Nurse Talk

How did a single mom in Kentucky, in the 1970s, become a physician, then a health insurance medical reviewer and eventually a whistleblower? To find out, we recently interviewed Dr. Linda Peeno, a physician and ethicist 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 2

In honor of PRIDE Month, we’re revisiting a popular episode about the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. What were the health policy failures that spurred so many Americans to militant activism? How did the LGBTQ+ community win the struggle to get government funding to address the deadly virus? Fortunately, today, with appropriate medical intervention, more and more people a

This time on Code WACK! At least seven states are grappling with budget shortfalls in 2024. What goes on behind the scenes when a state needs to cut costs? Who stands to lose the most as programs are trimmed or eliminated? Today we're looking at California’s multi-billion dollar budget deficit – and what's being done to protect the state’s most vulnerable residents. To find o

This time on Code WACK! How do Managed Care health insurance plans hurt patients? Why is it legal for commercial health insurers to use Denial-of-Care as a business model? And what is one organization doing to call attention to such issues? To find out, we spoke to Kimberly J. Soenen, founder of “SOME PEOPLE,” a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization and multiverse channel d

This time on Code WACK! What’s the impact of health insurance denial-of-care tactics? Who “wins” when new employees have to wait three months before their health insurance kicks in? What devastating physical, financial and emotional consequences did one young woman face after she was seriously injured during such a waiting period? To find out, we spoke to Kimberly Soenen, the

This time on Code WACK! Why do lawmakers continue to ignore the toll our broken healthcare system takes on us? And what can we do, ourselves, to bring about change? What inspired single-payer advocate and mother Rebecca Wood to put much of her activism on hold to “sharpen her swords”? To find out, we interviewed Rebecca, a first-year law student and public interest fellow at th

This time on Code WACK! In honor of Mother's Day, we're talking about how our dysfunctional health insurance system affects moms. How far did one mother go to ensure that her daughter – born extremely premature – got the critical care she needed? How did our broken healthcare system push our guest, Rebecca Wood, to delay her own care for the sake of her daughter Charlie, with d

This time on Code WACK! With all its apparent advantages, why hasn’t California passed single payer yet? Is organized labor fully in the Medicare-for-All game? Do managed care providers - like Kaiser Permanente - have outsized influence on healthcare reform in the state? To find out, we spoke to Peter Shapiro, a retired letter carrier and author of Song of the Stubborn One Thousa

This time on Code WACK! How is private equity affecting our healthcare system? What’s being done about it? How does our fragmented healthcare system affect patients, including people who have cancer? And what cues can healthcare reform activists take from California's immigrant community? To find out, we spoke to Peter Shapiro, a retired letter carrier and author of Song of the S

This time on Code WACK! How would single-payer, Medicare for All affect the experience of getting care? Would it make it easier to find and see a primary care doctor? And just as importantly, how much money could individuals and families save under a state or national single-payer system? See how much you would save with the new, national Medicare for All Household Savings Calculat