Rural healthcare is in crisis. Nearly 200 rural hospitals across the country have closed in the past two decades, and many more are on the brink. In this episode, we’re zeroing in on the state with the lowest-ranking health care system in the nation: Mississippi. With help from Dr. Kimberly Sanford, an OB/GYN, and Dr. Daniel Edney, Mississippi's State Health Officer, we’ll uncover what rural healthcare looks like today – and why it’s so important to support it. 

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation working toward a health care system where everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make – can get the health care they need.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly one in five people report that they or a family member have been denied coverage for a service that their own doctor recommended. For cancer patients like Kay Hsu, those denials aren’t just about money – they’re about survival. When her insurance company denied a life-saving scan, Kay fought to get the care she needed and became an advocate along the way. In this episode, we’ll break down what it means to get a denial, and how – like Kay –  you can fight back. 

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation working toward a health care system where everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make – can get the health care they need.

Check out Pro Publica’s Claim File Helper to request your claim file before submitting an appeal, and create appeal documents to send to your insurer using Fight Health Insurance.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four in ten people in the United States have medical debt. It's something many of us deal with every day – by avoiding bills, paying with our credit cards, even crowdfunding to cover costs. Whether you have a chronic illness, need an expensive treatment, or are caring for a loved one, debt unfortunately seems to be unavoidable in our system. In this episode, we break all this down with KFF Health News  Senior Correspondent Noam Levey. And we hear from radiation oncologist Dr. Fumiko Chino about what drowning in medical debt felt like when her husband, Andrew, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation working toward a health care system where everyone – no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make – can get the health care they need.

Read Noam Levey’s reporting at KFF Health News, including the reporting series he led, Diagnosis: Debt. 

Learn more about Fumiko Chino’s research on health care costs and affordability here.

If you’re struggling with a big medical bill, check out the website dollarfor.org. It’s a great resource for navigating a hospital’s financial assistance program.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When your loved one is sick, all you want is to make the pain go away. But for far too many Americans, finding – and paying – for healthcare is when the real pain begins. From medical debt to insurance denials to rural hospital closures, host SuChin Pak is taking a hard look at the many ways our system is failing us. Season 3 of Uncared For from Lemonada Media and The Commonwealth Fund. Coming August 6. 

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A request from the Uncared For team: Tell us about your experience with medical debt or struggles to find a therapist. Record a voice message at speakpipe.com/UncaredFor or send it to [email protected]

We’ll listen to every message sent in, and some might become part of our upcoming season. Thanks!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does the upcoming Trump presidency mean for the care economy and the over 105 million family caregivers in our country? In this post-election bonus episode, caregiving expert and policy advocate Ai-jen Poo returns to tell us what challenges lay ahead for families and care workers, and how we can keep fighting for a better system that allows us to truly show up for care.

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special bonus episode, host SuChin Pak talks with health policy expert Julie Rovner about the most pressing health care issues on the minds of voters this election – from abortion to medical debt to long-term care. And Julie explains why, in the 38 years she’s been covering healthcare and Capitol Hill, the 2024 election is different from any other she’s seen. 

Find Julie Rovner’s work at kffhealthnews.org and listen to her podcast What The Health. 

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system.

To learn more on what’s at stake in the 2024 Election for health care, go to the Commonwealth Fund’s “Health Care on the Ballot in 2024” election guide. 

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For years, Kim Moy cared for her kids and husband, while helping to care for her parents – an experience she describes as being in a “pressure cooker.” Being a caregiver to any loved one can be emotionally draining, but caring for a spouse can be a whole new level of lonely. In our final conversation of the season, Kim talks about the tradeoffs of being a spousal caregiver, grieving the loss of someone who’s still there, and how she’s learned to let go of the way things used to be. 

Kim Moy’s Caregiver Wisdom offers resources and workshops for those who take care of loved ones with chronic debilitating illnesses. Learn about the monthly support group, workshops, and one-on-one coaching here. 

Dr. Pauline Boss coined the term ambiguous loss, which Kim talks about in the episode. Learn more about ambiguous loss and Dr. Boss at ambiguousloss.com. 

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system.

Help others find our show by leaving us a rating and writing a review.

Follow SuChin Pak on Instagram @SuchinPak and Lemonada at @lemonadamedia across all social platforms.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can a family caregiver look after her loved ones and herself while navigating a broken healthcare system? Renee Hanania has been advocating for her son Branden to receive care for his disability under Medicaid, piecing together a “care village” for him and his complex needs. All the while, she’s also been battling her own health concern: stage four breast cancer. 

Keep up with Renee and Branden via their Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/BrandenTheBrave/. For more information about why you may have lost health care coverage since the unwinding of continuous Medicaid enrollment in 2023, visit https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-provision/

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system.

Help others find our show by leaving us a rating and writing a review.

Follow SuChin Pak on Instagram @SuchinPak and Lemonada at @lemonadamedia across all social platforms.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One in six Americans is over age 65, and that number is only going to climb in the next few decades. So how can we collectively prepare for this elder boom? Ai-jen Poo is president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and she thinks this is our golden opportunity to finally give caregivers their due. We hear about why we need to expand Medicaid access, improve job conditions for care workers, and see aging as a gift, not a crisis. We also talk to professional home care worker Katrina Mouzon about the challenges facing care workers today. 

Learn more about supporting professional care workers at The National Domestic Workers Alliance’s website, https://www.domesticworkers.org/. For more information on Washington’s public long-term care insurance program, visit https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/.

This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equitable, high-performing health care system.

Help others find our show by leaving us a rating and writing a review.

Follow SuChin Pak on Instagram @SuchinPak and Lemonada at @lemonadamedia across all social platforms.

Want to become a Lemonada superfan? Join us at joinsubtext.com/lemonadasuperfan.  

Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada series: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors.

To follow along with a transcript, go to lemonadamedia.com/show/ shortly after the air date.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.