Alternative Radio - Episode November 19, 2025

Health Care in America The United States today has the dubious distinction of being the only major country not to guarantee health care for its population. Some 85 million Americans are uninsured, half a million go bankrupt every year because of medically related debt and we have one of the lowest life expectancy rates of any rich country. One out of four patients are unable to afford the medicine their doctors prescribe because we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Bernie Sanders says Medicare for All would save $650 billion a year and provide quality health care for everyone. There’s plenty of money for the Pentagon but little for ordinary people. We need accessible and affordable health care. Now. Speaker: Stephen Bezruchka Dr. Stephen Bezruchka is on the faculty of the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington. He worked for many years as an emergency physician in Seattle. He worked in Nepal for more than a decade where he helped set up a community health project a week’s walk from the road. He also established a remote district hospital for training Nepali doctors whom he supervised. He is the author of Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19’s Health Lessons for the World. Description from www.alternativeradio.org