Code WACK!

This Labor Day Code WACK! is taking a fresh look at the different perspectives held by organized labor in the fight for Medicare for All. Host Brenda Gazzar and Cindy Young , labor advocate and expert in health benefits negotiations, discuss how union members are harmed by America's fragmented healthcare system. Why are unions split on this issue? What happens when rank and file members disagree w...

What happens when the cost of surviving an illness is so high, it's simply out of reach? How does Big Pharma enjoy such outsized profits from cancer and other treatments? And what about patients who are stuck between a pharmaceutical company and their health insurer?   To find out, we spoke to Dr. David Leibowitz , hematologist-oncologist and incoming chair of Physicians for a National Health Prog...

How have government policies created inequitable access to abortion? What's the Hyde Amendment and what's been its impact over the past 45 years? What role are some states playing in the effort to assure abortion access? And what can we do now to support reproductive freedoms? To find out, we spoke to Cat Duffy , policy analyst with the National Health Law Program , who works on reproductive and s...

What are the implications of the Dobbs ruling for people seeking reproductive care across the United States? What kind of burdens will they face if they have to wait days or even weeks to get an abortion? Will this Supreme Court decision result in people having babies they don't want to have? To find out, we spoke to Cat Duffy , policy analyst with the National Health Law Program , who works on re...

Why is it that many Americans who have health insurance are still not able to get the care they need? How are health insurers increasing their profits at the expense of American families? To find out, we spoke to Wendell Potter , ex-communications executive for the health insurance giant Cigna turned industry whistleblower and New York Times bestselling author. Wendell is the co-founder of Busines...

How is medical debt a racial justice issue, and what's being done about it? What role does the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion play in reducing medical debt and keeping rural hospitals open? And what specific health policy should legislators pursue that would solve the medical debt crisis once and for all? To find out, we spoke to Berneta L. Haynes , a staff attorney for the National Cons...

Why are Black families disproportionately impacted by medical debt in America? How do inequities in housing access and safety, environmental pollution, and health care combine and intensify the vulnerability of disenfranchised communities?   And why have families in Southern states been particularly hard hit?  To find out, we spoke to Berneta L. Haynes , a staff attorney for the National Consumer...

What challenges do people in the LGBTQ+ community face in accessing quality health care and how does this affect their wellbeing? What policy solutions are needed to tackle these challenges? To find out, we spoke to Jeffrey Rodriguez , the incoming director of Community Health Programs at the Los Angeles LGBT Center . He's worked there for the past 12 years mainly in sexual health and education. F...

What special health needs do LGBTQ communities have – and how well are they being addressed? What can our broken healthcare system learn from the retail industry about how to treat clients with unique needs?   To find out, we spoke to Jeffrey Rodriguez , the incoming director of Community Health Programs at the Los Angeles LGBT Center . He's worked there for the past 12 years mainly in sexual heal...

How does the struggle for healthcare justice intersect with the movement to protect consumers? How do regulations on corporations and their products benefit us all? Is putting profit above consumer safety really "good business?" What's essential to winning Medicare for All? To find out, we spoke with Andrew McGuire , a lifelong trauma prevention specialist and grassroots activist who lives in Sono...

California has expanded the state's Medicaid program to some undocumented immigrant workers, but not all. Who gets coverage, and who doesn't? Is lack of insurance coverage the only issue immigrant workers face when it comes to their survival? Did the pandemic reveal that the "safety net" is full of holes?  To find out, we spoke to Luz Gallegos , executive director of TODEC Legal Center in Southern...

Undocumented workers in California contribute about $3.7 billion in state and local taxes each year. They hold one in 16 jobs in the state. What challenges do they face when it comes to getting access to quality health care? How is this impacting their health and our communities? To find out, we spoke to Luz Gallegos, executive director of TODEC Legal Center in Southern California's Inland Empire....

Since the free market has failed to rein in costs and achieve equity in health care, what's next?  Can we govern our seemingly ungovernable healthcare sector? Can we build legislative consensus around policies that protect all of us, equally? Join Anthony Wright , executive director of Health Access , a health consumer advocacy coalition, and host Brenda Gazzar for the lowdown on California legisl...

Why is reforming our healthcare system necessary?  Is there any point in trying to change it, given the power of health insurers and pharmaceutical companies? Find out from someone who's spent decades fighting and winning battles for healthcare justice. Join Anthony Wright , executive director of Health Access , a health consumer advocacy coalition, and host Brenda Gazzar in this first of two podc...

Why do some elderly patients on Medicare struggle to get the health care they need? What are some of the dangers of Medicare Advantage ? Join Casey Hobbs, RN , director of nursing at a Northern California retirement community and co-creator/co-host of the popular podcast NurseTalk, and host Brenda Gazzar, to learn exactly what expenses senior Americans are on the hook for. In this second podcast o...

Is nursing a science or an art? Or is it the art of knowing when to open your mouth?   Should "your money or your health" be America's healthcare slogan? Join Casey Hobbs, RN , director of nursing at a retirement community in Northern California and co-creator/co-host of the popular podcast NurseTalk, and host Brenda Gazzar, for a frequently irreverent roller coaster ride of an interview! In this...

Health care in America remains marked by disparities and spiraling costs twelve years after passage of the Affordable Care Act. Given the divisive political climate in Washington DC, states are struggling to work out their own solutions.  Governor Gavin Newsom's Healthy California for All Commission studied the problem for two years and released an eye-opening report detailing how single payer wou...

With all the hand-wringing about the cost of single payer, it's time to ask if California can keep paying the price for the fragmented healthcare system we have today. Listen and check out the surprising answer in this first podcast of two featuring Ian Lewis, political & research director at the National Union of Healthcare Workers and host Brenda Gazzar as they do the math on healthcare systems...

Is California finally getting serious about fixing health care? On April 25, 2022, a major report was issued on California's fragmented and uber-expensive healthcare system. Who's behind the report? What were its conclusions and recommendations? And how much money can Californians actually save?   Get these answers and more!   Join host Brenda Gazzar and guest Michael Lighty, president of Healthy...

Why is employee health insurance a growing burden on American businesses? How are some large employers cutting out the health insurance middleman?  Join host Brenda Gazzar and guest Wendell Potter , co-founder of Business Leaders for Healthcare Transformation, for these answers and more! Potter, former VP of corporate communications at CIGNA and insurance industry whistleblower, is a NY Times best...

What's the healthcare industry been up to since winning passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010? Are mergers, acquisitions and industry consolidation improving care for patients? Who are the Big Six healthcare corporations and how are they faring? Join host Brenda Gazzar and guest Wendell Potter , co-founder of Business Leaders for Healthcare Transformation , for these answers and more! Potter,...

How is the truth about single payer/ Medicare for All twisted by the corporate media and right-wing billionaires? What must Americans do to take back their health car e? Join host Brenda Gazzar and Hartmann , America's No. 1 progressive talk radio show host and New York Times bestselling author, as they discuss the implications of his book, " The Hidden History of American Health Care: Why Sicknes...

Why should people who have great health insurance care about people who don't? Listen as guest Dr. Paul Y. Song , radiation oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program - California, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the roots of America's unequal healthcare system. Why did the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration develop two different public insurance programs - Medicare for reti...

Check out the Show Notes & Transcript ! What does it mean to "privatize" Medicare? What's ACO-Reach? Why does it matter? Who's for it, who's against it, and why? Join host Brenda Gazzar and Ed Weisbart, MD, a retired family physician, former chief medical officer of Express Scripts and a national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program to get the low-down. Dr. Weisbart shines a re...

Click for Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! How do common American hospital practices traumatize patients and their nurses? What experiences erode trust between the sick and their healers?  Join host Brenda Gazzar and Kathy Allan, RN and board-certified holistic nurse, for unique insights into healthcare-acquired trauma and what we can do about it .  Her years of training in PTSD and Development...