RFK Jr Podcast Broken Health Insurance System with Brigham Buhler
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Nov 16, 2023 
RFK Jr dissects America's greedy, misguided health insurance system with expert Brigham Buhler. They explore unethical practices of big pharma, broken pharmacy benefit managers, doctors operating outside the insurance system, FDA's influence on drug availability, medication bans, the opioid crisis, corrupt practices, and challenges faced in the health insurance system.
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Insurers Penalize Preventative Care
- Insurers pressure doctors to avoid preventative testing because it raises short-term measured spend and threatens contracts.
- This incentives a reactive 'sick care' model instead of prevention and early diagnosis.
Use Cash-Pay Providers As A Life Raft
- Seek cash-pay clinicians and compounding pharmacies to avoid insurer-controlled care and high prices.
- Vertical, cash-pay providers can deliver cheaper, tailored medications and preventive testing outside the sick-care system.
Turnover Disincentivizes Prevention
- Insurers prefer to shift long-term prevention costs away because employees change plans every few years.
- This dynamic explains why insurers often avoid investing in prevention even when it would lower future spending.