Code WACK!
Code 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.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 13 minutes
- Episodes
- 292
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Coverage denied: A doctor's fight to save her own baby
This time on Code WACK!
Imagine learning that your baby girl has a brain tumor that’s causing seizures and disrupting her development, and your health insurance company is denying coverage for the tr…
Does Trump mean the end of Medicare for All?
This time on Code WACK!
What can be done to protect health care for the most vulnerable in the aftermath of Trump's victory? What does another Trump administration mean for single payer both nationa…
Taking stock: Health care in the wake of the 2024 elections
This time on Code WACK!
What could a Trump White House mean for your health care and your family’s? What might it mean for public health at a time when the nation is still reeling from the devastati…
An Act of Congress? The essential, impossible fight against health insurer profiteering
This time on Code WACK!
Why have healthcare giants like United Health and Cigna been purging some of their commercial accounts and pivoting to government-funded programs like Medicare Advantage and …
Is Aussie health care really better?
This time on Code WACK!
How do some Australians, who have single-payer health care they call Medicare, view the American healthcare system? What do they think about the many people in America who nee…
Health care in the Land Down Under
This time on Code WACK!
How does Australia's healthcare system work and why is it considered one of the best in the world? What are some of the ways the Australian healthcare system, which they call …
Countering systemic erasure? Data justice for marginalized communities
This time on Code WACK!
What is “data justice” and how does it inform and refine health policies for invisibilized communities? What policy solutions are needed to reduce health disparities among pe…
Public health advocacy: Leveraging the immigrant experience
This time on Code WACK!
Public health advocacy requires considerable insight into the major issues that affect communities. How best to gain this insight? What role does direct personal experience p…
A 'giant shell game?' The egregious gimmicks of corporate health care
This time on Code WACK!
Rebate aggregators? Group purchasing? Vertical integration? How exactly do Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, operate to maximize profit? And how are everyday Americans suff…
'Incestuous exploitation?' PBMs and corporate healthcare consolidation
This time on Code WACK!
We’re taking another look at Pharmacy Benefit Managers or PBMs. Why were PBMs started and how did they morph to become one of the most powerful entities in health care? Why h…
Jacked up premiums & chaos? Why your health care is on the line this November
This time on Code WACK!
What’s at stake in health care with the upcoming federal election? Would Donald Trump really try to repeal the Affordable Care Act - again? Would Kamala Harris continue fig…
Patient-centered health care? The fight to change our disempowering system
This time on Code WACK!
The fight for affordable, accessible health care in the U.S. has gone on for decades. Who’s in the fight to win solutions that improve health care for everyone? What policies…
What’s being done to stop pharmaceutical pirates?
This time on Code WACK!
What are lawmakers and the Federal Trade Commission doing about Pharmacy Benefit Managers and their undue influence over drug prices and access? Who is watching out for consu…
How pharmaceutical profiteers are screwing us over
This time on Code WACK!
So you might have heard the term pharmacy benefit managers – or PBMs – in the news. But what are they? How did these middlemen get to be so powerful? How are they causing drug…
Privatization ‘on steroids?’ What health care could look like under Trump
This time on Code WACK!
As the United States faces an election possibly unlike any other in our history, we wonder about the future of our healthcare system. What changes might we expect under Presi…
Your needs vs the 'financial incentives of your insurance plan?'
This time on Code WACK!
What’s been happening on the healthcare front since California Senate Bill 770, which paves the way for a single-payer healthcare system, was passed last year? What’s the proc…
Need out-of-state coverage? Get ready to jump through hoops & pay through the nose
This time on Code WACK!
How far did one man have to go to get the health insurance he needed to cover a specialized surgery in another state? Despite jumping through many hoops to even qualify to buy…
One man's fight for freedom and choice in health care
This time on Code WACK!
Imagine having to fight with your HMO insurer about compensating your surgeon who doesn't belong to your provider network, but happens to be a specialist in a particular proce…
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 d…
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-…