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
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?
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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 t…
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 in…
The deadly calculation of our for-profit healthcare system
This time on Code WACK!
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 interview…
Does silence still equal death? For too many Americans, the answer is yes.
This time on Code WACK!
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 America…
The devastating 'domino effect' of state budget cuts
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 ar…
'Insidious, unethical,' yet legal: The Denial-of-Care model
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 organizat…
Commercial health insurance: Is denying care the business model?
This time on Code WACK!
What’s the impact of commercial health insurance Denial-of-Care tactics? Who “wins” when new employees have to wait three months before their health insurance kicks in? What d…
Our healthcare system's hurting us. Why are lawmakers complicit?
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 advoca…
From rage to gratitude: A mother's harrowing journey to save her daughter (and herself)
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 extreme…
Can single-payer advocates overcome the 'narcissism of small differences'?
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 Kaise…
'Absolutely ruthless': The brutal privatization of U.S. health care
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…
The single-payer quandary: What would you do with an extra $5,000 a year?
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 mu…
Simplicity, savings & equity? The single-payer solution
This time on Code WACK!
What the heck is going on with Medicare for All in California? Can single-payer advocates overcome their differences and finally win health care for all in the Golden State…
What's at stake in 2024? Your health care
This time on Code WACK!
Will California’s new single payer bill, CalCare, be a tough sell for the state’s legislature, even if most of the state’s residents want Medicare for All? What political hu…
How California’s latest single-payer bill would revolutionize health care
This time on Code WACK!
Once again, a new single-payer bill, AB 2200 or CalCare, sponsored by the California Nurses Association, has been introduced in the California state legislature. How will i…
Forced pregnancies and racial bias: A deadly combination?
This time on Code WACK!
Besides the Alabama IVF decision, how else are reproductive rights being rolled back in America? Why are some states going after emergency contraception known as the mornin…
Is 'fetal personhood' coming to your state?
This time on Code WACK!
Where are we today when it comes to reproductive rights in America? And what does the latest IVF case in Alabama mean for reproductive justice and healthcare equity in America…
What's fueling America's dreadful nursing home care
This time on Code WACK!
Are regulations meant to protect nursing home residents being enforced? How is understaffing at the California Dept of Public Health affecting nursing home regulation? Are f…
'A race to the bottom:' How U.S. nursing homes are failing us
This time on Code WACK!
The COVID pandemic devastated nursing homes and other long-term care facilities highlighting the need for major reforms. What are the policies behind the often dismal perfo…