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
How Medicare ACOs restrict care and offer dangerous incentives
This time on Code WACK!
Why is tying a medical provider’s pay to the outcomes of their patients a bad idea? Why else should we be concerned about Accountable Care Organizations and the privatizati…
'You're not safe': How middlemen are corrupting traditional Medicare
This time on Code WACK!
You've probably heard about the dangers of Medicare Advantage, but did you know that traditional Medicare is being privatized too? How is this corrupting our healthcare sys…
'Nothing about us without us!' The trans community fights back
This time on Code WACK!
Some states are making it easier for trans and non-binary individuals to get gender-affirming care but in other states, a record number of laws have been passed to outlaw – …
Transgender denied! Healthcare stigma & discrimination in rural America
This time on Code WACK!
What unique challenges do transgender individuals face when it comes to accessing health care - especially in rural America? Why is gender affirming care considered potential…
A life-saving Rx for Skid Row? Methadone, harm reduction & reparations
This time on Code WACK!
What can be done about the fentanyl crisis on Los Angeles’ Skid Row that disproportionately affects Black residents? What policy solutions are needed? In light of the histor…
From Hollywood to Skid Row: What's behind LA County's ballooning overdose deaths?
This time on Code WACK!
More than 3,000 people died of drug overdoses in Los Angeles County alone in 2022 and last October, Hollywood actor Matthew Perry, of “Friends” fame, became one of the latest…
Can we stem the tide of healthcare inflation?
This time on Code WACK!
Can California’s new Office of Health Care Affordability stem the rising tide of healthcare inflation? Are similar efforts to rein in healthcare costs happening in other st…
A new sheriff in town? How one state is fighting high healthcare costs
This time on Code WACK!
The New Year is ringing in higher health care premiums while U.S. life expectancy continues to fall. Despite spending more on health care than any other country, we don’t se…
Why millions of Americans seek health care abroad, despite the risks
This time on Code WACK!
In honor of more than 200 podcast episodes and the New Year, we’re running one of our oldies but goodies about the medical tourism phenomenon -
Need surgery but your $7,000…
'Absolutely bonkers': The hassles doctors face in treating patients
This time on Code WACK!
Patients aren’t the only people who are frustrated with our current healthcare system. So are doctors! Why? And why doesn’t free market capitalism work with health care?
To…
Healing US: Uniting across the political spectrum to save lives?
This time on Code WACK!
How did the new documentary Healing US, about the drawbacks of America’s for-profit healthcare system, get made? Which harrowing stories did they highlight? When Americans nee…
A ‘village of support’: Changing the game for Black expectant parents
This time on Code WACK!
How can we, as a society, better support Black expectant parents and their babies in light of how vulnerable they are to dying in America? And what root causes must be address…
Abundance, joy & dignity. Healing the Black birth experience
This time on Code WACK!
Why are Black people so vulnerable to maternal and infant mortality - and what’s being done about it? What will the closing of a maternity ward in South Los Angeles Count…
Money, money, money! The politics of funding single payer
This time on Code WACK!
What are the main obstacles in implementing a new law paving the way to Medicare for All in California? Where does the biggest opposition lie – and what’s at stake if the la…
Fed up with profit-driven health care? New law puts patients first.
This time on Code WACK!
What kind of a healthcare system could actually promote equity? How does a new bill recently signed by Governor Gavin Newsom get California closer to universal, single-payer…
Fighting the Medicare Advantage scourge
This time on Code WACK!
What can be done in light of Medicare Advantage overcharging taxpayers to the tune of around $140 billion a year? What’s the Medigap Trap and why should you worry about it? …
Four Ways Medicare Advantage is ripping you off
This time on Code WACK!
Medicare Advantage is overcharging the federal government – and you won’t believe by how much! How’s this affecting taxpayers like you and me and what can be done about it?
…
Stranded: Throwing a lifeline to the millions losing Medicaid
THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!
We're taking a closer look at what the millions of people being kicked off Medicaid can do about it.
What’s being done to help them?
And what else could we do to make sure peo…
Millions of Americans lost in the Medicaid purge
THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!
Now that COVID protections have ended, what does that mean for the millions of people getting booted off Medicaid in the country? Where does that leave our nation’s most vulne…
Indian Health Service: A broken promise?
THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!
What’s being done to help elder Native Americans receive culturally competent long term care? Would it surprise you to learn that relying on the Indian Health Service may not …