Code WACK!
233 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 days ago - ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsCode WACK! shines a light on our callous healthcare system and what we can do about it. It reveals the healthcare hassles that - far from being just annoying - threaten our peace of mind, our financial security and at times, our very lives. Join us each week as we chat about the challenges that patients and healthcare providers face, amplifying their voices and examining a range of possible solutions, including Medicare for All. Powered by HEAL California, a project of the California OneCare Education Fund, Code WACK! informs the vital discussion of healthcare reform.
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Episodes
Essential Yet Undocumented? The Immigrant Predicament
September 14, 2020 15:32 - 6 minutes - 5.57 MBWhy are immigrant workers more vulnerable than other workers during this pandemic? When they do get sick, what options do immigrants without documentation have when it comes to care? What public health policies are absolutely critical during a pandemic? Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the impact that exclusion from the social safety net has had on immigrants whose work is considered essential to the economy.
Essential Yet Undocumented?
September 14, 2020 15:32 - 6 minutes - 5.57 MBWhy are immigrant workers more vulnerable than other workers during this pandemic? When they do get sick, what options do immigrants without documentation have when it comes to care? What public health policies are absolutely critical during a pandemic? Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the impact that exclusion from the social safety net has had on immigrants whose work is considered essential to the economy.
The Fight for Immigration Reform, Health Care & Education
September 10, 2020 20:23 - 6 minutes - 5.52 MBWhat are commonalities in the undocumented experience? Is denial of access and punishment the chief purpose of U.S. immigration policy? How did California evolve from one of the most anti-immigrant states to be more welcoming and inclusive? Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights) and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the struggles undocumented immigrants face when it comes to health care, education and the social safety net.
Complex Trauma & Mental Illness on Skid Row
September 03, 2020 19:25 - 6 minutes - 5.76 MBWhat's the one common denominator among women experiencing homelessness? Is homelessness a moral failing, or a consequence of complex trauma? Does substance abuse cause homelessness, or is it a coping mechanism? Amy Turk, a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women’s Center, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss how when it comes to our health care, it's always cheaper to do the right thing.
How Medicare for All Could Help End Homelessness
August 31, 2020 19:38 - 6 minutes - 5.81 MBWhy is it that 60% of the women living on Skid Row are African-American? What happens when women become too sick to work and lose their health insurance? What programs promote access to health care for those experiencing homelessness? Amy Turk, a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women’s Center, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss how Medicare for All could help deter homelessness.
Coronavirus & Skid Row
August 25, 2020 21:44 - 6 minutes - 5.93 MBWhat special challenges do people without permanent housing face with coronavirus? And what programs have served to protect them during the pandemic? How has the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act impacted healthcare access for women experiencing homelessness? Amy Turk, a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women’s Center, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the various public policies that have positively affected the lives of Angelenos living on the stre...
Domestic Violence, Homelessness & Health Care
August 17, 2020 19:16 - 6 minutes - 5.96 MBWhat are the root causes of homelessness among women? What role does gender-based violence play? What policies would reduce the risk of women becoming homeless? Amy Turk, a social worker and chief executive officer of the Downtown Women’s Center, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the factors that drive women and their children out of their homes and into the streets.
California’s Healthcare Reform: The Players, Policy & Politics
August 07, 2020 15:41 - 6 minutes - 5.59 MBDid Gov. Gavin Newsom change his mind on single payer? Is the Healthy California for All Commission meeting its mandate? Where are the major California healthcare foundations when it comes to reform? Michael Lighty, founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss the principal players in California’s struggle for health equity and Medicare for All.
Health Care's Transformative Moment
August 04, 2020 21:10 - 6 minutes - 5.58 MBWhy won’t our legislators take up the political fight against health insurers and pharmaceutical companies? How can we shift the definition of what’s politically possible when it comes to our health care? In this third episode in a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Michael Lighty, founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discusses the need for a broad reorganization of society based on racial justice, solidarity and compassio...
How to Win Medicare for All
July 27, 2020 22:24 - 6 minutes - 5.68 MBWhat’s holding the U.S. back from Medicare for All? (Hint: It’s not just Trump.) What about California? In this second episode in a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Michael Lighty, founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discusses the political obstacles to winning single payer and the essential connection to the issue of racial equity in health care.
The Health Equity X-factor?
July 21, 2020 21:41 - 6 minutes - 5.58 MBWill "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" solve America's healthcare problems? Is COVID-19 a game-changer in the fight for single-payer? In this first episode of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Michael Lighty, founding fellow of the Sanders Institute and former healthcare constituency director for Bernie 2020, discusses the Medicare-for-All movement and the Democratic Party's new unity task force.
PPE, Paper Bags & A Pandemic
July 17, 2020 22:20 - 6 minutes - 5.64 MBHow are some hospitals conserving personal protective equipment? (Hint: In ways that would be unthinkable before the pandemic.) And who’s ultimately responsible for assuring sufficient PPE supplies? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, compare the rules for PPE use before and after COVID-19. Plus, if PPE is in such short stock, why are hospitals pushing to reinstate elective surgeries?
Healthy Profits or Healthy People? America’s Choice
July 07, 2020 19:44 - 6 minutes - 5.6 MBWho and what gets left out when health care is driven by profit? How does “lean model management” affect public health preparedness? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, compare racial inequities in Minnesota and the rest of the nation. Plus, what's the cost of the perverse incentives implicit in our for-profit healthcare system?
Nurses, Racism & Black Lives Matter Protests
July 02, 2020 15:54 - 6 minutes - 5.75 MBHow are nurses of color impacted by racism, both on the job and in the streets? Could using weapons of war against protesters increase the spread of coronavirus? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Rose Roach, executive director of the Minnesota Nurses Association, discuss the concerns nurses have today, as America struggles against both a pandemic and its racist past.
Health Care & The Politics of Black Vulnerability
June 29, 2020 19:17 - 6 minutes - 5.94 MBHow do U.S. policies intensify the vulnerability of Black communities, including during pandemics? What caused the historical distrust between the Black community and the American healthcare system? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Janel Bailey, Co-Executive Director of Organizing and Programs at the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, discuss how public policies around eviction, employment and medical exploitation combine to harm Black workers and their families. Could Medicare for All help?
'When America Catches Coronavirus, Black Folks Die'
June 24, 2020 17:41 - 6 minutes - 5.67 MBHow is the coronavirus pandemic affecting Black workers? What does it mean in light of the inequality the Black community already faces? Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar and Janel Bailey, Co-Executive Director of Organizing and Programs at the Los Angeles Black Workers Center, discuss the racial inequities of "flattening the curve" and explore how shelter-in-place rules are less likely to protect black workers.
Combating inequality - the role of public health, education & community
June 15, 2020 14:56 - 6 minutes - 5.67 MBWhy are people of color disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses like diabetes and asthma? Is it the individual’s fault, or is it their environment? Would better health insurance help? Listen as John Kim, Executive Director of Advancement Project California and Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar explore strategies to build trust and save lives. Plus, why universal health insurance is only part of the answer.
COVID's Deadly Trio: Gentrification, Racial Segregation & Distrust
June 11, 2020 20:30 - 6 minutes - 5.66 MBWhat's America’s deadliest underlying condition? How have decades of unbridled gentrification, racial and economic segregation and discrimination intersected to keep communities of color in the eye of the pandemic in Los Angeles? John Kim, Executive Director of Advancement Project California, and Code WACK! host Brenda Gazzar examine the systemic injustices exacerbated by COVID-19. Plus, why building trust is essential to any solution.
COVID: Keeping Doctors and Nurses Safe + South Korea's Success
June 01, 2020 17:02 - 6 minutes - 5.68 MBHow does it feel to risk your life just going to work, like during the coronavirus pandemic? What's the best way to tackle the PPE shortage? In this final episode in a four-part series, Dr. Philip Verhoef, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, joins host Brenda Gazzar to discuss these issues, plus how South Korea’s government-run healthcare system bolstered its ability to control the spread of the deadly virus.
Pandemic: How Pooling Resources & Cutting Bureaucracy Can Save Lives
May 28, 2020 16:19 - 6 minutes - 5.69 MBWhy was there such an uneven distribution of testing capacity in the United States and how can we address that problem in the future? How does bureaucracy impact American health care? In this third of a podcast series, Dr. Philip Verhoef, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, joins host Brenda Gazzar to explore how pooling resources and minimizing bureaucracy with Medicare for All would save lives. Plus, what are the downsides to Medicare for All?
America's fragmented healthcare system & COVID-19
May 25, 2020 15:31 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBHow has our fragmented healthcare system affected our ability to perform basic public health functions? What lessons can we learn from other countries with nationally-centralized electronic health records? With host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Philip Verhoef, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, takes a closer look at Taiwan’s Medicare-for-All system and how it made identifying COVID hotspots faster and easier. How can the U.S. strengthen its response to futur...
Confronting COVID - Hotspots, Telemedicine and Medicare for All
May 21, 2020 19:32 - 6 minutes - 5.8 MBHow can we maximize our ability to confront pandemics like the coronavirus? Which strategies are working for us, and which are failing? With host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Philip Verhoef, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Hawaii and ICU physician, contrasts America’s failure to efficiently distribute resources like PPE with the successful adoption of telemedicine - an effort led by Medicare. Learn how a unified Medicare-for-All system could have helped the U.S. better respond to t...
Racism, Health Care & Coronavirus in America
May 07, 2020 19:34 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBWhy does the U.S. lack a universal, Medicare-for-All-type healthcare system like many other developed countries have? What are the consequences? In this fifth and final episode of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, discusses America’s long history of racism and both its impact on healthcare reform and on our fragmented response to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19: Crisis & Opportunity
May 01, 2020 19:23 - 6 minutes - 5.8 MBHow does the lack of universal sick leave and health care affect America's ability to respond to pandemics? In this fourth in a series with host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Tony Iton, Senior Vice President for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, explains why Western Europe and the U.S. may have very different public policies. Will the coronavirus finally create a sense of shared fate and solidarity among Americans?
Coronavirus: America’s Self-Created Vulnerability & How Medicare for All Could Help
April 28, 2020 15:01 - 6 minutes - 5.73 MBLearn which of us are most vulnerable during this pandemic, and why. In this third of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, describes the intersection of policy, income inequality, race and social vulnerability. Which policy solutions weaken our nation in the face of health crises like the coronavirus and which will increase our resilience? After all, the next pandemic may be just around the corner.
Pandemic: Preparing for a new normal
April 22, 2020 15:24 - 6 minutes - 5.93 MBLearn how deforestation and climate change are increasing the likelihood of future pandemics and what America can do to prepare for them. In this second of a podcast series with host Brenda Gazzar, Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, explains how our market-based healthcare system incentivizes profits over public health investments. How would Medicare for All help us respond to future crises? The answer is more complicated than you might ...
Coronavirus: America's Public Health Fail
April 14, 2020 17:01 - 6 minutes - 5.97 MBFind out how the erosion of America’s public health system undermined our response to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. In this first of a podcast series, Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment, explains how having a patchwork health insurance system, along with a weakened public health system, has left America even more vulnerable during the crisis. Host Brenda Gazzar asks "Would Medicare for All help?" The answer may surprise you.
Our Children At Risk: Is Medicare-for-All the Answer?
March 18, 2020 21:48 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBWhat's more precious than our children? Yet a growing number of children are losing insurance and as a result, access to health care. How does this impact them? Join host Brenda Gazzar as Dr. Ana Malinow, UCSF pediatrician, shares stories of young patients and the sometimes devastating consequences they faced. Why are children losing their health insurance today, after the Affordable Care Act? How can we assure our children will never lose access to the care they need to survive and thri...
A Shocking Sacrifice: One Mom's Fight to Change Health Care in America
January 28, 2020 16:10 - 17 minutes - 17 MBHow do parents balance their own needs and their children's in America's high-stakes healthcare system? Learn how one devoted mother was forced to make a choice with traumatic consequences. Rebecca Wood, a Boston mother, has faced a years-long struggle to pay for the care needed by her daughter Charlie, who was born severely premature at only 26 weeks gestation. How were their lives changed by the ordeal? Hear how Rebecca is committing her life to passing Medicare for All to ensure lifelon...
Denied: Behind America's Deadly Healthcare System
November 19, 2019 20:10 - 12 minutes - 12.2 MBLearn how America’s corporate healthcare system delays and/or denies care to save money and increase profits. Wendell Potter, co-founder of Business for Medicare for All and former Communications Director for CIGNA, explains the often arbitrary nature of insurance coverage denials. Host Brenda Gazzar explores how such denials impact patients and their doctors. Guests include Dr. Barbara Goff, board-certified gynecologic oncologist, and Dr. Anthony Cardillo, an Emergency Room doctor and CEO o...
How our healthcare system fails women — and what we can do about it
September 12, 2019 20:11 - 16 minutes - 15.8 MBLearn about the unique challenges women face when it comes to accessing health care. Dr. Ana Malinow, a pediatrician, and her husband Dr. Aleksandar Rajkovic, an obstetrician, talk with host Brenda Gazzar about how women are vulnerable, and reveal the risky calculation some women make when forced to delay or avoid care. Don't forget to subscribe to the show!
How to make health care more affordable
September 12, 2019 20:03 - 11 minutes - 9.45 MBFind out why health care costs so much -- and how Medicare for All would help. Host Brenda Gazzar and long-time consumer advocate Harry Snyder, a lecturer at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, discuss how our current healthcare system is failing us. Then, Dr. James G. Kahn, a health economics expert and emeritus professor at UC San Francisco, explains how our complicated system of public and private insurance adds unnecessary costs to our care. Don't forget to subscribe to the show!
'Cruel and Stupid?' How our healthcare system affects doctors and patients
September 11, 2019 23:52 - 12 minutes - 13.6 MBJoin host Brenda Gazzar as she explores how our ultra-complicated healthcare system affects doctors and their patients. Dr. Paul Song, radiation oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program – California, details the everyday health insurance hassles physicians face. And Dr. Ron Birnbaum, dermatologist at the USC-Eisner Family Clinic, explains how the type of health plan you have determines the care you get and the impact this has on patients with potentially life-thr...