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This time on Code WACK! What does it take to survive cancer in America? Working multiple jobs during treatment, borrowing from your 401K, launching a GoFundMe, or rationing your super-expensive cancer medication? For Garrina Ross, the answer was all of the above, and then some. Diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer eight years ago, the Michigan resident soon discovered that fighting for her life also meant fighting to stay financially afloat and to keep a good credit score, even with what she describes as 'very good' health insurance.  Today, Garrina is a cancer awareness and healthcare policy advocate, and the founder and executive director of My Breast Friend, a nonprofit supporting women diagnosed with cancer.  But when she first received her diagnosis, the shock of having cancer was only the beginning. She was also stunned by the mounting costs of her care, from diagnostic tests to cancer treatments, and she's still dealing with new medical costs today. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK! In the United States, about 5,800 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each day. That's over 2 million people a year. In fact, excluding the most common skin cancers, nearly four in 10 Americans will develop cancer during their lifetime. Yet cancer is increasingly treatable. Excluding the most common skin cancers, nearly four in 10 Americans will develop cancer during their lifetime. The good news is that the five-year survival rate for all cancers combined has reached 70%, according to the American Cancer Society. But surviving cancer can come at great cost. It can mean years or even a lifetime of costly treatment and medical bills. Even people with good jobs and health insurance aren't immune from extraordinarily high copays and medical debt. Today we're speaking with cancer survivor Garrina Ross, an automotive worker living in a Detroit suburb. Garrina is Founder and Executive Director of My Breast Friend, a nonprofit supporting women living with breast cancer. Eight years ago, Garrina was at work when she noticed that the tissue around her breast seemed different . . . . Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK!   An estimated 5.7 million Americans are living with dementia in 2026, with that number expected to rise sharply as the population ages. And care isn't cheap. According to US News and World Report, it averages about $7,600 a month, more than $91,000 a year. For many, special care, especially 'memory care,' will be required at some point in their disease progression.  When an assisted living facility promises a patient specialized memory care, what exactly does that mean? What are patients and families actually being promised? And what happens when facilities can't deliver?  To learn more, we're speaking with Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, or CANHR. For decades, Tony has fought to protect the rights of long-term care residents.  Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK!  We're revisiting part 2 of a powerful 2024 series in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September. What justification did a major insurance company give to repeatedly deny coverage to treat a baby's brain tumor? What can be done to prevent these denials of life-saving treatment in the future? To find out, we spoke to Dr. Eunice Stallman, a psychiatrist in Idaho and mother of then two-year-old Zoey, who has suffered seizures and developmental delays because of a brain tumor discovered when she was an infant. This is the second episode in a two-part series. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

This time on Code WACK!  About 15,000 children and teens are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States. While survival rates have improved dramatically, cancer remains the leading cause of disease-related death among children. This time on Code WACK!, we're revisiting a powerful 2024 episode in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month this September. Imagine finding out that your baby girl has a brain tumor that's causing seizures and disrupting her development, and your insurance company is denying treatment her doctor says she needs to survive and thrive? Where did one mother turn for help when repeated health insurance denials delayed time-sensitive treatment to shrink her baby's tumor? To find out, we spoke to Dr. Eunice Stallman, a psychiatrist in Idaho and mother of Zoey, who was two years old at the time of this interview and is still undergoing medical treatment. This is the first episode in a two-part series. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!

This time on Code WACK! Labor unions have spent decades fighting to win good health benefits for their members. And by and large, they have succeeded. The 'union advantage' has been documented. Compared to non-union workers, union workers are more likely to have health insurance coverage… more likely to have a regular care provider…, and to have visited office-based providers 31% more often.  So why would union members want to give up their hard-won 'union advantage' for a completely different system? What might happen if organized labor began fighting not just for better health benefits for their union members, but for everyone? Could organized labor help lead America to a system where healthcare isn't tied to a job at all? To discuss this and more, we welcome back Mark Dudzic, a longtime union organizer and labor activist. He's a former president of Local 8-149 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, now part of the Steelworkers, as well as the OCAW District 8 Council, and a former national organizer of the Labor Party.  In 2009, he co-founded the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare and currently serves as its chair. This is the second episode in a two-part series.  Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK! In honor of Labor Day, we're looking at the powerful connection between work and healthcare in America — and what it means for workers when their health coverage is chained to their jobs. Against the backdrop of our ever-changing  economy, we must ask, are the risks of employer-sponsored health insurance greater than the benefits?  Today's guest is Mark Dudzic, a longtime union organizer and labor activist. He's a former president of Local 8-149 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, now part of the Steelworkers, as well as the OCAW District 8 Council, and a former national organizer of the Labor Party.  In 2009, he co-founded the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare and currently serves as its chair. This is the first episode in a two-part series.  Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK!   This time, we're taking a closer look at the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. In a nutshell, the program gives hospitals and clinics that serve low-income and other vulnerable patients deep discounts on prescription drugs. But who really benefits from these discounts? Patients? Or hospitals? Did the legislation really intend that patients be charged coinsurance based on the full price of drugs that their hospital bought for far less? Let's explore why consumer advocates say the program needs reform. Today's guests are from the National Consumers League, Sally Greenberg, CEO and Lisa Bercu, Senior Director of Health Policy. The NCL is one of the nation's oldest consumer and worker advocacy organizations. This is the second episode in a two-part series.  Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK! What is medical debt? Let's look at what it's not.  It's not excessive spending on a pricey vacation, or on designer clothing or expensive watches. Medical debt usually happens when an unexpected accident or illness lands you in the emergency room or the hospital. Focus on the word 'unexpected.' Then add the word 'expensive.' Today we're talking about the hidden costs of getting sick in America, the patients whose lives have been upended by medical debt, and why the system is failing the people it's supposed to serve.  Joining us is Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League, the nation's oldest consumer advocacy organization, working with both consumers and workers since 1899. This is the first of two episodes with Sally Greenberg. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK!  Got health insurance, but still can't get the care you need? Ever spent hours on hold, battling claim denials, and jumping through hoops just to get the care you already paid for with your insurance premiums? What does it say about our healthcare system when getting treatment depends not just on your medical needs, but also on how much time, money, and energy you can dedicate to fighting for it?  In her new book, Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States, Miranda Yaver points out that having insurance and actually being able to use it are often two very different things. This is the second of two episodes with Miranda Yaver. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK!  We're talking about one of the most frustrating experiences in American healthcare -  when your insurance company says 'no.' According to Miranda Yaver, an assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh, insurance denials aren't rare. They're a routine part of navigating our healthcare system. In her new book, Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States, Miranda Yaver explores what happens when patients undergoing treatment find themselves trapped between their doctors and their insurance companies. This is the first of two episodes with Miranda Yaver. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK! California has debated a single-payer healthcare system for decades, but a new UCLA report commissioned by the California Health and Human Services Agency under Senate Bill 770 could reshape the conversation. In this episode, Michael Lighty, president of Healthy California Now, explains how the report moves the debate from cost to equity.  This is the second of two episodes with Michael Lighty. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation.

This time on Code WACK! The upcoming governor's race could shape the future of health care for nearly 40 million Californians. With former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra facing Republican Steve Hilton, the election is raising critical questions about whether California will move closer to a single-payer healthcare system—or further away. Michael Lighty, president of Healthy California Now, joins us to break down what the primary results mean, where the candidates stand on healthcare reform, and what's at stake for the future of universal healthcare in California.  This is the first of two episodes with Michael Lighty. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK! For many Americans getting the right medical care isn't just about what their doctors recommend, it's also about what their insurance company is willing to cover. So what happens when those two don't agree? And why can it be so difficult for patients to fight back? Attorney Lisa Kantor of Kantor & Kantor, LLP has spent more than two decades helping patients challenge health insurance denials. Her cases have ranged from eating disorders to life-threatening cancers, giving her a firsthand look at how insurers make coverage decisions and the consequences when they favor profits over patients. This is the second episode in a two-part series. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.

This time on Code WACK! In the United States, as many as 30 million people are affected by eating disorders, including many children and adolescents, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that affect both mental and physical health.  How well does our corporate healthcare system respond to illnesses as complex as eating disorders? What happens when an insurance company decides treatment is costing too much, and pressures a patient to go home? Can your insurer really cut off coverage? And what if that decision turns out to be not just wrong, but catastrophic?  In "When Insurance Cuts Eating Disorder Care Too Soon," host Brenda Gazzar speaks with Lisa Kantor, Founding Partner of Kantor & Kantor, LLP, about what can happen when insurers end coverage before a patient is medically ready to leave treatment. This is part one of a two-part episode. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more!  And please keep Code WACK! on the air with a tax-deductible donation at heal-ca.org/donate.