Breaking News in Healthcare Reform
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“California has debated a single-payer healthcare system for decades, but a new UCLA report commissioned by the California Health and Human Services Agency under Senate Bill 770 moves the debate from cost to equity.”
What the New UCLA Report Reveals About California Single Payer
Featuring Michael Lighty, President, Healthy California Now
Code WACK! | Podcast Episode 341 | August 3, 2026
“The impasse underscores not only how difficult it is for lawmakers to address something they agree is a problem but is also the sort of consequence of a well-intended law that can paralyze Congress even further in future legislating.”
Congress Ended Surprise Medical Bills — Doctors and Insurers Hate It
Politico | Robert King, Simon J. Levien | August 1, 2026
“…it remains unclear how many rare disease patients will actually qualify for the disability exemption.”
New Medicaid Work Rules Could Cause Patients To Lose Coverage, Rare Disease Advocates Warn
CNBC | Brad Quick | July 31, 2026
“This would mean cancer patients and survivors who are suffering from debilitating side effects of the disease or treatment would have to officially prove they can’t work, in a process that is likely to be difficult and take a long time.”
Trump Admin Argues Even Terminally Ill Patients Shouldn’t Be Exempt From Medicaid Work Requirements
Common Dreams | Stephen Prager | July 30, 2026
“Whether it’s the last rural hospital in a county or an urban system trimming a facility in a lower-income neighborhood, the destination for new capital is disproportionately a wealthier community….”
The Hospitals That Close, and the Hospitals That Open, Are Not in the Same America
HEALTH CARE un-covered | Wendell Potter | July 30, 2026
“The group of Senate Democrats — led by Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden — released an 86-page request for feedback from stakeholders and policy experts on dozens of policy goals aimed at making private insurance more affordable and user-friendly.”
Senate Democrats Lay Out Health Insurance Redesign Targets
Axios | Caitlin Owens | July 30, 2026
“…Medicare Part D subsidies will expire at the end of the year and no longer be offered in 2027.”
Trump Administration Ending Medicare Premium Subsidy Program
The Hill | Ashleigh Fields | July 29, 2026
“When there is no trusted local doctor to call, people fill that void with whatever voice feels credible. Right now, for too many mothers, that voice belongs to a wellness influencer…. That is not a failure of individual judgment. It is the entirely predictable consequence of a system that stopped investing in the relationships that make trust possible and instead invested in squeezing profit out of care.”
Mothering in a Broken Health Care System
HEALTH CARE un-covered | Rachel Madley, PhD | July 28, 2026
“A tiny federal agency tasked with protecting the public from injuries caused by lawn mowers and coffeemakers is demanding that some of the nation’s biggest health systems turn over detailed, personally identifiable medical records of all patients who seek help at their emergency rooms.”
Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
KFF Health News | Amanda Seitz, Maia Rosenfeld, Darius Tahir | July 27, 2026
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Shining a light on ongoing inequities in health care
and the impact they have on vulnerable individuals and communities.
Our podcast Code WACK! brings to life the failures of America’s healthcare system with stories, commentary and analysis.
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