Nurse Talk

This time on Code WACK!

Longtime nurse advocate, single mother, and now California Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo was the only Democrat to unseat a Republican incumbent in the California assembly last November.

What inspired her to get into politics? What are her priorities when it comes to health care, homelessness, and housing?

We're highlighting Schiavo’s impressive story today in honor of Women's History Month. Find out what she thinks would be a major game-changer in the fight against poverty. This is the first of a two-part series with the assemblywoman.

This time on Code WACK! What are the latest attempts to rein in Medicare Advantage insurers and their questionable practices? What hurdles do patients face with Medicare Advantage plans when it comes to their care? Is Medicare Advantage a better deal for patients, or for insurers? Is Medicare Advantage actually fixable?

To find out, we spoke to Diane Archer, founder and president of Just Care USA, an independent digital media hub, covering health and financial issues facing boomers and their families. Miss Archer is the past chair of the Board of Consumer Reports, currently serves as a senior advisor at Social Security Works and as a member of the board of the Center for Health and Democracy.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

This time on Code WACK!

How does running a hospital like a business run counter to providing reliable and affordable healthcare? How would having Medicare for All change the way hospitals are financed and what would it mean for patients, doctors, and the hospitals themselves?

To find out, we spoke to Dr. David Himmelstein, a distinguished professor of public health at CUNY's Hunter College and a lecturer in medicine at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as a staff physician at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and is the co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. This is the second of a two-part series with Dr. Himmelstein.

This time on Code WACK!

What's the story behind the EMTALA patient protection law of 1986, which requires hospitals to stabilize or treat patients who are in a health emergency regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay? What has this law done for patients and what does it mean for hospitals?

How does the current way hospitals are paid incentivize them to pass the buck on uninsured patients?

To find out, we spoke to Dr. David Himmelstein, a distinguished professor of public health at CUNY's Hunter College and a lecturer in medicine at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as a staff physician at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and is the co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program. This is the first of a two-part series with Dr. Himmelstein.

This time on Code WACK!

What if you don't have health insurance but need medical care to save your life? If you're drowning in bills from the hospital, what can you do?

To find out, we spoke to Venus Lockett, a financial services professional who lives near Atlanta. After an ambulance ride, one night in the hospital and multiple tests, she faced over $30,000 in medical bills while she was in-between jobs, uninsured and living in Georgia, one of 12 states that still has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Find out what Venus did to get out from under those crushing bills and save her credit rating. Learn how to protect yourself with the Consumer Guide for Medical Bills and Debt, published by the nonprofit consumer protection organization Georgia Watch.

How do people get into medical debt in the first place? Sometimes it can happen when a business reorganization turns employees with benefits into contractors with no benefits. Or maybe you live in one of the 12 states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act?

To find out, we spoke to Venus Lockett, a financial services professional who lives near Atlanta. Learn what happened when Venus’s health took a bad turn while she was uninsured, and nearly $31,000 in medical bills came rolling in.

Does it really make sense to have a healthcare system with no caps on patient costs? And can anyone honestly say that employer-sponsored coverage is “best” when the business sector is often in flux, whether from recession or pandemic?

This time on Code WACK! What’s the latest threat to original Medicare? What could happen if we link health outcomes to physician compensation? How is it that a whole new program affecting millions of Americans on original Medicare can be rolled out without congressional oversight?

To find out, we spoke to the new president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), Dr. Philip Verhoef, an adult and pediatric intensivist and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Learn more about the new program called ACO REACH, and the issues it raises around physician compensation. Could ACO REACH threaten the trust between patients and their doctors?

This time on Code WACK! What say should doctors have in reforming America’s healthcare system? Are their decades-long efforts to stop the commercialization of medicine having an impact? How can health professionals, and students in the health sciences, get involved in the movement for single-payer health care?

To find out, we spoke to the new president of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), Dr. Philip Verhoef, an adult and pediatric intensivist and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Find out the main strategies, goals and challenges of PNHP, the only single-issue physician led organization advocating for Medicare for All in America. And learn about the growing influence of Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP) in the single-payer movement.

This time on Code WACK! At least 20 legislative bills targeting transgender medical care were pre-filed in at least nine states for 2023, according to The Hill. And last year, more than two dozen states sought to enact measures to ban or severely restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth.

To learn more about the challenges transgender individuals face when seeking such treatments, we spoke to Jeffrey Rodriguez, the director of Community Health Programs at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. He’s worked there for over 12 years, mainly in sexual health and education.

This time on Code WACK! What would you do if you were faced with thousands of dollars of medical debt? Would you file for bankruptcy or let the debt go to collections? What help is out there for people facing such difficult dilemmas? Would Medicare for All protect patients from the hassles and financial burdens that face ill patients today?

To find out, we spoke with Monique Davis, a nonprofit executive in Southern California, who, during midlife, faced an unexpected diagnosis with a rare and potentially deadly disease. This is the second of two episodes featuring Monique's harrowing story.