8.1 Problems: RANT + Guest Intro

This episode starts out with a typical monologue intro rant about some of the Inherent Problems in U.S. Healthcare. Then, we transition into learning more about our guest, Dr. Taylor Beckman, DO, who will finish his residency training in June and start on a cardiology fellowship in July. We talk about the issues with the horrifically high (and only getting higher) costs of healthcare in the United States, especially in comparison to other first-world countries and health systems, as well as in comparison to our past selves. We discuss several individual cases of healthcare expenditures for patients and how there is no set standard for what hospitals in America are allowed to charge for their services, and how the complicated intricacies of hidden hospital fees and insurance coverage are bankrupting Americans. Spending so much on healthcare as a country restricts spending in other areas (I certainly AM NOT recommending we spend any more money on defense) and ultimately, makes it difficult for so many individuals and families to save money and accumulate assets and generational wealth. This is leading to a progressively widening wealth gap in America, where the richer get richer, and the middle-class is just getting by. Some of the statistics will astound you.

Next, we discuss the corporatization of our healthcare system, how changes in the last 20-40 years have led to fewer and fewer providers operating their own private practices as the system continues to funnel them into working for large corporate conglomerates trending towards a monopolization of healthcare. HIPAA was a huge factor in this trend towards corporatization and nearly co-emerged with the advent of the Electronic Health/Medical Record (EHR/EMR), which today is essentially mandated by the system. This forces providers to document NOT based on effectively transmitting the most important information for other clinicians (as it was in the past), but rather to document so that patient's visits get covered and providers claims are accepted, with so much erroneous data that it waters down the medical record. Not to mention, it is damn near impossible to get medical records in a timely fashion, despite these supposedly 'integrated' systems. Lastly, on this topic we discuss how a conscientious and persistent Bronx Urologist, Alex Shteynshlyuger, unveiled the corruption of former CMS employee Matthew Albright and the Electronic Transfer Fees, or ETFs, payment system that allows ANOTHER group of middlemen to siphon profits from prescribers, making it even more difficult to co-exist with these large conglomerates in your own private practice.

Lastly, we give several examples of over-treatment in the American system, specifically discussing the overabundance of heart catheterizations, the MAJOR problems in manipulating the research around what's called the beta-amyloid deposition theory of Alzheimer's Dementia and how the new Alzheimers' drugs targeting beta-amyloid removal, Aducanumab and Lecanamab, don't really work AND likely cause more harm than good. Finally, we talk a little bit about the trend of GLP-1 Agonists, including Ozempic, and again try to bring the discussion back towards the center; while they're helpful for weight loss, they are not devoid of side effects and co-utilizing them with preventive measures and limiting prescription lengths may be more beneficial in treatment. In our final section, we discuss potential system-wide solutions, as well as give listeners specific advice on how to fight their high healthcare costs.

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