Medicare For All Explained

Public Option, Unions, Obligation, Part 1

This is episode 50, “Public Option, Unions, Obligation, Part 1.“

My guest, James McGee, has spent his career in and around collectively bargained benefit plans, especially health care plans. He has primarily worked on union benefit plans, which are technically known as Taft-Hartley plans. 

Mr. McGee recently retired after 17 years working for the Transit Employees' Health & Welfare Fund as its Executive Director. The Fund provides the health care benefits for the active and retired members of ATU Local 689 employed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). In this role, he become acutely aware of the deficiencies of our current health care system and began to take an active role in organizations advocating for reform, especially a single-payer solution.

Mr. McGee is on the Steering Committee of the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer, the Montgomery County Chapter of Healthcare-NOW, and on the Board of Directors of Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN).

My interview with Mr. McGee covers two episodes 50 and 51. This episode discusses problems with the public option. Part 2, available on March 1st, discusses how unions would benefit from Medicare for All and why health care is an obligation. 

Do not miss this episode as Mr. McGee explains why the public option is bad for the public. 

A Local Resolution Supporting Medicare For All

This is episode 49, “A Local Resolution Supporting Medicare For All.”

My guest, Holly Hatcher, is a registered nurse in Madison, Wisconsin, and is a Dane County Board Supervisor. She is a mother, grandmother, activist, and Medicare for All Advocate. 

Ms. Hatcher was instrumental in passing a local resolution in Dane County that supported Medicare for All and was approved on January 7, 2021. 

Do not miss the episode as Ms. Hatcher describes why we need Medicare for All and why she wanted a local resolution supporting it. 

 

Covid and Racial Inequities

This is episode 48, “Covid and Racial Inequities.”

My guest, Susan Rogers, MD, FACP, is the president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She is recently retired, but continues helping people as a volunteer attending hospitalist and internist at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Illinois. She is an assistant professor of medicine at Rush University, and previously was the co-director of medical student programs for the Department of Medicine at Stroger Hospital.  She has received numerous teaching awards from Stroger Hospital and Rush University.

Dr. Rogers is a member and Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), a member of the Society of General Internal Medicine and the National Medical Association.

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Rogers describes the racial inequities revealed by the pandemic in our current healthcare system and what can be done to address them.  

The U.S. Pandemic Response and How to Improve It

This is episode 47,  “The U.S. Pandemic Response and How to Improve It.” 

My guest, James G. Kahn, MD, MPH, is Emeritus Professor in the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, the Institute for Global Health Sciences, and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. He has published widely on the cost and cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention and treatment in the developing world, as well as on other health conditions. 

Dr. Kahn researches and educates on the costs and financing of single payer / Medicare-for-All. In 2005, he quantified that U.S. health care administration costs funded through private insurance account for nearly 25% of the costs of physician and hospital care. In 2014, he led a team that estimated potential savings of at least $400 billion per year from simplifying insurance-related administration in the U.S. 

Dr. Kahn also served for two years as President of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Do not miss the episode as Dr. Kahn discusses our response to the pandemic and how we can improve our response in the future.

Medicaid Is Helpful; Medicare for All Would Be Better

This is episode 46, “Medicaid Is Helpful; Medicare for All Would Be Better.” 

My guest, Emily Leonard, is a Health Policy Analyst for Medicaid for the state of Maryland. Her work focuses on developing and implementing Medicaid programs to meet the unique needs of the state’s residents. She received her Master’s degree in Public Health Practice and Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. Ms. Leonard grew up in a rural town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and is passionate about rural health advocacy and Medicare for All. 

Do not miss the episode as Ms. Leonard discusses why Medicaid is helpful and Medicare for All would be better. 

Falling Back in Love With Clinical Practice

This is episode 45, “Falling Back in Love With Clinical Practice.” 

My guest, Anna Stratis, MD, is a Canadian-trained family physician with a passion for working with people in communities and improving healthcare and quality of life. She has a broad spectrum of experience in adult and pediatric primary care. Dr. Stratis has practiced in Canada and the United States. She volunteered at a New York City hospital during the COVID-19 crisis in the spring. She recently went back to Canada for some clinical work and shares her experience practicing medicine in Canada and the U.S.  

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Stratis discusses why a single-payer Medicare for All system is better for physicians and patients.

Why We Need the Medicare for All Act

This is episode 44, "Why We Need the Medicare for All Act."

My guest, Stephanie Kang, is the Health Policy Advisor for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. Representative Jayapal introduced H.R. 1384, the Medicare for All Act of 2019, and Ms. Kang assisted in finalizing that bill. 

Ms. Kang has an MS in Global Health from Northwestern University and is a third-year Doctor of Public Health candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her professional background includes: drug development for neurodegenerative diseases, management of a health organization in Kenya, and coordination for clinical research and quality improvement at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Additionally, Stephanie has worked on access to health care projects in India, Mexico, and at The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. 

Do not miss this episode as Ms. Kang discusses how and why H.R. 1384 was created. 

Correction, Oct. 16, 2020: Ms. Kang is the Health Policy Advisor for Rep. Jayapal, not the Health Policy Fellow as previously stated.

Disaster Preparedness and COVID-19

This is episode 43, "Disaster Preparedness and COVID-19."

My guest, Karl Kim, is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Director of the graduate program in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. 

Prof. Kim is currently director of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, authorized by the U.S. Congress to develop and deliver FEMA certified training courses for underserved and at-risk communities on natural hazards, mitigation, and urban planning. The Center has trained more than 50,000 first responders, emergency managers, and leaders in 300 communities across the world. 

In addition, Prof. Kim is Editor-in-Chief of Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Elsevier) and is editing a 10-volume series on disaster risk reduction and resilience (Routledge). He has also led research and training programs in Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia.

Do not miss this episode and Prof. Kim discusses how the U.S. responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

State Level Medicare for All: Is It Possible?

This is episode 42, “State Level Medicare for All: Is It Possible?” 

My guest, Matthew Lawrence, J.D., is an Associate Professor of Law at Emory University, and specializes in health care finance, administrative law, and addictions. He has written widely on these subjects with articles published or forthcoming in several prominent law journals. 

In addition to his teaching and scholarship, Lawrence possesses a wealth of experience in the federal government. Previously, he has worked on health care regulatory issues during the Obama and Trump Administrations as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Federal Programs Branch. He most recently served as a special legal advisor to the US House of Representatives Budget Committee (Majority). 

Do not miss this episode as Prof. Lawrence discusses whether Medicare for All could be implemented at the state level. 

Racism, Health Care, and Medicare for All

This is episode 41, “Racism, Health Care, and Medicare for All.”

My guest, Sanjeev Sriram, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician in Southeast Washington, DC, and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Sriram is the Senior Advisor on Medicaid for Social Security Works, a grassroots advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and expanding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. At Social Security Works, he leads a campaign called “All Means All,” dedicated to making racial equity a cornerstone of Medicare For All.  And Dr. Sriram is also “Dr. America,” a Health Justice Correspondent for We Act Radio, where he writes op-eds and creates innovative media to draw connections between health policy, inequity, and social determinants of health. 

Do not miss this episode as Dr. Sriram discusses Masks for America, the All Means All campaign, and why Medicare for All is a necessary step to address racism in health care.