144. Fiat healthcare & Crowdhealth w/ Andy Schoonover

Crowdhealth CEO Andy Schoonover joins us for a wide-ranging discussion of the failures of fiat healthcare and health insurance, and how his new startup Crowdhealth, works to solve them. Andy explains the institutional and regulatory reasons that make healthcare costs continue to rise, and why insurance companies have the perverse incentive to let costs rise. He also explains how Crowdhealth uses bitcoin to make healthcare affordable for patients and better rewarding for doctors by taking the insurance companies out of the equation.

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Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard:

Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard:

[mikeg]

We've been on Crowd Health since July. Twice my wife has used the App on a Sunday, talked to a doctor 20 minutes later and was able to pick up a prescription on that same day! We love it!

[hartfischer]

I love you, Andy. I am not Christian enough to join Christian Health Share providers. I asked my Moslem friends if they had this type of health share organizations, and they don t . You opened this up to anybody who is responsible about their health and financial decisions. You are great. You are all American. You are disrupting a very corrupt inefficient system. You serve all of America.

[castorphan]

If crowdhealth can obtain their own healthcare providers, boom game over legacy healthcare system. Patients are disincentivized to get sick, and healthcare providers are actually INCENTIVIZED to get patients healthy or get off meds. As a health-care provider, been dreaming of a model like this. Where I am rewarded for actually helping people.

[dr.mirano]

As an internal medicine physician I agree with a lot of this. Andy I’ll reach out to you on Twitter if you don’t mind . I’m happy to provide help if I could.

[emmahardesty]

If Crowdhealth isn't yet perfect in acknowledging the reasons for truly over-priced healthcare in the US, it is nevertheless a big, rational, useful step in the right direction, especially as "healthcare" costs continue to rise, and fiat currency fades away in the not too distant future.

[sdmatso]

I am a physician and although I love the idea of moving the business of medicine forward to work better for the patients and those providing care, I have a lot of questions about the veracity of some of their off the cuff discussions. A hip replacement actually costs $3000? Are they talking about the implant? Was that the total cost of the "cost of goods sold" which would also include meds, IV's, the implant etc. What about the surgeon, assistant, anesthesiologist, nurses (pre-op, op, and post-op)? A 15 min ear surgery on a child includes a doctor who spent years in school and then years in practice to be able to do that in 15 mins. It also involves general anesthesia. There are multiple nursers, meds, etc. So I don't think the best way to think about an operation is by time spent. What you are paying for is the skill of a team of 15 people it took to carry off that 15 min procedure.

[weslee]

Key takeaway: get insurance and government out of the way between your healthcare and doctor

[greganastas]

Regulatory capture is awful and has so permeated every aspects of the economy: laws are bought not made.

[EveryDayWalkingWithChrist]

Excellent interview! Thanks so much Saif and Andy!

[gunsdoyoga]

I like the change of headphones Andy, no more brain frying AirPods :)

[Arx]

FYI: Super glue works great in place of stitches.

[stevenbonebrake]

The issue is that everyone (including people who work in healthcare) think that they themselves and and their family members deserve "Lamborghini" or "Ferrari" healthcare. We cannot sustainably provide "Lamborghini" and "Ferrari" healthcare for everyone. Someone has to pay for it. US healthcare is the most inflationary government product in existence. I'm a physician and a bitcoiner and the only solution to this mess is peer-to-peer, cash only healthcare. Well run, legitimate crowdfunding programs such as this would also be fine. The current fiat healthcare in the US is actively dying and will fail in the near future.

[weslee]

Great insight: many things are broken because the monetary system is broken...ie. Fiat/fractional reserve/centralized/random increase or decrease of money supply/centralized control of interest rates

[Sage]

We don't have a free market in the States. Sure you can say it's semi-free but not here it counts

[Arx]

Why isn't Bitcoin considered crypto?

[weslee]

Croud health isnt the solution. The whole system needs an overhaul...most importantly very limited but smart regulation. And a non-manipulated monetary system because fiat allows directed power from the gatekeepers

[weslee]

Whats your position on medically assisted suicide?

[peanut]

They quickly denied me. Thankful I did not listen to this guys bullshit for an hour after reading the comments.

[kallteknik]

Healthcare in most European countries are free and at ok standard.