Fight Back

In this Fight Back library release, we meet Linda Garvin, a Health Advocate. Linda graduated from the University of Massachusetts, earning her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Adult Nurse Practitioner training with honors. She has a Public Health Certificate in California. She has spent the last 20 years as a health advocate in California and nationwide.

Health Advocates support and advocate on behalf of patients and their families when a third party’s expertise and knowledge can improve treatments and navigate a complicated health situation. Could a health advocate help you or your loved one? What specific kind of services do health advocates provide? Join us as Linda answers these and other questions.

In this Fight Back minicast, we welcomes our special guest, Dr. Jeff Poizner. Dr. Poizner is a Staff Psychologist at VA San Diego Healthcare System and specializes in providing evidence-based treatments via Telemental Health platforms to veterans with PTSD and other conditions. 

Dr. Poizner joins us to discuss a very complicated and challenging issue: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, more commonly known as PTSD. While most are familiar with PTSD as it relates to Armed Forces Services members, Dr. Poizner reminds us that there are many forms of PTSD, and anyone who has suffered a traumatic event can suffer from PTSD. Join us today as we learn more about this very complicated diagnosis.

In this Fight Back Library Release, our special guest, Dr. Ted Mazer discusses various ear, nose, and throat conditions and disorders. From ringing in the ears, the causes and treatment for hearing loss, to the loss of smell, we will cover it and get real-world answers for you.

Dr. Mazer specializes in treating ear, nose, head, throat, and neck disorders. He was named one of the “Top Doctors” in the 2015 San Diego Magazine “Physicians of Exceptional Excellence” and is a former President of the California Medical Association.

In this FightBack! minicast, we discuss alternative health systems: different ways to deliver healthcare to patients, and how states, nonprofit organizations, and even companies—like Whole Foods—have implemented unique concepts to enable better and cheaper healthcare options for consumers.

Our guest is Sean Flynn, Assistant Professor of Economics at Scripps College. He is the author of Economics for Dummies, which has now been translated into seven foreign languages, as well as the coauthor of the world's best-selling college textbook, Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. Sean's in-depth knowledge of our healthcare system makes for a great discussion.

In this FightBack Library Release, Adriana Contreras joins us to discuss the health and safety of student-athletes in high school and collegiate sports. Adriana is a voluntary Assistant Coach on the swim team at the University of Nevada, Reno, a former Assistant Coach at UC Davis, a former Senior Group Coach for the DART swimming team, a former Assistant Swimming Coach at the University of the Pacific, Head Swimming Coach at St. Francis High School, and a certified professional and collegiate Division I soccer referee.

Adriana talks about how parents should communicate with their children’s coaches and doctors to create a healthy sporting experience, the mental health challenges brought on by high-pressure athletics—including the lessons learned from Simone Biles’ Olympic experiences—what student-athletes should know about the rules and regulations around performance-enhancing drugs, and much more.

In today's Fight Back! minicast we get a quick Pharmacy 101 with special guest Debby Johnson, a third-generation pharmacist and former President of the California Pharmacist Association. We'll take a quick look into several topics related to the world of pharmacy, including the importance of having your prescriptions at one pharmacy, the differences between brand name and generic medicines, and some advice for consumers interacting with pharmacists. 

Healthcare consumers often do not know the actual cost of health services. Whether it is a bed in a hospital, a prescription drug, or a procedure like an MRI, the price is usually buried beneath government regulations, insurance forms, and confusing terminology. In this FightBack Library release, we first hear from John about how a brief hospital visit to deal with kidney stones turned into a $20,000 surprise. Fortunately, his insurance paid most of the bill, but he might have made different decisions if he had known the true cost. David Balat, a former hospital CEO and now a policy healthcare advocate focusing on healthcare costs, explains that consumers have the right to proper billing, how to understand the actual cost of healthcare, and what resources are available for shopping for healthcare.

In this Minicast release, Fight Back revisits a conversation we had during the early days of the COVID-19 vaccine. We talked about how the vaccine was developed, how the clinical trial process works, and how herd immunity and vaccines work together.
 
We were joined by vaccine expert Dr. Mike Ybarra, an Emergency Room physician and Vice President of Medical Affairs and Strategic Alliances at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. Dr. Ybarra has over ten years of advocacy, health policy, and direct patient care experience. His background and knowledge help us take a closer look into the development of the COVID vaccine, its technology, and its implications for the public.

Health insurance is critical for individuals and families. In this Library Release of FightBack, we talk about when you suddenly lose your health insurance: how it can feel overwhelming and difficult to determine where to start and what to do. Fortunately, there are many options available. Jenn Moore, Health Net’s chief commercial officer, joins us to talk about how to navigate this complicated and challenging process. For nearly 20 years, Jenn has overseen Health Net’s insurance plans for corporations, small businesses, families, and individuals. She also led the insurer’s planning for complying with and implementing the Affordable Care Act.

In part two of our Minicast on Autism, we talk with special guest Kristin Jacobson. Kristin is the Founder and Executive Director of the Autism Deserves Equal Coverage Foundation, which advocates for health policy and legal enforcement for autism and other mental health conditions. 

Kristin will help our listeners understand the laws and regulations that provide ASD patients with the rights to treatments, requirements for health insurance companies to cover such treatments, what you can do to fight back when facing coverage denials, and much more.