1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Hi, This is new due to the virus. I'm recording 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: from home, so you may notice a difference in audio 3 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: quality on this episode of News World. One in five 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: Americans now has medical debt and collections, and rising healthcare 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: costs today threatening every small business in America. In his 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,480 Speaker 1: recent book The Price We Pay, What Broke American Healthcare 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: and How to fix It, Doctor Marty McCarry, one of 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: the nation's leading healthcare experts, travels across America and details 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: why healthcare has become a bubble, Drawing from on the 10 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: ground stores, his research, and his own experience, The Price 11 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: We Pay paints a vivid picture of price couching middlemen 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: in a series of elucid money games. In need of 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: a serious shaker, Doctor McCarey shows how so much of 14 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: healthcare spending goes to things that have nothing to do 15 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: with health, and what you can do about it. Doctor 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:04,680 Speaker 1: McCarry challenges the medical establishment to remember medicine's noble heritage 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,639 Speaker 1: of caring for people when they are vulnerable. The Price 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: We Pay offers a roadmap for everyday Americans and business 19 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: leaders to get a better deal in their healthcare and 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: profiles the disruptors who are innovating medical care. The movement 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: to restore medicine to its mission is alive and will 22 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: a mission that can rebuild the public trust and save 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,559 Speaker 1: our country from the crushing cost of health care. As 24 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: someone who has long been an advocate for healthcare reform 25 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: and price transparency, I am pleased to welcome my guest, 26 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: doctor Marty McCarry. He is a surgical oncologist specializing in 27 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: minimally invasive surgery and a professor of health policy and 28 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: Management at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He 29 00:01:50,600 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: speaks nationally on disruptive innovation and healthcare. Doctor Marty McCarry, 30 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: thank you for taking the time to help educate all 31 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: of us and the work you've done, the things you've learned, 32 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: what initially got you intrigue with this whole notion of 33 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: finding the people who are breaking through and helping with costs. 34 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: Good to be with you, Nute. You know, I think 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,239 Speaker 1: that people have been frustrated with healthcare for a while now. 36 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: Costs are burdening every family and business, and it's really 37 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: one of the drivers of the US being less competitive globally. 38 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: But nobody really understands why, right and we blame little things. 39 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: And what was clear to me from my academic pursuits 40 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: at Johns Hopkins in health policy was that the fundamental 41 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: problem in healthcare is we have non competitive markets. And 42 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: you can try to set rules in those non competitive markets, 43 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: but the fundamental problem is they're not competitive. And if 44 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 1: you create competition, if you enable it, that takes care 45 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: of a lot of the waste and a lot of 46 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 1: spending has nothing to do with healthcare. But at the 47 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: same time, we have great people in healthcare, even in 48 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: these middleman industries within healthcare, that are saving money out 49 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: of the system. So how do you explain the fact 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: you've got good people working in this bad system? And 51 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,839 Speaker 1: so I wanted to talk to those people and get 52 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: their perspectives and ask them where they think the waste 53 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: is and why healthcare costs so much. And in the 54 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: end I really left convinced that we have great people 55 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: working in American healthcare, but the system is set up 56 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: wrong and the solution is embarrassingly simple. So that was 57 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: the reason I wanted to chronicle stories. As you talk policy, 58 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: as you know better than anyone new, we have a 59 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: very opinionated mentality. Look at the way people get entrenched 60 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: positions around coronavirus, which is something that's evolving and we're 61 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: learning more about. And so we have this nation of 62 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: strong opinions, oftentimes with little expertise, but when you speak 63 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: from personal experience, that's very hard to argue with. And 64 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: I can speak as a physician and I can tell 65 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: those stories and did in this book of folks in 66 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: the broker industry telling me the story that no one's 67 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,000 Speaker 1: talking about, that we need to be talking about is 68 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,680 Speaker 1: how businesses are getting ripped off on their health benefits, 69 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: and story after stories, I wanted to share those stories. 70 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: And that's really the basis for doing this project. Are 71 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: you did a couple of studies where you ask doctors 72 00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: and others what they thought the real cost of just 73 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: of an effective, efficient healthcare system will be and it's 74 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: a pretty big drop from overcome and spending. Could you 75 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: sort of walk through that from Hunter? The reason healthcare 76 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: costs so much From all of the research I've done 77 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: at Johns Hopkins and for this book, it's very clear 78 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 1: it's three factors. Number One, pricing failures that enables price 79 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: gouging and all this kind of waste in the system. 80 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: Number Two, it's doing unnecessary stuff. We ask doctors in 81 00:04:56,880 --> 00:04:59,800 Speaker 1: a national survey, what percent of medical care in your 82 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: observation is unnecessary excluding your own practice, simply looking around you, 83 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: and they said twenty one percent was the average answer. 84 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: They broke it down like twenty five percent of medications 85 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: and twenty two percent of diagnostic tests, eleven percent of 86 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: surgical procedures. When people in an industry are telling you 87 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,040 Speaker 1: that one in five things they are doing is entirely unnecessary, 88 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: we need to listen to them. We've prescribed one opioid 89 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: prescription for every American three years ago. That was just 90 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: one medication that we had a wake up call on. 91 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: There's a lot of other medications. The average personnel in 92 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: the United States is on four medications. The average senior 93 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: is on seven. I mean, we live in the most 94 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: over medicated, the most disabled, the most obese and comorbid 95 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: generation in the history of the world. And at some 96 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: point we have to ask, are we going to simply 97 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: have a reactionary healthcare system that throws meds at people 98 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: in ten fifteen minutes of ointments, or are we going 99 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: to have a proactive system that addresses these underlying causes. 100 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,239 Speaker 1: And that third driver is care coordination is so poor, 101 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 1: And I think the most exciting thing I've learned in 102 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: the last five years was the movement of relationship based 103 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: medicine chen med for example in Florida, taking care of 104 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: seniors through Medicare advantage, doing whatever it takes to take 105 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: care of them, visiting them at home, putting them in 106 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: a program to educate them about how to eat well, 107 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: giving them a ride to their specialist appointment. Dropping the 108 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: burden of billing and coding from doctors so they can 109 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: just take care of people and guess what their outcomes 110 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: are phenomenal, They're much better. How do you initially figure 111 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: out where to look or what to ADK Since I 112 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: worked with the World Health Organization years ago on something 113 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: called the Surgery Checklist and that became popularized in a 114 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: book by a tool Gawandhi, I've had a lot of 115 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: opportunities to speak. And when you speak at these conferences, 116 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,200 Speaker 1: you have an incredible opportunity to listen to everyday docks 117 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: running a small rural hospital. What are your struggles, what 118 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: could be fixed? And when you listen, it's amazing what 119 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: you learn. And so talking to folks who are trying 120 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: to find the cure for cancer within a pharmaceutical company. 121 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: Are they good? Are they bad? If we can get 122 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: rid of these labels and listen to people and have 123 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: them tell you what they believe the solutions are, it's 124 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: amazing what's out there. For example, in pharma, they universally said, 125 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: look at the middleman, the pharmacy benefit manager, this middleman space, 126 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: and how they're requiring us to pay these pay to 127 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: play fees just to be listed in their formularies. It's 128 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: not fair. We have to build in that price into 129 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: the price of the drug. And so you start hearing 130 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: these stories and I think ultimately you realize that it's 131 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: the lack of transparency that is really at the heart 132 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: of a lot of this stuff. Look, if we had 133 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: to shop for airline tickets with no prices on those websites, 134 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: airlines would be gouging us all over the place if 135 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: they had to bill us after the flight. And so 136 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: these are the opportunities right now. How can we create 137 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: the nutrition labels for healthcare? The industry argued, we can't 138 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: have nutrition labels. Hey, we're gonna have to increase the 139 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: price of food. People are going to be laid off. 140 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: These old arguments guess what. We got nutrition labels that 141 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: were not mass layoffs. They're not massive spikes and food prices. 142 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: But now we enabled competition and competition around ingredients, and 143 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: that's how we drove health in the area of food 144 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: for over a decade. Now, once you began pulling the string, 145 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: you begin finding all sorts of different things. There were 146 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: different patterns in different part of the health system. I 147 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: have to say, I've looked at this stuff for a 148 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: very long time, and some of your discoveries make a 149 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: lot of sense, and I believe them. But some of 150 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 1: them are so common sensical and so troubling that I 151 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: was really sort of shocked by them. I think the 152 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: one I was most shocked about NEWT was the game 153 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: of inflating medical prices for the purposes of offering secret 154 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:15,079 Speaker 1: discounts to different insurance companies and groups. And that game 155 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: sounds like it has no casualties, that it's a system 156 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: that works. But when I approached hospital CEOs and said, hey, 157 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: this patient went to your hospital by the way, sat 158 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: in the emergency room for two hours, got an IV. 159 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 1: I know the medical codes, I know the billing process, 160 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: I know the medicine. Okay, how much do you think 161 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: that two hour IV cost? And they would embarrassingly think, 162 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,679 Speaker 1: I don't know two thousand dollars. I said, no, it's 163 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,199 Speaker 1: six thousand dollars. And you ought to be ashamed of 164 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: yourself because as patient went to collections and was sued 165 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,839 Speaker 1: by your hospital, and immediately they say, oh my gosh, 166 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,480 Speaker 1: that's wrong. I can't believe that I had no idea 167 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 1: I'm going to forgive this bill. And then I started 168 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: asking the question, how often does this occur? And is 169 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: it that we have diabolical people in healthcare trying to 170 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: ruin the lives of low income folks that can't afford 171 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: their bills? Are they just disconnected? And I left convinced 172 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: they were just simply disconnected. And so if you could 173 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: tell these stories, and what I discovered was this pattern 174 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: of about twenty to thirty percent of US hospitals that 175 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 1: when after patients viciously in court to garnish their wages, 176 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 1: put leans on their homes if they can't afford these 177 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: inflated bills simply because they were paying an honest price. 178 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: When you go to a restaurant and you say can 179 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: I see the menu, they don't say, who's your employer. Okay, well, 180 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: this is the menu for you, and you might be 181 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: paying five times what the next table is paying for 182 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: the same hamburger, but you are contractually bound to not 183 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,320 Speaker 1: be able to see the other prices. That's what we 184 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: have in healthcare. So it became clear to me that 185 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: we've got good people. We just got to let the 186 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: markets work. The University of Iowa study looking at coronary 187 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: bypass surgery surveyed like one hundred hospitals from only fifty 188 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: three game a price, and the prices ranged from forty 189 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: four thousand to four hundred and forty eight thousand. Now, 190 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: my hundred, there's no direct correlation of quality. As you know, 191 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: I've been a big advocate of transparency and insisting that 192 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: the prices get posted in a way that people can 193 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,559 Speaker 1: genuinely shot. I mean, wouldn't the four hundred and forty 194 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: eight thousand dollars hospital have a big problem? He should 195 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 1: be embarrassed at that price. I mean, that's an absurd price, 196 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: and that price came from a hospital that doesn't do 197 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: particularly exceptional in cardiac surgery outcomes. Cardiac surgery is one 198 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: of the few areas of medicine where quality metrics are 199 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 1: very mature, they're collected around the country, they're publicly reported, 200 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: and so that study was entirely enabled by the transparency 201 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: and that one operation in the entire field of medicine, 202 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: that was only one operation, and people have no idea, 203 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: And often times the hospitals have been hiding behind this 204 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: argument that oh, well, we provide a lot of charity care. Well, 205 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: guess what, almost every hospital in the country provides a 206 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: lot of charity care, and that charity care is often 207 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: supported and there's often a lot of taxpayer dollars and 208 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: donations that go to that charity care. So the idea 209 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: that we have to charge ten times what the other 210 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: hospital charges in order to support our charity care is 211 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 1: not supported by the data. Someone at Google, one of 212 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: the executives, had read my book The Price We Pay, 213 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: and said, I get this call a lot. We want 214 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: you to come and talk to us and explain to 215 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 1: us what we can be doing to fix this problem 216 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: and what we can do to get a better deal 217 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: on our own healthcare benefits. Well, I said, you guys 218 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: are Google. You have an incredible platform to create public 219 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: accountability without any government regulation involvement. When somebody types in 220 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: the name of a hospital instead of just putting up 221 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,199 Speaker 1: the name and the address and the phone number. Why 222 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: don't you put up the name, the address, the phone number, 223 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: their average price markup the leaf Frog quality score, and 224 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: whether or not they perform on these five billing quality metrics, 225 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: including whether or not they sue patients. Billing quality is 226 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: medical quality? Explain that what do you mean We publish 227 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: an article in JAMMA are leading medical journals saying we 228 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: have to measure billing quality like we measure medical complications. 229 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: When you come out of a hospital, you can be 230 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: harmed medically, or you can be harmed financially. Financial toxicity 231 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 1: is a medical complication. And so when you come out 232 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: burdened with hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills for 233 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:36,559 Speaker 1: services that were not amergent, they were simply not disclosed 234 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:38,600 Speaker 1: to you in terms of a price beforehand, even though 235 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: they could have, and you leave with that, that's a 236 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: part of the outcome of the patient. And so when 237 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 1: we've ruin someone's life financially, we're violating our sacred oath. 238 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: And at minimum, we should be giving people choices. We 239 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: should be giving them the option. And if it turns 240 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,240 Speaker 1: out that if you deliver a baby in Boston, you 241 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: can go to a hospital that charges forty one thousand 242 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: dollars or six thousand dollars for the exact same, uncomplicated delivery, 243 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:04,959 Speaker 1: but you have no idea what you're walking into. Can 244 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:10,120 Speaker 1: we empower consumers and proxy shoppers of consumers who are 245 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: employers and health plans to be enabled with information so 246 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: that they can go to hospitals with not only low 247 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: complication rates, but with low financial complication rates. Why couldn't 248 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 1: that be done on the consumer side, Why couldn't you 249 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: have a patience website where people who just basically rate 250 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: their experiences. It's in progress and one of the most 251 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: exciting things I'm a part of is a website called 252 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: sesame Care. There's another one called md save that was 253 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 1: started by former centator Bill Frist and some others. These 254 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: sites are trying to become the Kayaks and travelocities and 255 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: expedients of healthcare. Price transparency does usher in quality transparency. 256 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: If there's two TVs in town and one is sold 257 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: for five hundred and the other one for five hundred 258 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: and fifty dollars, your brain immediately asks, well, what are 259 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: the differences? What are the specs and the experience and 260 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: the quality. If there's one TV, your brain just thinks 261 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: do I buy it or not? And so price transparency 262 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: will usher in quality transparency. You even logically went to 263 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 1: that conclusion when you saw the variation in heart surgery prices. 264 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: Once forty eight thousand dollars the other's four hundred and 265 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: forty eight thousand dollars. Tell me about the difference, and 266 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: it turns out there was no difference in that case. 267 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: So to one extent, have the Trump administration's efforts to 268 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: require transparency, which of course the hospitals properly sued, to 269 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: what extent has that been a step in the right direction. 270 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: It's a game changer. It's the biggest news in healthcare. 271 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: I think in about a decade. When I first met 272 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: with folks at the White House, and the White House 273 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: asked what should we be doing on healthcare? What is 274 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: the biggest impact we can make and don't worry about 275 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: the special interests, just tell us what you believe to 276 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: be the biggest game changing thing. And we said, convert 277 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: non competitive markets to competitive markets. Well I was so impressed. 278 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: I mean, the staff there, the people, they basically said, 279 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: we want to do this, and they pushed ahead and 280 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: I was so blown away, and when they finally made 281 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: the announcement, I couldn't believe it. That night, I watched 282 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: the nightly news after having the privilege of standing with 283 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: the President and Secretary Azar and Sem and others for 284 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: this historic moment to convert non competitive markets to competitive 285 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: markets through required price transparency, not of charge master prices, 286 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: not just sticker prices, but real prices. That is, tell 287 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: us what the insurance discount is that you have with 288 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: the insurance companies. No more secret games, put it all 289 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: on the table. Amazing reform. That night on the evening news, 290 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: no coverage of the price transparency rule, but you had 291 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: this incredible moment and no coverage of it. People in 292 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,399 Speaker 1: healthcare were not even following it. And then the hospitals 293 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 1: who said, look, we're going to sue. There's no way 294 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: we're turning this over. They argued that it would confuse 295 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: patients to have prices and that it would lead to 296 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:24,919 Speaker 1: non competitive markets. And I thought, is this a Jedi 297 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,120 Speaker 1: mind trick? Is this is laughable? They're in a free 298 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: fall in hospitals, who I love, We're just in this 299 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: bully mode of a trade organization that we're going to 300 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 1: block anything that we have to do. You know that 301 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: mentality well from all the folks that have met with 302 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: you over the years. And they filed the lawsuit on Monday. 303 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: The announcement was Friday. If they could have filed it 304 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 1: on Saturday, they would They filled it on Monday, went 305 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,480 Speaker 1: to court. Judge threw it out a couple of weeks ago, 306 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,040 Speaker 1: just saying this is ridiculous. Through it way out, comments 307 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 1: were incredible. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves kind 308 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 1: of verdict. And so this is going to take effect 309 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: in January. I think it's going to be a game changer. 310 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: So when you talk about non competitive markets, what does 311 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: that mean? So right now, if you're an employer and 312 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: your employees are delivering babies at two different hospitals in 313 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: New York, one charges six thousand dollars, the other I 314 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: won't name them, but let's just say they're one of 315 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: the prominent systems seventy thousand dollars. You may want to 316 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,160 Speaker 1: steer your employees to one that charges six thousand because 317 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: the experiences and the quality are equal. If there worth 318 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: seventy thousand, by all means, go there. But they're not. 319 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: It's the same doctors a lot of times, by the way, 320 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,879 Speaker 1: rotating at different hospitals, and so you can't see those 321 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: things that in terms companies say, look, well, you're contractually 322 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: bound not to see any prices. These are our proprietary 323 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,800 Speaker 1: contracts and you can't see them. This price transparency rule 324 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: by President Trump says no more of that. That's all 325 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: now public domain. It's going to really move employers and 326 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: proceeds shoppers to say, hey, look, you can deliver at 327 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: any place you want, but if you go to the 328 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: six thousand dollars hospital as an employer, we're going to 329 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: pay for diapers and wipes for a year for you 330 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,240 Speaker 1: and send you a check for five hundred dollars. You 331 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 1: can go wherever you want. You've got free choice. But 332 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,199 Speaker 1: we're going to incentivize the high value centers and the 333 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: doctors that do appropriate back surgery and send patients for 334 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 1: physical therapy, and the primary care clinics that talk about 335 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,639 Speaker 1: cooking classes for diabetes, not just throwing meds at people, 336 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: and the places that recognize frailty as a medical condition. 337 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:35,879 Speaker 1: And you're going to see this incredible unleashing of the 338 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: market towards what really matters to patients. That's great, that's amazing. 339 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: The other part of that which I've found fascinating the 340 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:49,959 Speaker 1: medical technology device people normally signed contracts that make it 341 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: illegal for the hospital to tell you what they cost, 342 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,159 Speaker 1: and it's a build into the system, and everybody seems 343 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: to think it's okay. There are so many things in healthcare. 344 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:00,720 Speaker 1: You look at the me you think, well, of course 345 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: this is illegal, and you realize, no, this is the 346 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,160 Speaker 1: way of doing business. I wrote about the practice of 347 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,640 Speaker 1: pharmaceutical companies paying doctors based on quotas of how many 348 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,080 Speaker 1: of their meds they prescribe. You think, well, certainly that's illegal. 349 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 1: Now that goes on, and it went on with lucentis 350 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: and I wrote about it in the book Unaccountable. These 351 00:20:19,359 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: there are things that people need to be aware of. 352 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: As a surgeon myself, I can go to my conferences 353 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: and talk. We can talk among ourselves about these reforms 354 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: that we need, or you can engage the public. And 355 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: that's what I've chosen to do through books and fox 356 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: and speaking and other things. We've got to educate folks 357 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: so that when they're told you need this done, they say, 358 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: what are the alternatives? And maybe I need a second opinion, 359 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: and how much is it going to cost? And can 360 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: I talk to a patient that had this done in 361 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 1: your practice? All of these games you're talking about, you 362 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: really have led me to the fundamental conclusion that the 363 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,840 Speaker 1: solution to our out of control healthcare system is embarrassingly simple. 364 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: Get rid of secrecy at every level secrecy, kickback secrecy 365 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: in pricing, and restore the public trust through transparency. You know, 366 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: most hospitals in the United States were built by churches, 367 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: many were funded by philanthropists. They were floated by the 368 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: local community. Many of them operated in the red, like 369 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: my own hospital, Johns Hopkins. But it was okay, it 370 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 1: didn't matter who you were. They took care of you. 371 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 1: Is in the charter, soldiers from both sides of the 372 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: Civil War sat in our wards. You had surgeons paying 373 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: for the train ride of individuals to come and see 374 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,720 Speaker 1: them because these people couldn't pay. One of the neurosurgeons 375 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: I write about never charged a teacher or a member 376 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: of the clergy, or a police officer or a firefighter, 377 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: anyone who was engaged in public service. That is the 378 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: great heritage of American hospitals. And now we've come to 379 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,199 Speaker 1: this full circle game of secrecy and insider deals, and 380 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,679 Speaker 1: that's where sunlight is the best disinfectant. The number of 381 00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: lawsuits that hospitals filled and amazed me because almost all 382 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: who ought to raise money to provide charity care, How 383 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: can we made healthy a few and go banquet? The 384 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:11,159 Speaker 1: number of people being sued by the hospitals was breathtaking. 385 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: Did that come as a surprise to you? Massive surprise. 386 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:16,680 Speaker 1: I didn't know what was happening. And when I took 387 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: those cases back to the individual doctor who's involved in 388 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: the care, they were surprised. They were never told this 389 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:24,719 Speaker 1: is what the hospital is going to do. They're going 390 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: to take their patient to court and sue them. When 391 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: they found out they were living the story of the 392 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: year last year was hospitals aggressively suing patients over high bills. 393 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 1: We broke that story in the journal the American Medical 394 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: Association last July, and I wrote about it obviously in 395 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: the book which circulated around that time. In its pre 396 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: release version, we told reporters, here's a hospital suing patients. 397 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: Write about them. You're a nonprofit hospital. You don't pay 398 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:50,439 Speaker 1: millions of dollars in taxes because you're supposed to be 399 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,199 Speaker 1: doing some public good for community benefit. Live up to 400 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,640 Speaker 1: that mission. Look at this person's life that you ruined 401 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,479 Speaker 1: over a bill that's overinflated. You ought to be ashamed 402 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: of yourselves. This is violating the sacred public trust in 403 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: the medical profession. And I go to these courthouses and 404 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: I would defend anyone who walks in. I would stand 405 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: outside of the courthouse and people who were sued that day, 406 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: and sometimes it was three hundred people in one day 407 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: sued by the local community nonprofit hospital over bills they 408 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 1: simply couldn't afford. These are not deadbeats by in large. 409 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: These were people. They've done nothing wrong, they have insurance, 410 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,440 Speaker 1: they have a job, they work hard, and they get 411 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: taken advantage of by a high surprise bill and then 412 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: sent a court notice. Lawyers are not allowed to solicit 413 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: business at a courthouse on a day of court, but 414 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: I'm not a lawyer. When I found out I could, 415 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,160 Speaker 1: so I started doing it. And I told people as 416 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: they walk in with my team there and I said, look, 417 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,400 Speaker 1: I'm here as a doctor just to help out. We're 418 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: here with kind of our own advocacy work. If I 419 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: can defend you in court I'll do it for free, 420 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: and case after case got thrown out. We went up 421 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: there and we won one hundred percent of the time. 422 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:57,679 Speaker 1: How can you be in a court if you're not 423 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: a lawyer. I'm the patients medical expert. I said, how 424 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:03,359 Speaker 1: can I help? And they said, well, if you have 425 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,880 Speaker 1: a medical expert here to interpret the bill, then they 426 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: can say something. So I said, okay, sign me up. 427 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:13,320 Speaker 1: Would it be possible to put together the four or 428 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: five steps that every person is about to be sued 429 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 1: by a hospital should take so that they in effect 430 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: know that automatically to file for discovery. Yeah. Actually we've 431 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 1: done that on our Restoring Medicine dot org website and 432 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: so people can find there what to do. People have 433 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: a lot of rights. One of the dirty secrets and 434 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,160 Speaker 1: healthcare is that you can negotiate your bills before, during, 435 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: and after the care, and so people need to stand 436 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,320 Speaker 1: up for themselves. Years ago, when we had the Center 437 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: for Health Transformation, we had a guy come and work 438 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:48,199 Speaker 1: with us who was on the West Coast and his 439 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: specialty was taking really really be charges like Stanford would 440 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: charge you seven hundred thousand dollars for one hundred and 441 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: twenty thousand procedure, and every single time he would go 442 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: in and say, Okay, if you're not prepared to come 443 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: down to the reasonable price, I'm filing for discovery, and 444 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: every single time they would back off. The amount he 445 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,439 Speaker 1: saved his clients was an enormous amount of money. And 446 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: his specialty was, interestingly, academic hospitals, which were the most 447 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 1: likely overcharge. It's a disgrace. The hospitals are supposed to 448 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,439 Speaker 1: be a safe haven for people when they're vulnerable, not 449 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: a place to take advantage and gouge them. The most 450 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: important two things I can tell folks out there newt 451 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: is that if you get a bill, type it into 452 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: healthcare bluebook dot com or one of those reference based 453 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: websites and find out what the going rate is for 454 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 1: the same codes, and you take that number back to them. Okay, 455 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,120 Speaker 1: that's how you find out the Bluebook price. The other 456 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,120 Speaker 1: thing is, do not sign your financial life away when 457 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: you come to the hospital. You don't have to, by 458 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: the way, it's against the imtala law. Okay, you don't 459 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 1: have to sign your life away financially, everything you own, 460 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: all your property, your entire net worth under penalty of 461 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: law in order to get an I V in the 462 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: emergency room. Okay, you don't sign that document. Consent to 463 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: treat is something separate and it does not mean you 464 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: sign your home away, okay, And so hospitals should behave 465 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,239 Speaker 1: better and separate those documents. Many times they don't. They 466 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 1: merge them and they're saying, you just have to sign this. 467 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: You say, we'll have some questions. I don't feel comfortable 468 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:31,800 Speaker 1: signing my life away financially. They said, well, you just 469 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: have to sign it. It's a consent to treat. You 470 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: separate those two and if you need to, you write 471 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 1: on a piece of paper your own battlefield consent and 472 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: you say I consent to be treated at this hospital 473 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 1: by any doctor for any procedure, and you give that 474 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 1: to them and watch them not take care of you 475 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,479 Speaker 1: with that document. Do you have several websites people should 476 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: be able to go to for this kind of thing. Yeah, 477 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,560 Speaker 1: we've got that also on our Restoring Medicine website. My 478 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: medical students from Johns Hopkins around the country that work 479 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 1: with me and concerned citizens and nurses have said, look, 480 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:06,040 Speaker 1: we want to be involved, we want to do something. 481 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: So we created this resource at Restoring Medicine dot org. 482 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: And then a lot of this stuff is in the 483 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,679 Speaker 1: book The Price We Pay? What do you think the 484 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 1: administration should do next? To continue the momentum towards reforming 485 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: and improving the health system. I've encouraged them to use 486 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: the power that they have to require public reporting, to 487 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: require not just public reporting around bet alcer rates and 488 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:36,119 Speaker 1: surgical site infections, but also around billing quality. What is 489 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: your average markup? Do you sue patients? Do you provide 490 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:43,680 Speaker 1: honest prices when people ask for elective non emergent services? 491 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,679 Speaker 1: Do you charge patients for complications that are never events, 492 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: things that should never happen? A subset of complications that 493 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: we've identified in medicine as leaving a sponge behind or 494 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: things that should never happen? Do you charge the patients 495 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: for those things? And the patients want an honest price, 496 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:02,679 Speaker 1: are they going to run the risk of getting a 497 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,880 Speaker 1: surprise bill from an out of network doctor at an 498 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 1: in network facility without any disclosure. Okay, now you're shot 499 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,639 Speaker 1: in the chest. Look, we're just going to take care 500 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: of you. Okay. As a surgeon, I can tell you 501 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 1: we're not going to be giving you any prices or 502 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,159 Speaker 1: talking any of the stuff We're just going to take 503 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,359 Speaker 1: care of you. That's what we should be doing. But 504 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 1: sixty percent of medical care is shoppable, and for that stuff, 505 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: we can clean up a lot of waste in the system. 506 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: And for folks who say we got to throw more 507 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,600 Speaker 1: money into this broken system, I made with folks on 508 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,480 Speaker 1: both sides of the aisle, and I tell them, Okay, 509 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 1: let me understand. You want to increase coverage to every American. 510 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: I love that idea. How are you going to do that? Okay, 511 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: throw more money into this broken system? Or the waste 512 00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 1: right now is somewhere between thirty and forty and allow 513 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: that waste to increase behind the guise of a massive budget, 514 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: or are we going to cut the waste to make 515 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: healthcare affordable to expand coverage. You have an extraordinary story 516 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: of doctors in church parking lots performing thing sting and 517 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: charging Medicare for the procedures. Can you tell us that story. 518 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 1: Over treatment is a huge issue in the United States, 519 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: and people are suspicious of their therapy now because of 520 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: the problem we have with some fraction of healthcare overdoing things. 521 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,200 Speaker 1: Most doctors do the right thing, or always try to, 522 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: but some fraction of doctors are responding to the perverse 523 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:27,320 Speaker 1: incentive sometimes prompted or pushed by this new corporate medicine 524 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: effort to maximize profits over patients. And we saw it 525 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: in the churches in the area outside of Washington, DC, 526 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: a few miles from the Capitol building. We went there 527 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: to a church fair cosponsored by a doctor's group that 528 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: does procedures of stenting blockages and leg arteries that are 529 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:50,640 Speaker 1: by and large unnecessary and has very little to no 530 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: science to support it. People come into church during a healthfare, 531 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: they're told, hey, we're going to take a look at 532 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: your circulation. The doctor says, hey, we see a little 533 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: funny looking partial blockage. We're going to do a follow 534 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,240 Speaker 1: up study and angiogram. And then during the angiogram say 535 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 1: we found a blockage, but good news is we stented 536 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 1: it open, kind of like heart stents only, but of 537 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: the leg arteries. Well, guess what. Everybody's got some partial 538 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: blockage of their leg artery when they turned seventy or older, right, 539 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: I mean, it's practically ubiquitous, and just stenting all these 540 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: things is scientifically unindicated without symptoms. There's a national guideline 541 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,440 Speaker 1: from the US Preventive Services Task COORSE that says people 542 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: should not be screened for these peripheral blood vessel blockages 543 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: because of overtreatment, and there's no science to really support it. 544 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: So we found that overtreatment is rampant. And guess who 545 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: funded all of this stuff? Medicare. The Medicare program cannot 546 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,760 Speaker 1: possibly police all of healthcare, right and so with a 547 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: lack of any local accountability, these patients walked in blind 548 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: and got these unnecessary procedures. One of the doctors made 549 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,080 Speaker 1: we think about fifteen to thirty thousand dollars per day. 550 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 1: There was one doctor we saw on the data that 551 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: made eighty to one hundred thousand dollars per day doing 552 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,479 Speaker 1: probably mostly unnecessary like stents. We took this to the 553 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,960 Speaker 1: Society of Vascular Surgeons, said, look, do something, here's data 554 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:16,760 Speaker 1: we don't feel comfortable sitting on as a research team, 555 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: and sure enough they were able to act. In The 556 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal did a nice piece on it. But 557 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: this is the burden of unnecessary procedures in one particular 558 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: area of healthcare. That's just one area, all funded by Medicare. 559 00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,200 Speaker 1: Do we just want to throw more money into that system, 560 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 1: or do we want to start creating accountability and cleaning 561 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:56,080 Speaker 1: up the waist. The numbers you were using come to 562 00:31:56,120 --> 00:32:00,120 Speaker 1: like three or four percent of the entire economy. Now 563 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: put in all of our concerns without paying for Medicare 564 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: and Medicaid for probably two generations, that's an enormous number. 565 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: We can keep throwing good money after bad into this 566 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: entirely broken system, where we can finally talk about cutting 567 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,840 Speaker 1: the waste. If you look at our entire federal spend 568 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,600 Speaker 1: on healthcare, you'll hear these numbers. It's one in five dollars, 569 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,440 Speaker 1: or you'll hear what's nineteen percent of GDP. Let's talk 570 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,080 Speaker 1: in very simple terms. Okay, I don't know anybody who 571 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 1: talks about buying a lawnmower for three percent of their 572 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: household GDP. The lawnmower costs eight hundred dollars. Right, Let's 573 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:44,680 Speaker 1: just use simple terms. Medicare and Medicaid combined, that expenditure 574 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,280 Speaker 1: is about what twenty four twenty five percent. Guess where 575 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: seniors are spending their Social Security checks? Social Security is 576 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: about twenty four percent of federal spending. Half of Social 577 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: Security checks are going to healthcare expenses, copast, deductibles, coinsurance, 578 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 1: and on coveraged services. The Defense Department, which many people 579 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 1: argue is the only line item larger than the Medicare spend, 580 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: is thirty one percent of federal spending. Well, guess what 581 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:12,840 Speaker 1: fifteen percent of their budget goes to their own healthcare 582 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,479 Speaker 1: system and their own health benefits, and that's separate from 583 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,720 Speaker 1: the VA. That's about four point four percent of federal spending. 584 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:20,480 Speaker 1: An interest on the debt is in part, interest on 585 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,040 Speaker 1: the healthcare debt. And remember we pay for benefits for 586 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,080 Speaker 1: what nine million federal workers? That costs money. You add 587 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,719 Speaker 1: those together, we're spending forty eight percent of all federal 588 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 1: spending on healthcare in its many hidden forms. So when 589 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 1: people say we've got to increase spending on this healthcare program, 590 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: what are you proposing we go to seventy five percent 591 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 1: of all federal spending. Do we cancel all other national priorities? 592 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:49,840 Speaker 1: Do we cancel the entire Defense Department? I mean, we've 593 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:51,959 Speaker 1: got to use some logic at some point, And obviously 594 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: the solution here I believe in is cutting the waste. 595 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: I have the same feeling when people ask me in 596 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,560 Speaker 1: the long one about how to balance the federal budget. 597 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: It has to start with healthcare. If Medicare, Medicaid, trying Care, 598 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,720 Speaker 1: Indian Health Service, and federal employee health benefits all continue 599 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 1: to automatically go up. In the current secretive system, it's 600 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,320 Speaker 1: virtually impossible to see how you ever balance the federal budget. 601 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 1: But if you can actually get a system which is 602 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 1: competitive and transparent, and which evolves in ways that people 603 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: have a sense of control over their own health, I 604 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,760 Speaker 1: suspect you could have a remarkable impact on total cost 605 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:36,200 Speaker 1: to American people. Well, dude, I know you've thought about 606 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,280 Speaker 1: these issues for a long time, and to be honest, 607 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: it's a huge honor to be talking to you about 608 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,600 Speaker 1: these things because we've been at the forefront of them. 609 00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:45,479 Speaker 1: But I wish we could somehow get the message out 610 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: there that we're getting ripped off on healthcare. There's a 611 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:51,400 Speaker 1: tremendous amount of waste, and trying to add little tiny 612 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,320 Speaker 1: fixes by creating rules in a non competitive market or 613 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:58,160 Speaker 1: not nearly as effective as transforming healthcare into a competitive market. 614 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 1: Transparency is deeply desired by the American people. They instinctively 615 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,359 Speaker 1: understand the concept. When people ask me by to them, 616 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,840 Speaker 1: do you realize the biggest monumental change in healthcare occurred 617 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 1: and hardly anyone knows about it, and that was the 618 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:16,400 Speaker 1: President's executive order on price transparency. I really think what 619 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:20,480 Speaker 1: you're doing is groundbreaking and will probably do more to 620 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:24,640 Speaker 1: move us towards an effective and efficient health system than 621 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,320 Speaker 1: anybody else I know in the country. So I'm thrilled 622 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: that you would take the time to share this with us. 623 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:32,359 Speaker 1: Hughge honor to talk with you nude. Thanks so much 624 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: for the time, and now I'll answer your questions. Gary 625 00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:47,719 Speaker 1: from Minnesota said, I just listened to your podcast with 626 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: Gerard Robinson and would love to hear more from him 627 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,680 Speaker 1: and solutions as to how we fixed what is wrong. 628 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,759 Speaker 1: You know, I had exactly the same feeling. I thought 629 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: Gerard was so knowledgeable that we've asked him come back. 630 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: So in the very near future you're going to hear 631 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:07,959 Speaker 1: exactly the podcast you're asking for. Paul from Florida, why 632 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,840 Speaker 1: has the media adjusted it's reporting of coronavirus to just 633 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,319 Speaker 1: new cases since March? The media has not done an 634 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: effective job in giving breakdowns to age brackets, way sets. 635 00:36:18,360 --> 00:36:21,759 Speaker 1: I have to say that I am highly confused by 636 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: the reporting system. I think that we're not being done 637 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:27,520 Speaker 1: a very good service. I don't think that their standard 638 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: for what they're reporting is very good. I personally keep 639 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,359 Speaker 1: track of how many people are intensity care and how 640 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: many people die. I don't even look at hospitalization because 641 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: in a number of places now, if you come up positive, 642 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,839 Speaker 1: even though you have no symptoms at all, they'll put 643 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: you in the hospital for a day, and that makes 644 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:50,319 Speaker 1: no sense at all. I wish they would get to 645 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:54,319 Speaker 1: a simple, clear, consistent way of reporting, and I think 646 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,960 Speaker 1: this is an area where the Center for Disease Control 647 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 1: has really done a terrible, terrible job. Thank you to 648 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:06,360 Speaker 1: my guest doctor Marty McCarry. You can read more of 649 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 1: our reforms needed in our healthcare system and the price 650 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,880 Speaker 1: we pay on our show page at Newtsworld dot com. 651 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:17,439 Speaker 1: Newsworld is produced by Gingwish three sixty and iHeart Meeting. 652 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,800 Speaker 1: Our executive producer is Debbie Myers and our producer is 653 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,440 Speaker 1: Guardji Slope. The artwork for the show was created by 654 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: Steve Pelt Special thanks to the team at Gingwish three sixty. 655 00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 1: Please email me with your questions at Gingwish three sixty 656 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,000 Speaker 1: dot com slash questions. I'll answer them in future episodes. 657 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:40,840 Speaker 1: If you've been enjoying news World. I hope you'll go 658 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:44,000 Speaker 1: to Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five stars 659 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:46,759 Speaker 1: and give us a review so others can learn what 660 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:51,960 Speaker 1: it's all about. On the next episode of Newsworld, the 661 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:56,319 Speaker 1: new Daniel Sovo novel The Order, the twentieth novel in 662 00:37:56,400 --> 00:38:00,720 Speaker 1: the Gabriel Alarm series, releases on July fourteenth. I'm pleased 663 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,240 Speaker 1: to welcome my guest Daniel Sobo to hear more about 664 00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:08,280 Speaker 1: the novel than what he's working on next. I'm new English. 665 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 1: This is news Wall