Intro

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Post Show Musings

Outro

The first installment of our healthcare series encapsulated the magnitude of the industry that accounts for 20% of our nation’s GDP and how efforts to pursue universal healthcare were scuttled over the years. Today’s episode examines the role of private insurance in our system and details how Obamacare came to life with little discussion around a public option or the possibility of Medicare for All. 

Chapters

Intro: 00:01:58

Chapter One: Understanding the scope of healthcare. 00:03:12

Chapter Two: The Insurance Class System: 00:16:29

Chapter Three: Making the Sausage: 00:26:32

Post Show Musings: 00:46:27

Outro: 00:51:50

Resources

The New York Times: U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback

Health System Tracker: How does health spending in the U.S. compare to other countries?

The Atlantic: Did a Conservative Think Tank Really Invent the Individual Mandate?

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: The Burden of Medical Debt: Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times 

UnitedHealth Group: Annual Report

Humana: 2021 Annual Report

Anthem, Inc: Annual Report

National Association of Insurance Commissioners: U.S. Health Insurance Industry Analysis Report 

Book Love

Paul Starr: The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry

Steven Brill: America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System

--

If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com.

Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.

Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written by means and hosted by regression analyses.

Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

The first installment of our healthcare series encapsulated the magnitude of the industry that accounts for 20% of our nation’s GDP and how efforts to pursue universal healthcare were scuttled over the years. Today’s episode examines the role of private insurance in our system and details how Obamacare came to life with little discussion around a public option or the possibility of Medicare for All. 
Chapters
Intro: 00:01:58
Chapter One: Understanding the scope of healthcare. 00:03:12
Chapter Two: The Insurance Class System: 00:16:29
Chapter Three: Making the Sausage: 00:26:32
Post Show Musings: 00:46:27
Outro: 00:51:50
Resources
The New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/health/life-expectancy-covid-pandemic.html">U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback</a>
Health System Tracker: <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/health-spending-u-s-compare-countries-2/">How does health spending in the U.S. compare to other countries?</a>
The Atlantic: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/10/did-a-conservative-think-tank-really-invent-the-individual-mandate/247124/">Did a Conservative Think Tank Really Invent the Individual Mandate?</a>
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/8806-the-burden-of-medical-debt-results-from-the-kaiser-family-foundation-new-york-times-medical-bills-survey.pdf">The Burden of Medical Debt: Results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times </a>
UnitedHealth Group: <a href="https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_UNH_2021.pdf">Annual Report</a>
Humana: <a href="https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_HUM_2021.pdf">2021 Annual Report</a>
Anthem, Inc: <a href="https://sec.report/Document/0001156039-22-000009/#ief3a920211334d978f6dbc444677e314_61">Annual Report</a>
National Association of Insurance Commissioners: <a href="https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/2021-Annual-Health-Insurance-Industry-Analysis-Report.pdf">U.S. Health Insurance Industry Analysis Report </a>
Book Love
Paul Starr: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780465093021">The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry</a>
Steven Brill: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780812986686">America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System</a>
--
If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/unftrpod">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>.
Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565">facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565</a>
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at <a href="https://unftr.substack.com/">unftr.substack.com</a> to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week.
Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1PpzNXBub9FLngMradJByC?si=abaed3d396504fae">spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.</a>
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"> bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.
Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (<a href="https://www.mannyfacesmedia.com">mannyfacesmedia.com</a>). Original music is by Tom McGovern (<a href="http://www.tommcgovern.com/">tommcgovern.com</a>). The show is written by means and hosted by regression analyses.
Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic."

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 

Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 

As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 

Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is a series of audio essays on the grand American experiment lovingly curated and presented by a quasi-anonymous political writer. 
Each essay reflects on a singular topic that is generally misunderstood or purposely obfuscated by the so-called “powers that be.” As we know, history is written by the victors and can be perilously manufactured to favor destructive world views. These views become intractably ingrained in the public consciousness and pervert public policy, oftentimes with horrific results. 
As of this podcast’s founding, we find ourselves living in a true kakistocracy. The disconnect between what we believe and what is actually happening below the surface or in plain sight is where this podcast lives. 
Together we’ll upend conventional wisdom, blow up narratives on the left, right and center and use magical devices like facts, logic and reason to explain how exactly we arrived in bizarro America, the funhouse mirror version of what was originally intended. #UNFTR

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