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 ...
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Ambiguous Podcast Solutions
The Government Contracting (GovCon) space is ambiguous. What happens in it? How do you get in? What kind of money can be made? The GovCon Secrets podcast will take a deep dive into the space where you will hear from a variety of guests that have expertise in pricing, strategy, and an all-around business savvy mind. Your host, Jim Campbell, is a Marine and CEO of AXIM Fringe Solutions Group. Jim is redefining the benefits world with his candor, expertise, and tech developed out of his obsessi ...
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Have you ever heard of a virtual power plant? Learn about innovatively integrating energy resources to benefit a community of participants while also contributing sustainably to the electrical grid. Michael Bobker of The City College of New York (CCNY)…
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We can save billions on health care — why won’t Congress do it?
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16:01This week on CodeWACK! Are Americans finally waking up to the truth about single-payer healthcare? With new Medicare for All bills recently reintroduced in Congress, we’re setting the record straight. Will it really save us money? Is it socialized medicine? And why aren't our legislators addressing the REAL causes of our skyrocketing healthcare cos…
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Profits over patients - America's sickening healthcare system
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16:01This week on CodeWACK! Medicare for All is back in the spotlight! With two new bills recently introduced in Congress, what makes these proposals different from earlier versions— and why are some advocates feeling hopeful, even in the current political climate? What would a truly public, universal health care system look like, and how could it help …
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Sex Ed, Medicaid, & Abortion Access: A trio of policies worth fighting for
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17:01This week on CodeWACK! Which states have received the highest scores in the rePROs Fight Back’s 13th annual 50-state report card on sexual and reproductive health and rights released in March -- and why? And what specific threats - whether federal, state or local - should reproductive rights advocates be most concerned about? And what policies shou…
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Criminalizing Choice: The Deadly Cost of Denying Abortion
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16:31This week on CodeWACK! How is America doing on sexual and reproductive health nearly three years after the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade? What are the real-life human rights consequences of abortion bans now sweeping across many states? To unpack the fallout, we spoke with Jennie Wetter, Director of the rePROs Fight Back initiative at The P…
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Taking It to the Streets: National Rally Against Greed in Health Care
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11:31This week on CodeWACK! Single payer is back in the spotlight with Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal submitting new Medicare for All bills for 2025-26! How will the upcoming National Day of Action on May 31st keep the need for healthcare reform in the spotlight? And how do physicians feel about single payer today, 60 years af…
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Innovation Creates Sustainable Solutions for Older Buildings and Brings Education, Engagement and Employment to Urban Communities
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54:21Have you ever heard of a virtual power plant? Learn about innovatively integrating energy resources to benefit a community of participants while also contributing sustainably to the electrical grid. Michael Bobker of The City College of New York (CCNY) and its CUNY Building Performance Lab joins Clayton Banks, CEO and cofounder of Silicon Harlem, i…
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National Day of Action: Single payer & the power of righteous fury
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17:01This week on CodeWACK! Why is National Single Payer organizing a National Day of Action on May 31 amid cuts and freezes to public health programs? How has an incremental approach to universal health care in America made comprehensive healthcare reform more difficult? To find out, we recently talked to Dr. Ana Malinow, who spent three decades workin…
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How states 'trap' abortion clinics to shut them down
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17:31This week on CodeWACK! The Wyoming legislature effectively shut down the only surgical abortion clinic in the state. How did it use "TRAP" (Targeted Regulations Against Abortion Providers) as its legislative strategy? And how does this make getting an abortion even more challenging for residents in Wyoming and nearby states that have abortion bans?…
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Roe to Resistance: Keeping Abortion Legal in the Heartland
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17:31This time on CodeWACK!... What’s it like operating an abortion clinic in Wyoming, one of the most anti-abortion states in the nation? Meet Julie Burkhart — longtime reproductive rights advocate, founder and CEO of Trust Women Foundation, which works to expand access to abortion care in underserved communities, and protégé of Dr. George Tiller, who …
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How to Fight RFK Jr.'s Ambiguous Vaccine Agenda: Insights from Dr. Abdul El-Sayed
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10:01This time on Code WACK! Can our local health departments counteract the mixed messages given by RFK, Jr. the secretary of Health and Human Services, about vaccine safety and efficacy? What about us? How can we combat disinformation and highlight the benefits of vaccinating our children and ourselves? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed—ph…
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RFK Jr.s' dangerous new power over America's public health
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12:16This time on Code WACK! What could Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services mean for the public health of everyday Americans, given his history of vaccine misinformation? With measles already on the rise and deadly, and the looming threat of future pandemics, how might his leadership shape the nation’s response…
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STEM Is for Everyone: How Two NYC Women in Science Are Increasing Representation and Inclusion Through Early Exposure and Advanced Research
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53:55Transformative women-led opportunities in the sciences in New York are a model for opening doors for future scientists from all communities. Hear about the careers of a pioneering materials scientist and a science educator and learn how each is incorporating novel interdisciplinary approaches in programs driving inclusion and success in STEM, from …
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Sláintecare: Could Ireland’s Universal Healthcare Model Work in the U.S.?
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16:51THIS TIME ON CODE WACK! How is Ireland’s plan for single-tier, universal health care, known as Sláintecare, funded? Is it sustainable long term? What improvements has the nation’s healthcare system seen so far – and what can America learn from this? To find out, we spoke to Dr. Sara Burke, associate professor and director of the Centre for Health P…
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How Ireland is Fixing Its Healthcare System – And What the U.S. Can Learn
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16:56This time on Code WACK! In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re featuring Ireland’s healthcare reform agenda known as Sláintecare. What healthcare challenges have plagued the country – and how will Sláintecare help? To find out, we interviewed Dr. Sara Burke, associate professor and director of the Centre for Health Policy and Management in Trinity Co…
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This time on Code WACK! How did desegregation impact Black patients in America? What hasn’t changed? What does racism in medicine look like today? And what should we do when we see it? To break it down, we spoke to Dr. Barbara Berney, project creator and producer of the documentary “Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution.” She’s al…
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Segregation in health care: America's racist - and deadly - legacy
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16:01This time on Code WACK! What did segregation look like in hospitals and medical facilities in America, and did it only extend to the South? What finally brought an end to the deadly practice that cost countless Black and Brown lives? To break it down, we spoke to Dr. Barbara Berney, project creator and producer of the documentary “Power to Heal: Me…
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Billionaires vs. Our Benefits: Who Really Wins With Social Security Cuts?
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17:01This time on Code WACK! What would cutting off or limiting Social Security benefits – or privatizing Social Security – mean for the roughly 68 million retirees who rely on such benefits? And what could that mean for those who receive disability benefits? To break it down, we spoke with Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, an or…
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Could Trump’s GOP Budget Cuts Kill Medicaid? Breaking Down the $2.3 Trillion Threat
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15:31This time on Code WACK! What’s at stake for Medicaid—the lifeline for millions of low-income Americans—under President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress determined to slash spending? How would cutting Medicaid affect the more than 72 million people who rely on it for health care? And is Social Security next on the chopping block? To…
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How Many Must Die? America’s Health Crisis
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12:36This time on Code WACK! Why are some 200,000 Americans dying each year due to issues with their health insurance and access to care? Would a single payer healthcare system put a stop to this? To find out, we interviewed Dr. James G. Kahn, an expert in health policy and economics, and advisor to Code WACK! and editor and primary blogger of Health Ju…
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Murder, Money & Medicine: The United Healthcare CEO Tragedy and America’s Insurance Crisis
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16:31This time on Code WACK! The strong reactions to the tragic murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson by alleged killer Luigi Mangione are bringing renewed attention to the abuses of for-profit health insurance. How does our complex, costly, and callous for-profit healthcare system contribute to America's high mortality rate and how many people…
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Health Equity Now: Tackling Racism in Medicine with Dr. Uché Blackstock
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17:01This time on Code WACK! For the second episode in our two-part series on racism in medicine, in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, we’re asking the question: What is racially concordant care and how does it help save lives? What else can be done to reduce deadly disparities in medicine? To find out, we spoke to Dr. Uché Blackstock. Blackstock, a…
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MLK Day Special: Dismantling Racism in Medicine
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15:01This time on Code WACK! In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy of equality and justice for all, we welcome Dr. Uché Blackstock, author of the New York Times bestselling book “Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine.” Trained as an ER physician, the Harvard Medical School graduate is founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity,…
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Can veterans really get better care outside the VA?
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14:31This time on Code WACK! How is the Department of Veterans Affairs becoming increasingly privatized and what could this mean for those who have served and sacrificed for our country? Is corporate health insurance better than the VA healthcare system - or not? How is privatization affecting the financial viability of the VA -- and what can be done to…
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The sordid financialization of America's healthcare system
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17:31This time on Code WACK! Why have U.S. administrations from both sides of the aisle chosen to privatize Medicare and how has that complicated health care for patients? How do mega insurance companies benefit as a result? How much is all this costing us, anyway? And what can we do about it? To find out, we spoke with Wendell Potter, a former health i…
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A second look at the Indian Health Service: A broken promise?
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17:00THIS TIME ON CODE WACK! In the wake of the recent presidential election, we’re revisiting one of our favorite podcast episodes from 2023 about the hurdles America's Indigenous peoples face in accessing health care. What’s being done to help elder Native Americans receive culturally competent long term care? Would it surprise you to learn that relyi…
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Will Project 2025 sink traditional Medicare?
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15:31This time on Code WACK! What could another Trump presidency mean for the rise in Medicare private plans and what would that mean for patient care and financial waste in our healthcare system and for the Medicare Trust Fund? To find out, we recently interviewed Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist and incoming president of Physic…
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