Congress took a step forward on healthcare costs, but there is much more left to do.
02/07/22 • 37 min
Steve Knievel on his 3 pillars to improve our healthcare system.
Steve KnievelSteve Knievel is an advocate for Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, focusing on expanding affordable access to medicines. They say that to help stop Big Pharma’s price gouging in the U.S., Congress must listen to the American public, ignore the pharmaceutical industry’s high-paid lobbyists and finally pass legislation granting Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices.
Jim HightowerHow to get Congress to reform our broken healthcare system
For $3.5 Trillion a year, shouldn’t we Americans have a world-class healthcare system? Yet, while we spend the most of any advanced nation in the world to get care (more than $10,000 a year per person), we get the worst results.
No surprise then, that the “Medicare-for-All” idea is now backed by 85 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and (get this) 52 percent of Republicans! So... why isn’t Congress responding to this overwhelming public demand for universal coverage?
Elizabeth WydraThe Dangerous Supreme Court
Lot's of well-deserved focus on Justice Breyer's retirement and the certainty of a Black female nominee from Biden. But it will not change the hard-right Court. The upcoming decisions on Roe v Wade, Affirmative Action, and the power of the Federal Government to regulate health and safety are all under attack and likely to change America for the worse.
Elizabeth Wydra is the President of the Constitutional Accountability Center, a non-partisan progressive organization. It seeks to get the public and judges to understand the Constitution, in its most vital respects, is a progressive document.
If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.
Steve Knievel on his 3 pillars to improve our healthcare system.
Steve KnievelSteve Knievel is an advocate for Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, focusing on expanding affordable access to medicines. They say that to help stop Big Pharma’s price gouging in the U.S., Congress must listen to the American public, ignore the pharmaceutical industry’s high-paid lobbyists and finally pass legislation granting Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices.
Jim HightowerHow to get Congress to reform our broken healthcare system
For $3.5 Trillion a year, shouldn’t we Americans have a world-class healthcare system? Yet, while we spend the most of any advanced nation in the world to get care (more than $10,000 a year per person), we get the worst results.
No surprise then, that the “Medicare-for-All” idea is now backed by 85 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and (get this) 52 percent of Republicans! So... why isn’t Congress responding to this overwhelming public demand for universal coverage?
Elizabeth WydraThe Dangerous Supreme Court
Lot's of well-deserved focus on Justice Breyer's retirement and the certainty of a Black female nominee from Biden. But it will not change the hard-right Court. The upcoming decisions on Roe v Wade, Affirmative Action, and the power of the Federal Government to regulate health and safety are all under attack and likely to change America for the worse.
Elizabeth Wydra is the President of the Constitutional Accountability Center, a non-partisan progressive organization. It seeks to get the public and judges to understand the Constitution, in its most vital respects, is a progressive document.
If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.
Previous Episode
Congress must fix or nix the filibuster.
Congress must fix or nix the filibuster.
Charly Carter takes us through the racist origins of the filibuster, and how we must deal with it going forward.
Charly CarterCharly Carter is Executive Director of The Democracy Initiative. She tells us how the Republicans have used it as a tool for preventing progress on important issues like voting rights and caused gridlock that put our nation’s credit rating in peril. She gives common-sense solutions for how the filibuster can be changed.
Jim HightowerShould Democrats be the party of small change?
We might expect that corporate billionaires and Koch-funded Republican right-wingers would be howl-at-the-moon opponents of a wealth tax, Medicare-for-All, and other big, progressive ideas to help improve the circumstances of America’s workaday majority. But... Democrats?
Unfortunately, yes. Not grassroots Dems, but a gaggle of don’t-rock-the-corporate-boat, Fraidy-cat Democrats. These naysayers are the Party’s old-line pols, lobbyists, and other insider elites who’re now screeching that Democratic candidates must back off those big proposals.
Jonathan Alter"I'm Scared. I'm Scared."
Jonathan Alter is an MSNBC Political Analyst, journalist and Presidential Historian. He's written books about FDR, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. He is very worried about the future of American Democracy. He writes on Substack at OldGoats.substack.com.
If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.
Next Episode
The legacy of Jimmy Carter
The legacy of Jimmy Carter
James FallowsJimmy Carter was an “outsider” who won the Democratic presidential nomination 40 years ago. His former speechwriter, James Fallows, says that an outsider can win the White House if the public feels there is a crisis – but then it becomes very hard to actually govern. He also says that he should be remembered for many things, not the least of which is deregulation, which paved the way for, among other things, microbreweries!
Jim HightowerWho was Smedley Darlington Butler, and why is he important?
Many Americans can’t believe that political coups are part of our country’s history – but consider the Wall Street Putsch of 1933.
Ever heard of it? It was a corporate conspiracy to oust Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had just been elected president. With the Great Depression raging and millions of families financially devastated, FDR had launched several economic recovery programs to help people get back on their feet.
Jack JenkinsChristian Nationalism Linked to The Insurrection.
According to a new and comprehensive investigation, Christian Nationalism was used to "bolster, justify and intensify the January 6 attack on the Capitol." Bill talks to Jack Jenkins, one of the top reporters covering the religion and politics beat. They explain just what Christian Nationalism is, how it was an integral part of the January 6th events and how it is driving GOP politicians.
If you'd like to hear the entire episode, visit BillPressPods.com.
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