Profiteers are taking over health care in the United States and running it into the ground – firing health professionals and closing hospitals. Dr. Ana Malinow, a lead organizer of the group, National Single Payer, fears we are witnessing the demise of a model national insurance, Medicare, as the 58th anniversary of its passage was celebrated on July 31. Dr. Malinow joins Clearing the FOG to discuss the state of health care in the US. She provides a strong critique of state legislative efforts and the two Medicare for All bills in the House and Senate, HR 3421 and S 1655. Dr. Malinow outlines what people are doing across the country to build grassroots power to win a national health insurance, Medicare for All, or a national health system.
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Dr. Ana Malinow is a lead organizer of the new coalition, National Single Payer. She is a retired professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco. She was previously associate residency program director at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Dr. Malinow was associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and attending physician in the pediatric emergency and ambulatory center at Ben Taub General Hospital, where most of her patients were uninsured. Dr. Malinow is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including for grand rounds presentations on health care. She was named one of Houston’s top female physicians by Health and Fitness Sports Magazine.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Malinow earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Davis and a master’s degree in creative writing before completing her medical education at Case Western Reserve University. She completed residency in pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. She also holds a master’s degree in health care policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Malinow is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and co-founder of Health Care for all Texas, a grassroots organization that promotes single-payer national health insurance. She is also co-founder of Doctors for Change, an organization of health care professionals that organize for improved access to health care in Houston and Harris county.