Medicare For All Explained

Public Health, Single-Payer and the American Public Health Association

This is episode 78, “Public Health, Single-Payer and the American Public Health Association.”

My guest, Anthony Spadaro, MD, MPH, is a resident physician in Emergency Medicine in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He graduated from a combined MD/MPH program from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was one of the authors on a policy statement endorsing single-payer healthcare as the path to universal healthcare endorsed by the American Public Health Association.

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Spadaro discusses what public health is and why the American Public Health Association endorsed single-payer health care. 

The Healthcare Skin-in-the-Game Myth

This is episode 77, “The Healthcare Skin-in-the-Game Myth.” 

In this episode, I discuss why the assumption that people need to have skin in the game in healthcare is false and harmful to getting medical care. 

Do not miss this episode as I discuss how requiring skin in the game for healthcare prevents people from getting the medical care they need. 

Achieving the Cancer Moonshot in 10 Years

This is episode 76, “Achieving the Cancer Moonshot in 10 Years.”

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

In February of this year, Pres. Biden released his plan for a “Cancer Moonshot.” His goals are  to reduce the cancer death rate by 50 percent within 25 years and to “improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer— and, by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today.”

Dr. Singh explains how we could accomplish those goals within 10 years with what we know today.

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Singh explains how current knowledge and Medicare for All would allow us to achieve the goals of the Cancer Moonshot within 10 years.

Jeffrey Sachs Testimony from the House Oversight Committee Hearing on Medicare for All

This is episode 75, “Jeffrey Sachs Testimony from the House Oversight Committee Hearing on Medicare for All.” 

The House Oversight and Reform Committee had a hearing on “Examining Pathways to Universal Health Coverage” on March 29, 2022, and Medicare for All was a large part of that discussion. In this episode, I play the testimony of Jeffrey Sachs, PhD. Dr. Sachs is an economics professor at Columbia University, and he makes important points about the U.S. healthcare system. The data shows that our results are worse than other nations and costs way more. We pay a high price for our poorly performing healthcare system. 

Note that Dr. Sachs’s testimony is even more powerful if you can see the graphs he displays during his testimony. Here is a link to his testimony on YouTube: Video Testimony of Jeffrey Sachs.

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Sachs uses data to illustrate how bad the U.S. Healthcare system is compared to other wealthy nations. 

Highlights from the House Oversight Committee Hearing on Medicare for All

This is episode 74, "Highlights from the House Oversight Committee Hearing on Medicare for All."

The House Oversight and Reform Committee had a hearing on “Examining Pathways to Universal Health Coverage,” and Medicare for All was a large part of that discussion. In this episode I highlight the testimony of a Representative and witnesses who explain why they support Medicare for All. 

Do not miss this episode as a variety of people discuss our harmful healthcare system. 

This episode is late because I was sick this past week. Hopefully, that won't happen again.

Some Survey Results on Why Having Health Insurance Doesn’t Mean Squat

This is episode 73, “Some Survey Results on Why Having Health Insurance Doesn’t Mean Squat.” 

In this episode, I discuss a recent survey that shows why having health insurance often doesn’t mean squat, and I review the survey results that show some of the economic harm caused by the U.S. health insurance system.

Do not miss this episode as I discuss how this survey illustrates the economic harm caused by the U.S. health insurance system and how Medicare for All provides the solution to this problem.

 

Well-Known and Lesser-Known Problems With Our Healthcare System

This is episode 72, "Well-Known and Lesser-Known Problems With Our Healthcare System."

In this episode, I discuss some of the well-known and lesser-known problems with the United States healthcare system. 

I start by discussing that federal law requires the states to seek reimbursement from Medicaid beneficiaries’ estates upon their deaths. While this usually applied to Medicaid beneficiaries who were 55 or older when they received benefits, it can also apply to beneficiaries of any age under certain circumstances. 

I also discuss the unnecessary deaths caused by our healthcare system, the high costs of our healthcare system, other economic effects of our healthcare system, how insurance companies deny care, and how doctors often need to fight the insurance companies to get patients the treatments and medications they need. 

I end with a discussion of a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that documents some of the benefits that Medicare for All would provide. 

Do not miss this episode as I discuss information you need to know about the United States healthcare system and Medicare for All.

More information on the topics discussed in this episode can be found at these links:

Information about Medicaid recovering costs can be at these two links: Medicaid Estate Recovery: Long-Term Care Benefits Aren’t Necessarily ‘Free’ and How Medicaid Recovers the Cost of Long-Term Care From Your Estate After You Die.

The referenced Families USA report can be found here: Catastrophic Cost of Uninsurance: COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Closely Tied to America’s Health Coverage Gaps.

The referenced Commonwealth Fund report can be found here: U.S. Health Insurance Coverage in 2020: A Looming Crisis in Affordability.

The referenced CBO report can be found here: Economic Effects of Five Illustrative Single-Payer Health Care Systems.

Medicare for All Changes That Will Make Your Life Better

This is episode 71, "Medicare for All Changes That Will Make Your Life Better."

In this episode, I describe some changes under Medicare for All that will make lives better and why these changes make Medicare for All the best choice for better healthcare in the United States. 

Do not miss this episode as I explain how Medicare for All will make your life better. 

Note that this podcast quotes from episode 23, "The Average Family Is Going to Get Much More and Pay Much Less."

 

How a Conservative Came to Support Single-payer Healthcare

This is episode 70, “How a Conservative Came to Support Single-payer Healthcare.”

My guest, Joseph Q Jarvis, MD, MSPH, received his medical and public health training at the University of Utah School of Medicine. His career includes time as a family doctor at a community health center, the state health officer for Nevada, a public health physician for state and federal agencies, a physician consultant with a national practice, and a specialist in occupational lung disease at a tertiary care center.  Dr. Jarvis has seen American health care across the entire spectrum of care.

Thirty years ago Dr. Jarvis came to the realization that American health care fails to deliver quality care at a reasonable price, and that Americans are suffering from society wide health insecurity.  Since then he has done everything he could think of to help all Americans realize how our health system is failing us and what we can do about it.  He shares his conclusions with anyone who will listen, or read his book “The Purple World: Healing the Harm in American Health Care.”  

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Jarvis explains how and why he came to support Medicare for All.

Please note that there was a connection problem that may have affected sound quality.

Dr. Jarvis’s website can be found here.

His book, “The Purple World: Healing the Harm in American Health Care,” can be purchased here. 

A review of his book can be found here. 

Highlights, Volume 3

This is episode 69, “Highlights, Volume 3.”

In this episode, I wish to honor Martin Luther King Jr. by highlighting important clips from Medicare for All Explained about racism in the U.S. healthcare system and how Medicare for All can reduce the racism that exists in health care.

Do not miss this episode as I highlight how Medicare for All can reduce racism in the United States healthcare system. 

The podcasts referenced in this episode are:

• Episode 28: Racial Inequities in Health Care

• Episode 48: Covid and Racial Inequities

• Episode 41: Racism, Health Care, and Medicare for All