In this episode of the Practice Profit System, host Matthew (Matt) Gillogly opens by noting the recent assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, using the event as a lens to highlight the growing anger among patients toward large health insurers. He describes a wave of patient outrage over denied coverage for essential services such as wheelchairs, cancer treatments, and surgeries, emphasizing that patients are often ten times more frustrated than physicians. Gillogly shares personal anecdotes of receiving unexpected out‑of‑pocket bills for MRIs and surgeries, illustrating the systemic failure of insurers to cover promised care. He argues that this widespread dissatisfaction creates a market opportunity for doctors to transition to cash‑based practice models, where patients are willing to pay out‑of‑pocket for reliable, timely care. He advises physicians to understand the marketplace, monitor patient sentiment on social media, and openly discuss the low reimbursement rates they receive from insurers to build trust. Gillogly also critiques the broader influence of insurers on politics and the healthcare system, suggesting that patients are beginning to recognize how they have been duped. He concludes by urging doctors to act as a bridge, offering better care options and communicating transparently, positioning themselves to capture the cash‑pay market as patients seek alternatives to the broken insurance system.
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I highly doubt that this is going to change anything at UnitedHealthcare. They really don't care about you and they don't care about the patients. All right. Today I want to talk to you about this horrible thing that happened this week where the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was assassinated on the streets of Manhattan. Now, you probably have already seen the news on this and you probably already have a reaction. But the interesting thing is, have you noticed what the reaction of the patients are? To me, this has been the most telling thing about the state of healthcare in our country. And that's what we're going to cover today in the Practice Profit System. Earlier this week, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest corporations in all of America, The largest insurer, the 25,000-pound gorilla in the group of all the gorillas, the company that nets $43 billion a year, the CEO was assassinated in the streets. And what has happened? Hey, I'm Matthew Gillogly, and I'm a maverick. Well, what is a maverick? A maverick goes against the grain. We find our own way. And if you're sick and tired of being pushed around by the insurance companies, come join us. We'll show you the way out. And You'll love medicine again. Is there's been an outpouring of anger by patients and people that are insured by UnitedHealthcare, and horror stories have been coming out about wheelchairs being denied, about cancer treatments being denied, about surgeries being denied, about the pain and suffering that the patients go through just to get their health insurance to do what it's supposed to do, and that is Cover stuff. And there's been a ton of things that have been posted online. Why does this matter to you as a doctor, and specifically one that is looking to open or start or launch or grow their cash-based service? I have said for years that the doctors— yeah, we understand that you're incredibly pissed off about what you have to deal with with insurance, but the patients are 10 times as pissed off. And I know this Because I'm a patient. Because when I have to go get things done like an MRI and I think the whole thing is going to be covered, I wind up with a bill for $1,100 because my insurance provider doesn't want to cover it. Or people that go in for surgery and they're trying to, with 12 hours to go, they find out that things are being denied. And what this is doing in our country is this is creating an environment where the patients are having enough of it and they're looking for other options and they're willing to pay out of pocket because quite frankly, they're paying out of pocket for this stuff. That the insurance companies are supposed to be providing. In our day and age today, the insurance companies, all they are is they are— they don't cover anything anymore. And it's really just catastrophic care. And even in that place, they're not covering any of that stuff. So how do you leverage this as a doctor? How do you use this? Well, you need to first and foremost understand what is going on in the marketplace. And that is not only are you pissed off, but the patients are pissed off. The second thing is, I highly doubt that this is going to change anything at UnitedHealthcare. I highly doubt this is going to change anything at Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield. They really don't care about you, and they don't care about the patients. All you have to do is go on social media and look at what patients are saying about what the healthcare companies, what the insurance companies are doing to the patients, how poorly they treat them, how they view them. Really, frankly, as worthless. All they do is they view them as a paycheck. Okay? And so it's your opportunity to start the discussion with your patients. Because a lot of your patients think that you're in cahoots with them. And then when I tell them how little you are paid, guess what? The look on their face and people that travel with me, they'll say, God, it's— we'll be in a— we'll be at a restaurant, we'll be at a bar, we'll be sitting on a plane, and we'll explain to them how little you're paid for your stuff. And they're absolutely stunned. Patients think that you're getting paid $25,000 for an ACL reconstructive surgery. When I tell them you get paid $750, they're shocked and stunned. People are starting to figure out how bad the system really is, and they're starting to figure out about the undue influence that these insurance companies, these health insurance companies, have over our politicians and over our government. And they're starting to realize how badly they've been duped. I don't know where this is going to lead. I don't know what kind of revolution, if this will, is going to create within our healthcare society. But the facts are abundantly clear. We're the wealthiest country on the planet, bar none, and we are the least healthiest. The insurance companies are the ones that they are, they are perpetuating this. I am not even going to go into this about what's going on with our food supply and the pharmaceutical companies and all of their undue influence. But do not lose sight of the fact that people are Figuring this out, and you have the opportunity to create that bridge and tell them about what's really going on. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to tell them how badly you're getting taken advantage of and how badly you're getting screwed. This may or may not be one of those moments in time where we look back and say that's when things changed. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But you can change it in your world. You can change it with how you communicate to your client base, to your patients, and. And help them see that there's other options available. Because I'm going to tell you right now, I'll leave you with this. Your patients are fed up. They're pissed off. And they want better care. You can be the one that provides it to them. And they'll be more than happy to pay cash out of pocket. So those are my thoughts. Look, you have a great day. I'm Matt Gillogly. Welcome to the Practice Profit System. Check us out online. Look at our YouTube videos. Listen more to the podcast. Share this with friends. And check us out at MavericksProfitSystem.com. You'll You'll see the link below. Take care, everybody. Take care.
