Advocacy is Medicine

This podcast is FULL of the background on the physician fee payment structure and how HR1 is immediately impacting this year. Dr. Fox is a long time advocate with great insight into how to bring about meaningful change moving forward. Revaluing Physician Services: CMS Has Some (but Not All) Answers | Annals of Internal Medicine William Fox. Revaluing Physician Services: CMS Has Some (but Not All)...

Join Dr. Libby Crockett as she talks with Joanna Murray and Cleo Zagurski from the Reproductive Health Collaborative, Nebraska to learn about Title X in the State of Nebraska and how HR1 affects the delivery of reproductive healthcare in our state. Reproductive Health Collaborative Nebraska Advocacy Ask: Contact your U.S. Senators and Representative and urge them to reach out to HHS and demand the...

Join Thanks to our guest today, Jed Hansen, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, who is the Nebraska Rural Health Association’s Executive Director. He and Libby Crockett, MD are discussing the Rural Health Transformation Fund which was established by HR1 (or the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) July 4, 2025. He serves as the Nebraska Hospital Associations’s rural consultant. He is a native Nebraskan, growing up in the co...

*** Update: Due to end of the government shutdown full benefits are to be distributed for 150,000 Nebraskans on SNAP. ***Update since recording: On October 28, 2025 Nebraska DHHS officially announced that SNAP benefits in Nebraska are on hold for November. That means all 150,000 Nebraska SNAP participants won’t receive their benefits as scheduled on Nov. 1. Nonprofits like food banks and pantries...

Dr. Stephanie Hartman discusses changes to student loan policy changes within HR1 with Paula Kohles. Paula, is the current director of financial aid at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She has over 30 years of experience in financial aid services within systems of higher education.   Be sure to check out the show notes for any updates that may have occurred since the recording of the pod...

Join Stephanie and Matt as they discuss the intersection of writing, advocacy and physician wellbeing.  Matt Mason served as the Nebraska State Poet from 2019-2024 and has run poetry workshops in Botswana, Romania, Nepal, and Belarus for the U.S. State Department. His poetry has appeared in The New York Times and Matt has received a Pushcart Prize as well as fellowships from the Academy of America...

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php? DocumentID=59590 Introduced by Senator Jacobsen, January 22nd Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee Apr 03, 2025, Passed on Final Reading with Emergency Clause 47-0-2, Excused, not voting are the only “2” votes Approved by Governor on April 7, 2025 We rely on your donations to keep producing this podcast content and to support physician advo...

LB 676 was advanced by the Health and Human Services Committee to General File as a combination of three separate pieces of legislation proposed:  LB 701, LB 374 and LB 676. We will discuss the changes in this podcast as well as two amendments proposed after advancing to General File. Amendment 914 would remove the licensure for certified professional midwives from the bill if passed. Link to the...

We rely on your donations to keep producing this podcast content and to support physician advocacy in Nebraska. If you would like to support Nebraska Alliance for Physician Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) organization in Nebraska please click to ⁠⁠ DONATE NOW. ⁠⁠   In this episode, Rachel and Libby review what is happening at this mid-point in the 2025 legislative session. Call to Action: Follow and like th...

Dr. Stephanie Hartman is joined by Eric Saviano with Nebraska Appleseed to discuss food security in Nebraska and several legislative bills in this area. Eric is the Food and Nutrition Access program manager for Nebraska Appleseed’s Economic Justice Program. In this role he focuses on strengthening policies and programs that help people get the food and nutrition they need. Nebraska Food Access Bil...

Join Dr. Stephanie Hartman and her guest Mr. Graham Christensen as they explore regenerative agriculture principles and the intersection with human and environmental health. They also discuss LB573 and the public and human health implications of this bill.  ⁠ LB573 - Adopt the Meat and Poultry Workers and Contractors Protection Act Business and Labor Committee Hearing on February 24, 2025. ****Use...

Join Dr. Stephanie Hartman and her guest, Dr. Joann Schaefer as they discuss LifeBridge Nebraska , physician wellness and wellness in advocacy. Dr. Schaefer received her medical degree from Creighton University in family medicine. Her medical experience includes working in a clinical setting as well as having served as the state’s Chief Medical Officer for 11 years.  Passionate about the wellbeing...

Bills We Discussed Today: LB512 Adopt The Chemical Abortion Safety Protocol Act LB213 Require The State Board of Ed (...) standards on human embryology LB374 Adopt the Licensed Midwives Practice Act LB676 Amends the Certified Nurse Midwifery Practice Act LB310 Provide an Exemption from Newborn Screening LB77   Adopt the Ensuring Transparency in Prior Authorization Act LB527 Adopt the Medicaid Acce...

We are RERELEASING our two episodes from January 2024 which explain the basic functions of the Nebraska Unicameral. In this episode, Part 2 of 2, Rachel Gibson and Libby Crockett discuss the process of how a legislative Bill is introduced in the Unicameral and we follow it through the legislative process until it either becomes law or does not. Nebraska Public Media Live Stream: https://nebraskapu...

We are rereleasing our episodes that explain the composition and basic function of the Nebraska Unicameral, that were first published in January 2024. Join Rachel and Libby in discussing the the structure of the Unicameral and the ways that we can become more involved with the legislative process. Rules of the NE Unicameral Legislature (2023-2024): https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/Current...

LB 310 is very similar to the bill discussed in this prior episode so we thought it would be helpful to release this one again to provide general information about the newborn screening program in Nebraska. Join us and our expert guest host, Danita Velasco, MD, a pediatric genetic specialist, as she explains the history and process of newborn screening in Nebraska and helps inform our conversation...

As of January 22, 2025, 435 legislative bills have been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature and we have a few days left. How can a group of 49 people get anything done with that many bills to consider in 60 (or 90) days? Clear processes, agreed upon rules, and a committee based structure.   Join Rachel Gibson and Libby Crockett as we explore this topic further.   Lawmaking in Nebraska: https://...

Join Drs. Stephanie Hartman and Abby Drucker as they discuss the history of medical quackery, pseudoscience and current challenges in today's medical practice with Dr. Lydia Kang. Dr. Kang is an author of young adult fiction, adult fiction and non-fiction, and poetry. She is a practicing physician and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at Nebraska Medicine who has gained a reputation for...

Welcome Back! We are in Season 3 and on to a new Legislative Session in Nebraska. In this episode, we we first take a quick trip back to civics class as we review the checks and balances of the three branches of government, what they do, who does them, and how they get there. Then we talk about how the Nebraska system is modeled after the federal system, how it differs, and how the different branc...

Three part podcast including guests, Dr. John Massey, Dr. Melissa Teply, Dr. Alëna Balasanova discussing the ballot initiatives for Nebraska in 2024 with medical cannabis.  Dr. Massey is a board certified interventional pain physician in Nebraska. He currently works with the NMA and Nebraska DHHS via the CDC Opioid Response grant to reduce the impact of substance use disorders for Nebraskans. He w...

Rachel Gibson does the heavy lifting while discussing with Stephanie Hartman all of the ins and outs of being prepared to vote in the upcoming November 2024 election in Nebraska.  #shownotes is the subtitle of this episode due to the volume of references. Register to vote in person or mail: Nebraska: Must be postmarked by Friday, October 18, 2024 and received by Tuesday, October 22, 2024 if postma...

In this episode, Dr. Jordan Warchol joins Dr. Stephanie Hartman to discuss the ballot initiative, Paid Sick Leave #436. They also explore the importance of looking at policy from multiple angles and continuous monitoring after adoption to make sure it is having the desired outcomes. Dr. Warchol is a leader in multiple medical associations, but shares her own opinions today and is not representing...

In this episode, which is the second half of the 2 part series, we continue to explain the two abortion related ballot initiatives we’ll see at the polls in November. In this episode we get into more detail about what each of the different initiatives would mean for the practice of medicine in Nebraska. If you have not listened to the first episode, we highly recommend you go back and listen to it...

The entire NAPA Board meets up to discuss the ballot initiatives related to Abortion on the ballot for November 2024. We cover the basics of ballot initiatives, the current state of abortion access in the state of Nebraska and what the language in the two initiatives means. Don't miss this 2 part episode! If you would like more written resources please see the nonpartisan voter guide on all of the...

Join Stephanie and Libby as they interveiw Dr. John Peters, and lobbyist Matthew T. Schaefer, JD, about the credentialing review process in Nebraska, which is confusingly named the "407 Process". ------------------------------------------------------- LR397 - Interim study to examine the structure and processes of the credentialing review process known as the "407 process" Introduced by HHS Commit...