Peak Human - Unbiased Nutrition Info for Optimum Health, Fitness & Living · Brian Sanders - Filmmaker of Food Lies & Health Coach

Part 218 - How to Opt Out of the Sickcare System w/ Andy Schoonover

May 16, 2024·1 hr 12 min·4 clips

Andy says 90% of urban areas have concentrated hospital systems, and one hospital charged $2,500 for decaffeinated Folgers coffee.

1. Peak Human by Brian Sanders centers this episode on Andy Schoonover and CrowdHealth as a way to opt out of the “sick care model.” 2. Brian Sanders hosts, Andy Schoonover is the founder of CrowdHealth, and both matter because they connect nutrition, incentives, and healthcare access. 3. The core question is whether people can build a “parallel health system” instead of depending on UnitedHealthcare-style insurance. 4. Andy says his healthcare work started in 2007 with remote patient monitoring for chronic conditions in the home. 5. He describes tracking blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight, then having nurses call patients when blood sugar spiked. 6. Andy says his first customer was 83 years old on average and had three comorbidities on average, including hypertension, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. 7. He says his father had a stroke and is now paralyzed on one side of his body, which changed how he thought about his own health and family. 8. Andy says a daughter’s perforated eardrum and ear tubes produced an $8,000 bill for about 45 minutes in the hospital. 9. He says the insurance plan denied the claim as “medically unnecessary,” and an ophthalmologist was involved in the appeal over his daughter’s ear. 10. Andy says he became uninsured in 2019 after paying about $1,200 a month for family coverage. 11. He says CrowdHealth now helps members negotiate hospital bills and has attorneys who work on behalf of patients. 12. Andy says the company is approaching 8,000 signups and that its members self-select into the model. 13. He gives a stat that only 1.6% of U.S. babies are born at home, while 40% of CrowdHealth members do home births. 14. Andy says the community includes people focused on animal-based food, Bitcoin, and holistic or integrative care. 15. He says 90% of urban areas have concentrated hospital systems, which helps explain why billing stays high. 16. Andy cites a Michigan example of $2,500 for decaffeinated Folgers coffee and says occupational and physical therapy visits billed $400 each for a short ER encounter. 17. The tone is conversational and transactional, with Brian pushing for practical solutions and Andy answering with specific examples and numbers. 18. The style is an in-person interview that moves from personal story to billing mechanics to broader incentive structure. 19. People who want direct primary care, CrowdHealth, and anti-overhead healthcare models. 20. People who want broad policy debate without personal billing examples.

As heard by us

A direct pitch for a health model that rewards staying well instead of feeding the current system.

The episode treats Andy Schoonover's visit as a pitch for CrowdHealth and for incentives that push people away from the sick care model and back toward their own health.

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Why you'd press play

You want a blunt answer for why insurance keeps rewarding the wrong outcomes.

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