In this episode, we sit down with Professor Dr. Ricardo Nuila, the best-selling author of The People’s Hospital, which discusses Dr. Nuila’s experience as a physician at Houston’s Ben Taub Hospital, the difficulties of accessing healthcare in the US, and his vision for a more equitable health insurance model.
Dr. Nuila shares his journey from a three-generation medical family to working at Houston’s largest safety-net hospital, where patients can receive treatment regardless of their ability to pay. We explore why Texas presents unique challenges with its lack of Medicaid expansion, how local systems like Harris Health have stepped in to fill the gap, and what makes Ben Taub a trusted institution in the community. Through patient stories, from a restaurant manager overwhelmed by costs despite being insured, to a young college student blindsided by illness, Dr. Nuila illustrates the cracks in our system that affect both the uninsured and underinsured. We close with his perspective on what a sustainable two-tier model of public and private care could look like, and how storytelling through medicine and writing can help us reimagine a better future for healthcare.