About this episode

The episode features Kristen Grimm discussing her advocacy for healthcare affordability and the impact of medical debt on families.

This episode of the Raising Kellan Podcast concludes a three-part “Healthcare Affordability” series by featuring human rights advocate Kristen Grimm, founder and former executive director of Mothers for Medicare for All and newly appointed national director of One Nation Fully Covered under the Tim Carpenter Institute. [0:53] [1:17] [32:16] Drawing on her lived experience navigating her son’s 25 childhood and adolescent surgeries in children’s hospitals, Grimm describes how confronting medical debt, insurance denials, and complex Medicaid systems propelled her from hospital corridors to advocacy in the Tennessee legislature, Congress, and national healthcare reform movements. [3:17] [3:44] [4:29] [5:33] [5:53] [6:21] [6:47] [7:40] [8:06] [8:43] [9:10] [9:31] [10:05] [10:42] Grimm argues that the current U.S. healthcare financing structure is economically flawed, violates human rights, and is driven by for‑profit insurance companies whose practices generate medical debt and obstruct access to needed care, including for children treated in children’s hospitals. [4:29] [10:59] [11:18] [18:55] [20:00] [22:22] [22:35] [23:14] [23:29] [24:03] She emphasizes Medicaid’s central role in…

People in this episode

Host: Marsh Naidoo

Guest: Kristen Grimm

Topics covered

• healthcare affordability
• medical debt
• children's hospitals
• advocacy
• healthcare reform

Keywords

• healthcare
• affordability
• advocacy
• medical debt
• children's health

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: One Nation Fully Covered, Mothers for Medicare for All, Tim Carpenter Institute

Places: Tennessee, U.S.

More episodes of Raising Kellan

• Episode 171: Your Vote Matters! · July 15, 2026 · 15 min
• Episode 169: HealthCare Affordability in the U.S. and the CHES Survey · June 26, 2026 · 26 min

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