Episode 5: Profits over patients

With early voting in Wisconsin starting Oct. 20 ahead of the Nov. 3 election, a new podcast episode spotlights how Medicaid cuts are reshaping healthcare access. “Episode 5: Profits over patients” frames the issue through the politics of Medicaid and the business realities behind hospital decisions about care in specific communities. The episode begins in Waupaca, a Central Wisconsin city of about 6,000, where mother Cindya Gullickson recounts getting pregnant after struggling for years and receiving care at a local medical center. The story is used to connect everyday patient experience to broader funding and profit incentives.