Always On EM - Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds - Dr. John Schupbach - Battling big food, big pharma, and big health
Aug 1, 2025
Dr. John Schupbach, an assistant professor at Mayo Clinic and an MBA graduate from Harvard, dissects the troubling intersection of food, pharma, and health. He highlights the alarming rise in childhood obesity and critiques expensive medications like Liraglutide. Schupbach questions the fairness of healthcare expenses and the dominance of insurance companies. He advocates for patient-centered innovations that disrupt the status quo, urging listeners to challenge misaligned incentives in the healthcare industry.
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High ED Bill From A Simple Pediatric Visit
- A parent brought a child with a non-displaced distal radius fracture to Mayo's pediatric ED and the child received x-rays and a Velcro splint.
- The family later received over $5,246 in itemized bills, creating shock and anger at the cost.
Perceived Value Versus Charged Price Drives Anger
- Patients feel pricing is unfair when the charged price far exceeds their perceived willingness to pay for care received.
- That gap between perceived value and captured price drives public anger toward the healthcare system.
Huge Price Variation For The Same Services
- Prices for the same outpatient CPT codes vary dramatically across hospitals and payers, producing wide billing ranges.
- A level five ED visit can range from about $486 to $3,549 depending on location and insurer.
