Breaking News in Healthcare Reform
Featured Podcast
In Canada, “Access to care is based on need and not ability to pay.”
The Truth About Canada’s Healthcare Wait Times
Featuring Dr. Bernard Ho, Toronto Emergency Physician and Vice-Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare
Code WACK! | Podcast Episode 330 | May 18, 2026
“Drugmakers and insurers are aiming to take advantage of lawmakers’ worries about affordability to convince them it’s the hospitals they should regulate, and not them, if they want to bring down Americans’ bills.”
Hospitals Are Taking the Fall for High Health Care Costs
Politico | Amanda Chu | May 17, 2026
“Docs said they complete 40 prior authorization requests each week on average, with 32% saying these submissions are often or always denied. Most (94%) said this administrative burden contributes to physician burnout.”
Docs Remain Skeptical of Insurers’ Pledge to Ease Prior Auth: AMA Survey
Fierce Healthcare | Paige Minemyer | May 15, 2026
“The Trump administration is suspending $1.1 billion in Medicaid funding from California’s home health program over fraud concerns. At the center of the dispute is California’s In-home Supportive Services, or IHSS, which helps about 900,000 older Californians and people with disabilities with daily activities so they can remain in their homes instead of institutional settings.”
Trump Officials Hit California with ‘Largest Ever’ Freeze on Medicaid Funds
CalMatters | Ana B. Ibarra | May 14, 2026
“In 2017, in order to save money, Connecticut shifted all state retirees, some 65,000 of them, to Medicare Advantage and denied them the freedom to stay on traditional public Medicare. But now, thanks to rank-and-file protest and organizing, that policy has just been reversed.”
Rolling Back Medicare Advantage
The American Prospect | Robert Kuttner | May 13, 2026
“The Trump administration will block new home healthcare and hospice providers from enrolling in Medicare for at least the next six months … citing concerns about widespread fraud.”
Exclusive: US Freezes Medicare Enrollments for New Home Healthcare and Hospice Providers
Reuters | Jody Godoy, Courtney Rozen | May 13, 2026
“The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is rising dramatically … eating up school district budgets, making it difficult for school boards to spend money on class-size reductions, educator salaries, etc.”
The Education Case for Single-Payer Healthcare Systems
NEA Today | Mary Ellen Flannery | May 12, 2026
“Nationwide, healthcare debt — much of it from hospitals — burdens an estimated 100 million people. And charity care, which was historically aimed at the uninsured, is now critical to many people with health insurance who can’t afford their bills.”
As Ranks of Uninsured Grow, Charity Care Can Be Hard to Come By at Many Hospitals
NPR | Noam Levey, Jeremy Olson | May 11, 2026
“…as Republicans press leading medical organizations on health care for transgender youth, the American Medical Association (AMA) is the latest group caught between political rhetoric and the complex realities of specialized care that few people receive.”
How Gender-Affirming Care Is Becoming a Political Test for Top Medical Groups
The Fulcrum | Orion Rummler | May 11, 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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