RadixJournal - Deny, Defend ... Doubt!

00:00:00.000 I don't know.

00:00:00.840 I mean, it's like, what happened in the six months?

00:00:04.100 Was he just training, almost like Anders Breivik style,

00:00:07.740 just like training constantly to do this?

00:00:10.920 Did he have a schizophrenic break?

00:00:13.340 Was he sort of, I mean, I joked about this on Tritter,

00:00:16.540 like he was MKUltrad.

00:00:17.860 Was he sort of taken in and brainwashed and fragmented

00:00:23.060 to the point that he would do something like this?

00:00:26.420 I think the way he was clearing the germ from the gun

00:00:29.600 in that moment of high stress

00:00:31.140 really seemed like very, very well trained.

00:00:34.280 Another possibility might be

00:00:35.800 he was just taking out his family competition

00:00:38.400 in true Italian fashion.

00:00:42.080 Well, I'm not sure they were competing with the insurance.

00:00:45.260 I mean, they were like getting money from the insurance.

00:00:47.240 Maybe their family got screwed over.

00:00:49.940 Yeah, that's possible.

00:00:51.640 I mean, there's also like an element of wanting to be seen here.

00:00:55.000 Like the idea of having a backpack full of monopoly money

00:00:59.300 and trying to create this mystique

00:01:01.320 as a sort of Joker type or a Batman villain.

00:01:05.460 I mean, I think comparing him to Breivik

00:01:10.300 is a bit of a sort of an insult almost to Breivik

00:01:14.300 because ultimately what he did really

00:01:15.940 kind of changed politics in Norway.

00:01:18.620 Whereas I think this ultimately was,

00:01:21.260 it was kind of a mediocre act.

00:01:23.080 I mean, I'm not, you know,

00:01:25.040 it's terms of like going,

00:01:27.540 kind of going off the rails and doing something.

00:01:30.180 There's a lot more you could have done to make it.

00:01:33.180 I think it's a totally mediocre act.

00:01:35.540 And the look at the people who resonate with this,

00:01:39.620 like if Taylor Lorenz is resonating with it ideologically,

00:01:43.880 then you should check yourself.

00:01:46.240 Where do I begin with this?

00:01:47.920 There is this notion that I remember hearing

00:01:50.860 10 or so years ago when there was the Obamacare debate

00:01:54.040 and it was like,

00:01:55.600 why doesn't everyone have insurance health?

00:01:59.020 And I would always say like,

00:02:01.420 why do you want insurance? 0.99

00:02:03.500 Like insurance is not the fucking point. 0.98

00:02:06.540 The idea is that everyone is healthy 0.98

00:02:08.700 and there are ways to get healthy

00:02:12.300 that include nutrition and exercise

00:02:14.240 and having reasonable medical facilities.

00:02:18.000 And I would probably even throw in a kind of Plato point

00:02:20.800 of we should be helping people who are injured

00:02:23.700 or temporarily sick

00:02:25.440 and not perpetuating people who are sickly or dying.

00:02:30.500 But there's this fascination of like,

00:02:33.600 everyone needs health insurance.

00:02:35.200 And it's this kind of American style socialism

00:02:37.780 of we don't want to just give people food

00:02:42.420 if they're hungry.

00:02:43.240 We instead want to give them a card

00:02:45.260 and like allow them to pretend

00:02:47.660 like they have a debit card

00:02:49.080 and have like the illusion of choice

00:02:51.420 at the supermarket.

00:02:52.580 So they're all kind of one of us.

00:02:53.940 Like we don't want to engage in actual socialism.

00:02:56.520 We want to engage in like universal bourgeoisification.

00:03:02.320 So it's like,

00:03:03.220 why can't everyone have health insurance?

00:03:05.300 Why do you want insurance?

00:03:07.120 Insurance is like for merchants

00:03:11.260 filling their ships with goods and spices

00:03:14.320 and traveling across the Pacific or something.

00:03:16.660 That's what insurance is about.

00:03:19.200 You don't want insurance.

00:03:20.620 We don't even use health insurance as insurance.

00:03:24.220 Insurance is about something that is catastrophic

00:03:27.740 and unpredictable and extremely rare.

00:03:33.020 The fact is you have to go to the hospital

00:03:36.140 to get a checkup,

00:03:38.200 get your eyes checked,

00:03:39.720 go to the dentist,

00:03:41.900 you know,

00:03:42.560 go to urgent care

00:03:43.640 and get some antibiotics or whatever.

00:03:46.080 It's something you use all the time.

00:03:48.380 So what it really is,

00:03:49.520 is a kind of,

00:03:50.500 you could say a tax

00:03:51.600 or like a prepayment plan.

00:03:54.500 Insurance at this point

00:03:55.820 is a kind of middleman

00:03:57.440 eking out some profit here and there.

00:04:01.420 Whereas the big problem is the provider.

00:04:07.340 Yet we don't want to attack like hospitals and nurses.

00:04:11.440 Insurance is really a wealth redistribution scheme

00:04:14.940 from the healthy,

00:04:17.040 the pay into the system

00:04:18.220 to the sick that are the recipients. 0.67

00:04:21.600 And a large and a very corrupt intermediary

00:04:26.120 called the health insurance industry.

00:04:29.820 I agree with you.

00:04:30.820 It's a complete misnomer.

00:04:32.080 There's no insurance here.

00:04:33.280 It's really access to services.

00:04:36.280 And interestingly,

00:04:38.780 United Healthcare specifically

00:04:42.340 owns a lot of medical practices

00:04:46.560 and clinics.

00:04:49.620 And it's nothing short,

00:04:51.460 I mean,

00:04:51.920 I'm astonished that the

00:04:53.560 anti-monopoly regulators

00:04:56.560 in the U.S.

00:04:57.660 have not zeroed in on this

00:04:59.360 because apparently under the fig leaf

00:05:02.000 that health and so-called health insurance

00:05:05.360 companies are buying companies

00:05:06.980 in other sectors

00:05:09.520 such as medical practices

00:05:10.960 and drugstore chains.

00:05:13.060 somehow this does not constitute

00:05:15.780 monopolistic behavior.

00:05:18.160 It certainly does

00:05:19.760 because you control every step

00:05:21.160 in that food chain.

00:05:22.520 You have doctors

00:05:23.780 who are basically tied

00:05:25.660 to dealing with

00:05:28.000 particular insurers

00:05:30.480 and they create,

00:05:32.700 if it's not a requirement,

00:05:35.260 but they create very strong incentives

00:05:36.660 to buy medications

00:05:38.820 and medical supplies

00:05:39.840 through distributors

00:05:41.620 and drugstores

00:05:42.720 that they own,

00:05:44.900 that belong in the same organization.

00:05:47.940 But the way this came to be,

00:05:50.860 apparently,

00:05:51.440 is because specifically,

00:05:54.660 I mean,

00:05:54.840 I can't remember where I saw it.

00:05:57.740 There was a,

00:05:58.440 somebody published a list

00:06:00.780 of health insurers,

00:06:02.380 like the top 15 health insurers

00:06:04.320 in the U.S.,

00:06:05.840 ranked by the percentage

00:06:07.320 of claims they deny.

00:06:10.160 UnitedHealth was up there.

00:06:11.300 UnitedHealthcare was on top.

00:06:13.320 It was like

00:06:14.140 something like

00:06:15.420 30% or something.

00:06:16.120 36% or something like that.

00:06:17.900 Yeah,

00:06:18.140 it was the highest.

00:06:19.820 So clearly,

00:06:21.040 you know,

00:06:21.260 this guy may have researched it

00:06:22.540 and zeroed in on the target

00:06:24.860 and their shareholder meeting

00:06:26.460 was coming up,

00:06:27.240 so this was convenient.

00:06:29.000 But the way,

00:06:30.040 apparently,

00:06:30.380 the way the medical practices

00:06:31.640 became part of that

00:06:33.780 business empire

00:06:36.640 is because of this denial rate,

00:06:39.820 basically,

00:06:40.320 the medical practices

00:06:41.120 find themselves

00:06:42.320 unable to fund

00:06:43.740 their working capital.

00:06:45.740 And the same group,

00:06:48.240 in the case of UnitedHealthcare,

00:06:50.080 owns a finance company.

00:06:52.860 It's essentially

00:06:53.700 a payday loan company

00:06:54.980 that lends money

00:06:56.620 to the medical practices

00:06:58.240 that cannot pay their bills

00:07:01.320 because the insurance,

00:07:02.980 the insurer is holding up

00:07:04.120 the claim

00:07:04.720 and not paying it,

00:07:05.920 but they have to pay

00:07:06.760 for supplies.

00:07:07.520 They have to pay salaries

00:07:08.600 to their employees

00:07:09.260 and so forth.

00:07:10.700 And before too long,

00:07:11.440 a lot of those practices

00:07:12.360 fall into

00:07:13.260 the state of,

00:07:14.860 you know,

00:07:15.540 pre-bankruptcy

00:07:16.320 and then United

00:07:17.840 comes in

00:07:18.540 and basically buys them

00:07:19.760 on the cheap

00:07:20.200 and that's how they've been able

00:07:21.300 to consolidate this empire.

00:07:23.000 It's truly,

00:07:23.920 truly an evil,

00:07:24.960 evil business.

00:07:28.040 And very predatory.

00:07:29.100 He's becoming less sympathetic

00:07:30.400 towards Brian Thompson.

00:07:33.200 Well, yeah,

00:07:34.200 he himself,

00:07:35.440 I heard the only thing

00:07:37.720 personally about him

00:07:39.080 and I don't know

00:07:39.700 if it's true or not,

00:07:40.440 but presumably

00:07:41.160 he was instrumental

00:07:42.480 in designing

00:07:45.600 an AI-based system

00:07:49.880 that questioned

00:07:52.760 doctors' bills

00:07:54.860 and basically

00:07:55.760 automated

00:07:58.120 based on

00:07:59.200 some AI

00:07:59.960 algorithms,

00:08:01.020 automated

00:08:01.460 the process

00:08:02.060 of denying

00:08:02.540 those claims

00:08:03.080 or reducing them

00:08:04.080 to whatever

00:08:05.640 United considers

00:08:07.200 profitable to themselves.

00:08:09.700 So, yeah,

00:08:10.480 if that's,

00:08:11.380 if even that is true...

00:08:12.580 Maybe Luigi

00:08:13.040 had gotten wind

00:08:14.000 of something like that

00:08:14.820 because he does have

00:08:15.680 a fascination

00:08:16.400 with AI

00:08:16.860 and you could see

00:08:18.680 in his mind

00:08:19.760 the way you would

00:08:20.420 depict that

00:08:21.020 is like,

00:08:21.800 oh,

00:08:22.120 so it's some evil robot

00:08:23.840 that's making

00:08:24.500 life-or-death decisions.

00:08:26.160 You die. 0.66

00:08:27.020 Oh,

00:08:27.220 you get to live

00:08:27.920 because you have

00:08:28.320 enough money.

00:08:29.280 Oh, 0.99

00:08:29.620 your grandma dies. 0.99

00:08:30.920 That baby dies.

00:08:31.600 I could see him

00:08:33.140 becoming morally righteous

00:08:35.300 over reading

00:08:36.960 about something like that.

00:08:38.960 It could be.

00:08:39.500 Yeah,

00:08:39.620 it's certainly

00:08:40.020 in his wheelhouse.

00:08:43.040 But even without,

00:08:43.700 I mean,

00:08:44.080 somebody early on

00:08:46.240 when he hadn't

00:08:48.100 been caught yet

00:08:49.000 pointed out,

00:08:50.820 and again,

00:08:51.340 it doesn't seem

00:08:52.920 to have been corroborated

00:08:54.340 since then,

00:08:54.940 but apparently,

00:08:55.720 obviously his own

00:08:56.560 episode with his back pain,

00:08:58.600 with his injury

00:08:59.360 that he received

00:09:01.240 as when surfing

00:09:02.640 in Hawaii,

00:09:03.360 apparently,

00:09:04.000 and somebody suggested

00:09:05.840 that a couple

00:09:06.320 of his family members

00:09:07.420 were mistreated

00:09:10.880 badly by health insurers,

00:09:13.420 even though you kind of wonder

00:09:15.200 whether that's true or not

00:09:16.320 given that the family

00:09:17.200 is pretty wealthy

00:09:17.840 and could probably

00:09:18.640 handle whatever,

00:09:20.300 whatever challenges,

00:09:22.580 financial challenges

00:09:23.440 could be.

00:09:25.640 But certainly,

00:09:27.720 yeah,

00:09:27.980 it's pretty fascinating.

00:09:29.040 Even the Wall Street Journal

00:09:29.900 a couple of days ago

00:09:31.360 had an article

00:09:32.760 saying,

00:09:33.500 well,

00:09:33.760 the trouble

00:09:34.660 with the manhunt

00:09:36.740 at that time

00:09:37.900 was the

00:09:39.620 pretty serious

00:09:41.400 amount of

00:09:42.120 support

00:09:43.760 that people

00:09:45.260 expressed

00:09:45.740 toward him.

00:09:46.400 and there were

00:09:47.120 numerous,

00:09:48.280 numerous people

00:09:49.480 going online

00:09:50.760 and saying,

00:09:51.360 well,

00:09:52.340 condolences

00:09:54.340 for the Thompson

00:09:55.180 family

00:09:56.460 require

00:09:57.480 free approval

00:09:58.780 or something like that.

00:09:59.500 Some snide remarks

00:10:00.380 that,

00:10:00.820 yeah,

00:10:00.920 I saw one.

00:10:02.280 I mean,

00:10:03.180 I would grant

00:10:04.880 libertarians

00:10:05.960 the benefit

00:10:07.000 of the doubt here,

00:10:07.880 like,

00:10:08.180 in the sense of

00:10:09.580 a free market

00:10:11.280 out-of-pocket

00:10:12.420 system

00:10:13.180 might very well

00:10:15.240 be hugely

00:10:16.240 efficient.

00:10:17.680 And if you think

00:10:18.360 about it,

00:10:18.860 like,

00:10:19.140 I even hate

00:10:20.060 mentioning this

00:10:20.860 because I

00:10:21.380 kind of feel bad

00:10:23.260 even thinking

00:10:23.840 about this,

00:10:24.420 but I had

00:10:25.160 my dog

00:10:26.780 Zeus

00:10:27.200 neutered, 0.92

00:10:28.160 castrated, 0.99

00:10:28.860 that is,

00:10:29.320 yikes.

00:10:30.680 I remember

00:10:31.860 taking him

00:10:33.680 to surgery.

00:10:34.740 It was done

00:10:35.500 in one day

00:10:36.400 and it cost,

00:10:38.600 I think it cost

00:10:39.900 between $400

00:10:40.620 and $500.

00:10:41.320 it really

00:10:44.780 was not

00:10:45.520 a big deal

00:10:46.500 and granted

00:10:48.120 he's a dog,

00:10:49.380 but that is

00:10:50.500 a major operation,

00:10:52.020 something you

00:10:52.440 don't want to

00:10:53.100 screw up, 0.63

00:10:53.700 something that's

00:10:54.220 important and

00:10:55.000 delicate to say

00:10:55.820 the least,

00:10:56.820 and it

00:10:57.940 was a

00:10:58.700 three-figure

00:10:59.780 bill

00:11:00.380 that I just

00:11:02.940 paid with my

00:11:03.760 debit card

00:11:04.360 then and there.

00:11:06.640 And if

00:11:07.580 we had

00:11:08.540 a free market

00:11:09.340 in healthcare,

00:11:10.180 that there

00:11:11.600 would be

00:11:11.940 all the

00:11:12.580 incentive

00:11:13.060 in the

00:11:13.720 world

00:11:14.100 for the

00:11:14.660 clinics

00:11:15.180 to

00:11:16.300 make

00:11:17.740 things more

00:11:18.560 and more

00:11:18.920 efficient

00:11:19.400 and inexpensive.

00:11:22.960 We forget.

00:11:24.500 I think the

00:11:25.400 cost of

00:11:26.300 the

00:11:26.880 original

00:11:28.400 Apple

00:11:29.160 Macintosh

00:11:31.100 was like,

00:11:32.120 I think it

00:11:32.740 might have

00:11:32.940 been $5,000

00:11:34.020 or something

00:11:34.700 in 1984.

00:11:36.520 Was that

00:11:36.740 what it was?

00:11:37.180 Or 1982?

00:11:37.720 which is

00:11:39.840 the equivalent

00:11:40.520 of $15,000

00:11:42.680 or $20,000

00:11:43.580 computer now.

00:11:45.840 I mean,

00:11:46.560 the laptop

00:11:47.220 I'm using,

00:11:48.140 I can't remember

00:11:48.820 exactly,

00:11:49.380 but I think

00:11:50.020 it was under

00:11:50.440 $5,000.

00:11:51.980 And it's a

00:11:52.620 nice MacBook

00:11:53.180 Pro.

00:11:54.700 And it has

00:11:55.960 a higher

00:11:57.460 resolution screen,

00:11:58.940 far,

00:11:59.540 far more

00:12:00.320 memory and

00:12:01.100 storage,

00:12:02.140 far more

00:12:03.140 powerful,

00:12:03.640 and it

00:12:04.520 is less

00:12:05.020 expensive

00:12:05.600 even

00:12:06.180 nominally,

00:12:07.280 but it's

00:12:07.920 certainly

00:12:08.320 less expensive

00:12:09.100 with inflation.

00:12:09.940 So everything

00:12:10.680 with technology

00:12:11.580 is pushing

00:12:12.220 prices down,

00:12:14.000 making things

00:12:15.040 affordable.

00:12:16.660 Even some

00:12:17.260 homeless people

00:12:17.940 have smartphones.

00:12:19.020 That's a

00:12:19.320 computer in

00:12:19.840 your pocket.

00:12:20.420 So why

00:12:21.300 wouldn't this

00:12:22.160 apply to the

00:12:23.140 medical industry?

00:12:24.020 I think this

00:12:24.680 is,

00:12:25.440 as much as

00:12:26.720 we hate

00:12:27.180 libertarians,

00:12:28.440 I find it

00:12:29.940 hard to

00:12:30.460 disagree with

00:12:31.200 them,

00:12:31.440 actually.

00:12:31.820 I was

00:12:32.820 going to

00:12:33.080 say that

00:12:33.560 there's

00:12:34.520 this

00:12:34.920 hatred

00:12:35.720 of

00:12:35.920 Milton

00:12:36.120 Friedman

00:12:36.540 in our

00:12:36.860 circles,

00:12:37.520 and I

00:12:37.880 have to

00:12:38.560 say,

00:12:38.920 first of

00:12:40.740 all,

00:12:41.060 let's not

00:12:41.580 confound

00:12:42.240 his academic

00:12:42.960 research

00:12:43.620 with his

00:12:44.740 societal

00:12:46.040 prescriptions,

00:12:46.700 those are

00:12:46.860 two different

00:12:47.240 things.

00:12:48.340 When it

00:12:48.620 comes to

00:12:48.900 his

00:12:49.340 prescriptions,

00:12:50.140 there's good

00:12:51.860 and bad.

00:12:54.540 But one

00:12:55.540 of the

00:12:55.800 things he

00:12:57.160 did say

00:12:57.600 was deregulation,

00:12:59.780 and he was

00:13:00.160 really a

00:13:00.500 proponent of

00:13:00.980 that.

00:13:01.820 Even

00:13:02.340 there,

00:13:02.760 it's a

00:13:03.300 case-by-case

00:13:03.900 thing,

00:13:04.200 but in

00:13:04.340 the case

00:13:04.660 of health

00:13:05.000 care,

00:13:05.300 I just

00:13:05.900 have to

00:13:06.500 agree.

00:13:07.660 It's very

00:13:08.980 much an

00:13:09.380 nightmare.

00:13:09.420 We can

00:13:09.720 be grown-ups

00:13:11.040 enough.

00:13:11.480 We don't

00:13:11.660 have to

00:13:12.000 buy into

00:13:12.740 the

00:13:13.960 philosophy

00:13:14.560 of

00:13:14.840 libertarianism

00:13:15.600 just to

00:13:15.940 say that

00:13:16.280 they're

00:13:16.440 right about

00:13:16.900 this.

00:13:17.640 The

00:13:17.960 problem

00:13:18.400 is we

00:13:18.820 don't

00:13:19.060 live in

00:13:19.400 this

00:13:19.560 world,

00:13:19.900 and we

00:13:20.100 live in

00:13:20.560 a moralizing

00:13:21.900 world,

00:13:22.420 as I

00:13:22.640 said before.

00:13:23.860 I remember

00:13:25.100 the debates

00:13:25.880 over

00:13:26.220 Obamacare.

00:13:27.000 I was

00:13:27.180 actually living

00:13:27.740 in New

00:13:28.060 York City,

00:13:28.840 and there

00:13:29.520 was one

00:13:30.080 person saying,

00:13:31.180 can you

00:13:32.160 believe that

00:13:33.240 30% of

00:13:34.800 the country

00:13:35.360 doesn't have

00:13:36.200 health insurance?

00:13:36.940 I would

00:13:37.180 always respond,

00:13:38.380 why do you

00:13:39.600 want health

00:13:40.240 insurance?

00:13:41.220 What about

00:13:41.920 paying $900 a

00:13:46.040 month or

00:13:46.540 whatever,

00:13:47.340 $500 a

00:13:48.320 month for

00:13:49.380 something called

00:13:50.580 US Health

00:13:51.840 United?

00:13:52.740 Why do you

00:13:53.340 want to do

00:13:53.740 that?

00:13:54.080 Why does

00:13:54.720 that?

00:13:54.980 Because the

00:13:56.020 reason why

00:13:56.460 they want

00:13:56.820 to do

00:13:57.140 it is

00:13:57.580 that it's

00:13:58.300 a status

00:13:58.820 symbol.

00:13:59.420 It's like

00:13:59.620 you're rich

00:14:01.520 or something.

00:14:02.640 The goal

00:14:03.080 is to be

00:14:03.700 healthy.

00:14:04.700 The goal

00:14:05.120 is not to

00:14:05.520 have health

00:14:06.300 insurance.

00:14:06.980 I've already

00:14:07.740 said this,

00:14:08.240 I'm repeating

00:14:08.580 myself,

00:14:09.080 it's just

00:14:09.280 always bothered

00:14:10.420 me.

00:14:11.300 So again,

00:14:12.020 we're doing

00:14:12.500 it wrong.

00:14:13.140 We have

00:14:13.460 this middle

00:14:14.200 class way

00:14:15.120 of doing

00:14:15.420 things where

00:14:15.860 everyone is

00:14:16.440 going to

00:14:16.620 have universal

00:14:17.920 insurance as

00:14:19.780 opposed to

00:14:21.360 universal

00:14:22.560 health.

00:14:23.200 universal

00:14:24.900 health would

00:14:25.820 involve different

00:14:26.500 things.

00:14:27.540 It might

00:14:27.820 very well

00:14:28.520 involve

00:14:29.000 regulating

00:14:29.720 nutrition.

00:14:31.680 It does

00:14:33.600 involve,

00:14:34.160 this is one

00:14:34.640 thing we're

00:14:34.940 good at,

00:14:35.420 it involves

00:14:36.020 compulsory

00:14:37.240 vaccination.

00:14:38.540 It might

00:14:38.980 very well

00:14:39.600 involve

00:14:40.160 compulsory

00:14:41.120 exercise,

00:14:42.300 but it's

00:14:43.840 not about

00:14:44.560 more insurance.

00:14:45.740 We've

00:14:45.920 obviously

00:14:46.440 become

00:14:47.100 obese,

00:14:49.780 I mean,

00:14:49.980 it's a

00:14:50.200 correlation,

00:14:50.880 not a

00:14:51.140 causation,

00:14:51.640 but under

00:14:52.640 this system

00:14:53.220 we're

00:14:53.440 obviously

00:14:53.840 getting

00:14:54.300 obese 1.00

00:14:54.960 and dumb 1.00

00:14:56.300 and slow 1.00

00:14:57.600 and etc.,

00:14:59.340 etc.,

00:14:59.720 etc.

00:15:01.140 We want

00:15:02.300 health,

00:15:02.780 we don't

00:15:03.040 want health

00:15:03.460 insurance.

00:15:04.560 We also

00:15:05.660 live in a

00:15:06.180 kind of

00:15:06.440 morally

00:15:06.800 righteous

00:15:07.260 time where

00:15:08.560 if someone

00:15:09.960 can't

00:15:10.600 afford

00:15:11.140 a car,

00:15:13.340 that's

00:15:14.800 one thing.

00:15:15.980 Or if

00:15:16.440 someone can't

00:15:17.160 afford a

00:15:18.620 new Rolex,

00:15:19.640 that's one

00:15:20.260 thing.

00:15:20.600 We're sort

00:15:21.040 of okay

00:15:21.740 with

00:15:23.100 something that

00:15:24.820 can be

00:15:25.040 considered

00:15:25.380 luxury not

00:15:26.400 being universal.

00:15:27.320 That's sort

00:15:27.680 of the

00:15:27.920 point of

00:15:28.440 it after

00:15:29.140 all.

00:15:29.920 We live

00:15:30.700 in a

00:15:30.960 world,

00:15:31.500 I totally

00:15:32.200 get this

00:15:32.840 and I

00:15:33.120 understand

00:15:33.500 it,

00:15:34.020 where we

00:15:34.840 think all

00:15:35.600 of this

00:15:35.900 should be

00:15:36.220 universal.

00:15:36.700 If you're

00:15:37.180 not granting

00:15:37.980 someone the

00:15:39.240 right,

00:15:39.840 the access

00:15:40.520 to a

00:15:40.940 hospital,

00:15:41.480 you are

00:15:41.800 in effect

00:15:42.360 murdering 0.99

00:15:42.980 them. 1.00

00:15:43.200 And

00:15:44.720 under

00:15:45.380 this

00:15:46.000 system,

00:15:47.220 I think

00:15:48.340 we need

00:15:48.800 some

00:15:49.480 sort

00:15:50.100 of

00:15:50.880 universal

00:15:52.400 health

00:15:52.780 coverage.

00:15:54.520 I am

00:15:55.600 a kind

00:15:56.100 of

00:15:56.260 compromising

00:15:57.440 libertarian

00:15:58.800 on this

00:15:59.280 issue,

00:15:59.620 so if

00:16:00.580 I could

00:16:01.100 just

00:16:01.380 create

00:16:02.020 a system

00:16:02.680 that is

00:16:03.820 right,

00:16:04.720 I would

00:16:05.520 do a

00:16:06.040 sort of

00:16:06.420 post-office

00:16:07.500 like solution.

00:16:08.320 so there

00:16:10.460 is a

00:16:11.860 government

00:16:13.820 run

00:16:14.440 not-for-profit

00:16:16.140 clinic

00:16:16.880 where if

00:16:18.260 you are

00:16:19.420 dead broke 0.96

00:16:20.340 and you

00:16:20.740 get into

00:16:21.160 a car

00:16:21.580 accident,

00:16:22.520 you're going

00:16:22.860 to make

00:16:23.300 sure that

00:16:23.800 your legs

00:16:24.360 are healed

00:16:24.840 and your

00:16:25.320 broken leg

00:16:25.920 is healed

00:16:26.360 and they'll

00:16:27.780 do some

00:16:28.240 tests on

00:16:28.860 your brain

00:16:29.380 to see if

00:16:29.800 that concussion

00:16:30.380 is too

00:16:30.700 bad.

00:16:31.720 There's a

00:16:32.360 sort of

00:16:33.080 baseline

00:16:33.940 of

00:16:35.300 government

00:16:36.100 post-office

00:16:37.560 style

00:16:38.100 healthcare

00:16:38.820 that you're

00:16:40.360 not going

00:16:40.800 to die

00:16:41.540 on our

00:16:42.060 watch

00:16:42.540 basically.

00:16:44.620 Now,

00:16:44.960 on top

00:16:45.780 of that,

00:16:46.880 could you

00:16:47.280 have

00:16:47.900 health

00:16:48.540 insurance

00:16:49.300 or

00:16:50.160 clinics

00:16:51.300 as a

00:16:52.680 sort of

00:16:53.080 elite

00:16:53.700 thing,

00:16:54.900 an almost

00:16:55.420 luxury

00:16:56.120 product?

00:16:58.520 That's the

00:16:59.320 compromise

00:16:59.860 that I would

00:17:00.400 come to.

00:17:00.860 I'm just

00:17:01.300 recognizing

00:17:01.860 the fact

00:17:02.480 that people

00:17:02.900 are very

00:17:03.640 morally

00:17:04.140 righteous

00:17:04.540 about this,

00:17:06.040 but then

00:17:07.280 I'm also

00:17:07.800 recognizing

00:17:08.420 the fact

00:17:08.940 that the

00:17:10.620 libertarians

00:17:11.260 are right

00:17:11.800 and if

00:17:12.460 the free

00:17:12.800 market

00:17:13.120 were allowed

00:17:13.620 to apply

00:17:14.320 to health

00:17:15.460 providers,

00:17:15.940 it would

00:17:16.480 be a

00:17:17.100 hell of

00:17:17.460 a lot

00:17:17.780 less

00:17:18.000 expensive.

00:17:19.160 There it

00:17:19.800 is.

00:17:20.580 And I

00:17:20.720 think the

00:17:21.280 onus

00:17:21.720 falls,

00:17:22.800 and people

00:17:23.240 don't like

00:17:23.640 hearing this,

00:17:24.060 but it

00:17:24.280 honestly falls

00:17:25.080 on doctors

00:17:25.680 and hospitals,

00:17:26.660 like the

00:17:27.940 sort of

00:17:28.500 backwardsness

00:17:29.220 of the

00:17:29.580 healthcare

00:17:29.900 system,

00:17:31.020 the costs.

00:17:32.300 I mean,

00:17:32.700 just sort of

00:17:33.440 an example

00:17:34.340 of this,

00:17:35.160 I was

00:17:35.680 reading about

00:17:36.300 how there

00:17:36.720 was a

00:17:37.400 company that

00:17:37.920 was trying

00:17:38.520 to use

00:17:40.140 AI image

00:17:41.320 recognition to

00:17:42.400 essentially

00:17:43.080 diagnose based

00:17:44.660 off of x-rays

00:17:45.800 and CT

00:17:46.800 scans,

00:17:47.340 and they

00:17:48.100 were blocked

00:17:48.820 from receiving

00:17:50.200 training data,

00:17:51.420 not even by the

00:17:52.680 hospitals,

00:17:53.360 but by the

00:17:54.480 American

00:17:55.080 Association of

00:17:56.300 Radiologists

00:17:57.420 or some other

00:17:58.540 kind of lobbying

00:17:59.640 group,

00:18:00.200 because these

00:18:02.380 doctors have

00:18:03.620 this incentive

00:18:04.200 to have

00:18:04.720 some person

00:18:06.060 that went

00:18:06.460 to school

00:18:06.880 for eight

00:18:07.520 years

00:18:07.920 misdiagnose

00:18:09.220 some ailment

00:18:11.280 based off of

00:18:11.880 an x-ray

00:18:12.340 rather than

00:18:12.860 have the

00:18:13.960 one thing

00:18:14.600 that these

00:18:16.040 neural nets

00:18:16.540 are really

00:18:16.900 good at,

00:18:17.920 and that's

00:18:18.200 image recognition.

00:18:19.940 We might have

00:18:20.400 talked about

00:18:20.960 this.

00:18:21.320 Did we talk

00:18:21.800 about this

00:18:22.140 before?

00:18:22.700 My

00:18:22.820 maternal

00:18:24.360 grandfather

00:18:24.860 was a

00:18:25.320 radiologist,

00:18:26.220 and even

00:18:27.020 when he

00:18:27.420 was retired

00:18:28.880 and well

00:18:29.360 into his

00:18:29.780 70s and

00:18:31.020 80s even,

00:18:32.100 the hospital

00:18:33.040 would drop

00:18:33.800 off like a

00:18:34.560 dozen x-rays

00:18:35.600 to him,

00:18:37.400 and in the

00:18:38.200 afternoon,

00:18:39.500 probably while

00:18:40.020 drinking a

00:18:40.780 bourbon on

00:18:41.260 the rocks,

00:18:42.260 he would

00:18:42.540 diagnose

00:18:43.680 people.

00:18:45.180 I think he

00:18:45.960 just did it.

00:18:46.740 I'm sure he

00:18:47.360 probably was

00:18:48.480 paid to some

00:18:49.120 degree.

00:18:49.580 I think he

00:18:49.960 just sort of

00:18:50.500 wanted to

00:18:50.920 keep a

00:18:52.020 foot in

00:18:52.700 the ball

00:18:53.500 game kind

00:18:54.080 of thing.

00:18:56.120 But AI

00:18:56.720 could do

00:18:57.140 that.

00:18:57.640 What he

00:18:58.040 did,

00:18:58.380 he was

00:18:58.640 just going

00:18:59.080 through

00:18:59.400 x-ray,

00:18:59.960 AI could

00:19:00.600 do that,

00:19:01.120 and he

00:19:01.480 could read

00:19:02.680 a book or

00:19:03.140 something.

00:19:03.600 There's this

00:19:04.180 perception of

00:19:05.840 healthcare

00:19:06.780 providers as

00:19:07.800 being this

00:19:08.820 holy class of

00:19:10.080 individual that

00:19:10.900 is completely

00:19:12.320 self-righteous,

00:19:13.760 and they're

00:19:14.100 doing things for

00:19:15.960 the good of

00:19:16.460 the people,

00:19:17.520 when in

00:19:17.920 reality,

00:19:18.600 most of the

00:19:19.060 people who

00:19:19.400 are becoming

00:19:20.060 medical

00:19:21.000 professionals are

00:19:21.780 doing so

00:19:22.340 because it's

00:19:23.300 an easy way

00:19:23.960 to get

00:19:24.360 quarter to

00:19:25.560 half a

00:19:25.980 million dollar

00:19:26.520 salary.

00:19:28.240 Honestly,

00:19:28.980 work that

00:19:29.460 is,

00:19:30.280 I mean,

00:19:30.500 unless you're

00:19:31.280 some kind

00:19:31.620 of intensive

00:19:32.240 care,

00:19:33.500 unless you're

00:19:34.540 like a

00:19:34.860 surgeon or

00:19:35.540 doing some

00:19:36.680 groundbreaking

00:19:37.120 stressful

00:19:37.900 medical work,

00:19:39.500 it is quite,

00:19:40.880 I mean,

00:19:41.260 I don't want to

00:19:41.900 call it an

00:19:42.300 easy job,

00:19:42.900 but it's not

00:19:43.420 really a job

00:19:44.080 where you have

00:19:44.340 to innovate.

00:19:45.220 You just

00:19:45.600 kind of

00:19:45.960 implement

00:19:46.640 some skills

00:19:48.180 that you

00:19:48.520 learn in

00:19:49.520 medical school

00:19:50.220 and training

00:19:50.980 and residency.

00:19:51.720 And I

00:19:52.600 mean,

00:19:52.880 itrogenic

00:19:53.660 deaths is

00:19:55.200 the third

00:19:55.620 leading cause

00:19:56.280 of death

00:19:56.740 in the

00:19:57.060 United States.

00:19:58.420 That is

00:19:58.700 death caused

00:19:59.440 by misdiagnosis,

00:20:01.580 by, I mean,

00:20:02.900 I think that

00:20:03.400 includes people

00:20:04.160 getting infections

00:20:04.920 from staying

00:20:05.620 in hospitals,

00:20:06.240 but there

00:20:07.320 is a large

00:20:08.460 percentage of

00:20:09.580 people who

00:20:10.040 die early

00:20:11.800 because they

00:20:12.380 are misdiagnosed

00:20:13.400 by healthcare

00:20:14.040 providers and

00:20:14.780 are given

00:20:15.320 the wrong

00:20:16.680 medication or

00:20:17.680 not the right

00:20:18.320 medication or

00:20:19.820 they don't

00:20:20.520 catch some

00:20:21.400 ailment in

00:20:22.180 time.

00:20:23.280 And so I

00:20:23.720 think, you

00:20:24.560 know, we

00:20:24.940 need to

00:20:25.200 stop, you

00:20:26.220 know, lionizing

00:20:27.040 these healthcare

00:20:28.400 workers as

00:20:29.880 being these

00:20:30.460 totally selfless,

00:20:32.600 you know,

00:20:33.160 scions of

00:20:35.240 greatness or

00:20:35.880 something.

00:20:36.780 Yeah, and to

00:20:37.460 add to your

00:20:37.900 point, first of

00:20:38.540 all, it's

00:20:38.960 more than

00:20:39.520 money.

00:20:40.100 It's also a

00:20:41.540 cultural and

00:20:42.320 artistic device

00:20:43.680 to be a

00:20:44.200 savior.

00:20:45.540 I think there's

00:20:46.300 a lot, I

00:20:47.440 mean, even if

00:20:48.160 you were to

00:20:48.400 cut everyone's 0.71

00:20:49.080 salaries in

00:20:49.640 half,

00:20:49.920 I think

00:20:50.820 people would

00:20:51.360 still regard

00:20:52.040 being a

00:20:52.760 physician as

00:20:53.440 like the

00:20:53.980 epitome of

00:20:54.680 social clout

00:20:55.980 precisely because

00:20:57.920 they're kind

00:20:59.200 of adhering to

00:21:00.140 a kind of

00:21:00.740 breeding model,

00:21:01.640 quite frankly.

00:21:04.220 Everyone

00:21:04.700 respects doctors.

00:21:05.940 I mean,

00:21:06.760 there's no

00:21:07.260 doubt about

00:21:08.180 it.

00:21:08.520 It's funny, I

00:21:09.040 come from

00:21:09.440 many people in

00:21:11.140 my family were

00:21:11.740 doctors.

00:21:12.120 My father

00:21:12.540 is a doctor

00:21:13.600 and my

00:21:14.380 maternal

00:21:15.420 grandfather was

00:21:16.140 a doctor as

00:21:16.740 well.

00:21:17.840 I never had an

00:21:18.860 interest and I

00:21:19.540 always hated

00:21:20.120 being in

00:21:20.540 hospitals.

00:21:22.320 I had some

00:21:24.020 Nietzschean

00:21:24.800 gene of

00:21:25.540 like,

00:21:26.380 something's

00:21:26.960 falling,

00:21:27.480 give it a

00:21:27.820 push.

00:21:28.980 Yeah, same

00:21:29.460 here.

00:21:29.940 You should

00:21:30.760 repair an

00:21:31.520 injury, but

00:21:32.220 if someone's

00:21:32.740 inherently sick, 1.00

00:21:33.820 he should die. 1.00

00:21:35.080 There's something 1.00

00:21:35.520 like

00:21:35.740 I've always

00:21:38.840 agreed with

00:21:39.380 that.

00:21:39.980 I just had

00:21:40.400 that kind

00:21:40.880 of, I

00:21:41.700 don't know.

00:21:42.040 Yeah, I

00:21:43.160 too had a

00:21:43.660 lot of

00:21:43.860 doctors in

00:21:44.280 my family

00:21:44.760 and I

00:21:46.340 don't know,

00:21:46.660 I just

00:21:46.920 couldn't,

00:21:47.600 initially I

00:21:48.560 went into

00:21:48.860 pre-med just

00:21:49.820 to satisfy

00:21:50.420 my parents

00:21:51.140 basically.

00:21:52.020 And yeah,

00:21:53.620 I just, I

00:21:54.280 was like,

00:21:54.600 no, no

00:21:55.120 way.

00:21:55.320 I'm not

00:21:55.540 spending the

00:21:56.000 next 15

00:21:56.440 years of my

00:21:56.780 life doing

00:21:57.100 this.

00:21:57.820 With sick

00:21:58.320 people, yeah.

00:21:58.980 It's not for

00:22:00.260 me.

00:22:00.620 At the same

00:22:01.180 time, maybe

00:22:02.860 this is a

00:22:03.540 residual bias on

00:22:05.000 my part, but

00:22:05.640 the conservative

00:22:08.700 attack on

00:22:10.660 vaccinations

00:22:11.740 and doctors

00:22:13.940 being evil

00:22:14.800 or something,

00:22:15.440 that really

00:22:16.840 rubbed me the

00:22:17.780 wrong way.

00:22:18.520 And maybe it

00:22:18.920 is just a

00:22:19.380 residual bias.

00:22:20.360 It might very

00:22:20.780 well be to

00:22:21.460 some degree.

00:22:21.900 It doesn't

00:22:22.080 mean I'm

00:22:22.340 wrong, but

00:22:23.620 I just, you

00:22:25.100 know, I

00:22:25.820 don't know.

00:22:26.220 I guess I

00:22:26.700 respect doctors

00:22:27.460 as well.

00:22:27.940 I understand

00:22:28.560 all of these

00:22:29.080 criticisms,

00:22:29.720 though.

00:22:30.900 I think it's

00:22:31.280 a solace and

00:22:32.140 it lacks

00:22:33.040 creativity and

00:22:33.980 it's sort of

00:22:34.420 the perfect

00:22:35.260 place for a 0.97

00:22:36.260 midwit to 0.50

00:22:36.920 exist in is

00:22:38.320 being a

00:22:38.700 healthcare

00:22:39.040 provider.

00:22:40.760 You don't

00:22:41.320 have to

00:22:41.780 innovate

00:22:42.140 anything.

00:22:42.860 You don't

00:22:43.100 really have

00:22:43.580 to creatively

00:22:44.040 solve unless

00:22:44.620 you're a

00:22:45.320 plastic surgeon

00:22:46.140 or doing

00:22:46.520 some novel

00:22:47.080 form of

00:22:47.800 surgery or

00:22:48.920 in medical

00:22:49.560 research.

00:22:50.440 You're sort

00:22:51.000 of just

00:22:51.280 kind of

00:22:51.600 following the

00:22:52.300 rules.

00:22:53.140 You're doing

00:22:54.040 things by

00:22:54.600 the book.

00:22:55.200 You have

00:22:55.500 to have a

00:22:55.760 lot of

00:22:56.100 book smarts.

00:22:56.900 You have

00:22:57.000 to be able

00:22:57.320 to study

00:22:58.340 and memorize

00:22:59.760 things.

00:23:01.040 I mean,

00:23:01.260 that's like

00:23:02.060 the majority

00:23:02.580 of medical

00:23:03.980 school is

00:23:04.640 just,

00:23:05.260 you'll hear

00:23:07.160 doctors talk

00:23:07.860 about,

00:23:08.200 well, at

00:23:08.860 medical school

00:23:09.540 I just had

00:23:10.100 to memorize

00:23:10.660 a bunch of

00:23:11.180 these terms

00:23:12.360 that I'm

00:23:12.780 not really

00:23:13.700 using in

00:23:14.260 day-to-day

00:23:14.640 practice.

00:23:15.740 And there's

00:23:15.940 this sort

00:23:16.260 of institution

00:23:16.980 that I think

00:23:17.440 is built

00:23:17.880 up.

00:23:19.240 I think I

00:23:19.760 also read

00:23:20.400 somewhere that

00:23:21.040 one of the

00:23:21.940 doctors'

00:23:22.480 associations

00:23:23.060 actually,

00:23:24.340 and these

00:23:24.800 medical

00:23:25.700 license boards,

00:23:27.000 they lobby

00:23:27.500 to reduce

00:23:28.940 the number

00:23:29.440 of spots

00:23:30.140 in medical

00:23:31.680 schools.

00:23:33.180 And that's

00:23:33.480 that kind

00:23:33.900 of, if

00:23:34.320 you think

00:23:34.620 about it

00:23:34.920 from a,

00:23:35.380 you know,

00:23:36.440 a game

00:23:37.000 theory economic

00:23:37.980 perspective,

00:23:38.560 it's in

00:23:39.380 these people's

00:23:39.940 interests to

00:23:40.680 reduce the

00:23:41.320 supply of

00:23:42.560 medical

00:23:42.920 providers by

00:23:43.720 introducing

00:23:44.720 barriers to

00:23:45.760 entry to

00:23:47.240 prevent people.

00:23:48.160 For example,

00:23:48.560 you have to

00:23:49.060 get a

00:23:49.840 four-year

00:23:50.180 degree that's

00:23:50.960 sort of,

00:23:52.120 I mean,

00:23:52.540 I wouldn't

00:23:53.240 say four-year

00:23:53.820 degrees are

00:23:54.280 useless, 0.99

00:23:54.640 but you're 0.99

00:23:55.740 doing what

00:23:56.260 maybe a

00:23:57.320 year's worth

00:23:58.120 of B-Med

00:23:59.120 courses to

00:23:59.780 be able to

00:24:00.120 get into

00:24:00.480 medical

00:24:00.800 school.

00:24:01.580 That's

00:24:02.060 itself an

00:24:02.900 artificial

00:24:03.260 barrier to

00:24:04.000 entry.

00:24:04.980 And then

00:24:05.180 you have,

00:24:06.000 you know,

00:24:06.580 medical schools

00:24:07.360 that are

00:24:07.680 extremely

00:24:08.100 expensive,

00:24:09.620 that kind

00:24:09.880 of put you

00:24:10.480 in this,

00:24:11.220 yeah,

00:24:11.440 you have a,

00:24:12.700 you know,

00:24:13.040 four to

00:24:13.480 ten-year-long

00:24:14.840 residency.

00:24:16.220 It's this

00:24:16.560 sort of

00:24:17.820 very established,

00:24:20.180 exactly,

00:24:20.720 it's a very,

00:24:21.640 you know,

00:24:22.540 look,

00:24:22.920 not everyone

00:24:23.600 in society

00:24:24.300 is going

00:24:24.760 to be an

00:24:25.120 innovator

00:24:25.680 and is going

00:24:26.240 to want to

00:24:26.840 change the

00:24:27.700 world.

00:24:28.840 And that's

00:24:30.340 okay.

00:24:31.220 I mean,

00:24:31.880 I agree that

00:24:32.860 it is a

00:24:33.560 sort of 0.84

00:24:34.080 midwit or 0.89

00:24:34.860 kind of

00:24:35.220 upper midwit

00:24:36.160 profession.

00:24:36.940 At the same

00:24:37.860 time,

00:24:38.520 if you're

00:24:39.180 performing

00:24:40.460 surgery,

00:24:42.080 I mean,

00:24:42.280 my father

00:24:42.840 performs eye

00:24:43.940 surgery on

00:24:44.640 the retina.

00:24:45.900 I imagine

00:24:46.980 that you get

00:24:47.660 a godlike

00:24:48.820 thrill from

00:24:49.520 doing something

00:24:50.080 like that

00:24:50.680 as well.

00:24:52.380 Yeah,

00:24:52.680 there's a high

00:24:53.300 correlation between

00:24:54.300 those types of

00:24:55.140 professions,

00:24:55.780 surgeons and

00:24:56.360 the psychopathy.

00:24:57.840 Yeah.

00:24:59.140 Our medical

00:24:59.900 community is a

00:25:01.080 big redistribution

00:25:02.720 scheme of

00:25:03.960 taking money

00:25:04.540 from the

00:25:05.040 healthy and

00:25:06.260 those that

00:25:07.240 are fit for

00:25:07.840 survival in a

00:25:08.500 lot of ways

00:25:09.020 to the people

00:25:09.720 that are sick.

00:25:10.500 I remember

00:25:11.900 even seeing

00:25:12.400 this during

00:25:12.820 COVID.

00:25:13.480 I'm in my

00:25:14.060 early 30s.

00:25:15.180 I never

00:25:15.680 got COVID.

00:25:16.840 I would

00:25:17.680 often flaunt

00:25:18.480 it not even

00:25:19.000 wearing masks

00:25:19.780 and stuff like

00:25:20.420 that and I

00:25:21.480 never got COVID

00:25:22.240 the entire

00:25:22.740 time and yet

00:25:24.020 I was forced

00:25:25.240 to do all

00:25:26.400 these things

00:25:27.000 when, of

00:25:27.820 course, older

00:25:28.500 people, sickly

00:25:29.300 people, they

00:25:30.020 should wear

00:25:30.380 masks, they

00:25:31.100 should get a

00:25:31.520 vaccine, they 1.00

00:25:32.400 should be

00:25:33.040 prepared for

00:25:33.560 this, but

00:25:34.020 that should be

00:25:34.540 their decision

00:25:36.240 to choose

00:25:37.740 to save

00:25:38.240 themselves and

00:25:39.180 not die from

00:25:39.800 this, but

00:25:40.320 they're forcing

00:25:41.140 the healthy

00:25:42.040 people to

00:25:42.860 redistribute

00:25:43.640 their time,

00:25:44.540 their money

00:25:45.360 in the

00:25:46.440 healthcare system

00:25:47.180 to the

00:25:47.980 unhealthy and

00:25:48.980 it's just a

00:25:49.820 lower class

00:25:51.240 cult in a

00:25:51.980 lot of ways.

00:25:52.440 Yeah, and

00:25:54.080 it's exactly

00:25:55.220 the reason

00:25:56.660 this system

00:25:58.940 that we have

00:25:59.520 exists because

00:26:00.560 it's at

00:26:03.640 its core a

00:26:05.040 redistribution

00:26:05.600 of wealth from

00:26:06.320 the young and

00:26:06.780 healthy to the

00:26:07.420 old and

00:26:07.800 sickly and

00:26:09.580 the way out

00:26:10.600 of it is

00:26:12.060 could be one

00:26:13.440 of the two.

00:26:14.980 One is what

00:26:16.780 Richard kind

00:26:17.820 of touched

00:26:18.220 about, which

00:26:18.920 is eliminate

00:26:20.640 health insurance

00:26:21.360 altogether and

00:26:22.240 basically make

00:26:23.920 it retail, pay

00:26:26.000 for the

00:26:26.320 service at

00:26:27.040 the time

00:26:27.340 the service

00:26:27.720 is provided.

00:26:28.900 It seems

00:26:30.780 unfeasible at

00:26:33.000 this point

00:26:33.380 because of

00:26:35.120 the amounts

00:26:36.520 that we've

00:26:37.040 seen people

00:26:38.320 being charged

00:26:38.980 for medical

00:26:39.420 procedures or

00:26:40.140 for even

00:26:40.600 medical visits,

00:26:42.340 but what's

00:26:43.560 going to

00:26:43.780 happen if

00:26:44.760 that was

00:26:45.920 the direction

00:26:46.920 taken is

00:26:49.840 throughout that

00:26:51.460 industry,

00:26:52.740 providers will

00:26:54.420 be forced to

00:26:55.340 adjust their

00:26:55.940 cost structures

00:26:56.780 to the new

00:26:59.720 reality where

00:27:00.440 people can only

00:27:01.220 pay within the

00:27:03.180 limits of what

00:27:03.780 they earn.

00:27:04.960 And it would

00:27:06.760 cause a mass

00:27:07.700 dislocation in the

00:27:08.780 industry.

00:27:09.260 A lot of

00:27:09.780 providers, a lot

00:27:11.100 of companies, a

00:27:12.120 lot of medical

00:27:12.540 practices will go

00:27:13.480 bankrupt.

00:27:14.480 There'll be an

00:27:15.080 enormous amount

00:27:15.760 of savings because

00:27:16.520 a lot of the

00:27:17.080 corruption and

00:27:18.020 waste will be

00:27:19.900 cut, but over

00:27:20.680 time, immediately

00:27:22.560 the effect will be

00:27:23.420 extremely disruptive,

00:27:24.460 but at the end

00:27:24.940 of the day,

00:27:25.340 healthy.

00:27:25.740 So the

00:27:26.500 libertarian

00:27:27.040 solution is not

00:27:27.940 without merit.

00:27:29.360 The other way

00:27:30.280 to do it is to

00:27:31.320 go to single

00:27:32.260 payer and

00:27:33.240 basically make

00:27:33.960 it like a

00:27:36.140 majority of the

00:27:37.180 developed world

00:27:37.980 handles it,

00:27:38.880 perhaps.

00:27:40.060 Dealing with

00:27:40.660 the, like

00:27:43.160 any public

00:27:43.740 good, if it's

00:27:45.140 socialized, it

00:27:46.860 leads to some

00:27:47.560 extent to

00:27:48.120 shortages of

00:27:49.640 services that

00:27:51.460 are the most

00:27:52.480 high value added.

00:27:54.560 I mean, you

00:27:55.620 take any

00:27:56.180 developed country

00:27:57.040 and the

00:27:58.680 benefit of

00:28:00.640 having a

00:28:01.080 socialized

00:28:01.560 system in

00:28:03.480 something like

00:28:04.280 85% of

00:28:05.520 diseases or

00:28:07.580 conditions is

00:28:08.940 obvious over the

00:28:09.720 system that the

00:28:10.260 U.S. has 0.86

00:28:10.800 because it

00:28:11.760 just, well, it's

00:28:12.640 better positioned

00:28:13.240 to do it because

00:28:13.960 it's not

00:28:14.400 expensive to

00:28:15.060 treat those and

00:28:16.600 it doesn't

00:28:16.960 require an

00:28:20.840 incredible amount

00:28:21.680 of, like, VC

00:28:23.560 money flowing

00:28:24.300 into cutting-edge

00:28:25.620 research.

00:28:27.240 It usually, in

00:28:29.800 most of those

00:28:30.560 countries, that

00:28:31.340 system is

00:28:31.820 supplemented with

00:28:32.700 a private sector.

00:28:34.020 Like, for

00:28:34.260 instance, if you

00:28:34.760 want, if you

00:28:36.120 don't want to

00:28:36.440 wait six months

00:28:37.120 for a hip

00:28:37.940 replacement procedure,

00:28:39.220 you can go to a

00:28:40.100 private doctor if

00:28:40.840 your budget

00:28:41.900 allows that,

00:28:43.320 you know, things

00:28:43.700 of that nature.

00:28:44.300 So you're not

00:28:44.860 exactly stuck with

00:28:46.500 the socialized

00:28:47.120 option.

00:28:47.840 It's not a bad

00:28:48.800 solution.

00:28:50.260 Just one quick

00:28:51.140 anecdote.

00:28:51.680 I've got to

00:28:52.020 jump, but 0.95

00:28:52.480 about a year

00:28:54.480 ago, I met

00:28:55.180 an Indian

00:28:57.280 doctor, a

00:28:58.180 cardiologist, who

00:28:59.080 came to the

00:29:00.020 U.S.

00:29:01.060 something like

00:29:01.580 15 years ago,

00:29:03.100 started a

00:29:03.560 practice, a

00:29:04.140 fairly large,

00:29:05.400 successful

00:29:05.760 cardiology

00:29:06.360 practice in

00:29:07.240 Atlanta, and

00:29:09.280 he told me

00:29:09.960 he is about

00:29:11.280 to throw in

00:29:11.760 the towel and

00:29:12.200 go back to

00:29:12.680 India, because 1.00

00:29:14.300 he cannot deal

00:29:15.220 with the

00:29:15.500 economic

00:29:15.800 uncertainty

00:29:16.320 anymore, and

00:29:16.880 he gave me

00:29:17.240 an example

00:29:17.760 of a patient

00:29:19.780 who came

00:29:21.560 for a

00:29:22.120 fairly simple

00:29:22.960 and inexpensive

00:29:24.100 procedure.

00:29:25.500 And I can't

00:29:26.200 remember the

00:29:26.680 exact dollar

00:29:27.340 amounts, but

00:29:27.920 the word of

00:29:29.260 magnitude or

00:29:29.900 the kind of

00:29:30.720 the proportion

00:29:31.200 is about

00:29:32.020 right.

00:29:32.420 So that

00:29:33.340 procedure, if

00:29:35.620 he were to

00:29:36.340 pay for it

00:29:37.100 out of his

00:29:38.380 pocket, was

00:29:40.180 going to cost

00:29:40.880 him something

00:29:41.400 like $100.

00:29:44.340 But he had

00:29:45.120 insurance, and

00:29:46.240 he said, why

00:29:46.980 don't I use

00:29:47.400 insurance?

00:29:47.900 And insurance,

00:29:48.880 it looked like,

00:29:49.620 was going to

00:29:49.960 pay for it.

00:29:51.220 So you can

00:29:52.940 never ascertain

00:29:53.720 beforehand what

00:29:56.060 the amount of

00:29:56.800 claim will be

00:29:59.920 paid and what

00:30:00.960 will be the

00:30:01.400 out-of-pocket

00:30:01.800 cost.

00:30:02.940 And he

00:30:03.140 says, it

00:30:04.420 turned out

00:30:04.940 that when he

00:30:05.580 used the

00:30:05.940 insurance, his

00:30:06.640 out-of-pocket

00:30:07.080 cost was $500.

00:30:09.040 It's with

00:30:09.820 insurance, versus

00:30:10.840 $100 if he

00:30:11.600 had to pay

00:30:12.100 just out of

00:30:13.360 his pocket.

00:30:15.160 $100?

00:30:15.940 That sounds

00:30:16.360 like he

00:30:17.080 removed a

00:30:17.780 wart or

00:30:18.440 something.

00:30:20.820 Again, if

00:30:23.520 this were

00:30:23.900 like a free

00:30:25.000 market, that

00:30:25.700 would be

00:30:26.100 like $29.99.

00:30:28.800 Yeah, yeah,

00:30:29.380 exactly.

00:30:29.680 But even

00:30:30.700 then, if

00:30:31.800 you're facing

00:30:32.880 retail customers,

00:30:35.440 everyone adjusts

00:30:36.540 their cost

00:30:37.140 structure.

00:30:37.820 You don't have

00:30:40.180 grocery chain

00:30:40.940 charging $500

00:30:43.020 for a box of

00:30:44.540 cereal, just

00:30:45.680 because they

00:30:46.160 know people

00:30:46.800 cannot afford

00:30:47.400 it.

00:30:47.700 Otherwise, they

00:30:48.140 would.

00:30:49.160 If they had

00:30:50.360 a third party

00:30:51.140 paying for

00:30:51.700 that box,

00:30:53.160 they would

00:30:54.000 certainly

00:30:54.360 scratch their 0.89

00:30:55.360 head and

00:30:55.660 say, how do

00:30:56.040 we charge a

00:30:57.240 lot more

00:30:57.600 than reasonable.

00:30:59.700 The same

00:31:00.500 thing applies

00:31:01.000 here.

00:31:02.600 Incentives are

00:31:03.720 twisted.

00:31:06.080 If you remove

00:31:07.120 those incentives

00:31:07.780 to gouge

00:31:08.520 costs, to

00:31:09.300 introduce

00:31:09.760 waste, and

00:31:10.680 to introduce

00:31:11.100 corruption in

00:31:12.100 this, at

00:31:13.300 some point,

00:31:14.700 it will work

00:31:15.960 out.

00:31:16.940 In the

00:31:17.240 meantime, for

00:31:18.280 the foreseeable

00:31:19.020 future, you'll

00:31:19.640 have chaos in

00:31:20.380 the industry.

00:31:21.120 Or you go

00:31:21.760 to single

00:31:23.920 payer, basically.

00:31:26.980 I almost

00:31:28.400 think this

00:31:29.060 thing has

00:31:29.880 to just

00:31:30.580 collapse.

00:31:31.680 The fact

00:31:32.840 that there's

00:31:33.320 no real

00:31:34.400 political

00:31:34.920 will to

00:31:36.620 overturn the

00:31:38.360 current system.

00:31:39.240 I don't

00:31:39.680 know.

00:31:40.020 Maybe

00:31:40.320 Project

00:31:41.060 2025 has

00:31:42.500 some secret

00:31:43.160 plan, but

00:31:45.660 Trump has

00:31:46.480 basically said

00:31:47.220 we've got

00:31:49.820 concepts of

00:31:50.500 plans.

00:31:50.880 There's

00:31:52.120 just so

00:31:52.540 many things

00:31:53.260 about the

00:31:53.760 United States

00:31:54.440 where it's

00:31:55.200 like there's

00:31:55.600 not the

00:31:56.320 political will

00:31:57.140 to fundamentally

00:31:58.640 change the

00:31:59.360 system.

00:32:00.280 A real

00:32:00.900 solution is

00:32:02.520 visible and

00:32:04.580 completely

00:32:06.380 rationally

00:32:07.400 defined, and

00:32:08.240 yet we can't

00:32:08.840 get there

00:32:09.340 because it's

00:32:09.920 going to

00:32:10.260 dislocate

00:32:11.040 billions of

00:32:12.160 dollars and

00:32:12.740 millions of

00:32:13.220 people are

00:32:13.520 going to be

00:32:13.760 unhappy for

00:32:14.620 a period of

00:32:15.800 time.

00:32:16.520 And we're

00:32:17.280 just stuck.

00:32:19.340 And it

00:32:20.020 just keeps

00:32:20.700 getting worse

00:32:21.460 and worse.

00:32:22.720 And people

00:32:23.280 use the

00:32:23.680 bankruptcy

00:32:24.040 system to

00:32:24.880 pay for

00:32:25.480 medicine.

00:32:26.020 I mean,

00:32:26.180 it's just

00:32:26.700 irrational and

00:32:30.080 mindless.

00:32:30.940 And we're

00:32:31.540 not really

00:32:32.300 putting strong

00:32:33.440 incentives on

00:32:34.640 people to get

00:32:35.320 healthy.

00:32:35.720 we should have

00:32:39.260 tax deductions.

00:32:43.140 I mean,

00:32:43.360 because the

00:32:43.600 insurance

00:32:43.940 company do

00:32:44.560 do this to

00:32:45.780 give them

00:32:46.040 some credit,

00:32:46.540 but we should

00:32:47.120 have tax

00:32:47.960 deductions on

00:32:49.340 exercise or

00:32:50.480 something.

00:32:51.740 You should

00:32:52.200 just write it

00:32:53.720 off.

00:32:54.200 You hiked

00:32:56.320 100 miles over

00:32:58.340 the course of

00:32:58.860 a year.

00:33:00.260 Yeah, that's a

00:33:01.160 $10,000 tax

00:33:02.440 deduction.

00:33:02.960 Because by

00:33:04.900 doing that,

00:33:05.880 you are going

00:33:07.100 to cost

00:33:07.800 society so

00:33:09.260 much less

00:33:10.060 than some

00:33:11.160 fatso eating

00:33:12.760 potato chips

00:33:13.720 watching Netflix.

00:33:14.980 It's not even

00:33:15.840 a question.

00:33:17.100 But we don't

00:33:18.260 incentivize those

00:33:19.000 things.

RadixJournal - December 11, 2024

Deny, Defend ... Doubt!

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