Latest / Get Savvy...Demystifying Healthcare / Episode 134: Healthcare or Profit Care? Who Is the System Really Serving?

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Episode 134: Healthcare or Profit Care? Who Is the System Really Serving? · Get Savvy...Demystifying Healthcare

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: As a result of losing her job, she lost her health insurance about three or four months after that.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_02: But in the entire period that she uh star after she developed rheumatoid arthritis and while she still had her health insurance, she spent pretty much every moment that I can recall not actually getting treatment, but instead getting the runaround from her health insurance.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh getting constantly told that uh the uh the treatments that her doctors had prescribed were incorrect, and in fact she should go for a lesser treatment or do something else.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: If healthcare has ever left you feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or stuck, this show is for you.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to GetStabby, the Mystify Healthcare weekly podcast, where we take complicated healthcare topics and make them simple.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: We bring you experts in real-world strategies from fifty health insurance to lowering prescription costs to patient advocacy and the latest healthcare trends so you give more options on your turn.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Get Stabby with your host, Andy Kibler, changing how healthcare knowledge is shared.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Hello everyone, and before we jump into the show, I wanted to take a quick two minutes and let you know that I do have a second podcast called Playbook AI Partners.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: You can listen and learn from guests who talk about the latest AI trends, or sometimes it's just me and the mic and I'm sharing different things about AI that I hope you find helpful.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because let's face it, AI is the hype and it can be a bit overwhelming at time.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, have you ever opened an AI tool, stared at the screen, and thought, okay, now what?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe you've typed in a question, received, you know, long answer, perhaps not the right answer, and somehow ended up more confused than when you started, or perhaps you watched a video promising that one magical AI tool is going to completely transform your business by lunchtime.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then lunchtime arrived and you are still trying to remember your password.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Let's face it, we've all been there.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's exactly why I created Playbook AI Partners.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: There's also an AI mini solution locker where you can access bite-sized training, 20 minutes or less of low risk, low cost, but high value.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: But really what I created, the Huddle, which is a learning community, and it really is about people who are curious about AI, but don't want to figure it out all alone.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: We all know AI is moving fast, there's a hype, there's a new tool every day, and trying to keep up with everything is whether it's a tool, an update, a prompt, a platform, is just incredibly confusing and no one has time for it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: But here's the great thing.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Inside the huddle, we slow things down, we cut through the hype, and we focus on what you can actually use.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: We explore new tools together, we answer real questions, we share practical ideas and help you take the next step without the jargon, the judgment, the pressure to become an AI expert overnight.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know about you, but I don't need another giant webinar where there's glitter, pom-pomps, whatever, where you disappear in a break room with 600 strangers.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: You need a place where you can ask, can someone please explain this to me in normal language?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: And receive an answer you can actually use.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: That is the power of community, and I really think that is the way to stay current on AI without getting confused and spending a fortune on subscriptions you likely won't use.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: For the month of July 2026 and through August 15th, 2026, it's no cost.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's free.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Come join us in the Huddle, see what we're all about.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: You've got this, you don't have to do it alone.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: And now on with this show.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the show.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Does the U.S.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: healthcare system exist to make money off of you versus helping you?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: Getting the healthcare you need is so expensive, leaving people to go without andor live with pain and often a debilitating life.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: We often hear that we live in the great USA, but all too often we feel like the healthcare system works against us.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Is there a better way to get the health care we deserve?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And to help us get into this topic, I have Adam Cunningham on the show.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Adam is the founder of Silk Health, the first platform that lets you see what surgery actually costs at accredited hospitals in China, side by side with U.S.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: prices, no forms, no phone calls, just the real numbers.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: He studied medicine, ended up on the patient side of the system, and built Silk Health after watching a friend in Maine get abused by the American insurance and healthcare system.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the show, Adam.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a pleasure to be here.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_02: I certainly wish I had your radio voice, but uh it's genuinely a pleasure to be here.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, thank you.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and I appreciate you being here.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: I understand you're doing some volunteer work in Nigeria and we don't have you on video.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I know you're not feeling very well, but you've got a great voice yourself and a great message to share.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get into it.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh why don't you start by telling us about your journey and how it's led you on doing the great things you're doing today.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, it depends on how far you'd like to go back, but uh to put simply, I was a very sick child.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: I uh had asthma as a child, uh, still do as a matter of fact.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: And uh in and out of hospital seeing doctors uh time and time again, and I realized, hey, these uh doctor people, they're not so bad after all.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: So why didn't I become one of them?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that started a very, very, very long and arduous process of becoming a doctor, um, which I'm glad to say is over, finished, and done with.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um however, uh after uh completing my degree, I I had some several issues.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: One, I had trouble practicing medicine myself just because of my health.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it got significantly worse after towards the end of my degree, and perhaps not the sole reason, but um along with a friend I have uh in the US, uh she's from Maine.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um she developed uh rheumatoid arthritis about eighteen months ago, you might say.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um sometime around the uh no, not yeah, around eighteen months.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh she developed rheumatoid arthritis and about six or seven months later lost her job to the uh doge cuts that uh Trump initiated.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um she worked as a uh women's advocate, I believe.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: And anyway, um as a result of losing her job, she lost her health insurance about three or four months after that.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: But in the entire period that she uh start after she developed rheumatoid arthritis and while she still had her health insurance, she spent pretty much every moment that I can recall not actually getting treatment, but instead getting the runaround from her health insurance, uh getting constantly told that uh the uh the treatments that her doctors had prescribed were incorrect, and in fact she should go for a lesser treatment or do something else.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: And by the time that her health insurance ran out, she was absolutely no better.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, she was far worse.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so combined with my own experiences, uh, I found that to be something that pushed me to look into well, there has to be options for people abroad, there has to be options um when the local system fails someone.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: And well, that's why I'm here.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you for sharing uh that with us.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: I had mentioned in our pre-talk that I'm a health insurance broker and I hear the stories that you shared about your friend in Maine happen all too often, and especially lately with people losing their jobs, and then they uh come across and say, Hey, what do I do now?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately for an individual, it depends on the state, of course, that you're in.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's$900 for an uh US dollars for an individual and up to$2,500 for a family of four monthly payment.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of people can't afford that.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And if they get the most basic plan, they sometimes are up against what your friend, you know, is experiencing and just, you know, it's a limited plan and things aren't covered, or it's the bureaucratic process they're trying to navigate through.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really just a just a sad state of affairs.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: I hope that your friend is doing better.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: So help us understand the mission.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: So you are now have created Silk Health, and it's really helping people understand options of getting services abroad.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: So let me start with the one question that I was reviewing, and that is um surgery.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: So you talk about how is it possible that a surgery perhaps costing 40,000 US doll in the US costs$8,000 in China for the same procedure and add an accredited hospital.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's hard to believe.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: It is hard to believe.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: And as a matter of fact, when I uh started my own research, I didn't believe it myself.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um But uh now that we're here and now that I've actually gotten to meet and speak with uh uh hospital administration and doctors in China, I've been able to understand that no, these prices are not just real, but quite often they can be lower than you expect.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so there's uh there's two components to it.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um one is that the US has insane healthcare prices.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_02: But I don't really need to tell you that.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you know it, and I'm sure everybody who lives in the US knows it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and the second component is that the US healthcare system relies primarily on other destinations not being a choice.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it required it requires people to be trapped within the system and then to use the system which they're trapped in.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so it creates a bit of this uh, I don't know, circular funnel, you might say, of uh creating sick people, waiting for sick people to get even worse, and then forcing them to use uh frankly overpriced and predatory health care.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so what I look to do at uh Silk Health is simply provide opportunities to uh educate uh people on not necessarily what they should do, but just options that are available to them.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: And the quality, uh certainly the price of those options speaks for themselves.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: And uh of course I run a business and I have to make money and all kinds of things like that.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the most important thing that we can really do is simply uh show our prices alongside American prices and provide the option to people that they're not necessarily trapped, they're not going to be necessarily stuck with two, three, four hundred thousand dollars in medical debt when they could do something somewhere else.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: It's really about options.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: So help me understand.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: I would just be a little nervous, right, to to get get it's number one, it's a lesser cost.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Why is it you know, in my head I go to, okay, maybe it's US it's always expensive, it's a money-making machine, and China's really just doing it at the cost that it really does cost to do, let's say, a knee surgery.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so let's start with that.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Am I on the right path with that?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yes, I would certainly say so.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um you'd be you'd have all kinds of questions and considerations there, and certainly the first thing that uh comes to most people's minds is uh quality.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: I would say that's probably the biggest uh consideration that most people have.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: And to uh to put it simply, um it's not true.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh to add a little bit of uh definition and depth to that, um or rather an example, I think a very good example would be the understanding of Japanese quality throughout the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties uh by comparison.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um following World War II, uh Japan had to rapidly reindustrialize after getting the vast majority of uh of its uh country bombed, and uh as a result, they put out very cheap, uh low quality products.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: However, from the time that uh World War II ended to the nineties and two thousands, um Japanese um products were and still are regarded as frankly superior in many aspects.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_02: If you say you want to get a kitchen knife, you're probably gonna get a Japanese kitchen knife or something that has Japanese design of some description.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_02: And similar things have happened with China.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: While China has been previously regarded as uh a country that doesn't necessarily produce very high quality goods, um that's reputation is certainly changing, but the reality is vastly different than many people pre have previously recognized.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_02: And so when it comes to the hospitals in China, um we don't necessarily partner with uh hospitals that are out in the middle of nowhere.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: And frankly, you wouldn't expect uh great quality service from any hospital out in the middle of nowhere, but we partner with um, you might say China's premier hospitals.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're partnering with uh private hospitals in Tier 1 cities such as Beijing or Shenzhen or uh Shanghai, for instance.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: And all of these hospitals um provide premium services, um, quite often concierge services.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: They'll uh take you from the airport to them and back and forth.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: They're not just uh an average run-of-the-mill hospital.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: And all of them are incredibly well uh accredited, not just having the highest uh accreditations within China, but also having exceptionally high accreditations uh internationally as well.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they all have uh JCI accreditation or Joint Commission International, uh which is the uh international accreditation board, uh well the m primary uh international accreditation board for hospitals.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I would say that's pretty much the gold standard uh when it comes to the quality of various hospitals.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: And then of course there are the particular surgeons or uh doctors that work at these hospitals, which quite often have which which quite often have their own profiles and uh are internationally respected themselves.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's really amazing.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't I didn't realize that.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: So so help me understand.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: So what and so so getting over that nervousness of it, so it sounds like you're going to accredited hospital, just to recap there.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um doctors in China, let me just uh understand, because I I have a better understanding of the US healthcare system, but is it the same for China?
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, do they go through the same rigor, if you will, that uh a doctor getting a MD degree here would?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh I'm afraid to say that uh sometimes the stereotypes with uh Chinese students are actually quite true.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um and after having done exceptional amounts of study to get my own degree, uh I can say that even my own knowledge pales in comparison to a lot of Chinese doctors.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and the simple reason for that is I don't know how they do it, but they are s quite often significantly well read uh and studied and practiced, not only comparable to doctors uh in the US or Australia in my case, but um I would say for the most part world class.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: And certainly at uh these high-end institutions that we uh cover, um, they are some of the best of the best.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: I did not know that.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: If I think the best way to understand, because my mission always in this podcast is to simplify things.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: So take me through either you can do it either way, a made-up scenario or maybe even so uh somebody you know who's used the website kind of from the very beginning of I'm contemplating doing this to kind of the end of in terms of what someone can expect, if that's possible.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: So um previously, and well, up until now, uh we're only just going live with the website, but previously we uh had people contact us individually and then we'd work out the best place for them to go.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: But um unlike most other medical tourism platforms, we're not trying to hide or obfuscate um the contact or the the way to get in touch with these various hospitals.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um we want to have a person find a hospital, find a procedure, and find a price within two or three minutes and book a consultation.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: And so our website works that way.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: So it works much the same as, I don't know, Amazon or eBay or something like that.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we have a catalogue of about 2,000 medical procedures.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: And of those 2,000 procedures, our healthcare providers um select the procedures that they wish to offer, and then they set uh general price ranges against those procedures which they offer.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they also set consultation times.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so for such as yourself, if you wish to book a uh procedure or a consultation for a procedure, you'd simply follow that process on our website.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh you'd then find the provider, the scheduled time or request a time, and you'd have a consultation relative to that procedure within about two or three minutes.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna take myself through it.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm contemplating, let's make this up.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm conta I've already had my knee surgery, so I'm good there.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: But let's say someone's contemplating a knee surgery, which having gone through two of them with insurance is about I would say$67,000 to get done for one knee.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: So if I were gone, I know.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: If I were to do it, you don't allow to swear on this podcast, though.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can if you want.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, it's a lot of thank God I had insurance, but I mean, I and it's a sad state.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: I having gone through and and for many years went through pain.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: And anybody listening knows the the the what comes with knee pain.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, I can now tell when people are walking what kind of what they're going through, or that limp or that sidewalk I can see.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_01: But if I were going there, so I'm gonna choose knee surgery, and then when you talk about consult, is that a I choose is that a consult with someone in your organization or someone uh or someone who will be kind of the coordinator at that Chinese hospital or uh the doctor or or doctor's assistant?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, who's the consult with?
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_02: No, you're uh you're right to bring that up, and I should have uh uh mentioned that you probably know my business better than I do.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, the way we do it is uh we try to stay out of things as much as possible.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the more involvement we have, the means more uh more employee time that is spent.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_02: More employee time that is spent means prices get higher, and we want to keep the prices as low as possible.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_02: So uh once a uh proceed uh once a consultation is requested, that uh that request goes directly to the healthcare provider themselves, and the information regarding that is also sent to you as well.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so once that is done, we hand the we hand the entire uh the entire thing over to you.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um we are no longer involved.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: But um as far as it would go, uh you'd be given a uh you'd be given a consultation with the healthcare coordinator of a hospital.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh quite often, or no, almost always they speak English, and if they don't, they'll find somebody who does.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that healthcare coordinator will take your details.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they might uh request any um any labs or any imaging that you already have, and they'll send that over and then they'll arrange a consultation with a specialist or someone who can uh deal with your specific uh issue, and then you'll have a full medical consultation within a few days from then.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and so when it comes to the uh the prices, uh just when I since I've got it on the top of my head, I think you said sixty-seven thousand dollars.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well um the comparison in China uh is about eleven to fourteen thousand US dollars.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: And as a matter of fact, um uh one of our uh healthcare providers at one point said to me, well, why would people want to come from the US to here?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we we're we're a very expensive um provider.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: And they are.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: This is uh United Family Healthcare.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: They're um they're a high-end private healthcare provider.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_02: Why would anyone want to come here?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh very expensive.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: And um the reality is that even their highest prices uh are still lower than your lowest prices in the US.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: And you combine that, you combine that with a first-class trip to China return, you combine that with staying at the Hilton every day, and uh you're still well, well, well under$67,000.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: I go to the go to the website, I look at the knee surgery, I have my consult, and so I'm now responsible, so I can understand the finances.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm now I I'm I'm in it to win it, I'm ready to go.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm responsible for my trip over to China, my stay at China, uh hotel, I should say, and then I'm paying for that$11,000, whatever it is, sticking with the knee surgery up front.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm self-paying that.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: So so that's that and and so that's all my responsibility up front.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: That is all your responsibility.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: There are some arrangements with some um with some insurance providers in the US.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: Some will uh actually sponsor trips over to China.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: We're not currently associating with any of them yet.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's something for us to uh to move on to in the future.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: However, um all the all the uh expenses are firmly on the patient.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I understand that is a significant issue, but um also sixty-seven thousand dollars is a significant issue as well.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: It is so what happens?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I've done done my trip, I've had my knee surgery, and it with knee surgery, there of course there's PT and physical therapy and all that stuff afterwards, or God forbid, but complications do happen.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: What happens if um there's like a complication or and I know with when I again sticking with knee surgery because it's in my brain, but I know there's a lot of people with knee pain that can relate to this.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: But um, what happens if there's a complication or that follow up visit?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: How does that occur now that I'm back in the States?
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, well, um complications while you are in China uh are relatively simple.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um say you uh overstay your visa, for instance.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Your hospital can uh give you accompanying documentation to take to the immigration there and that will get your visa extended more most often than not, or more often than not, rather.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um when it comes to complications of uh surgery or some treatment, for instance, um the hospital hospitals are always willing to take you um back to continue treatment up until you are well.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_02: That's not an issue.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: The only issue there might be would be cost.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: However, um travel insurance or medical travel insurance to China at most is about$300 these days.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so adding that on as a just in case is most often the best bet for most people.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that will cover uh any costs of uh accidents or malpractice or anything like that.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh once you do get back to the US and say you need physical therapy, uh that physical therapy would be conducted in just the same way as it typically would be once you did have the surgery at home.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: However, uh there still m certainly are options for physical therapy in uh in China.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_02: The only requirement being that you'd have to stay there longer, but that uh that's an issue in and of itself.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: But the the process is very much identical uh once you're back home.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: And not just that, but um all of the providers we work with are more than happy to give you uh the results, the labs and imaging and any other documentation, uh have it translated as well and sent back to the US so uh your say your primary care physician in the US can then uh take a look at that information and continue on as normal.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I think of that immediate follow-up.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_01: Things are going great, you're getting your physical therapy, but there's like a, I forget, like a six-week follow-up.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: The person now has to to find a provider in the US to continue that, or um, is there like a virtual consult that occurs where um the surgery occurred with a provider?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: So it entirely depends upon uh the procedure that was done.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: But um virtual follow-up visits are more commonly done uh in in most uh with sorry, with most providers that we work with.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um so they're entirely willing to continue looking after you uh after the procedure has actually happened.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: However, the best thing to do, uh I would caution, or maybe not caution, but advise in pretty much anyone and everyone's case, is to then have uh have their documentation and their story and their diagnosis then continued up with a primary care physician in the US or any relevant specialist in the US.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_02: And that way at least someone who's immediately there is knowledgeable of your condition in case the worst were to happen.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we should always do that anyway, because I I often say as much as we have uh you know care everywhere, which is supposed to, you know, have all documents in one place.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: The truth is, you know, I kind of laugh, but I mean I've gone to a different doctor and I'm like, well, let me pull up my medical record on my phone and like show someone that so you kind of have to do that anyway, even here.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: So no, that is absolutely amazing to and thank you for your patience with all my questions.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm kind of going through it.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, questions.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure there are questions that people listeners have as well.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so what would you say to someone?
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: And and I know there are people out there that are listening maybe right now who say, gosh, I'm uninsured, you know, I'm i I I price the procedure at$67,000, I'm I'm overwhelmed, I'm living in pain.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what would you say to someone who's just struggling with that today?
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh despite my own uh business interests, uh the first thing I have to say is to speak with a patient advocate.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um they're not as common uh in, say, Australia, for instance, but to my understanding with the US and the patient advocates that I've spoken to, uh, they are probably the most important first uh first line to speak to.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_02: They're people who will not just understand the condition uh and the medical uh treatment for it, but they'll also quite often understand the billing side of things as well.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: And they're unable to understand the costs or possible costs that may be incurred and ways to reduce them.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_02: And there certainly are uh different avenues within the US that can be taken.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's not to say that going to ch flying to China is the only solution for uh medical issues, but there certainly are uh independent surgeries and clinics within the US that operate and who also can significantly reduce the cost of uh of many um procedures, especially surgical procedures and things like that.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say that is the first thing to look at.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_02: However, if it were the uh if it were the definitive solution, then my service wouldn't exist.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: So after after those options have been uh exhausted, then I would think it's time to start looking abroad.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where uh places like Silk Health come in.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, no, I I appreciate that.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I you know played many roles in healthcare, and I'm not gonna detail all of those here, but I know enough to say that I see two sides.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, consumers are definitely getting frustrated with um, you know, paying more and getting less.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: I hear it all the time during open enrollment period here for when people are shopping for insurance.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: I also also hear I'm just gonna roll the dice.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, so many of my clients have gone without, which is hard to hear, um, but it it does happen.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, but also hearing on the provider side how frustrated providers are, feeling like they can't practice medicine in the manner in which they would like to.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and again, I always say there's a place for insurance, and that's a whole debate for another day, but I just keeping it objective here.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's just there just has to be some change.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think people are hungry for change.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: So with that said, I appreciate what you're doing with Silk Health, and we'll make sure and link there.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's an amazing website, and it just it's truly mind-blowing.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: So with that said, as we draw to a close, I always like to leave any final thoughts or suggestions to you to share with us what you'd like to share with listeners.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh, I'd be more than happy to go on a 30 or 40 minute rant about uh the greed and healthcare within the US and well even in Australia for that matter.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, feel free.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_02: But uh I think the most important thing, and certainly something that I've I I've had to realize in uh in my life is that um as cliche as as it is, is the there's no do-overs, there's no uh you know, rewinding the clock or anything like that.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um and if if you don't have anything in your life, at least you can have your health, right?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_02: But um with poor health, everything else in your life is diminished.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh your interactions with family, with friends, with work, just simply existing becomes quite often a chore.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_02: And so um I don't want to see anybody suffer, that's why I got into medicine.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the best way that I can help people at this point is to find affordable health care for them.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's where I come in, and I'd uh I'd caution and warn everyone to uh to take their health seriously.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: Of course that helps my business, but uh I think it also helps uh us all as individuals to be able to better get along with each other when we're not just in the right frame of mind but in the right body and the right health and the right spirit.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_02: So uh thank you very much for having me on.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: I really do appreciate it.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I do want to say one thing about what you said.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I like that you whether or not I mean business is business, it is what it is.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: We all expect to be paid for our services, but if we can also do that, of course, but also give something back to somebody to consider or that might be an option or a cha a life changer, then we all win.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so I appreciate what you're doing and taking time out of your day to to share with us.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: And again, we'll link to that.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again, Adam.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate all that you do.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: Much appreciated.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_02: Take care, Sandy.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: Really enjoyed having Adam on the show.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: What an interesting perspective.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: And as crazy of a time as it is with our healthcare system, the high cost, the insurance, paying more and getting less.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: It is always good to know your options.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so I hope that you found the conversation helpful.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure and check out the link in the show notes about Silk Health to learn more.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: In our next episode, we're going to talk about health equity.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: It is one of those topics we hear about often, but what does it really look like in everyday life and in our healthcare system?
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_01: Joining us on the show will be Daniel Hodges.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: He is a thought leader on accessibility and authentic inclusion of people with disabilities.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: Daniel is a president and co-founder of Pieces of Me Foundation, which is a nonprofit that he started while he was in law school.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: As an individual who lives with multiple disabilities himself, he understands firsthand how vital this work is.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great episode you're not going to want to miss.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: And one last thought make sure and check out the link to Playbook AI Partners if you want to listen to a new podcast and check out the service offerings if you're just trying to figure out AI and need a quick, swift, reliable, and efficient solution to do that.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, get savvy.