Pharma: patents, FDA, and subsidies

I sat down with healthcare policy expert Michael Cannon to unpack why the U.S. healthcare system drives everyone crazy. From exploding costs and rampant fraud to government shutdowns over Obamacare subsidies, healthcare issues continue to monopolize our politics and our everyday lives. Contrary to what Bernie Sanders might think, government intervention—not capitalism—has rigged the healthcare system to benefit insurers, hospitals, and politicians at the expense of patients. We dig into how moral hazard fuels waste and overconsumption, why lobbyists undermine smart reforms in favor of policies that make the problem worse, and the coming fiscal reckoning for Medicaid and Medicare.

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Follow Michael on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/mfcannon?s=20

Read Michael’s work on Substack: https://mfcannon.substack.com/

Learn more about Michael’s work at the Cato Institute: https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon

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Outline:

[0:00] What’s behind the Somali fraud scandal?

[8:31] Why is Medicare fraud so rampant?

[12:42] How laws and lobbyists obstructed DOGE

[18:33] The Obamacare subsidy government shutdown

[25:58] The argument for Obamacare vs its actual results

[32:31] The Oregon study debunks the health insurance myth

[42:19] Does cheap health insurance make people less healthy?

[58:22] How do you know that a medical treatment is worth it?

[1:03:19] The tax code disincentivizes price transparency

[1:15:12] Why does health insurance stop at state lines?

[1:21:34] Do Americans really spend more on healthcare?

[1:28:28] The U.S. subsidizes the global pharmaceutical market

[1:36:32] The problem with pharmaceutical patents

[1:42:53] Why do so many Americans idolize Luigi Mangione?

[1:53:02] Death panels are an inevitable part of health insurance

[2:00:35] Overconsumption and monopoly pricing in healthcare

[2:06:33] Will the demographic cliff destroy Medicaid and Medicare?

[2:17:59] Will Medicare-For-All end up winning the political fight?

[2:23:39] The ideal solution vs realistic improvements to healthcare

[2:32:18] Which country has the best healthcare system?

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