Code WACK!

The corporate 'war chest' that's spending big to control your health care

This time on Code WACK! Why did California’s latest single payer bill fail and what can we do about it? How can the public learn the truth about how much they could save with unified financing when deep-pocketed corporations keep lobbying legislators against it? What will it take to make Medicare for All a reality once and for all?  To find out, we asked Jodi Reid,  executive director of California Alliance for Retired Americans or CARA, California’s largest grassroots senior advocacy organization. Jodi represents her organization on the board of Healthy California Now, a single-payer advocacy coalition. This is the second of a two-part series with Jodi. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!  

Penny wise, pound foolish? How our long-term care policies fail us

This time on Code WACK! Why is long term care, including in-home health care, in crisis? How are skyrocketing costs affecting patients? How come two-thirds of people in California who are getting in-home health care get it from family members who are often unpaid?  Would universal long term care - or a single-payer system with unified financing - help?    To find out, we spoke to Jodi Reid, executive director of California Alliance for Retired Americans, California’s largest grassroots senior advocacy organization. She has more than four decades of organizing experience on issues ranging from health care to housing. Jodi represents her organization on the board of Healthy California Now, a single-payer advocacy coalition. This is the first of a two-part series with Jodi about long-term care. Check out the Show Notes and Transcript for more!  

Should health insurers have the final say about your care?

This time on Code WACK! How do insurance companies put up barriers to addiction treatments? How does this affect treatment programs and their clients? And how would it be if we had Medicare for All? To find out, we spoke to Arlene Stanich-Prince, executive director of Ohlhoff Recovery Programs in San Francisco, one of the longest standing treatment programs in the area. This is the first of two episodes with Stanich-Prince. Check out the Show Notes and Transcript for more!  

Is addiction a choice? New perspectives on substance use disorder

This time on Code WACK! What are some of the most common misconceptions about people who are addicted to substances like opioids? What medicines are revolutionizing the way people are being treated today – and how accessible are they?  To find out, we spoke to Arlene Stanich-Prince, executive director of Ohlhoff Recovery Programs in San Francisco, one of the longest standing treatment programs in the area. This is the first of two episodes with Stanich-Prince. Check out the Show Notes and Transcript for more!  

The ‘silent, slow apocalypse’ of corporate health insurance

This time on Code WACK! What is the true cost of the American health insurance system? What toll is it taking on both patients and providers?  And what do we need instead? To find out, we recently interviewed Dr. Linda Peeno, a physician, ethicist and health insurance industry whistleblower who testified before Congress and who has spent nearly four decades working to protect patients from harm and death by corporate healthcare systems.  Dr. Peeno was played by actor Laura Dern in the 2002 docudrama “Damaged Care,” and she was also featured in Michael Moore’s 2007 documentary “Sicko.”    Check out the Show Notes and Transcript for more!