Medicare For All Explained

Why We Need Single-Payer Medicare for All in the United States

This is episode 88, “Why We Need Single-Payer Medicare for All in the United States.”

Do not miss this episode as I discuss some important reasons why we need Medicare for All.

The Illogic and Fraud of Medicare Advantage Plans

This is episode 87, “The Illogic and Fraud of Medicare Advantage Plans.” 

Do not miss this episode as I discuss Medicare Advantage fraud and why the reasons for starting Medicare Advantage made no sense.

Here are links for the articles that I referenced in this podcast.

‘The Cash Monster Was Insatiable’: How Insurers Exploited Medicare for Billions (October 8, 2022)

Medicare Advantage Plans Often Deny Needed Care, Federal Report Finds (April 28, 2022)

Here are the links for the podcast episodes that I referenced in this podcast:

Link for all episodes: https://medicareforallexplained.org/episodes/

Episode 57: What You Need To Know About Medicare, Medigap, Medicare (Dis)Advantage, And How Medicare for All Benefits Seniors, Part 1 (June 1, 2021)

Episode 58: What You Need To Know About Medicare, Medigap, Medicare (Dis)Advantage, and How Medicare for All Benefits Seniors, Part 2 (June 15, 2021)

Episode 86: Medicare: A Complicated Mess (October 1, 2022)

 

Medicare: A Complicated Mess

This is episode 86, “Medicare: A Complicated Mess.” 

In this episode, I discuss why Medicare is a complicated mess, how to make it better, and why single-payer Medicare for All would be better for seniors and everyone else.

Do not miss this episode as I discuss why Medicare is complicated and how to make it better.

The Medicare handbook can be found here: “Medicare & You 2023.”

Here are the links for problems with Medicare Advantage plans:

As Seniors Get Sicker, They're More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans (July 5, 2017)

Patients in poor health leave Medicare Advantage plans (July 11, 2017)

Medicare Advantage Spends Less on Care, So Why Is It Costing So Much? (August 7, 2017)

CMS is giving unfair competitive advantage to private Medicare Advantage plans (April 5, 2018)

Medicare Advantage Plans Found to Improperly Deny Many Claims (Oct 13, 2018)

Medicare Advantage plans profit by wholesale denial of legitimate claims (October 18, 2019)

Even Researchers Don’t Know Which Doctors Medicare Advantage Covers (July 8, 2019)

Insurers Running Medicare Advantage Plans Overbill Taxpayers By Billions As Feds Struggle To Stop It (July 16, 2019)

Medicare Advantage Enrollees Discover Dirty Little Secret (Dec 3, 2019)

U.S. Watchdog Finds $6.7 Billion in Questionable Medicare Payments to Insurers (Dec 12, 2019)

Fraud Is Rampant in Medicare Advantage (Mar 13, 2021)

Medicare Advantage Plans Often Deny Needed Care, Federal Report Finds (April 28, 2022)

Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging (June 29, 2022)

 

The American Healthcare Mess

This is episode 85, “The American Healthcare Mess.” 

My guest, Gilbert Simon, MD, wrote “Ripped Off!: Overtested, Overtreated and Overcharged, the American Healthcare Mess.” In 1989, Dr. Simon founded the Sacramento Family Medical Clinics to care for people who had trouble affording and getting quality healthcare. 

Before he founded his medical clinics, Dr. Simon was a pediatrician, and taught at Columbia University, University of California Davis School of Medicine, and California Northstate University School of Medicine. 

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Simon discusses the waste, inefficiency and profiteering that currently exists in the American healthcare system.

Correction: Dr. Simon said that we are “spending about 12 and a half dollars per capita” on health care. The correct figure is 12 and a half thousand dollars per capita.

 

Puerto Rico’s History of Single-Payer

This is episode 84, "Puerto Rico’s History of Single-Payer."

My guest, Carlo Bosques, is a medical student in Puerto Rico. 

He was born and raised in Puerto Rico and did his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in molecular and cellular biology. While at Johns Hopkins, he served as a volunteer at a clinic that served undocumented patients. That experience helped him to realize how inseparable health and policy were. 

While pursuing his medical degree in Puerto Rico, Mr Bosques leads a group of medical students in Project Arbona (Proyecto Arbona), that supports establishing a universal healthcare system in Puerto Rico. Mr. Bosques describes how Puerto Rico did have a single-payer healthcare system, which is an often forgotten part of its history that is rarely mentioned in the United States.

Do not miss this episode as Mr. Bosques discusses Puerto Rico’s former universal healthcare system, and how it was more effective than Puerto Rico’s current privatized healthcare system.

Why Medicare For All Is Cool!

This is episode 83, “Why Medicare For All Is Cool!” 

In this episode, I describe what makes single-payer Medicare for All cool. In brief, it is cool because people get the medical care and prescription drugs they need when they need it without having to worry about cost. 

Do not miss this episode as I discuss all the reasons why Medicare for All is cool.

 

Electronic Health Records and Interchangeable Data

This is episode 82, “Electronic Health Records and Interchangeable Data.”

My guest, A Jay Holmgren, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at University of California San Francisco and the Center for Clinical Informatics and Improvement Research, and a Senior Advisor at the Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center.

He researches information technology and digital health, and uses quantitative social science to understand how information technology affects patients, providers, and health care organizations. Dr. Holmgren received a Masters degree in Health Informatics from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard University.

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Holmgren discusses how Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems that can exchange data will help patients.

Little Things That Can Make a Difference

This is episode 81, “Little Things That Can Make a Difference.”

In this episode, I discuss two actions that can be taken that would make life easier and save time for most people. I discuss how interchangeable health data would save time when people change or go to a new doctor, and that the government could figure taxes for most people.

Do not miss this episode as I discuss how interchangeable health data and the government figuring taxes would save time and money for most people.

 

A Catastrophic Ruling: The Overturning of Guaranteed Abortion Access

This is episode 80, “A Catastrophic Ruling: The Overturning of Guaranteed Abortion Access.”

My guest, Diljeet Singh, MD, is board certified in OB/GYN and Gynecologic Oncology. She also has an MPH in Maternal and Child Health, and a Ph.D. in Health Services Research. Dr. Singh currently practices in the Washington D.C. metro area. 

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Singh discusses how ending women’s guaranteed right to abortions will seriously harm women’s health.

I am including a link to this New York Times article, "Deleting Your Period Tracker Won’t Protect You," because some people may find it useful.

Gun Violence and Public Health in the U.S.

This is episode 79, "Gun Violence and Public Health in the U.S." In this episode, I discuss gun violence and why gun violence is a serious public health threat in the United States. 

Do not miss this episode as I discuss why gun violence is so rampant in the United States and what can and should be done about it. 

Here are links to the video, article, and podcast episodes that I reference in this podcast:

• Damaged caused by high-velocity bullets.
• John McWhorter’s New York Times newsletter (Paywalled): Gun Violence Is Like What Segregation Was. An Unaddressed Moral Stain.
• Episode 19: How Do We Meet the Needs of People Who Need Mental Health Services? Poorly!
• Episode 52: How We Can Meet the Mental Health Needs of Children and Adolescents