There
is
a
long-simmering
debate
in
the
healthcare
industry
on
whether
we
should
cut
out
health
insurers
as
the
middlemen
in
paying
for
checkups,
prescription
drugs,
procedures
and
more.
Despite
paying
monthly
fees,
health
plan
members
have
to
pay
thousands
in
premiums,
which
can
lead
to
significant
out-of-pocket
costs
for
prescription
medication
and
medical
visits.
The
latest
episode
of
the
Debunked
podcast
explores
an
ongoing
debate
on
this
topic
led
by
investor
Mark
Cuban,
which
spilled
onto
social
media
channel
X.
The
podcast
also
devotes
attention
to
the
turmoil
at
the
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
on
Secretary
Robert
F
Kennedy
Jr.’s
watch,
particularly
at
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention.
MedCity
News
Editor
in
Chief
Arundhati
Parmar
co-hosts
the
podcast
with
Samir
Batra,
managing
partner
of
Health
Innovation
Pitch.
Arundhati
and
Samir
discuss
whether
payers
are
gaming
the
health
system
by
taking
advantage
of
a
public
who
may
not
fully
understand
their
health
insurance
options
or
the
consequences
of
choosing
one
plan
over
another,
which
can
lead
to
unexpected
out-of-pocket
costs
to
pay
premiums.
“The
system
is
not
set
up
to
support
patient-doctor
[price]
negotiations,”
Samir
said,
pointing
to
a
rising
trend
of
subscription-based
primary
care
services
offered
through
companies
like
One
Medical,
which
Amazon
acquired
in
2023.
The
conversation
then
delves
into
Kennedy’s
chaotic
leadership
at
HHS.
Despite
assurances
made
to
U.S.
Senators
that
Kennedy
would
leave
vaccine
recommendations
in
place,
he
has
made
several
changes
to
longstanding
vaccine
policy.
He
did
away
with
a
recommendation
to
administer
the
Covid-19
vaccine
to
pregnant
women
and
women
nursing
children
under
6
months
old.
Susan
Monarez,
the
former
Senate-confirmed
director
of
the
CDC,
was
ousted
over
her
vaccine
policy
stance,
which
prompted
other
CDC
executives
to
resign
in
protest.
Kennedy
also
replaced
a
board
overseeing
vaccine
policy
with
vaccine
skeptics.
In
2025,
there
have
been
1,431
confirmed
measles
cases
in
41
states,
mostly
children
—
the
largest
number
of
cases
in
a
year
since
2000,
when
the
disease
was
declared
eliminated
in
the
U.S.
Epic’s
announcement
at
its
annual
Users
Group
Meeting
that
it
is
developing
hundreds
of
different
AI
bots
to
assist
clinicians,
payers
and
patients
is
also
highlighted,
sparking
a
discussion
on
the
ramifications
of
this
news,
mainly
that
it
could
shut
out
competition
from
its
app
marketplace
because
of
its
dominance
as
an
EHR
vendor.
Listen
to
the
full
Debunked
podcast
here: