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, 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.

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This time on Code WACK!

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.

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This time on Code WACK!

Why do Americans live about four years less, on average, than people in similar European countries, despite spending far more on health care? And why are so many dying from illnesses we already know how to prevent or treat?

To help us unpack this, 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 a former president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and his research and advocacy focus on health care financing and national reform. He's also the author of To Heal Humankind: The Right to Health in History. This is part one of a two-part series.

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This time on Code WACK!

Why are people in America resorting to receiving medical care in animal stalls - even if they have health insurance? What would it take to make volunteer stopgap clinics unnecessary - and who stands in the way of real reform?

To break it down, we spoke with leading healthcare reform advocate and New York Times bestselling author Wendell Potter. A former health insurance executive turned industry whistleblower, Wendell now serves as board president of the Center for Health and Democracy, which advocates for healthcare reform, and editor-in-chief of HEALTHCARE Un-covered, which investigates healthcare corporations and insurance conglomerates. This is part two of a two-part series.

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This time on Code WACK!

Healthcare premiums aren't the only costs going up. Your pocketbook is also getting hit with higher out-of-pocket costs - like deductibles, co-pays, and coinsurance - often under the radar. How is this hidden cost crisis affecting families - and what can be done about it? We spoke with New York Times bestselling author and leading healthcare reform advocate Wendell Potter. A former health insurance executive turned industry whistleblower, Wendell is now board president of the Center for Health and Democracy and editor-in-chief of HEALTHCARE Un-covered, which investigates healthcare corporations and insurance conglomerates. This is part one of a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

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This time on Code WACK!

Privatized Medicare now covers more than half of older adults nationwide. But how do Medicare Advantage plans' lower star ratings, narrow networks, and "paper benefits" hit seniors of color hardest-and why are hospitals dropping these plans, leaving patients scrambling for care?

Our guest is Dr. Belinda McIntosh, an Atlanta-based psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience, Physicians for a National Health Program board member, and co-author of the PNHP report No Real Choices: How Medicare Advantage Fails Seniors of Color. This is part two of a two-part series.

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This time on Code WACK!

How does Medicare Advantage - also known as privatized Medicare - fail seniors … especially seniors of color? Why do many seniors find they actually have no other choice than an Advantage plan? What's the consequence of that lack of choice? And how do Medicare Advantage insurance plans actually deepen racial and income disparities?

To find out, we spoke with Dr. Belinda McIntosh — an Atlanta-based psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience, a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, and co-author of a new PNHP report titled "No Real Choices: How Medicare Advantage Fails Seniors of Color."

This is the first episode in a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

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This time on Code WACK!

This time on Code WACK! In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we're rebroadcasting this episode examining how desegregation shaped the experiences of Black patients in America – and what still hasn't changed. What does racism in medicine look like today?

To break it down, we spoke to Dr. Barbara Berney, project creator and producer of the documentary "Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution." She's also an emeritus professor at City University of New York School of Public Health and a distinguished scholar in public health, environmental justice, and the U.S. healthcare system. This is the second of two episodes with Dr. Berney. It originally aired in March of 2025.

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This time on Code WACK!

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we're rebroadcasting our Anthem Award–winning episode on one of the most overlooked civil rights battles in American history: the desegregation of hospitals.

The episode features Dr. Barbara Berney, a distinguished public health scholar and the creator of the award-winning documentary Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution. Together, we explore how federal Medicare dollars were used as a powerful tool to force hospitals to integrate in the 1960s.

We're uplifting this groundbreaking story to educate a new generation about the critical role health care played in the civil rights movement—and to confront how racism still shapes access to care and health outcomes today.

This is part one of a two-part series.

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This time on Code WACK!

As healthcare costs skyrocket and Americans face new coverage threats, California advocates are pushing for something bigger than simple fixes around the edges. We're joined by longtime healthcare organizer Michael Lighty, who breaks down the fight for single payer, what's at stake in 2026, and why unity may be the key to winning guaranteed healthcare for all.

Michael is the president of Healthy California Now and has organized, advocated and developed policy for single payer Medicare for All nationally and in California for more than 30 years. This is the second episode in a two-part series with Michael Lighty.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.