IN THIS EPISODE
Ever think about your personal vulnerability in the face of a health challenge? A car accident, the flu, or a cancer diagnosis can have severe consequences, including emotional and economic chaos. Why? Because right when we need to focus on getting well, we find ourselves struggling to navigate a confusing health insurance labyrinth designed around someone else’s profit. Join guest Kayla Westergard-Dobson in this second of a two-part podcast as she and host Brenda Gazzar explore the true cost of America’s corporate healthcare system – a cost which goes far beyond impossibly high premiums and out-of-pocket costs. How would things be different if we had Medicare for All?
SHOW NOTES
WE DISCUSS
How did you make meaning out of the loss of your son?
“In grief, a lot is talked about making meaning and making meaning from what you’ve lost and not just letting it be this black hole in your life and figuring out some way to derive or force some meaning out of it and I think that healthcare justice and advocating for healthcare justice has been a huge part of that.”
If we had Medicare for All, how would things have been different?
“I really would give anything to have been able to go through the grieving process of the loss of my son without having to worry about these two giant corporations working to extract as much money from me as possible.”
How are you different today because of what happened?
“I’m much angrier…I think anger can be a very powerful emotion. I think for some circumstances, it can be a healing emotion. It’s not a healing emotion here. It’s a motivating emotion and it’s definitely kept going in the fight of ‘no, I’m going to call the insurance back and figure out why my appeal has been denied. No, I’m going to call the hospital and ask them why are you sending my bills to collections when you said you were going to wait for my insurance?’”
Helpful Links
Cal-Care, AB 1400, Guaranteed Health Care for All Act
Fear of Losing Health Insurance Keeps 1 in 6 in Their Jobs, WebMD
66% of Americans fear they won’t be able to afford health care this year, CNBC
Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs, Kaiser Family Foundation
‘Health insurance or food’: Americans face difficult choices amid pandemic, The Guardian
Episode Transcript
Read the full episode transcript.
Guest Biography
Our guest is Kayla Westergard-Dobson, a television writer and healthcare organizer who tragically lost her newborn premature son and 12 months later is still struggling to finalize her health insurance and hospital bills.
Read Kayla Westergard-Dobson’s biography.
Get Involved / Take Action
Join the CalCare Campaign (National Nurses United) to join the fight for single payer and AB1400, the Guaranteed Health Care for All Act
Subscribe to HEAL California for health policy news with a California focus
Join Health Care for All California to keep up with local actions to support California single-payer health care.
Join Healthy California Now – a coalition working toward a California single-payer system. Individual and organizational membership available
Join Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) to join the national campaign to improve and expand Medicare to all residents of the U.S.
Find more Code WACK! episodes on ProgressiveVoices.com, on the PV App and on NurseTalk Media. You can also subscribe to Code WACK! wherever you find your podcasts. This podcast is powered by HEAL California, uplifting the voices of those fighting for health care reform around the country. I’m Brenda Gazzar.
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