It's the Brian Lear Show. I'm producer Amina Serna, filling in for Brian today.

The federal government may have reopened, but for millions of Americans who rely on Affordable Care Act subsidies, the

uncertainty around their health insurance hasn't gone anywhere. Congress ended the 43-day shutdown

without extending the enhanced subsidies that keep premiums affordable for roughly 24 million

people. And in an in recent MS Now op-ed, my guest, Dr. Uche Blackstock, writes about treating those subsidies as something that can be bargained over has real consequences for how people get and pay for their care.

And if you don't know what MS Now is, it's new identity of MSNBC.

Dr. Blackstock has also written about a viral TikTok video of a black woman in active labor

being ignored by hospital staff.

She uses that moment to show how inequities in the health care system play out in real time

and how fragile the safety net already is for families of color.

So now we'll look at what's

what this ongoing fight over subsidies means for New Yorkers and people across the country,

how instability deepens racial and economic inequities, and how the concerns raised in her

piece about maternal health fit into the larger picture of what patients and communities are

experiencing right now. Uche Blackstock is an emergency medicine physician, founder and CEO of

advancing health equity, author of Legacy, A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine,

and a former MSNBC and NBC News Medical contributor. Dr. Blackstock, welcome to WMIC.

Hi, Amina. Thank you so very much for having me on today. Thank you so much for being here. And listeners, we'll open up the phones to you right away. How is the uncertainty around ACA subsidies or your marketplace premiums affecting you? Have you already

seen changes in your renewal notices? Are you worried about what your coverage will look like

in the new year? And on the maternal health side, have you experienced delays, dismissiveness,

or other barriers when trying to get care? 212-433 W-N-YC, that's 212-433-9692. You can call or text that number.

Dr. Blackstock, a lot of people are starting to get their renewal notices for next year

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