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He told a $30 billion hospital system's CFO "sue me" - and won. David Silverstein, founder of Amaze Health and former U.S. Navy submarine officer, joins Ray in-studio to break down what's really broken in self-funded employer health plans and how one standoff over a $20,000 ER bill turned into a career fixing them. David's daughter racked up three ER visits and $20,000 in bills her freshman year of college. He escalated the fight all the way to the C-suite, and when the hospital's CFO asked what he actually wanted, David told him to sue him. The CFO refused, not realizing his own hospital system was already a client of David's consulting firm. That standoff became "the denial of payment system," and it eventually pulled David into Washington, where he helped shape federal price transparency rules and the "right to self-pay" buried in the No Surprises Act - a right most patients don't even know they have. David also breaks down the "grand bargain": pay a hospital in 3 days instead of 90, and they'll knock 25-30% off the bill, no negotiation required.. even on a $2 million NICU stay. He explains why employers have had the legal power to fix their health plans since ERISA passed in 1974, and why big broker and consultant firms have misaligned incentives with the clients they're supposed to serve. If you're an employer, CFO, HR Director or benefits consultant - this one's for you. 📌 Subscribe for more conversations on fixing the broken healthcare system. 🔗 Amaze Health: amazehealth.com 📖 David's book: "The Lean Health Plan" — search his name on Amazon 🔗 David Silverstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsilverstein/ #BrokenHealthcare #SelfFundedHealthcare #EmployerHealthcare #CFO #HRLeaders #ReferenceBasedPricing #HealthcareCosts #HealthcareTransparency #AmazeHealth #ERISA #Podcast 0:00 Introduction & Welcome 0:45 Growing Up in Brooklyn 2:00 Life as a Navy Submarine Officer 6:30 Founding a Six Sigma Consulting Firm 9:00 The $12,000 ER Bill and the "Revenue Enhancement Specialist" Letter 14:00 "I Want You to Sue Me" — The $30 Billion Hospital Standoff 16:00 Building Amaze Health (2018–2020) 20:00 Writing Input for the State of the Union 24:40 The Call From the White House 27:00 The Gas Station Story That Convinced the Economists 30:00 Why Only the Free Market Can Fix Healthcare 36:00 The Transparency Rules Already on the Books 38:11 Sponsor Break 43:45 The Right to Self-Pay Nobody Uses 46:00 The "Grand Bargain" — Pay in 3 Days, Save 30% 48:00 Why Reference-Based Pricing Alone Isn't the Answer 51:00 The Lean Health Plan & How Employers Lost Control of Risk 53:00 The McKinsey Report: 30% of Employers Reconsidering 54:00 The $2,000,000 NICU Baby Story 56:32 How Amaze Predicts a Hospital Visit Before It Happens 1:00:53 PBMs, Rebates, and Formulary Control 1:01:09 Employers Have Had This Power Since 1974 (ERISA) 1:02:00 Why CEOs Tolerate It: Taxes, Complexity, Groupthink 1:06:00 AI, Up-Coding, and the Next Wave of Cost Inflation 1:08:24 The Employer Health Plan Maturity Curve 1:12:28 Direct Contracts and How Amaze Actually Works 1:13:59 The $4M Spend Example — Where's the Opportunity? 1:15:24 Hitting the Reset Button — A 30-40% Correction 1:16:12 Brokers' Private Jets and Masters Tickets — Who's Paying? 1:18:49 The Coming Litigation Bubble Over the $6 Trillion Question 1:20:26 Final Thoughts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todd Martin, Chief Sales Officer at NOVA Healthcare Administrators, joins Ray in-studio to break down what's really happening inside your health plan and why the arrangement most employers are in was never designed to protect them. Todd has 18 years in the TPA space and has seen it all. From a $600,000 radiation claim nobody caught, to a 1,200-employee company whose national broker never once mentioned reference-based pricing. He explains why a flat renewal means your carrier is making bank on your business, what private equity is doing to TPA service quality, and how an employer spending $10 million on healthcare could realistically save $2 million in year one. If you're an employer, CFO, HR Director or benefits consultant - this one's for you. 📌 Subscribe for more conversations on fixing the broken healthcare system. 🔗 NOVA Healthcare Administrators: novahealthcare.com 📞 Todd Martin: [email protected] | 716-870-5916 #BrokenHealthcare #SelfFundedHealthcare #TPA #EmployerHealthcare #CFO #HRLeaders #ReferencedBasedPricing #StopLoss #HealthcareCosts #HealthcareTransparency #NOVA #Podcast 0:00 Introduction & Welcome 1:45 What Is a TPA and What Does NOVA Do? 5:30 Why Large Employers Are Still Fully Insured 8:00 Flat Renewals — Why Your Carrier Is Making Bank 10:30 Level Funded vs Traditional Self Funded 14:00 Minimum Group Sizes & Stop Loss Explained 16:30 How NOVA Approaches Claims Management 20:00 Reference Based Pricing — What It Is and Why It's Growing 25:00 Realistic Savings Expectations — The $10M Example 30:00 The $600,000 Radiation Claim Nobody Caught 35:00 Pharmacy Costs — From 10% to Over 50% of Claims 40:00 Why Big Box Brokers Won't Tell You About RBP 45:00 The Boston Story — 1,200 Employees, Zero Options Presented 50:00 Private Equity Buying TPAs — What It Means for Service 55:00 The Crawl Walk Run Approach to Self Funding 1:00:00 Saving $2M on Healthcare = $8M in New Sales 1:05:00 How to Find a Quality TPA — Do Your Diligence 1:09:00 How to Reach Todd Martin 1:11:00 Final Thoughts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She billed me $902 for a two-second X-ray. The insurer pays $78. In this episode of Broken Healthcare, Ray Kober sits down with Dr. Dana Mincer DO - physician, Direct Primary Care founder, and certified yoga instructor - to break down what really happens when a doctor becomes a patient and gets the bill. Dana slipped on the ice on New Year's Eve, fractured her elbow, spent an hour in the ER, saw a PA for 7 minutes, and never met a physician. The bill? Over $3,300. She brought slides. In this episode: → The itemized bill from Sentara Health - and what insurers actually pay for the same procedures → Why a physician was billed who never walked into the room - and what happened when Dana called to dispute it → How CPT billing codes work and why hospitals always bill at the highest possible level → Why the chargemaster means the same procedure has hundreds of different prices at the same hospital → Why most US hospital systems are for-profit organizations operating under nonprofit status → How auto-adjudication works - and why insurance companies are blindly paying claims nobody is reviewing → Why self-funded employers using United, Cigna or Aetna as their TPA are paying full retail. Always. → What PREVENT Consent is and why you should know it before you ever need an ER → How to cite EMTALA - and why it immediately changes the conversation with hospital administrators → Why by 2035 healthcare premiums could exceed 50% of annual household income → What Direct Primary Care actually looks like - same day appointments, your doctor's cell phone, no insurance billing → Why Ray is now 3 months alcohol-free - and what Dana thinks about it as a physician who ran an addiction medicine center Plus: less than 400 food additives are approved in Europe. The US has over 10,000. They get into that too. If you're an employer, a CFO, an HR Director, a patient, or just someone who has ever been shocked by a medical bill - this episode was made for you. 🔗 Love Health DPC: LoveHealthDPC.com 📱 Dana's Instagram: @drdanalovehealth 🎙️ Subscribe to Broken Healthcare: youtube.com/@BrokenHealthcarePodcast Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction & How Ray and Dana Met 4:37 Ray's Magic Mushroom Experience & Sobriety 9:06 Dana's Response as a Physician & Addiction Medicine 13:56 The Vibroacoustic Table & Teaching the Body Calm 22:06 Hospital Consolidation & Energy Medicine in Practice 26:00 The Broker Problem & How Insurance Incentives Work 30:11 Nonprofit Hospitals Masquerading as For-Profits 33:00 Food Additives, Glyphosate & RFK Jr. 50:35 Dana's New Year's Eve ER Visit - The Story Begins 1:01:00 The Bill Arrives - What She Expected vs Reality 1:07:00 CPT Codes Explained & How Hospitals Maximize Billing 1:17:10 What Insurers Actually Pay vs What You're Billed 1:23:01 The Sentara Numbers Revealed - The Real Data 1:30:00 How Self-Funded Employers Pay Full Retail 1:37:00 How to Challenge Your Bills & Independent Auditing 1:44:00 PREVENT Consent, EMTALA & Your Patient Rights 1:57:00 Direct Primary Care Explained - The Alternative 2:03:50 Love Health DPC & How to Find Dana #BrokenHealthcare #DrDanaMincer #HospitalBills #HealthcareBilling #MedicalDebt #HealthcareTransparency #DirectPrimaryCare #DPC #HealthSharing #EMTALA #HealthcareCosts #CFO #EmployerHealthcare #NonprofitHospitals #PriceTransparency #Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yeah, this one's different. No guests. No healthcare policy. No claims data. Just me, sitting down and talking about something I've never talked about publicly before. For years, a couple of drinks at the end of the day was just part of life. Business dinners, networking, winding down. A few glasses of Don Julio. Nothing dramatic - just a quiet daily habit that, somewhere along the way, became more than I wanted it to be. A guided psilocybin journey changed that. And I haven't had a drink in over two months. I'm not a doctor. I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. This is just my story - and I'm sharing it because I think too many people, especially in business, are carrying things they don't talk about. The shame around that needs to stop. In this episode I talk about the months of preparation before the journey, what the experience actually felt like, the memories that surfaced - including seeing my dad, who passed away when I was two years old, and reliving the hardest conversation I ever had with my kids, but this time through their eyes. I talk about what changed after. The calm. The presence. The fact that I just... stopped thinking about drinking. I also talk about what my doctor said when I told him. That part stuck with me. This isn't a healthcare episode. It's a human one. If it helps one person feel less alone - that's why I recorded it. ⚠️ Not medical advice. Psilocybin can be dangerous for people with certain mental health histories or on specific medications - please speak to a medical professional before considering anything like this, and check the legal status in your area. brokenhealthcarepodcast.com youtube.com/@BrokenHealthcarePodcast linkedin.com/in/raykober/ #BrokenHealthcare #Psilocybin #MagicMushrooms #MentalHealth #PsychedelicTherapy #Sobriety #PersonalGrowth #RayKober #MensHealth #Healing Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your healthcare claims have an error rate of 8 to 12%. Most employers have no idea. In this episode of Broken Healthcare, Ray Kober sits down with Stephen Carrabba - CEO and Co-Founder of Claim Informatics - to break down what's really happening behind the scenes in healthcare claims, payment integrity, and fiduciary oversight. Stephen's team recently found $7.4 million in improperly paid claims for a single client. In two months. At a 10.9% error rate. And the fix isn't complicated. It just requires someone with no conflicts of interest to actually look. In this episode: → Why 8-12% of healthcare claims are paid incorrectly → The "sub $15,000" TPA story that should make every CFO furious → Why the shared savings model creates perverse incentives and what Claim Informatics does differently → How AI is being used to analyze 15,000 pages of contracts and find violations hiding in plain sight → Why combining two clauses on page 1 and page 111 of your ASO can legally authorize spread pricing — and nobody catches it → The fiduciary exposure every plan sponsor is carrying right now → Why post-payment recovery gets harder over time and why prepayment is the smarter play → What Marilyn Bartlett found when Montana finally just asked some simple questions ($113 million, as it turns out) → Why "garbage in, garbage out" applies to AI - and why building a real system took 8 months If you're an employer, CFO, HR leader, broker, TPA, or benefits consultant.. this episode will change how you think about every claim your plan has ever paid. 🔗 Claim Informatics: claiminformatics.com 📊 Independent assessment for employers: benefixa.com/#consult 🎙️ Subscribe to Broken Healthcare: youtube.com/@BrokenHealthcarePodcast Timestamps: 0:00 Why Healthcare Claims Feel Broken 2:12 How Stephen Got Into the Space 5:10 From Pharma Audits to Claim Informatics 8:20 Why Medical Claims Are More Complex 11:35 The Broker and TPA Problem 14:20 What Changed After the CAA 17:10 Why Data Access Matters 20:20 How Claims Are Audited 23:35 Prepayment vs Post-Payment 27:00 Real Savings at Scale 30:15 How Their Fee Model Works 33:20 Why Shared Savings Creates Conflicts 36:40 Independent Oversight and Fiduciary Risk 40:05 Why Recovery Gets Harder Over Time 43:10 How Much Money Gets Missed 46:20 Why Contracts Matter 49:30 The AI Layer 53:05 What Employers Should Demand 57:00 Final Thoughts #BrokenHealthcare #HealthcareClaims #ClaimInformatics #StephenCarrabba #PaymentIntegrity #ERISA #CAA #FiduciaryDuty #HealthcareTransparency #AIinHealthcare #EmployerBenefits #HealthcareCosts #TPA #SelfFundedHealthcare #Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katy Talento joins the show in-studio to share her unique journey from religious life to advising on healthcare policy at the highest levels of government - and what she believes it will take to fix the U.S. healthcare system. With a background in epidemiology, public health, and federal policy, Katy brings rare insight shaped by her experience working in the U.S. Senate and advising on healthcare issues at the White House. Her career spans global public health work, infectious disease research, and shaping national healthcare policy that impacts employers, patients, and the broader healthcare system. In this conversation, Katy shares how her early desire to change the world led her into public health, policy, and ultimately into healthcare reform efforts in Washington. She explains how incentives inside the healthcare system influence decision-making, why meaningful reform can be difficult to achieve, and why healthcare costs continue to rise despite ongoing policy changes. We also discuss how employer-sponsored healthcare plays a central role in the U.S. system, why prevention-focused models such as Direct Primary Care (DPC) are gaining attention, and how transparency may help improve healthcare outcomes over time. Subscribe for more conversations focused on improving healthcare outcomes and fixing the broken healthcare system. #HealthcareReform #HealthPolicy #HealthcareCosts #DirectPrimaryCare #EmployerHealthcare #HealthcareInnovation #HealthcareLeadership #HealthInsurance #PublicHealth #HealthcareTransparency 00:00 Intro 00:23 Welcome Katy Talento 01:30 Early life and desire to change the world 04:30 Faith journey and decision to enter religious life 08:00 Global public health work and infectious disease research 12:30 Working internationally in public health 16:00 Entering Washington health policy 20:00 Writing healthcare legislation in the U.S. Senate 24:00 How healthcare policy is shaped in Washington 29:00 Speechwriting and political communications 32:30 Industry influence in healthcare policy 36:00 Why healthcare reform is difficult to achieve 40:00 How incentives influence healthcare decisions 45:00 Employer-sponsored healthcare and system complexity 52:00 Insurance incentives and unintended consequences 58:00 Why healthcare costs continue to rise 1:05:00 Transparency and accountability in healthcare 1:12:00 Direct Primary Care and prevention-focused models 1:18:00 Where meaningful reform may come from 1:25:00 The future of healthcare policy 1:31:00 Final thoughts on fixing U.S. healthcare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Fox joins the show in-studio to explain why healthcare costs keep rising and how incentives inside the traditional health insurance system often work against employers and patients. Drawing on her experience inside the industry, Emma breaks down how compensation structures, carrier incentives, and consolidation influence employer-sponsored healthcare decisions. She explains why more organizations are exploring self-funded health plans, independent TPAs, direct primary care, and reference-based pricing as alternatives to traditional insurance models. We also discuss how collaboration between employers, advisors, and physicians can help create more transparent healthcare strategies, and why education initiatives like Symposium are helping drive innovation across the healthcare ecosystem. If you are an employer, advisor, HR leader, or healthcare professional trying to better understand rising healthcare costs, this conversation offers practical insight into how the system works and where change may happen. Subscribe for more conversations focused on improving healthcare outcomes. #HealthcareCosts #SelfFundedHealthPlans #HealthInsurance #EmployerBenefits #HealthcareInnovation #HealthcareTransparency #DirectPrimaryCare #ReferenceBasedPricing #BenefitsStrategy #HealthcareReform #TPA #HealthcareEconomics #HealthcareLeadership #BUCAIncentives 00:00 Intro 01:10 Emma’s journey from the UK to U.S. healthcare 03:00 Starting in life insurance and entering the insurance industry 08:30 Understanding health insurance incentives 12:00 Ethical conflicts inside traditional insurance models 15:00 Advisor compensation structures and industry challenges 18:00 Capitalism and healthcare economics 21:00 Government influence and healthcare policy realities 23:00 The employer’s role in fixing healthcare 27:00 The origin of Symposium 30:00 Bringing employers, advisors, vendors, and physicians together 32:00 Why physicians must be part of the healthcare conversation 35:00 Private equity and healthcare delivery challenges 38:00 Collaboration between doctors and advisors 42:00 Purpose-driven advisory models 45:00 Vision for improving the healthcare system 52:00 Advice for employers evaluating healthcare strategies 58:00 Industry collaboration and future outlook 1:04:20 How to connect with Emma Fox Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Organ, CEO of the Health Business Growth Collective, joins the show in-studio to discuss why the traditional healthcare system focuses on symptoms instead of root cause - and how functional medicine is changing the future of patient care. Tim shares his personal health transformation, including reducing body fat, optimising metabolic health, increasing protein intake, and improving longevity through lifestyle changes. He explains how functional medicine identifies underlying causes of illness, why regenerative therapies may reduce the need for surgery, and how practitioners are building independent health businesses outside the insurance model. We also explore AI-driven healthcare tools, preventative testing, and why the future of medicine may be more personalised, data-driven, and focused on long-term health outcomes. 📌 Subscribe for more conversations on fixing the broken healthcare system. #FunctionalMedicine #Longevity #RootCause #MetabolicHealth #PreventativeHealth #RegenerativeMedicine #HealthcareInnovation #Biohacking #HealthOptimization #FutureOfHealthcare #Wellness #AIHealthcare 01:00 Tim Organ & Health Business Growth Collective 04:20 Personal health transformation & body composition changes 07:00 Protein intake, diet tracking & metabolic health 10:00 Lifestyle habits & fitness discipline 13:30 Longevity fundamentals: exercise, diet & sleep 16:30 Functional medicine vs symptom-based healthcare 20:00 Finding the root cause of chronic illness 23:00 Tim’s healthcare career journey 27:00 Digital healthcare systems & medical technology 29:30 Why practitioners are leaving insurance-based models 33:00 Challenges doctors face inside traditional healthcare 36:00 Regenerative medicine vs surgery 41:00 Why many orthopaedic procedures may be avoidable 45:00 AI in healthcare & interpreting lab data 48:30 Expanding access to functional medicine 51:00 Food systems, nutrition & chronic disease 54:00 Personal responsibility & preventative health 57:00 The future of personalised medicine 1:02:00 Business models for modern practitioners 1:07:00 Technology & data-driven health insights 1:12:00 Longevity mindset & maintaining muscle as we age 1:17:00 Final thoughts on fixing broken healthcare Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Slepak & Caleb Parker (Angle Health) on fixing the broken U.S. healthcare system. Why do healthcare costs keep rising? Why do employers feel stuck? And what would it actually take to fix the experience? In this episode of Broken Healthcare, we break down what’s really driving costs, what most plans get wrong, and how smarter design + technology could reshape employer healthcare. #BrokenHealthcare #AngleHealth #HealthInsurance #EmployerBenefits #HealthcareCosts #HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #Podcast #BenefitsConsulting #HealthcareLeadership 0:00 Why Healthcare Feels Broken 1:02 From State Farm to Fixing Healthcare 5:02 What Makes Angle Health Different 7:02 Bad Benefits vs Bad Experiences 11:00 The Tech + AI Advantage 16:00 Why Speed Wins in Healthcare 21:00 Palantir Roots & Data Strategy 24:30 Why Costs Keep Exploding 30:00 The Insurance Card Problem 34:30 Fixing Friction in Healthcare 40:00 Guiding Patients to Better Care 44:00 Why Legacy Carriers Struggle 49:00 Incentives That Actually Work 57:00 The Truth About Pharmacy Spend 59:30 Final Thoughts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sanju Sriram on fixing one of the most overlooked problems in business: IRS compliance. Why do so many companies miss required filings? Why are IRS forms so difficult to understand? And what would it take to simplify a system that frustrates even experienced professionals? In this episode of Broken Healthcare, Ray sits down with Sanju — CEO of Simple Tax Suite — to talk about her journey from Silicon Valley gaming engineer to building an IRS-authorised platform that has processed more than 5 million filings. 🔗 Learn more: https://simple720.com/ - Use code BROKEN for 10% off #BrokenHealthcare #TaxCompliance #IRS #Fintech #HealthcareCompliance #EmployerBenefits #CFO #BusinessFinance #Startup #Podcast 0:00 Intro + Why IRS Compliance Confuses Businesses 2:05 Sanju’s Background (Gaming + Engineering Journey) 5:10 How She Got Into Tax Technology 7:15 The Moment IRS Forms Didn’t Make Sense 10:05 Partnering With the IRS 13:10 Identifying the Compliance Gap 16:00 What Businesses Get Wrong About Reporting 19:30 What Is PCORI (Explained Simply) 23:15 Who Needs to File + Deadlines 27:00 Why Companies Miss Required Filings 30:10 Paper Filing vs Electronic Reality 33:20 Avoiding Penalties & Getting It Right 37:10 Forms Explained (720, ACA, 5500, 5330) 41:45 Working With Brokers, TPAs & Employers 46:30 Small Businesses vs Enterprise Clients 50:10 AI + Automation in Compliance 54:30 The Future of Tax Compliance 58:20 Final Thoughts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a healthcare court case unfolding right now that could have massive implications for patients, employers, and how hospital consent is interpreted across the entire system. In this critical episode of Broken Healthcare, host Ray Kober sits down with healthcare outcomes expert and Validation Institute founder Al Lewis to break down a real case involving OhioHealth, a 29-hospital system in Ohio, that is now testing how consent and payment agreements actually work in practice. In this case, treatment was provided and accepted without objection. Payment was then sent via check clearly marked as payment in full for the agreed-upon amount. The check was cashed. But the story didn’t end there. After accepting and cashing the payment, additional demands for thousands more followed — raising serious questions about how consent, financial responsibility, and patient agreements are enforced in healthcare. This case is now becoming a powerful test of how consent is used — and why patients and employers need to understand exactly what they are agreeing to. One of the most important takeaways Al shares is simple but critical: Always ask for a printed copy of anything you sign in a healthcare setting. Because consent forms often contain language that can have long-term legal and financial consequences most people never fully realize. In this episode, you’ll learn:• The OhioHealth court case and why it could impact healthcare nationwide • How hospital consent forms actually work in practice • Why accepting treatment can sometimes be interpreted as accepting consent • Why requesting printed copies of consent forms is essential • How employers may unknowingly expose themselves to significant financial risk • The mission behind Quizzify and how it helps people make smarter healthcare decisions • How the Validation Institute independently verifies healthcare solutions Most people assume healthcare is straightforward. But the reality is far more complex. This conversation exposes how the system actually works — and why awareness is one of the most important protections you have. ⚠️ This episode is essential viewing for:• Employers and benefits leaders • Healthcare executives and advisors • HR professionals • Anyone who has signed hospital paperwork • Anyone who wants to understand their rights and risks in healthcare Because what you sign — and what you don’t question — can matter more than you think. 👤 About Al LewisAl Lewis is founder of the Validation Institute and Quizzify, and one of the most respected and outspoken healthcare outcomes experts in the country. His work focuses on bringing transparency, accountability, and evidence-based validation to healthcare. 🎙 About Broken HealthcareHosted by Ray Kober, Broken Healthcare explores the real drivers of healthcare costs, consent, incentives, and accountability — and brings clarity to leaders navigating one of the most complex systems in the world. No spin. Just reality. 🔔 Subscribe to Broken HealthcareIf you want to understand how healthcare really works — and how to protect yourself and your organization — subscribe and turn on notifications. 💬 Join the conversationHave you ever signed healthcare paperwork without fully understanding it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when Sir Winston Churchill walks into a modern podcast studio… and then steps out of character? In this unforgettable episode of Broken Healthcare, host Ray Kober sits down with Randy Otto — a financial advisor, historian, and the only man ever endorsed by the Churchill family to portray Sir Winston Churchill. For over 54 years, Randy has embodied Churchill on stages around the world. In this conversation, he does something extraordinary: 🎩 Part one: He is Winston Churchill — recounting war, leadership, failure, resilience, and the legendary “black dog” in Churchill’s own voice. 🧠 Part two: He steps out of character as Randy Otto, revealing what decades of studying Churchill taught him about creativity, mental health, destiny, money, and leadership. You’ll hear: - How Churchill survived his greatest failure (Gallipoli) - Why painting saved his life — and his mind - The real story behind the “black dog” of depression - Leadership lessons forged in war that still apply today - What it means to believe in destiny — and fight for it This isn’t history class. This is living history, performed by the man who knows Churchill better than anyone alive. 🎙️ Sit back, listen closely — and decide for yourself when the character ends and the wisdom begins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America doesn’t have a healthcare problem. It has a healthcare business problem — and we’re all trapped inside it. In this powerful episode of Broken Healthcare, host Ray Kober sits down with Chris Deacon — attorney, healthcare policy expert, former Director of State Health Benefits for New Jersey, and author of The Great American Healthcare Heist — to expose how America’s healthcare system became a $5 trillion machine that patients, employers, and taxpayers can’t escape. Chris isn’t a theorist. She ran healthcare for nearly 800,000 lives and managed a $6–7 billion annual healthcare budget inside government. What she discovered changed everything. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why Americans are paying $17,000–$50,000 per family per year and still can’t afford care - How insurers, PBMs, and hospitals operate as vertically integrated monopolies - Why “nonprofit” hospitals behave like Wall Street corporations — without paying taxes - How consolidation destroyed community hospitals and accountability - Why politicians of both parties are trapped by lobbying and reelection incentives - How young government staffers are “educated” by industry lobbyists - Why $1.5 BILLION in savings was realistically achievable — without cutting benefits - How employers blindly write healthcare checks they’d never approve anywhere else - Why Americans are handed a $50,000 system with no instruction manual - How the healthcare system itself can become dangerous if navigated incorrectly Chris delivers one of the most important analogies in healthcare today: “We hand people a $50,000 Volvo and say ‘good luck’ — no driving lessons, no instruction manual — and then blame them when it goes wrong.” This conversation isn’t partisan. It’s not theoretical. And it’s not about selling you anything. It’s about education, accountability, and taking control of a system that quietly drains families, employers, and communities. If you’ve ever: 1- Been afraid to seek care because of cost 2- Opened a medical bill and thought “this can’t be real” 3- Managed employee benefits and felt completely boxed in 4 - Wondered why healthcare feels impossible to fix This episode will change how you see everything. Watch. Share. And start asking better questions. ABOUT CHRIS DEACON Chris Deacon is an attorney, healthcare policy expert, former Director of State Health Benefits for New Jersey, national speaker, whistleblower, and featured voice in the documentary It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Healthcare. She oversaw healthcare for nearly 800,000 public employees and dependents and managed one of the largest state healthcare budgets in the country. She now focuses on education, policy consulting, and public advocacy to help employers, policymakers, and the public understand how the system actually works — and how it can be improved. PURCHASE HER BOOK The Great American Healthcare Heist by Chris Deacon Available at: Amazon Major online book retailers Independent bookstores (by request) (Search: The Great American Healthcare Heist – Chris Deacon) HOW TO CONTACT CHRIS DEACON LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdeaconc/ Active on LinkedIn with regular healthcare insights and commentary Long-form writing available via Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisdeaconahealthcareheist Open to messages, dialogue, and education-focused engagement SUPPORT THE SHOW If this episode resonated: Like the video Subscribe to Broken Healthcare Share with someone who’s tired of the status quo Healthcare doesn’t change without informed pressure — and that starts here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Broken healthcare is failing millions of Americans — especially hourly and frontline workers. In this episode of the Broken Healthcare Podcast, host Ray Kober sits down in-studio with Lexie Leitner, PA-C, Vice President of Clinical Operations at River Health, to unpack why the traditional U.S. healthcare system no longer works — and what it will take to fix it. Lexie shares her journey from family medicine to healthcare innovation, and explains how River Health is rethinking access, affordability, and care delivery for workers who are often left behind by employer-sponsored insurance. One of the most powerful parts of River Health’s model? Mental health is treated as essential care — not an add-on. Members receive unlimited virtual therapy plus free access to the Calm app, helping address anxiety, burnout, depression, and everyday stress without barriers, copays, or long wait times. In this episode, we cover: Why high-deductible health plans leave Americans functionally uninsuredHow hourly workers fall through the cracks of traditional healthcareThe real reason healthcare costs keep rising (and who actually pays)How River Health delivers unlimited virtual primary care, labs, prescriptions, imaging, and urgent care access for a flat monthly costWhy unlimited teletherapy and Calm access are critical in today’s mental health crisisHow employers can support workforce health without $40,000 insurance plansThe difference between insurance and actual access to careHow healthcare became so complex — and what simplicity looks like again If you’re an employer, HR leader, healthcare professional, or someone frustrated with the cost and confusion of U.S. healthcare, this conversation will challenge how you think about coverage, value, and care. 🎧 Subscribe to Broken Healthcare for real conversations about what’s broken — and what can actually fix it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. healthcare system is broken — and doctors are burning out just as fast as patients. In this powerful in-studio episode of the Broken Healthcare Podcast, host Ray Kober sits down with Dr. Dana Mincer, a board-certified osteopathic physician and Direct Primary Care (DPC) doctor, to expose what’s really happening behind the scenes of American healthcare. Dr. Mincer shares her raw, unfiltered journey — from medical training and provider burnout to mental health struggles, patient advocacy, and ultimately walking away from the insurance-driven system to build a direct primary care practice centered on time, transparency, and human connection. In this episode, we cover: - Why traditional insurance-based healthcare is failing both patients and doctors - What Direct Primary Care (DPC) actually is — and why it works - The healthcare insurance cartel, price opacity, and hospital consolidation - Doctor burnout, moral injury, and why so many physicians want out - Mental health, ADHD, anxiety, and the limits of medication-only care - Why relationship-based medicine leads to better outcomes and lower costs - How free-market healthcare models are restoring trust and autonomy This conversation is a must-watch for patients, employers, physicians, and anyone who knows the system feels wrong but hasn’t been able to put it into words. 🎙️ If you care about: ✔ Broken healthcare ✔ Direct primary care ✔ Medical burnout ✔ Mental health reform ✔ Free-market healthcare solutions — this episode is for you. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations on fixing the U.S. healthcare system from the inside out. 👉 Like & comment to help this message reach more people who need to hear it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.