Tag: Healthcare Reform

Why the Same Drug Costs 3x More (And Who Decides)

        THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   Imagine two patients … same diagnosis, same medication, same country.  Each one needs the same prescription. One gets their care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, the other gets it through Medicare. The price of […]

Designed to Fail: How Insurance Denials Really Work

          THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   Today, we’re talking about insurance denials, hidden incentives… and why getting care can feel like navigating a system designed to stop you. Our guest is Bob Coleman, a retired healthcare professional who spent more […]

Why Employers Are ‘Flying Blind’ on Healthcare Costs

        THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   Most employers don’t actually know what they’re paying for healthcare – and employees are paying the price. In this episode of Code WACK!, discover why companies are “flying blind” on healthcare costs, how opaque pricing […]

The Health Insurance Black Box: Why Employer Healthcare Costs Keep Rising

        THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   What challenges do employers face when providing health coverage to their employees? And what role do health insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers—prescription drug middlemen known as PBMs—play in shaping costs, coverage, and access to care? […]

States Push Back Against Medicaid Managed Care

            THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   Today, most people on Medicaid get their care through private insurers called Managed Care Organizations, or MCOs – like Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. Critics say these companies add layers of bureaucracy that make it […]

The Middlemen Making Money Off Medicaid

            THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   Why are there middlemen in Medicaid – and what are they doing to our most vulnerable patients and physicians? How and why are private insurance intermediaries permitted to put profits ahead of patients? […]

The Hidden Cost of Private Equity Hospital Buyouts

          THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   We’re taking a closer look at what happens when private equity buys hospitals. Our guest is Dr. Renee Hsia (pronounced “Shaw”). An emergency physician at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Dr. Hsia explains how […]

Is private equity in health care killing us?

          THIS TIME ON CODE WACK!   What happens to staff and patients when private investors buy hospitals to make them more profitable? And why should this concern us all? To break it down, we spoke to Dr. Renee Hsia ( […]