Code WACK!

Click for Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! For most of us, the horror of getting a cancer diagnosis is only the beginning of a protracted, exhausting and  stressful struggle to get the coverage and care we need to survive.  Patients with life-threatening illnesses are at ground zero of a major moral conflict in America - a healthcare system that is as much about profit as it is about care. Join...

Check out the Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! What can advocates do when lawmakers shirk their responsibility to fix a healthcare system that hurts so many?   Are campaign contributions from the for-profit healthcare industry the reason legislators refuse to advance reforms that would cover everybody, for everything, for less money ? In this second of two podcasts, join host Brenda Gazzar and...

Check out the Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! Whole Washington , a grassroots coalition in the Evergreen State, is committed to winning health care, "created by The People, for Everyone!"  The Whole Washington Health Trust would be the nation's first public, non-profit healthcare system. Who's the founder of Whole Washington, and what led her to champion healthcare reform ? What's been done so...

Check out the Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! HMOs may seem like a good deal, but what if you need a medical specialist? Will the doctor you need be in your network? And what about those crazy bills ?  Join host Brenda Gazzar and guest Nilton Fonseca , husband, father of three, and a construction engineering director, as he describes his struggle to find a plastic surgeon experienced in his co...

Check out the Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! How do our healthcare and health insurance systems respond to patients with rare diseases? What about diseases that are stereotypically considered a "woman's disease?" Do all breast cancer patients - even men - receive the full range of care they need ? Join guest Nilton Fonseca , husband and father of three, with three decades of domestic and inte...

Click for Show Notes and Episode Transcript ! What should single-payer supporters around the country think abo ut the defeat of California's AB 1400? Did the state just lose its bid for healthcare equity? Join guest Michael Lighty , president of Healthy California Now, and host Brenda Gazzar for an insightful analysis of how this campaign played out on the political stage. How can advocates make h...

Click for Show Notes , Episode Transcript and Dr. Song's Biography ! Does the type of insurance you have make a difference in your care? If the goal is equity, can America's multi-payer system ever deliver? Listen as guest Dr. Paul Y. Song , radiation oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program - California, joins host Brenda Gazzar to pull back the curtain on the inequiti...

Check out the Show Notes & Transcript ! Does the path to winning single payer in the U.S. lie in the states, or in Congress? Would states that rejected the Medicaid expansion accept federal Medicare for All? Join guest Dr. Paul Y. Song , radiation oncologist, president of Physicians for a National Health Program - California and host Brenda Gazzar for a rundown of states' efforts to pass single-pa...

Is California set to lead the nation with single payer? Tune in for expert analysis of the latest legislative developments on Assembly Bill 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care Act ! Join host Brenda Gazzar and Michael Lighty , president of Healthy California Now , as he describes the complex path to victory for what could be the first state-based single-payer program in the nation. What ju...

In celebration of our first 100 podcasts and in light of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, we are re-visiting a podcast that is just as relevant today as it was last year:   What human behaviors lead to pandemics like COVID-19?  Why should we expect to face more pandemics in the future?   And how can we best prepare for them?   Join host  Brenda Gazzar  and  Dr. Tony Iton , senior vice president for...

In celebration of our first 100 Code WACK! episodes, we're revisiting one of our very first - and most disturbing - podcasts . It's about how our 'wack' healthcare system, with its confusing mess of various insurance plans, treats patients very differently depending on who pays the claims. Tragically, it's as relevant today as ever! Guests Dr. Ron Birnbaum and Dr. Paul Y. Song reveal to host Brend...

Ever think about your personal vulnerability in the face of a health challenge? A car accident, the flu, or a cancer diagnosis can have severe consequences, including emotional and economic chaos. Why? Because right when we need to focus on getting well, we find ourselves struggling to navigate a confusing health insurance labyrinth designed around someone else's profit. Join guest Kayla Westergar...

Listen as guest Kayla Westergard-Dobson describes the health insurance nightmare she and her husband are still grappling with after the tragic death of their premature son, Arthur.  It all started the day after her emergency C-section (while still on high-powered pain killers) with a call from the hospital billing department requesting about $3,800. A year after Arthur's passing and a seemingly ne...

Join Dr. Howard Pinderhughes and host Brenda Gazzar as they discuss innovative programs that are helping to heal community trauma. Is community healing simply psychological and emotional, or is it more? What is the role of the community in the healing process? How could our healthcare system go beyond treating the individual to promoting community wellness?   Click here for Show Notes ! And here f...

Join Howard Pinderhughes, Ph. D. professor and department chair, Social & Behavioral Sciences Dept, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco and host Brenda Gazzar as they discuss trauma and its impact on both individuals and communities .  Click here for Show Notes Click here for episode transcript Click here for Dr. Pinderhughes' biography    

Show Notes: Is 'Now' Our Moment for Healthcare Justice?   Assemblyman Ash Kalra represents California's 27th District which encompasses about half of the city of San Jose in the Silicon Valley.  The first Indian-American to serve in the state's legislature, he has established himself as a progressive leader on issues ranging from criminal justice reform to the environment to health care and housin...

Check out Code WACK! 's latest illuminating podcast, the first of two featuring Assemblyman Ash Kalra discussing his healthcare legislation  AB 1400, California Health Care for All    Show Notes     California Medicare for All? Assemblyman Ash Kalra is all in!  What's California's latest single-payer bill all about? Get the facts from its author, California Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), who...

Show Notes   The Power of Labor in California's Battle for Single Payer   Check out Code WACK! 's latest insightful podcast, the second of two featuring Cindy Young, labor advocate and expert in health benefit negotiations, discussing how best to work with the labor movement in the fight for single-payer, Medicare for All.   Host Brenda Gazzar and Young, board member of the California Alliance for...

Show Notes   Check out Code WACK! 's latest podcast featuring Cindy Young , labor advocate and expert in health benefit negotiations, discussing the significance of the labor movement in America's struggle for healthcare justice, and the need for Medicare for All.   Host Brenda Gazzar and Young, a board member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans and vice chair of the Healthy Californi...

SHOW NOTES Join Code WACK! for the second of two podcasts featuring Thom Hartmann on America's healthcare fiasco and what we can do about it.  After all, how does it help the nation's health to have insurance industry executives sucking millions of dollars out of the system while Americans deny themselves healthcare because they can't afford it? And why have our political leaders abandoned us to t...

Join us for a lively discussion with Thom Hartmann about how America's healthcare system got so screwed up!   You probably know Thom Hartmann as America's No. 1 progressive talk radio show host. But did you know that he's also a New York Times bestseller?  His latest book, "The Hidden History of American Health Care: Why Sickness Bankrupts You and Makes Others Insanely Rich, " is hot off the press...

What's the latest move to sell off traditional Medicare to venture capital and private equity? How will this affect your health care? Join host Brenda Gazzar and Dr. Ed Weisbart, board member of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) , to learn about "direct contracting entities." What are they? How do they make money? Why is this a problem? And what can we do about it?

Despite the barrage of television commercials touting Medicare Advantage , is it really superior to traditional Medicare ? How do the two programs differ on coverage, access and cost? Join host Brenda Gazzar and Dr. Ed Weisbart , retired family physician, former chief medical officer of Express Scripts and board member of Physicians for a National Health Program , for a deep dive into dismaying de...

What essential coverage could Improved Medicare for All offer seniors that they can't get through original Medicare? And what's California up to when it comes to healthcare reform? Another commission? Really? Host Brenda Gazzar and Jodi Reid , executive director of the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), share updates from the Golden State and talk about how we can trigger the politi...

What was health care like for American seniors before we had Medicare? How has Medicare helped keep retirees out of poverty? What are the gaps in Medicare today? How would Medicare for All be different? Join host Brenda Gazzar and Jodi Reid , executive director of the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA), California's largest, grassroots senior advocacy organization, in a discussion of...