We Can Do This!

28: Unlocking Affordable Medicine: Streamlining Biosimilar Approval for Better Patient Access

In this episode of NCL’s “We Can Do This” podcast, we dive into the world of biosimilars—cost-effective alternatives to expensive biologic drugs. Host Sally welcomes Giuseppe Randazzo (Association for Accessible Medicines) and Anna Hyde (Arthritis Foundation) to discuss the urgent need to simplify the biosimilar approval process. Discover how regulatory modernization could save billions, improve patient access, and break down barriers in the healthcare system. Our experts explain the challenges patients face, the importance of building trust in biosimilars, and the legislative changes needed to ensure safe, effective, and affordable treatments for all. Tune in for actionable insights and real-world stories that matter to patients, providers, and policymakers alike.

27: The Power of Polling: How Data Shapes Campaigns and Elections

Sally Greenberg speaks with Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg, PhD, a senior partner at the polling firm GQR. Sally and Anna discuss polling techniques and polling results leading up to the election of President Donald Trump in 2024.

26: Hospitals and PBMs Hijack Discount Drug Program

The 340B Drug Pricing Program– a federal initiative designed to provide medications to lower income patients at reduced prices–is being manipulated by large health care entities in order to reap tens of billions of dollars in profits with little to no oversight and transparency. As a result, the intended beneficiaries- low-income patients- are being forced to pay full price for medications they cannot afford. National Consumers League CEO Sally Greenberg speaks with Amy Hinojosa, President and CEO of Mana, a National Latina Organization, and Dr. Ge Bai, an expert on health care accounting, finance, and policy at Johns Hopkins University, regarding a shocking lack of transparency for a program that has more than doubled in cost reaching more than $120 Billion in 2022.

25: Child Marriage Survivors Share Their Stories

Today we are tackling a global issue affecting millions of young girls: Child marriage. Every year, thousands of girls are married off before they turn 18, often without their consent. Globally, one in five girls was married or in an informal union before the age of 18. Child marriage and forced marriage are happening all too often in the United States as well, at alarming rates. Over 300,000 minors were married in the United States between 2000 and 2018, 37 states currently allow children to marry and some have no minimum age for child marriage. On this episode, we are going to be talking to three remarkable women who have survived child marriage and are now leading the fight against it as advocates with Unchained At Last [https://www.unchainedatlast.org/], a national organization and movement dedicated to ending forced and child marriage in the United States. The mission of Unchained at Last is crucial to human rights and women's rights as marriage before 18 often involves coercion, unplanned pregnancies, and stripping minors of the legal rights they need to leave an unwanted marriage.

24: Biosimilars: What Consumers Should Know

On this health series episode of NCL’s “We Can Do this” podcast, Director of Health Policy, Robin Strongin, sits with Sarah Ikenberry, Senior Communication Advisor for the Office of Therapeutic Biologics and Biosimilars at US Food and Drug Administration, and Julie Reed, Executive Director of the Biosimilars Forum. In this podcast, Robin, Sarah and Julie discuss what biosimilars are, what they mean for patients and how biosimilars can be a cost-saving alternative for patients.  For more information on biosimilars, visit https://scriptyourfuture.org/biosimilars/ [https://scriptyourfuture.org/biosimilars/].