Nurse Talk

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 inequities baked into our healthcare system. Does expanding Medi-Cal to more people do any good, when so few doctors accept it? What's the most equitable and efficient health insurance in the U.S.? And how could we make Medicare better?

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-payer healthcare. What’s behind their failure to win? And what can we do about legislators who care more about special interests than about people?

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 just happened in the Assembly Health Committee? What comes next? This fight has gone on for decades. At long last, is a win within reach?

New from Code WACK, Pandemic: Preparing for a New Normal (2022 Update) by Nurse Talk

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 Brenda Gazzar the problems patients and doctors face due to our multi-payer health insurance scheme, and some potentially life-threatening hassles that are common health insurance industry practices. And Dr. James G. Kahn explains just how much money the average American family is paying each year for our ultra-complicated healthcare system. (It’s a shocker!)

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 Westergard-Dobson in this second of a two-part podcast as she and host Brenda Gazzar explore the true cost of America’s corporate healthcare system - a cost which goes far beyond impossibly high premiums and out-of-pocket costs. How would things be different if we had Medicare for All?

New from Code WACK, A devastating loss, then corporate callousness. An American healthcare story. by Nurse Talk

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?

The tragic effects of structural violence & community trauma,

Featuring Howard Pinderhughes, Ph.D. professor and department chair, Social & Behavioral Sciences Dept, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco. This is a must listen to podcast!

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 housing.

His bill AB 1400, Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, would establish a California-based single-payer system covering all residents of the state.

Get the ultimate insider’s perspective on the challenges California faces in this struggle, and find out why this bill is so important to Assemblyman Kalra!