In this episode of wRight To The Root, Stephanie Wright is joined by Candace, a Johannesburg-based access advisor with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), to unpack the global insulin access crisis and why a medication that has existed for over 100 years is still priced, patented, and distributed like a luxury. Candace shares how growing up in Alexandra, a historically marginalized township shaped by apartheid, fueled her commitment to structural change, not charity.

Together, we dig into what keeps insulin and diabetes medicines out of reach, including patent systems that protect monopolies, supply decisions that can trigger shortages, and a market that increasingly prioritizes high-profit GLP-1 drugs while basic diabetes care gets squeezed. We also talk about the real path forward, from policy reform and competition enforcement, to local and regional manufacturing, to grassroots organizing and treatment literacy so patients and communities can advocate with power and clarity.

If you have ever wondered why life-saving medicine can be marketed like candy and rationed like gold, this conversation is for you.

Listen, share, and take action, because patients united are harder to ignore.

On this episode of wRight To The Root, Stephanie Wright sits down with Dr. Ed Weisbart — a retired family medicine physician, former Chief Medical Officer at Express Scripts, and longtime healthcare advocate with Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP).

Dr. Weisbart shares what pushed him from fighting for patients in the exam room to fighting for them in the streets and in policy: years of watching people delay or skip care because of copays, deductibles, denials, and fear of medical debt. Together, Stephanie and Dr. Weisbart unpack why “getting sick” in America has become financially terrifying — and how prior authorization, Medicare Advantage, and corporate profiteering are shaping who gets care and when.

You’ll hear a powerful real-life example of how traditional Medicare vs. Medicare Advantage can mean the difference between next-day testing and weeks of delay — delays that, for many patients, can be life-or-death. The conversation also tackles the biggest myths that stall progress (especially the fear of taxes), and why multiple analyses show Medicare for All could cover everyone with no copays or deductibles for the same or less than we already pay.

This episode connects the dots between healthcare access, corporate greed, and democracy — while offering real hope: new momentum in Congress, growing coordination among advocacy organizations, and a clear message for both patients and clinicians—silence won’t change the system, but collective action can.

If you’ve ever been denied care, overwhelmed by bills, or told to “wait for approval,” this conversation is for you.

Note on this episode’s audio: This conversation was recorded in October 2025 in Reykjavík. Due to a camera malfunction, we were only able to recover the audio—and it was saved on a note-taking device, so it’s not studio-quality. That said, I’m genuinely pleased with how it turned out, and I’m excited to share it with you.

In this Reykjavík sit-down, Stephanie Wright visits withBrynja Björk, an Icelandic dentist who graduated from the University of Iceland and then practiced in Sweden for 11 years—giving her a rare, inside view of how dentistry works across two Nordic systems.

Together, we dig into what happens when healthcare is treated as a public good (with rules, guardrails, and faster payments) versus a profit engine (with denials, delays, and debt). We talk access, affordability, workforce shortages, and what the U.S. could learn—without pretending any system is perfect.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Brynja became a dentist (and how dental anxiety shaped her mission)

• Dentist shortages and what it means when patients wait months for an appointment

• How licensing can be surprisingly portable across Nordic countries

• The U.S. reality: $300k–$500k+ dental school debt and the barriers for foreign-trained dentists

• Iceland’s “hybrid” coverage: kids covered, support for seniors, and what limitations look like

• Reimbursements that arrive in days, not months—and denials you can actually respond to

• Continuing education requirements and the stakes of losing government contracts

• A big surprise for Americans: Iceland doesn’t train hygienists, so dentists do the hygiene

• Sweden’s tiered reimbursement approach: the people who need the most get the most

• Fluoride, misinformation, and why policy + prevention beats fear

If you’ve ever wondered what a more functional, prevention-forward system could look like—this is a powerful place to start.

🎧 Listen in, then share this episode with someone who still thinks “insurance” equals “care.”