U.S. API Census and health disparity data; Republican and Democratic Party duopoly attacks on Medicaid recipients; First free surgery clinic opens in Orange, CA
TRANSCRIPT with hyperlinks
(Music) Good morning and welcome to Health Care For Us, the weekly show that brings you the latest on health care policy, exposing how our health insurance system is costly and deadly by design, and demonstrates how a single-payer health reform that eliminates private insurer middlemen would cost less and save lives. Our goal is to inoculate against medical industrial complex propaganda and to inspire you to join the grassroots movement to win a health care system that centers patient care over private corporate profit. It's the third Friday of the month and that makes me Taiji Miyagawa, your host for today's program. I serve as a co-coordinator for Asians and Pacific Islanders for CalCare, API for CalCare, a single-payer partner of Health Care For Us. Health Care For Us is a nonprofit volunteer organization on a mission to guarantee health care for all in California, including fighting against health care injustice. You can link to information about A.P.R. for CalCare by going to hc4us.org and then from the pull-down menu, click on "About" and choose "Single-Payer Partners." The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on this show are solely those of myself. They do not necessarily reflect the views of KPFK or the Pacifica Foundation.
Since moving to a shorter 30-minute format, our show hosts have had to reduce the amount of time we've spent sharing health care-related news. But since the re-election of Donald Trump to his second term and the appointment of numerous anti-science white supremacists to his cabinet, I'm going to spend some time today sharing some recent important public health-related news items.
Before doing that, I want to remind you that this Health Care For Us show is focused on supporting a grassroots movement to win health care for everybody in California. We want California to lead the nation and pass comprehensive health care reform, specifically a statewide version of Medicare For All called CalCare.
Basically, this system that we envision would be similar to that of other modern economies providing free health care at the point of service to all residents of California.
How would such a health care system do this? Over 71% of health care in California is already funded by the public. Much of this public capital is stolen by a private corporation serving as gatekeepers for how health care is granted. This includes a massive bureaucracy that takes time and resources away from medical professionals who have to negotiate with insurance companies to get approval for care that they recommend for their patients. A single-payer system would regain public control of the billions of public funds currently stolen by private insurers and move away from a profit-centric system into a patient-care-centric system.
The basic business model of all insurance is to deny claims in order to maximize profits, right? Under CalCare, public funds distribution would be subjected to transparency and public oversight, with funding for health care providers being provided by a single CalCare administrative entity versus the current secretive undemocratic chaos of multiple private corporations profiting from denial of care, hence the term "single-payer."
CalCare would provide equal and better care at lower cost, and it would include dental, vision, hearing, and mental health care for all residents of California regardless of age, employment status, national origin, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Furthermore, where it is determined that the health care infrastructure is lacking, such as in rural areas and underserved communities, CalCare will allow for capital investment to improve health care accessibility.
CalCare would put an end to rising premiums, deductibles, and co-pays, and eliminate medical debt as the number one cause of bankruptcy. This new health care system would be more akin to those of other economically developed countries and eliminate the ability of private insurance corporations to delay and deny care that our doctors recommend for us and our loved ones, putting health care decisions back into the hands of trained health care professionals, and thus more importantly, eliminating unnecessary deaths due to denial of critical care.
It is currently May, and in honor of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I wanted to first mention some topics that don't get much attention. Not all of these are news per se, but it helps to eliminate the larger news items that follow.
Recently, the Pew Research Center summarized U.S. Census data identifying that 7% of the total U.S. population is Asian, at 25 million. In all of their diversity, as a block, Asians in the U.S. continue to be the fastest growing of all ethnic groups. In California, there are 6 million, representing 15.5% of the population. Health care disparities among various Asian and Pacific Islander groups continue.
Here is some data, for example, about heart disease in Pacific Islander communities that I got from the American Heart Association website. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health previously noted that in 2014, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were 10% more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than non-Hispanic whites with higher death rates. Dr. Rebecca Woodruff, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, notes that in a 2023 study that cardiovascular disease among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations has been historically underappreciated due to data being grouped with Asian American adult data in public health research. Being a smaller subset within that categorization masks important differences in distinct individual populations.
In 2018, after race categories for U.S. death certificates were modified, splitting the two groups, it was determined that for adults 35 and older, mortality rates for single-race Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults was 86% higher than that of Asian American adults, and second, only to Black American adults. And 7% higher than the overall heart disease and stroke death rates among U.S. adults. For Asian Americans in various Pacific Islander nationalities, desegregation of data is critical in assessing health outcomes and patterns of disease distribution. There are more than 40 subgroups included in the Asian and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander categories.
Further research and desegregation will help identify high-risk populations and assist in the development of targeted public health and clinical programs to prevent disease.
For example, better identification and verification of risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, and correlating such things to diet social determinants such as poverty, access to education, and mental health issues due to discrimination.
For desegregated Asian American data, even though making up less than 10% of the U.S. population, Asians in the U.S. account for 60% of liver cancer cases. The most common form, hepatocellular carcinoma, is linked to chronic hepatitis B and C infections, both of which are more prevalent among people of Asian descent. Hepatitis B screening and treatment programs are limited in many parts of Asia, and with immigrants making up 60% of many of the Asian American populations, and also mother-to-child transmission being common, these factors need further study.
Asian American men have higher liver cancer rates than any other ethnic group, with Vietnamese men experiencing the highest mortality. Asian American women are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic white women to develop liver cancer.
I wanted to mention some of the above disparity data, healthcare disparity data, because these things rarely get attention on most media platforms, and there remains a pervasive myth that Asians in particular are all wealthy and do not face social historical conditions of inequality.
Before moving on to national and California health-related news, I wanted to let listeners know that while not generally seen as health-related news for some, it certainly is for Asians in the U.S., and that is the topic of anti-Asian hate crimes violence.
New research by Stop AAPI Hate shows that there has been a surge in anti-Asian hate online following the second term election of Donald Trump.
As some may recall, anti-Asian violence surged during Trump's first term after he began scapegoating China for all of the U.S.'s economic woes, and dog-whistled racists by inferring that Asians sprout COVID-19 to the U.S., calling it the "Kung flu virus."
The Stop AAPI Hate report notes that anti-South Asian hate spiked in December 2024 when Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy sparked a debate about the H-1B visa program and a "sinophobic rhetoric" ensued about TikTok and DeepSeek AI.
Asian slurs online increased 66% during the November 2024 election, with 75% of them directed towards South Asian communities in December 2024 and January 2025. East Asian slurs also rose dramatically in January 2025, increasing by 54% compared to December 2024.
Related to concerns over health, racism online is of course correlated with anti-Asian violence in real life. One reason why the group that I work with, the API for CalCare, Asians and Pacific Islanders for CalCare, fights for single-payer reform is that victims of actual hate crimes violence are often forced to rely upon "GoFundMe" campaigns to pay for hospital bills after violent attacks.
In a recent covered by the LA Times this week, 71-year-old Japanese-American Aki Maehara was riding his electric bike in Montebello, California around 10 p.m. on April 29 when a sedan approached him from behind and hit him.
Before he was hit by the vehicle, Maehara, a history professor at East LA Community College, heard someone yell an expletive followed by an anti-Chinese racial slur.
This led Maehara to suspect the attack was premeditated as he was wearing a full face helmet with a visor and his face was not clearly visible.
Because emergency ambulance services are mostly privatized, Maehara chose to avoid the exorbitant cost by calling a friend to take him to the VA hospital in Long Beach. Maehara suffered multiple injuries to his elbow, neck, cheekbones, jaw, hip and lower back. Again, victims of such violence should not have to bear the burden of medical costs by themselves.
Aki Maehara GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Victim-of-Hate-Attack-Aki-Maehara-Needs-Our-Help
CalCare would provide such care to victims of racist violence such as Aki Maehara. Wouldn't it be nice if the Democratic Party supermajority in California would pass comprehensive single-payer healthcare reform instead of killing it in committee like they did last year?
Legislative breadcrumb packages for nonprofit data collection and educational efforts are needed and welcomed, but these funds never go to directly benefit actual victims of hate crimes violence. This is why we need CalCare.
(STATION IDENTIFICATION) You're tuned in to Healthcare For Us on 90.7 FM, KPFK Los Angeles, also streaming live at KPFK.org.
These are sounds from the scene at the Rayburn building earlier this week where protesters were swarming in during live hearings on Medicaid cuts. According to a May 14 article from The Hill, Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced legislation containing cuts to Medicaid and other healthcare provisions.
The panel voted along party lines 30 to 24. The bill now goes to the House Budget Committee, which will be meeting this morning, where it will be combined with legislation from other committees. According to the Congressional Budget Office, if this legislation passes, 10.3 million people would lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.5 million people would be uninsured.
"It's clear that all this bill does is take away healthcare for millions of Americans in order to pay for giant tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations, and that's not what the American people want," said Frank Pallone Jr., House Democrat from New Jersey.
NPR reports the current draft allows for billions of dollars in cuts and steps to make it harder to enroll or stay in Medicaid, and among the changes are tougher eligibility requirements and work requirements. Cuts to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, federally, and CalFresh in California are also in the draft.
Per NBC News, if all Democrats and more than three Republicans vote against the bill, it will not advance to the Senate. The proposed legislation extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts and includes a variety of tax breaks for businesses. House Republicans hope to have a final vote by Memorial Day, May 26.
In her guest post for Health Care Uncovered, Rachel Madley exposes how Congress is willing to protect insurance companies while sacrificing the lives of low-income Americans.
Instead of creating legislation that would attack the waste, fraud, and abuse caused by insurance companies and their Medicare Advantage plans, House Republicans would rather focus on cutting Medicaid and other safety net programs.
"The failure to include Medicare Advantage reform represents a missed opportunity to prioritize patient care over corporate profits."
On the UnitedHealthcare shareholder greed front, UHC is now in trouble with their shareholders, who have filed a lawsuit claiming that after CEO Brian Thompson was killed and the public outcry that followed, UHC did not pursue "the aggressive anti-consumer tactics" necessary to reach its earning curve.
On May 13, the report from Reuters states that UHC's CEO Andrew Witte was stepping down for "personal reasons." Witte resigned a few weeks after UHC reported financial losses.
In this, yesterday from TheGuardian.com, shares in the UnitedHealth group tumbled after it was reported that the largest health insurer in the U.S. is under investigation over possible criminal Medicare fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating the health insurance giant since last summer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
UnitedHealth's shares dropped 16.5% during early trading in New York yesterday, deepening a stark market route its stock value has had since the turn of the year. Per Yahoo Finance, on December 3, the day before CEO Brian Thompson was killed, stock price of UnitedHealth Group was $605.23. Yesterday, at market close, the stock price was $274.35.
In addition, Gizmodo reports over 28,000 individual contributions to Luigi Mangione's legal defense fund with a median donation of $20.
The article also has a link to Mangione's lawyers' legal filing reviewing procedural errors made by Pennsylvania police when they arrested Luigi. His lawyers are also seeking dismissal of terrorism charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. The federal trial is expected to begin in 2026.
In California health care news, on May 14, the May revision was released with disastrous consequences, especially for Californians who rely on Medi-Cal.
The revision fails to help vulnerable Californians meet basic needs like health care, housing, and food assistance, according to the statement from the California Budget and Policy Center. This revision does not account for federal cuts that are currently under consideration in Congress. A final version of the California budget is to be released in mid-June.
The ARC California has a summary of how the governor's May revision would affect Californians who utilize developmental services, Medi-Cal supplemental security income, state supplementary payment, SSI, SSP, and in-home support services, IHSS.
The ARC California also highlights the impact to undocumented individuals, quote, "freeze enrollment into full-scope Medi-Cal, eliminate dental and IHSS benefits, and implement a $100 a month premium."
The last couple years, California has made efforts to provide Medi-Cal coverage and other benefits to all Californians, regardless of documentation status. This proposal would walk that back and freeze any enrollment moving forward while allowing those already enrolled to maintain their Medi-Cal eligibility but with a $100 a month cost. The May revision would also walk back other benefits, making undocumented individuals not eligible for IHSS, dental benefits, and other long-term care benefits.
From the Associated Press, the U.S. surpassed 1,000 measles cases last Friday, even as Texas posted one of its lowest counts of newly confirmed cases since its large outbreak began three months ago.
Texas still accounts for the vast majority of cases in the U.S. with 709 confirmed as of last Friday in an outbreak that also spread measles to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who is not vaccinated died of measles-related illness.
Other states with active outbreaks, which the CDC defines as three or more related cases, include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
North America has two other ongoing outbreaks, all of which are the same measles strain. One outbreak in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,440 cases from mid-October through May 6, up 197 cases in a week, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,041 measles cases and one death as of last Friday, according to data from the state health ministry.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes, or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year.
The article further adds,
People who were immunized before 1968 with an infected vaccine made from "killed virus" should be re-vaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have "presumptive immunity." Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates, above 95 percent due to herd immunity, but childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic, and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. On May 12, TruthOut.org posted,
A long-time anti-vaxxer acknowledged earlier this year that the best way to prevent measles infection is to be vaccinated. But he's also peddled several false talking points about the current crisis, including wrongly stating that children were being hospitalized only for quarantine purposes, not because of the severity of the virus, and claiming that remedies like cod liver oil and vitamin A were effective treatment, leading to parents overusing those methods and causing their children to get sick. The HHS secretary also falsely insinuated that the vaccine doesn't give a person lifetime protection against the measles. In fact, in most cases, the vaccine does achieve that, and where breakthrough cases do occur, the virus is milder in severity and results in fewer complications.
Speaking to Politico about the U.S. passing the 1,000-case threshold, Amesh Aldalja, an expert on infectious disease and a senior scholar at John Hopkins University, said that Kennedy's strategy for dealing with the crisis, downplaying its significance and offering false remedies to deal with it, could be a sign of darker things to come, both for the department he leads and the country overall.
And now to offset all the bad news, I want to share a story that is kind of a real-world vision of what I think CalCare should be. On May 1, the city of Orange opened the first free surgery clinic in the United States. In an article by Jonathan Horowitz published by the oceregister.com on May 2, the article begins by saying the Lestanak Free Clinic Model is built on the shoulders of doctors and nurses who volunteer their time to meet the basic medical needs of low-income and uninsured individuals across Southern California. Now the volunteers will be able to add free, basic surgeries to the care they are able to give to those in need. Made possible by a $4 million donation from the Thompson Family Foundation, the new 4,000-square-foot Lestanak Surgery Center, opening in June, will offer colonoscopies, hernia repairs, cataract surgeries, and other critical procedures, all free of charge, through the support of 300-plus volunteer physicians from Orange County and Southern California hospitals. Since 1979, the Lestanak Free Clinic has offered primary medical, dental, and vision care at no cost to those in need. In 2024, 300 volunteer doctors working with the clinic provided comprehensive care to more than 12,000 patients. Executive Director Ed Gerber said, "We saw people who needed minor surgeries, but they couldn't get them done. In our society, in our community, that's unacceptable."
Naftali Gomez, a general surgeon, has committed to driving from Loma Linda, where he works at the university's medical center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center to Orange, to perform multiple pro-bono hernia surgeries per month.
"Clinics wanting to do something like this is common," Gomez said. "What's not common and what Lestanak has pulled off is building a place that has the infrastructure for safe surgery."
And now some announcements and actions. United Teachers of Los Angeles is hosting a Fight for Schools rally against Trump and Elon Musk at 11 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday, May 17, at SpaceX, at One Rocket Road in Hawthorne, California, at corner of Crenshaw and Jack Northrup Avenue. In their war against diversity and public education, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have threatened to rob L.A. USD students of $1.2 billion of our own tax dollars, federal money allocated for school lunches, special education services, and Title I programs that our most vulnerable students rely on to survive and succeed in school.
Musk's SpaceX company gets billions in tax breaks and private government contracts while Trump moves to starve public schools of the funding they need to provide our kids proper education.
As mentioned on this show previously by our guest Chauncey Martirel of Thai CDC, ICE terrorism in our communities is jeopardizing our people's health.
Not just because people, including legal residents, are being abducted off the streets and from workplaces, but masked ICE agents are positioning themselves in locations of health care delivery, making the seeking of medical care a danger to families. The Community Self-Defense Coalition here in Los Angeles reports an increase in ICE activity throughout the region from San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties. Raids are now being reported at all times of day. It has also been reported that community defense efforts across all regions are increasing, with more people hosting educational trainings about legal rights and ways to identify and disrupt the fascistic ICE operations. In addition, activists in Burbank are organizing protests against Avelo Airlines' complicity with ICE abductions.
Protests are scheduled to occur at the Burbank Airport at 2627 N.H.W. on May 4, 11, 18, and 25 from 4 to 6 p.m.
CalCare supporter, comedian Ron Blaconne's new play "Termination Fee," a scathing commentary on the U.S. health care system, opens on Sunday, June 8.
When Neil Camden loses his job and health benefits, his wife, Adi Corota, can no longer get her life-saving insulin.
In a period of frustration and desperation, Neil takes matters into his own hands. Neil and Adi are two unhappy married couples staying together for Neil's health care so that Adi can get her insulin. When Neil gets laid off from his job, the two are forced to confront their failing marriage and Adi's life-threatening dilemma.
More information about the show can be found at www.hollywoodfringe.org forward slash projects forward slash 11542 and on Instagram follow at termination underscore fee.
Thank you to Smiley T and the Tall Trees for our theme song. Tech producer Scott Peake, board operator Wendell Handy, Dennis Resindis, Carol Fudora, and the entire health care for us team that makes this show possible. Health Care for Us airs every Friday at 7.30 a.m. Next week, tune in to hear from your host, Jackie Hernandez. Stay tuned for Democracy Now! And remember, single payer is the solution. Join the health care revolution.
(Music)
Not only are KPFK listeners smart, interesting, and forward-thinking, you're also very generous and deeply appreciated. Thank you so much for pledging your support to KPFK during our fun drive.