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Episode 22 | The Hidden Agenda of Healthcare Insurance with Tamara Thomas

Welcome back to "The Only Healthcare Podcast." This episode delves deep into the evolving landscape of healthcare policy in 2025. Hosted by Randy Vogenberg, PhD we are joined by special guest Jayson Slotnik, a seasoned health policy expert from Health Policy Strategies, LLC.

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In this episode of Only Healthcare, hosts Randy Vogenberg and Michael Navin welcome Tamara Thomas, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Urban Health Today, for a candid discussion about the consumer perspective on America's broken healthcare system. Drawing from her extensive background in health disparities coverage and a shocking revelation from an insurance executive years ago, Tamara exposes the fundamental conflict between profit motives and patient care.


With her unique lens as both a healthcare journalist and certified health coach, Tamara joins Randy and Michael in dissecting how insurance companies have systematically extracted value from the healthcare system while leaving patients, providers, and employers bearing the financial burden.


Key Topics Discussed:

  • Provider Shortage Crisis and Root Causes

  • Healthcare Price Transparency Failures

  • The Managed Care Extraction Machine

  • Diversity Crisis in Healthcare Workforce

  • PBM Rebate Manipulation Exposed

  • Alternative Healthcare Models


🎧 Listen now: onlyhealthcarepodcast.com


Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(03:00) Provider shortage crisis: financial disincentives and career barriers

(09:00) Healthcare price transparency mandates vs. reality

(16:00) Virtual care rollbacks and quality vs. profitability concerns

(20:00) Insurance industry's profit-first confession and system design

(24:00) Tamara's managed care nightmare with her mother's terminal illness

(29:00) Healthcare workforce diversity crisis and access implications

(34:00) Primary care marketing challenges and patient navigation patterns

(39:00) Drug shortage crisis and supply chain vulnerability


Hosted by:

Michael Navin & Dr. Randy Vogenberg


For feedback or to suggest topics for future episodes, reach out to us at onlyhealthcarepodcast@gmail.com.


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Disclaimer:© 2025 Only Healthcare Podcast. All rights reserved.


This podcast and its content, including but not limited to audio recordings, images, and text, are the property of the Only Healthcare Podcast and are protected by international copyright laws. We appreciate all distribution and content sharing. Contact us at onlyhealthcarepodcast@gmail.com to access media kits, provide feedback, inquire about guest participation or to learn more. Thank you for listening!


Hosted by: Michael Navin & Randy Vogenberg, PhD


This Podcast is sponsored by:


Peek: Peek is reimagining access through innovation, technology, connectivity, and partnership. Peek offers a comprehensive and unique suite of solutions to help clients improve access and affordability for prescription drugs.


The Peek Meds Marketplace is one of Peek’s differentiated offerings that gives employers a revolutionary new approach to controlling runaway prescription costs for their employees by providing unprecedented transparency, simplicity - and cost savings. The Peek Meds Marketplace aggregates cash discount cards, manufacturer copay offset programs, and an employee’s insurance information to provide a holistic and personalized view of prescription price options. This easy-to-use platform offers a one-stop-shopping experience for prescription drugs.


Peek’s team has decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and offers various services to biopharma manufacturers, brokers, benefits consultants, third-party administrators and employers. Visit peekmeds.com to learn more.


Institute for Integrated Health (IIH): Health care benefits, insurance coverage regulations, and doing business in the healthcare industry can be complicated. At IIH, Dr. Randy Vogenberg and his team understand these unique challenges and provides strategic guidance customized to every client. To help overcome your unique challenges, IIH delivers education, planning and advisory on market trends, and U.S. health care market intelligence. The firm’s decades of proven success are due to strategic collaboration with associates from the business, clinical, and scientific communities. https://iih-online.com/.





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