{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Full Stack Founders","title":"$343 a Month for a Family of 5: The Health Insurance Play Founders Don't Know","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/db418949\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3632,"description":"Mike Bledsoe paid $80,000 for a hernia surgery. His friend got the same surgery for $5,000 in cash. That's the entire game. Michael Caz, founder of ShareWise and producer at Virtuous Benefits, walks Mike and Ted through what most operator-founders don't know about US health insurance — and the alternative that costs a family of five $343 a month. The conversation goes deep on why insurance companies want prices to go up, what a \"Charge Master price\" actually is, why United Healthcare's denial rate is 33% and CrowdHealth's is less than 1%, how Pharmacy Benefit Managers hide 40% of Big Insurance's profits, and the 100x markup on drugs like Ozempic. If you're a self-employed founder, a business owner running 6 to 7 figures, or a W-2 employee staying at a job you hate just for the benefits — this one's for you. Key insights from this episode:   Why the average healthy founder is overpaying $5,000–$10,000 a year on insurance   The Charge Master scam: how hospitals anchor a fake $80K price to negotiate with insurance   Why insurance companies are incentivized to RAISE healthcare prices, not lower them   The denial rate gap: 33% at United Healthcare vs. less than 1% at CrowdHealth   What a health share plan actually is (and the two waiting-period rules that make it work)   How a family of five can pay $343/month for healthcare instead of $1,800   Chapters: 00:00 What the fuck are we even paying for  01:00 Welcome to Full Stack Founders  02:20 The health insurance war zone for the self-employed 04:34 Michael's ACA marketplace nightmare  07:00 How Big Pharma, Big Insurance, and Big Hospital actually work together  09:49 The healthcare system isn't broken. It's working perfectly.  11:18 Why the healthy are subsidizing the sick  13:00 Why insurance companies want prices to go up  15:17 The $80K hernia surgery that costs $5K in cash  16:33 The Charge Master scam: how hospital pricing actually works  17:32 What a health share plan actually is  20:08 $343 a month for a family...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/5aqXoS5-H0QSPcQ9HDsSk4mPvVdSZItF-SUKFyHuElU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS83MzJk/Mzg5M2VlNjFiZTgy/YjFkYTI2ODI4OGUx/YTFiZi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}