Note: This is a rough transcript of episode 25 of Health Savings News and has been lightly edited for clarity. It may not be in its final form. Evan (00:10): Hello and welcome to Health Savings News, the podcast about healthcare costs in America and how to save money on the often expensive care all kinds of people need. I’m your host, Evan O’Connor, joined by retired doctors Rich Sagall and Mike Woods. How are you guys doing today? Mike (00:24): Good. Rich: Doing well. Evan (00:25): Good to hear. Each episode we discuss healthcare costs in America, offer […]
Category: Healthcare Reform
State of Healthcare 2022
2022 is coming to a close, leaving behind many challenges to healthcare in the United States. The changes to reproductive freedom and attacks on gender affirming healthcare all while the COVID-19 pandemic rages in its third year while being systematically ignored/normalized have greatly affected how people access healthcare and how much it costs. People in the United States continue to count healthcare costs as a major concern. In the final days of 2021, we were beginning to see the effects of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Even with the new highly transmissible variant, the CDC cut isolation/quarantine […]
Open Enrollment for 2023 Coverage
The Affordable Care Act (ACA; aka Obamacare) Health Insurance Marketplace is set to begin its Open Enrollment period today. American healthcare consumers can sign up on the federal insurance exchange at healthcare.gov or through their state marketplaces. In recent years there has been increased confusion surrounding Open Enrollment due to changes (and proposed changes) made to the ACA under the past administrations. Open Enrollment lasts at least 75 days — running from November 1 to January 15, 2023. Some states have longer enrollment periods, and special enrollment periods are available for those with a qualifying life event. Premiums are […]
Health Benefits Through Worker Solidarity
Labor Day is a national holiday to recognize and honor the American labor movement and the contributions of organizers and laborers to the development and achievements of the United States. In 1954, over a third of American workers were unionized; by 1983, membership dropped to one in five. Today, only one out of every ten workers in the U.S. is a member of a labor union. Labor unions not only advocate for healthy and safe work environments; they raise wages, decrease inequality, and improve the lives and promote the health of workers, their families, the community, and public health. […]
Criminalized Abortion Is Still Healthcare
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 50-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade that guaranteed the right to abortion based on the 14th Amendment’s Constitutional right to privacy. On June 24, 2022, people in waiting rooms in certain states were told they couldn’t go through with their appointment for abortion — regardless of the time spent in travel, money spent following strict screenings prior to terminating a pregnancy, or risk to lives of parents and their children. Some would have to drive hours out-of-state to possibly get an appointment. Some will be forced to carry their pregnancy to term, […]