It’s almost Election Day! This week, co-hosts Erin Stein and Dr. Gillian Goddard are talking about voting, which might sound like a strange topic for a health podcast, but it affects your health care at every level in ways you haven’t even realized. Rejected insurance claims, cancer treatments and what your kid eats for lunch as school are all impacted by elected positions.

We start at the federal level with things both congress and the president have a hand in. We explore how Medicare affects everyone’s insurance; explain what the FDA, CDC, NIH, and Department of Health and Human Services each do; and why research funding matters. We also break down how Medicare differs from Medicaid, which is funded federally but run by the states. Then we go local: why your governor, state legislature, and insurance commissioner matter, why there isn’t one UnitedHealthcare but fifty, and how your county and town affect health departments and hospitals. Erin also shares a fun and slightly alarming fact about coroners versus medical examiners.

The message is simple: your vote matters.

References:

Go Vote! Visit www.vote411.org to learn about your ballot and check your voter registration.

For more on how medical insurance companies and corporate structure, watch the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver segment about UnitedHealthcare, (note, this content is explicit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1pXm0GjLho

For more on medical examiners and coroners, watch the Last Week Tonight with John Oliver segment about Death Investigations, (note, this content is explicit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnoMsftQPY8

We take a moment to remind you that while this is a medical discussion, it is not providing a diagnosis or treatment or any medical advice. The only way to get a diagnosis, treatment or medical advice for your particular condition is through a discussion with your doctor.

Please subscribe savvypatient.substack.com

Visit www.thesavvypatient.com/podcast for episode transcripts.

Watch full podcast episodes @TheSavvyPatient on Youtube.com.

Get your copy of The Hormone Loop by Dr. Gillian Goddard wherever books are sold.

This episode was produced and edited by Erin Stein. Music: “All We Live For (instrumental)” by Wolfclub licensed through Audiio.com. Intro and outro edited, and video created, by Ian Mayer. The Savvy Patient logo by Amanda Spielman.