healthcare

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are public policy and communications expert Theresa Bourgeois, Health Policy Analyst Bill Hammond, Commonwealth Fund Journalist in Residence, Assistant Lecturer at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Joanne Kenen, and chief Washington correspondent who hosts the KFF Health News weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" Julie Rovner.

The Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood 90th Anniversary Gala will take place on June 13 at Albany Capital Center on Eagle Street in Albany, New York. Former UHPP President and CEO Patricia A. McGeown, whose visionary leadership has guided UHPP through significant milestones, will be honored at the gala for her dedication and tireless efforts in advancing reproductive rights and healthcare accessibility. Patricia A. McGeown joins us now along with current UHPP President and CEO Chelly Hegan.

Jessica Valenti — called one of the Top 100 Inspiring Women in the world — is a feminist columnist and author. Her book, "Sex Object: A Memoir," was a New York Times bestseller. She will be giving the keynote at the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood’s virtual Leadership Circle Luncheon on October 20, 2023.The Washington Post called her “one of the most successful and visible feminists of her generation.” She is a UAlbany graduate whose articles have topped the most-read lists at The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Guardian, and The Washington Post. Her daily blog, Abortion Everyday, which launched after the fall of Roe, focuses on all things abortion, feminist commentary and community.

O+ supports the health of underinsured artists and musicians in the Hudson Valley and beyond through the annual O+ Festival, where they exchange art-making and performances for health and wellness services.The 2023 O+ Festival in Kingston, NY is taking place October 6-8 and we are joined by O+ co-founder Joe Concra, O+ co-director of Music Lara Hope, and O+ Art Director Lindsey Wolkowicz.

30 million Americans lack formal health insurance. Many of the rest live in constant danger of losing their coverage if they lose their jobs, give birth, get older, get healthier, get richer, or move. Even with insurance, most Americans live with the risk of enormous medical bills for their “covered” care.

Before Covid-19, public health programs constituted only 2.5 percent of all US health spending, with the other 97.5 percent going towards the larger health care system. In fact, the United States spends on average $11,000 per citizen per year on health care, but only $286 per person on public health. It seems that Americans value health care, the medical care of individuals, over public health, the well-being of collections of people. In "Me vs. Us," primary care doctor and public health advocate Michael Stein takes a hard, insightful look at the larger questions behind American health and health care.

Where does one go without health insurance, when turned away by hospitals, clinics, and doctors? "The People’s Hospital," physician Ricardo Nuila’s debut, follows the lives of five uninsured Houstonians as their struggle for survival leads them to a hospital where insurance comes second to genuine care. Each patient eventually lands at Ben Taub, the county hospital where Dr. Nuila has worked for over a decade.

Tracy Kidders new book, “Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O'Connell's Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People” shines a spotlight on Jim O’Connell, a Harvard-trained doctor who has spent 40 years caring for unhoused individuals in Boston, the “Rough Sleepers.” We talk with both Tracy Kidder and Dr. Jim O’Connell on this week’s Book Show.

Before Covid-19, public health programs constituted only 2.5 percent of all US health spending, with the other 97.5 percent going towards the larger health care system. In fact, the United States spends on average $11,000 per citizen per year on health care, but only $286 per person on public health. It seems that Americans value health care, the medical care of individuals, over public health, the well-being of collections of people. In "Me vs. Us," primary care doctor and public health advocate Michael Stein takes a hard, insightful look at the larger questions behind American health and health care.

The O+ Festival will return to Kingston, NY for the 12th annual celebration of art, music and wellness October 7-9, 2022.