Scott Horton Show - Just the Interviews 2/27/26 Andy Schoonover on Fixing the Healthcare System Without Waiting for Politicians
Mar 5, 2026
Andy Schoonover, founder and CEO of CrowdHealth, builds community-run healthcare funding to tackle runaway medical costs. He explains a peer-to-peer model that negotiates bills and funds care directly. Short, clear takes cover why prices keep rising, how negotiation and reciprocity work, and how the approach handles catastrophic claims.
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Why CrowdHealth Started After A Denied $8,000 Claim
- Andy Schoonover left his ACA plan after an $8,000 denied claim for a 15-minute eardrum procedure.
- He then paid providers directly, negotiated steep discounts, and founded CrowdHealth to scale that peer-funded model.
How Policy Turned Healthcare Into A Price-Increasing Machine
- Government interventions and intermediaries have aligned incentives so both insurers and providers profit when prices rise.
- Andy argues Obamacare amplified that by creating a system where buyers and sellers both benefit from higher prices, blocking market pressure to lower costs.
Peer Funding Plus Direct Pay Cuts Typical Prices In Half
- CrowdHealth's negotiated, direct-pay transactions yield roughly 50% lower prices than big insurers like UnitedHealthcare.
- Over 35,000 bills the platform found substantially lower real prices by removing intermediaries and negotiating point-of-care rates.
