Nurse Talk

This time on Code WACK!

Imagine being cut off from Mom - a nursing home resident - for months. You can't bring her favorite foods, or help dress her, hug her, or even hold her hand.

For thousands of families during the COVID-19 pandemic, this became a heartbreaking reality. And without new laws, advocates say, it could very well happen again.

That's why they are fighting to ensure our loved ones are never again separated from those they depend on most in nursing homes and other long-term care settings

Today we're speaking with Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, or CANHR. For decades, Tony has fought to protect the rights of nursing home residents. And he says the isolation and neglect that families experienced during COVID was one of the most painful chapters of his career.

This is part two of a two-part series on the Essential Caregiver’s Act.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

What role do family members and friends play in the lives of nursing home residents? When COVID hit, how were residents impacted when their loved ones were no longer allowed to visit them?

Today we share the story of Melody Taylor Stark, who became an advocate for the Essential Caregivers Act after her husband, a retired dentist and nursing home resident, dramatically declined, then died, after being denied her daily visits during the dark days of COVID.

Melody is a founding member of Essential Caregivers Coalition; a member of Caregivers for Compromise, and San Gabriel Valley Disability Collaborative; and Facebook co-administrator for Aging Enlightened, a group that was begun by a prominent reporter for Kaiser Health News. She works diligently to advance positive system changes in disability rights and long-term care.

This is part one of a two-part series on the Essential Caregiver’s Act.

Please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

What happens when we get too sick to work in a healthcare system that is tied to our jobs? What is the ultimate cost?

The story of New York Health Act advocate Mariana Pineda is a case in point. After developing Long COVID, Mariana spent years navigating the same fragmented healthcare system she was fighting to change. She lost her job. She lost her health insurance. She lost her home. And earlier this year, in March, 2026, she lost her life. Mariana was just 46 years old.

This is part two of a two-part series featuring tri-chair of the New York State Poor People’s Campaign, Susan Karbiner, and LGBTQ and healthcare justice advocate Carly Paris.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

This is the story of a dedicated advocate, organizer, and powerful voice in the fight for healthcare justice - Mariana Pineda.

Mariana was a teacher in the Roosevelt School District, Nassau County, Long Island, until she caught a serious case of COVID complicated by pre-existing conditions, including asthma and heart problems.

No longer able to work, she lost her employer-sponsored health insurance. Desperate to have some kind of coverage, she spent down her savings on COBRA. Despite financial help from friends, Mariana eventually ended up in a homeless shelter with her young son, Max, where they suffered from cockroaches and bedbugs.

Yet through it all, Mariana never stopped advocating for people's rights. A social justice activist and tireless organizer, she could command a rally one minute and spend the next making sure everyone had something to eat.

And before she died earlier this year at age 46… she spent years fighting for healthcare as a human right.

This is part one of a two-part series about Mariana Pineda, single mom, teacher, and healthcare justice fighter.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

For millions of Americans, health care means fighting insurance companies, putting off costly treatment, wondering whether the hospital you prefer is in-network, or fearing financial disaster if you get seriously sick. But what if healthcare worked differently?

This is part two of our conversation with Dr. Bernard Ho, an emergency physician in Toronto and vice chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, a national evidence-based organization working to strengthen Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his M.D. Bernard is currently completing his Master's of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

Today we’re taking an inside look at Canada’s public health insurance system known as Medicare. What are the biggest misconceptions Americans have about it? What works, what doesn’t, and why? And what happens when a public system starts drifting toward privatization?

This is part one of our conversation with Dr. Bernard Ho, an emergency physician in Toronto and Vice-Chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare, a national evidence-based organization working to strengthen Canada’s publicly funded healthcare system. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his M.D. Bernard is currently completing his Masters of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK!

As of spring 2026, enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies have not been extended. Without congressional action, millions of Americans could face significantly higher premiums—or lose coverage altogether.

Around 22 million people receive ACA premium subsidies, many of whom benefited from pandemic-era enhancements. If those aren’t restored, affordability for individuals buying their own coverage will take a major hit.

Meanwhile, health care costs are rising across the board. Employer-sponsored insurance premiums have seen some of the largest increases in over a decade, shifting more costs to workers through higher premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses. Medicare premiums are also climbing, adding pressure on older adults.

As coverage becomes less affordable, many people delay care, skip medications, or make tough financial tradeoffs just to get by.

So what options do people have?

Today, we revisit a timely 2025 conversation with Rachel Madley, executive director at the Center for Health and Democracy and former advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on CodeWACK!

What if the rising cost of health care - the surprise bills, the shrinking choices, the long waits — weren’t random at all, but largely the result of quiet, strategic consolidation happening behind the scenes?

The Center for Health & Democracy has been working to reveal just this. Founded by former insurance executive-turned-whistleblower Wendell Potter, the organization shines a light on how corporate power shapes the American health care system — and what it means for patients and families.

Joining us today is Rachel Madley, the Center’s Executive Director. A scientist by training and a federal health policy expert, Rachel also brings lived experience navigating the health system with Type 1 diabetes — giving her unique insight into how policy decisions ripple into real lives.

Today, we’re talking about the Center’s recent Sunlight Report, a first-of-its-kind investigation into the corporate structure and expansion of UnitedHealth Group, the largest healthcare company in the world. The report pulls back the curtain on health care consolidation and reveals how deeply corporate expansion is reshaping who delivers care, how much it costs, and who ultimately benefits.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on CodeWACK!

Imagine two patients … same diagnosis, same medication, same country.

Each one needs the same prescription. One gets their care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the other gets it through Medicare. The price of the exact same drug could be half as much for one patient as for the other. That's not a glitch. It's how the system is designed.

Our guest is Bob Coleman, a retired healthcare professional who spent more than 40 years serving veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—as a clinical pharmacist, medical informaticist, and researcher. His latest ebook is called "Hostile Takeover: How Wall Street and Congress Hijacked American Healthcare and How We Can Take it Back."

This is the second of a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on CodeWACK!

Today, we’re talking about insurance denials, hidden incentives… and why getting care can feel like navigating a system designed to stop you.

Our guest is Bob Coleman, a retired healthcare professional who spent more than 40 years serving veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—as a clinical pharmacist, medical informaticist, and researcher. His latest ebook is called "Hostile Takeover: How Wall Street and Congress Hijacked American Healthcare and How We Can Take it Back."

This is the first of a two-part series.

Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.