’t actually know what they’re paying for healthcare - and employees are paying the price. In this episode of Code WACK!, discover why companies are “flying blind” on healthcare costs, how opaque pricing drives higher premiums, and what this means for your coverage, care, and financial security.
To learn more, we spoke with Chuck Melendi, who has more than three decades of experience in healthcare leadership, advocacy, and industry strategy. He spent 25 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he tackled issues including drug pricing, payer negotiations, policy, and commercial strategy.
Chuck retired from Johnson & Johnson in early 2025 and went on to launch Disruptive Dialogue, a podcast and consulting platform where he shares insights from inside the U.S. healthcare system – while exploring ideas for reform.
This is the second of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. -
This time on CodeWACK!
What challenges do employers face when providing health coverage to their employees? And what role do health insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers—prescription drug middlemen known as PBMs—play in shaping costs, coverage, and access to care?
To find out, we spoke with Chuck Melendi, who has more than three decades of experience in healthcare leadership, advocacy, and industry strategy. He spent 25 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he tackled issues including drug pricing, payer negotiations, policy, and commercial strategy.
Chuck retired from Johnson & Johnson in early 2025 and went on to launch Disruptive Dialogue, a podcast and consulting platform where he shares insights from inside the U.S. healthcare system – while exploring ideas for reform.
This is the first of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! -
This time on CodeWACK!
Today, most people on Medicaid get their care through private insurers called Managed Care Organizations, or MCOs—like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.
Critics say these companies add layers of bureaucracy that make it harder for patients—most of them low-income—to get care. They discourage physicians from accepting Medicaid patients by making them jump through hoops to get treatment pre-authorizations, or even to get paid.
Are Managed Care companies making health care more expensive, not less? How are some states reacting? Are legislators starting to wake up and see through the hype? Some are.
All this and more is discussed in a recent report from Physicians for a National Health Program, Removing the Middlemen from Medicaid. To unpack it, we spoke with Dr. Alankrita Olson, a public health physician and PNHP board member who advocates for a single-payer healthcare system.
This is the 2nd of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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This time on CodeWACK!
Why are there middlemen in Medicaid—and what are they doing to our most vulnerable patients and physicians? How and why are private insurance intermediaries permitted to put profits ahead of patients? A recent report by Physicians for a National Health Program, titled Removing the Middlemen from Medicaid, pulls back the curtain on Managed Care Organizations (MCOs).
To learn more, we spoke with Dr. Alankrita Olson, a public health physician and advocate for a universal single-payer system. She serves on the board of Physicians for a National Health Program and works to protect and expand healthcare access for all Americans. This is the first episode of a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate. -
This time on Code WACK!
We’re taking a closer look at what happens when private equity buys hospitals. Our guest is Dr. Renee Hsia (pronounced “Shaw”).
An emergency physician at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Hsia explains how patients can be harmed when Wall Street firms take over health care. A Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy at the University of California, San Francisco, she is also Vice Chair of Health Services Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and a core faculty member of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.
This is part two of our two-part series.
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This time on Code WACK!
What happens to staff and patients when private investors buy hospitals to make them more profitable? And why should this concern us all?
To break it down, we spoke to Dr. Renee Hsia ( pronounced “Shaw”) an attending physician at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center and a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Health Policy at the University of California, San Francisco. She’s also Vice Chair of Health Services Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and a core faculty member of the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. This is the first episode in a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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Millions of Americans have health insurance, but still can’t afford to use it. So what happens when high deductibles and corporate profit pressures shape the care patients receive?
To break it down, we spoke with Dr. Adam Gaffney — a pulmonary and critical care physician, public health researcher, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He’s also a former president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and his work focuses on health care financing and national reform. This is the second episode in a two-part series.
Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!
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