Care Talk with Laura Packard

About Care Talk with Laura Packard

Care Talk is a weekly American healthcare podcast, from a progressive point of view. Hosted by Laura Packard, cancer survivor and health care advocate, health and public policy experts explain health care in the United States and answer your questions on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, private insurance, and more. We help patients and families navigate America's health insurance and health care industries, and cover in-depth how to deal with medical debt, fight insurance company denials of care, access cheaper prescription drugs and better health care. New episodes every Tuesday. CALL/TEXT IN YOUR QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE EPISODES ‪(202) 838-6837‬.

Publisher

Laura Packard

Category

government · health & fitness · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Nov 2021

Latest episode

22 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

144 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Can MediKids Fix America's Child Healthcare Crisis? w/ Dr. Tracy Tyson

   Millions of American kids are losing health coverage. Could universal Medicaid for kids fix it? On this Care Talk, Dr. Tracy Tyson (https://www.instagram.com/dr_tracy_tyson/) joins host Laura Packard (https://www.laurapackard.com/) to talk about about children's health care in America: how Medicaid and CHIP work today, what's driving the rise in uninsured kids, how the One Big Beautiful Bill's Medicaid cuts could affect children, and Senator Andy Kim's bold new MediKids proposal for universal healthcare coverage from birth to age 26. Also Louise Norris of healthinsurance.org (https://www.healthinsurance.org/) and Rachel Madley of Center for Health & Democracy (https://www.centerforhealthanddemocracy.org/) answer your health insurance questions on the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and more. Topics include more about upcoming Medicare open enrollment which begins October 15, what to do when giving birth at a specialty hospital out-of-network, what happens if Medicare pays doctors a lower rate in 2027, when a doctor's office advises you to get preventative care treatments does that mean insurance will cover, and more about Affordable Care Act open enrollment beginning November 1. LINKS & RESOURCES: • Free or Low Cost Health Care Resources: https://healthcarevoices.org/caretalk (https://healthcarevoices.org/caretalk) SUBSCRIBE to Care Talk for weekly health care policy breakdowns that put patients first. #HealthCare #MediKids #Medicaid #ChildrensHealth — Laura Packard is a stage 4 cancer survivor, health care advocate, and host of Care Talk. Founder of Health Care Voices (https://healthcarevoices.org/) and Voices of Health Care Action (https://voicesofhealthcare.org/).

2. 

   15 Sept 2026

   Big Pharma Loses Again! But Will Trump's Deals Lower Your Drug Prices? w/ Merith Basey, Patients for Affordable Drugs

   Host Laura Packard interviews Merith Basey of Patients for Affordable Drugs about recent legal losses for Big Pharma and the potential impact of Trump's drug pricing deals on patient costs.

3. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Doctors vs. Insurance Companies: Why We Must Ban Prior Authorization w/ Emma Freer and Hannah Garden-Monheit, American Economic Liberties Project

   Host Laura Packard interviews Emma Freer and Hannah Garden-Monheit about how prior authorization harms patients and doctors, advocating for its ban.

Who has been a guest on Care Talk with Laura Packard

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Merith Basey
• Louise Norris
• Rachel Madley
• Emma Freer
• Hannah Garden-Monheit

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

86

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Care Talk with Laura Packard

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Care Talk with Laura Packard