This was an interesting interview, some I liked, some not so much, which is pretty much how life works...
Here's what I would like to see: a full list of the retired representatives and senators receiving their 18k gold health insurance courtesy of you and me, the net worth of each of those receiving it, and how much it costs us a year.
You could throw in their 80% retirement pay, too, just for fun...ohhh, and how many years they served vs. been retired...and tally it all up.
It would be enlightening to see what they have given themselves in the context of what they prevent the rest of us from having.
Thank you. That made my head spin but it's really gratifying and encouraging that someone responsible and intelligent feels an obligation to make the system better.
He lost me with that nonsense about Medicare fraud Senator Pled the Fifth Rick Scott. It's almost like his default position is still to right-wing bullpucky.
I have difficulty taking Cuban seriously. It IS possible to have a few good ideas and be very wrong on everything else. 20% of the population uses 80% of the resources. Billions of dollars in the system are bureaucratic waste. Yes let’s dump PBMs. Yes let’s make primary care physicians numerous and keep them as gatekeepers. Cuban can’t fathom Medicare for all. It seems to works for old people. It can work for everybody else as well. And he thinks Donald Trump having smart people working on this? Oh gag me with a spoon.
Like many "innovations" around healthcare, Mark Cuban's CostPlusDrugs does have a consequence in our zero-sum Casino Healthcare. The biggest consequence is an ever-increasing list of drug shortages. Why? Because siphoning off margin from generic manufacturers doesn't JUST lower pricing - it causes generic manufacturers to move manufacturing to a more lucrative drug.
More broadly, the GOP has been arguing for "transparency" for decades - but that's not our problem because transparency isn't agency. Just seeing prices doesn't give us the power to influence them (either individually or politically). Transparency solves for information asymmetry, but our problem in healthcare is power asymmetry. Seeing market prices relative to cost (if we ever see that), will look greedy, but shame isn't an effective antidote to greed.
"Full disclosure: Bezos’s trashing of the Washington Post editorial page has worked out well for The Bulwark and its readers."
I made a small contribution to that. In the last few years I subscribed to Bulwark and canceled my WaPo subscription. As soon as I did the latter WaPo beggars came out of the wood work to offer me a discount to re-subscribe. That only made me more glad I canceled, but it proved them to be "sales-driven" vice "service-driven."
Cuban is right about transparency. Also right about primary care. As a primary care NP in geriatrics though, I do wonder if he has considered or has specific thoughts on how to get enough providers for patients to have access to? I’m in a rural area, and have been shouting from the rooftops for decades now about these issues- patient panels keep getting larger and are unsustainable, wait lists to establish care are 6 months or more, ER’s are overloaded. We are already stretched so thin it’s (in my opinion) unsafe and I don’t see how his gatekeeping model will work without more physicians, PA’s, and NP’s providing direct clinical care.
Thank you so much for this interview. It is so important to shine a light on this. There is so much money that is being spent and a very small portion is actually benefiting patients. Please keep this up - it will break through!
I wish more "rich as fuck" people realized that their next dollar isn't going to make any difference in their lives. What a different world this could be.
I’m frankly not much impressed with Cuban. His work with Cost Plus Drugs has been worthwhile, but most of the rest of what he’s talking about is very “entrepreneurial” and pretty amateurish. Single payor is the only answer, whatever you want to call it. Medical care must be a public service, without the claws of financialization.
Cuban is another example of a rich tech mogul thinking he's smarter than the experts because he's "rich as fuck." He is consistently wrong, misinformed, and possessed by catch-phrase logic. Like Ernest in the comment section, I have practiced surgery for over 35 years. any physician can give a better interview as to the problems with the current system and ways to improve the system. Bernie Sanders knows more about how to fix the system than any other politician alive. Rick Scott is a criminal. Cuban's inability to understand this is telling.
Jonathan, Thanks for having Mark on the show to share his insights into the overall health care quagmire our country continues to flounder in. I have to confess, I times gone by, I was not a fan of Mr. Cuban. However, I can see he is trying and can be an influential force for good. He still gives Trump way to much credit, I mean, any idiot can close the border. It takes somebody with vision and serious accum to enact reasonable and responsible immigration law. But I digress, it appears the whole matter of affordable and comprehensive health care comes down two basic flaws in our American way of life. On the one hand, we just have to have more money, and when we get it, we want more. Greed is not good. On the other hand, we just can't seem to muster the will on this issue. Jonathan, your question to Mark on what he would do without restraints, was an excellent one. It was a hard question to ask because of the complexity of the problem. May I offer a thought? We have a Federal Reserve to monitor our monetary environment, why don't we create a similar institution that monitors our health care environment? We get the best minds, with no financial ties or incentives, working on the solution that meets the demands of the people. After all, isn't this what government is all about? Again, just two things needed to get the ball rolling, an informed electorate that make their decisions with civic responsibility and that pesky will to get it done.
This was an interesting interview, some I liked, some not so much, which is pretty much how life works...
Here's what I would like to see: a full list of the retired representatives and senators receiving their 18k gold health insurance courtesy of you and me, the net worth of each of those receiving it, and how much it costs us a year.
You could throw in their 80% retirement pay, too, just for fun...ohhh, and how many years they served vs. been retired...and tally it all up.
It would be enlightening to see what they have given themselves in the context of what they prevent the rest of us from having.
Cuban: a White Hat Millionaire!
Thank you. That made my head spin but it's really gratifying and encouraging that someone responsible and intelligent feels an obligation to make the system better.
He lost me with that nonsense about Medicare fraud Senator Pled the Fifth Rick Scott. It's almost like his default position is still to right-wing bullpucky.
I have difficulty taking Cuban seriously. It IS possible to have a few good ideas and be very wrong on everything else. 20% of the population uses 80% of the resources. Billions of dollars in the system are bureaucratic waste. Yes let’s dump PBMs. Yes let’s make primary care physicians numerous and keep them as gatekeepers. Cuban can’t fathom Medicare for all. It seems to works for old people. It can work for everybody else as well. And he thinks Donald Trump having smart people working on this? Oh gag me with a spoon.
Sorry, but I have zero interest in a billionaire opining about matters outside his area of expertise.
Like many "innovations" around healthcare, Mark Cuban's CostPlusDrugs does have a consequence in our zero-sum Casino Healthcare. The biggest consequence is an ever-increasing list of drug shortages. Why? Because siphoning off margin from generic manufacturers doesn't JUST lower pricing - it causes generic manufacturers to move manufacturing to a more lucrative drug.
More broadly, the GOP has been arguing for "transparency" for decades - but that's not our problem because transparency isn't agency. Just seeing prices doesn't give us the power to influence them (either individually or politically). Transparency solves for information asymmetry, but our problem in healthcare is power asymmetry. Seeing market prices relative to cost (if we ever see that), will look greedy, but shame isn't an effective antidote to greed.
Ah yes, lets listen to the billionaire instead of policy experts. That always goes so well
"Full disclosure: Bezos’s trashing of the Washington Post editorial page has worked out well for The Bulwark and its readers."
I made a small contribution to that. In the last few years I subscribed to Bulwark and canceled my WaPo subscription. As soon as I did the latter WaPo beggars came out of the wood work to offer me a discount to re-subscribe. That only made me more glad I canceled, but it proved them to be "sales-driven" vice "service-driven."
Mark is a mensch!
Cuban is right about transparency. Also right about primary care. As a primary care NP in geriatrics though, I do wonder if he has considered or has specific thoughts on how to get enough providers for patients to have access to? I’m in a rural area, and have been shouting from the rooftops for decades now about these issues- patient panels keep getting larger and are unsustainable, wait lists to establish care are 6 months or more, ER’s are overloaded. We are already stretched so thin it’s (in my opinion) unsafe and I don’t see how his gatekeeping model will work without more physicians, PA’s, and NP’s providing direct clinical care.
Jonathan,
Thank you so much for this interview. It is so important to shine a light on this. There is so much money that is being spent and a very small portion is actually benefiting patients. Please keep this up - it will break through!
I wish more "rich as fuck" people realized that their next dollar isn't going to make any difference in their lives. What a different world this could be.
I’m frankly not much impressed with Cuban. His work with Cost Plus Drugs has been worthwhile, but most of the rest of what he’s talking about is very “entrepreneurial” and pretty amateurish. Single payor is the only answer, whatever you want to call it. Medical care must be a public service, without the claws of financialization.
Cuban is another example of a rich tech mogul thinking he's smarter than the experts because he's "rich as fuck." He is consistently wrong, misinformed, and possessed by catch-phrase logic. Like Ernest in the comment section, I have practiced surgery for over 35 years. any physician can give a better interview as to the problems with the current system and ways to improve the system. Bernie Sanders knows more about how to fix the system than any other politician alive. Rick Scott is a criminal. Cuban's inability to understand this is telling.
Jonathan, Thanks for having Mark on the show to share his insights into the overall health care quagmire our country continues to flounder in. I have to confess, I times gone by, I was not a fan of Mr. Cuban. However, I can see he is trying and can be an influential force for good. He still gives Trump way to much credit, I mean, any idiot can close the border. It takes somebody with vision and serious accum to enact reasonable and responsible immigration law. But I digress, it appears the whole matter of affordable and comprehensive health care comes down two basic flaws in our American way of life. On the one hand, we just have to have more money, and when we get it, we want more. Greed is not good. On the other hand, we just can't seem to muster the will on this issue. Jonathan, your question to Mark on what he would do without restraints, was an excellent one. It was a hard question to ask because of the complexity of the problem. May I offer a thought? We have a Federal Reserve to monitor our monetary environment, why don't we create a similar institution that monitors our health care environment? We get the best minds, with no financial ties or incentives, working on the solution that meets the demands of the people. After all, isn't this what government is all about? Again, just two things needed to get the ball rolling, an informed electorate that make their decisions with civic responsibility and that pesky will to get it done.