What does the upcoming Trump presidency mean for the care economy and the over 105 million family caregivers in our country? In this post-election bonus episode, caregiving expert and policy advocate Ai-jen Poo returns to tell us what challenges lay ahead for families and care workers, and how we can keep fighting for a better system that allows us to truly show up for care. This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation making grants to promote an equit...
Dec 06, 2024•34 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this special bonus episode, host SuChin Pak talks with health policy expert Julie Rovner about the most pressing health care issues on the minds of voters this election – from abortion to medical debt to long-term care. And Julie explains why, in the 38 years she’s been covering healthcare and Capitol Hill, the 2024 election is different from any other she’s seen. Find Julie Rovner’s work at kffhealthnews.org and listen to her podcast What The Health . This season of Uncared For is presented ...
Oct 25, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 9
For years, Kim Moy cared for her kids and husband, while helping to care for her parents – an experience she describes as being in a “pressure cooker.” Being a caregiver to any loved one can be emotionally draining, but caring for a spouse can be a whole new level of lonely. In our final conversation of the season, Kim talks about the tradeoffs of being a spousal caregiver, grieving the loss of someone who’s still there, and how she’s learned to let go of the way things used to be. Kim Moy’s Car...
Jul 03, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 8
How can a family caregiver look after her loved ones and herself while navigating a broken healthcare system? Renee Hanania has been advocating for her son Branden to receive care for his disability under Medicaid, piecing together a “care village” for him and his complex needs. All the while, she’s also been battling her own health concern: stage four breast cancer. Keep up with Renee and Branden via their Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/BrandenTheBrave/ . For more information about wh...
Jun 26, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 7
One in six Americans is over age 65, and that number is only going to climb in the next few decades. So how can we collectively prepare for this elder boom? Ai-jen Poo is president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance , and she thinks this is our golden opportunity to finally give caregivers their due. We hear about why we need to expand Medicaid access, improve job conditions for care workers, and see aging as a gift, not a crisis. We also talk to professional home care worker Katrina Mouz...
Jun 19, 2024•29 min•Season 2Ep. 6
A big chunk of family caregivers in this country are part of the “sandwich generation” – people caring for young children and aging parents at the same time. Robert Ingenito was one of them. After caring for his dad and raising his young daughter while working, Robert came to a breaking point. He decided to move his dad to an assisted living facility. It wasn’t an easy decision, and it’s one he still grapples with today. Learn more about respite care, including respite care opportunities in your...
Jun 12, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 5
As someone living with HIV, Vince Crisostomo couldn’t imagine aging past thirty, let alone getting old enough to care for his parents. But when the time came to look after them, Vince embraced it, especially after years of caregiving for his community during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He helped his parents move to an assisted living center and managed their care, this time during a different global health crisis: COVID-19. Learn more about the San Francisco AIDS Foundation at their website, https://...
Jun 05, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 4
When Jessica Guthrie became a caregiver at age 26, her life turned upside down. Her career, friendships, and love life went on the back burner as she prioritized caring for her mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Over nine years of caregiving, she’s faced burnout, medical racism, and the isolation of doing it all alone. But despite the challenges, Jessica finds power in the small moments she still has with her mom, and the community of Black caregivers she’s found on social media. Learn more about...
May 29, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Poet and artist Yosimar Reyes moved home to take care of his grandmother during the pandemic. Sometimes he cries in his car from the stress and pressure of caregiving. But he also knows how lost he’d be without her. In this beautiful and honest conversation, Yosimar shares how he supports his 90-year-old grandmother – financially, mentally, and emotionally. Learn more about Yosimar Reyes on his website and follow him on Instagram @yosirey. This season of Uncared For is presented by the Commonwea...
May 22, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 2
When you’re caring for an aging parent, you want the best care possible. But what does that care cost? And who pays for it? AARP’s caregiving expert Amy Goyer struggled financially to give her parents the best care possible and even ended up filing for bankruptcy. Despite this, Amy looks back on the joy of caregiving and celebrating the wins. AARP has financial and legal resources for caregivers , including ways to protect your money while caring for a loved one or friend. AARP also has informat...
May 15, 2024•38 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Roughly 42 million Americans are caregivers for an older loved one. It's work that is exhausting, gratifying, and lonely all at once. In Season 2 of Uncared For, host SuChin Pak talks to family caregivers about how they do it - how they balance their careers, kids, navigating our healthcare system and trying to stay sane - with the challenge of caring for our elders. From Lemonada Media and The Commonwealth Fund. Coming May 15. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 08, 2024•3 min
Why are millions of us – kids included – losing Medicaid coverage, oftentimes by accident? And how can we get it back? We’ll answer these questions with Medicaid expert Joan Alker, and hear Litha’s story – an Arkansas resident who lost coverage for five months, all while coping with life-threatening kidney failure. Resources: For research and articles from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, visit: https://ccf.georgetown.edu/ . Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth F...
Dec 12, 2023•19 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Insurance plays a big role in deciding the kind of health care we receive in this country – and how much it’ll cost us. Today, we’re speaking with ProPublica reporter Maya Miller about wrongful insurance denials and knowing your rights as a patient. Resources: Read Maya and other ProPublica reporters’ coverage of insurance denials here: UnitedHealthcare tried to deny coverage to a chronically ill patient. He fought back, exposing the insurer’s inner workings: https://www.propublica.org/article/u...
Nov 28, 2023•26 min•Season 1Ep. 8
One year after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we sit down with two women working in the reproductive rights space to talk about what has changed, and what’s still to come. Resources: Learn more about the Roots Community Birth Center: https://www.rootsbirthcenter.com/ Read research from RHITES: https://www.rhites.org/ Looking for reproductive legal help? Check out If When How: https://www.ifwhenhow.org/ Uncared For is presented by the Commonwealth Fund...
Jun 23, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In our last episode, we return stateside to see how the Minneapolis-based Roots Community Birth Center is reimagining maternal care by prioritizing strong relationships and culturally centered care. We also learn about how midwives were once the go-to providers in American maternal care, but eventually became obsolete when doctors entered the picture. So what can we do to bring them back? And what would it take to open up a Roots in every state? Learn more about the Roots Community Birth Center ...
Dec 13, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This week, we head to Costa Rica, the final destination on our maternal health “world tour,” where we explore the country’s unique community-based model of care. We’ll travel into the mountains with a community health worker to check up on a pregnant woman, and then head to the western coast, where we meet a doctor providing care to a small fishing village. Along the way, we’ll learn how the country’s healthcare reforms helped to expand access to rural areas and overcome high rates of child and ...
Dec 06, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 5
This week, we travel east to the Netherlands. Here, midwives and “kraamzorgs,” or postnatal maternity aides, help parents during every step of the pregnancy journey. We’ll meet expecting parents trying out a new type of group-based care, hear from an American journalist about the the hands-on postpartum support she received in her own home, and meet a midwife prioritizing maternal care for undocumented immigrants. Learn more about the Amstermam midwifery practice: https://amstermam.nl/over-ons/ ...
Nov 29, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 4
On our first stop in the “healthcare world tour,” we travel to Germany, where midwives are a legal right, childcare is subsidized, and parents are reimbursed for childcare costs. We’ll shadow a midwife on a home visit to newborn twins and their parents, and meet an American mom who left the U.S. to reap the German benefits. But is it too good to be true? We’ll learn what challenges midwives are up against, like a labor shortage that could upend the care they’re able to provide. Uncared For is pr...
Nov 22, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Is abortion care healthcare? In the United States, the answer to that question depends entirely on your ZIP code. In this episode, we’ll hear from two women, one in Texas and the other in New York, both working against the clock to access an abortion. How do abortion restrictions impact pregnant people’s healthcare? What does it mean to be treated with dignity and compassion? And what is at stake for pregnant people and medical providers in this country? Uncared For is presented by the Commonwea...
Nov 15, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 2
The maternal mortality rate in the United States is more than double that of our peers – and it’s especially high among Black birthing people. In the first episode of Uncared For, we’ll hear from health equity researchers, birth providers – like the postpartum doula who was there for SuChin – and Black mothers who have been dismissed and misdiagnosed in our broken system of care. How did our system end up like this? And what does this crisis tell us about how our healthcare system stacks up glob...
Nov 15, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 1
The maternal mortality rate in the United States is more than double that of our peers. How can we get maternal care right? In this season of Uncared For, we’ll learn from parents, doctors, midwives, and experts about why our system is so dangerously behind other countries. We’ll explore how places like Germany, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica are providing comprehensive and equitable care, and what the US can do better so that fewer pregnant people end up as statistics. Uncared For is presented...
Nov 03, 2022•3 min
