{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Paul Truesdell Podcast","title":"Picking Your Pocket With a Permission","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":818,"description":"Picking Your Pocket With a PermissionThe Paul Truesdell Podcast How medical inflation, healthcare consolidation, and congressional laziness are draining your wallet dry.Medical inflation is picking your pocket while Congress holds the door open. Every year, the bills get bigger, the explanations get longer, and the solutions get further away. Employers are drowning. Employees are stretched thin. Retirees are watching their fixed incomes shrink against healthcare costs that never stop climbing. And the people we elected to fix this mess? They're too busy pointing fingers to pick up a wrench. Let's talk about it.BREAKLet me tell you something that ought to keep every employer, employee, and retiree awake at night, and probably does. Medical inflation is eating us alive. Not slowly, mind you, but with the kind of appetite that makes you wonder if anyone in Washington has bothered to look at the actual numbers.Here's what the data tells us. According to the Workers Compensation Research Institute, medical payments per claim jumped roughly five percent annually from 2021 through 2024. The average claim size has ballooned by thirty-two percent since 2017. Thirty-two percent. That's not a rounding error. That's a fundamental shift in how much it costs to fix a broken arm, treat a back injury, or help someone recover from a workplace accident.And what's driving this freight train? Three things, mostly. First, technological advancements. Now don't get me wrong, robotic surgeries and advanced imaging are wonderful when you need them. But wonderful comes with a price tag, and that price tag keeps climbing. Second, healthcare consolidation. As hospitals merge and systems swallow each other up, competition disappears. When competition disappears, leverage shifts. Suddenly the folks providing care can negotiate higher payment rates because, well, where else are you going to go? Studies show this consolidation has added anywhere from one to four and a half percent to medical...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/115-XsjkdwCpJ99xv-8oZ76t6jr8ScWEC5MYSKzL0ig/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS82MTUx/OWRiNTc0NTk0Y2Nk/M2VjYTliMGVhN2Zm/YTZkZi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}