Conversations on Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton
Conversations On Health: How We Get There - with Stephani Shelton is a podcast series about health care, health care systems and the connections we need to make them better. Each podcast will explore a different aspect of health or health care. Or a different country’s health care system as it compares to ours in the US. As a veteran reporter - I want to know why so many Americans still don’t have access to the comprehensive health care so normal in other advanced countries? How are health systems dealing with higher costs and changing demographics? And if, after the disastrous response to COVID 19, the US and other nations are now prepared for another major public health crisis.
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Episodes
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Episode 1. Some years ago I discovered that like a lot of you --- I really care about good health. And when COVID first hit us - I – like a lot of you – discovered that the US was woefully unprepared for a major public health crisis. So I set out to do a podcast series about health care - who has it and who hasn't and why. And how we might do better in the US.
I’m starting with a typical European - mostly public health care system in the Czech Republic because I spend a lot of time there. You can compare it to your own experience in our very fragmented PRIVATE system in the US. Like all the European and Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom – working Czechs and their employers pay a lot in taxes and insurance fees to support most of the overall health care system. It isn’t pure-play socialized medicine as you so often hear about Europe. But the government does pay for the old, the very young and those without jobs. And EVERYONE has similar, solid coverage.
So recently I sat down with an internationally known expert on health care - Dr. David Marx - in his office in Prague. He heads the Department of Public Health of the Third Faculty of Medicine – part of the renown Charles University Medical program. I asked Dr. Marx to explain how the Czech Health System works and how it’s paid for. Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube.
In the second episode of Conversations on Health you'll meet a friend of mine who lives and works in the Czech Republic. A few years ago he got very sick and is very, VERY grateful for how well the Czech health system took care of him. I hope you'll enjoy the podcasts which will be quite wide-ranging. And please, DO subscribe so you won't miss any. Thank you so much!
Conversations on Health: How We Get There
How do ordinary people navigate the complexity of what passes for the US health care “system”? Through conversations with ordinary people and health professionals, this podcast will try to make some of the connections for you – delving into the mix of private insurers, doctor groups, regional hospital systems, Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Health Administration and supposedly, a federal and state public health system- which together are considered the US health “system”. I hope you’ll enjoy the podcasts which will be quite wide-ranging. Look for new ones on the 3rd Tuesday of each month unless otherwise announced, And please, DO subscribe so you won’t miss any. Thank you so much!
The podcast is available as a video on YouTube