The MeidasTouch Podcast Meidas Health: Former VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin on America’s Health Care Crisis
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Nov 27, 2025 
Dr. David Shulkin, former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shares his expertise on America's healthcare crisis. He argues for comprehensive reform instead of temporary subsidies, highlighting the bipartisan failure to create a long-term solution. Shulkin explains the pervasive impact of steep premium increases and discusses the pros and cons of Health Savings Accounts, emphasizing that they alone won't solve affordability issues. He also stresses the need for price transparency and consumer accountability in healthcare shopping.
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Subsidies Are Only A Temporary Fix
- The ACA subsidies are a temporary band-aid on a fundamentally broken, unaffordable system.
- Neither party currently has a comprehensive plan to fix systemic fragmentation and rising costs.
Shift Payments Toward Value
- Transition reimbursement away from paying per unit of care toward models that align incentives across stakeholders.
- Do design payment reforms that reduce fragmentation and reward value, not volume.
Fragmented Incentives Drive Costs
- Our payment model rewards fragmented incentives across providers, payers, and manufacturers.
- That fragmentation drives runaway costs and poor value despite high national spending.