$50 Healthcare? How River Health Is Rewriting the Rules | Broken Healthcare Podcast #84

Broken healthcare is failing millions of Americans — especially hourly and frontline workers.

In this episode of the Broken Healthcare Podcast, host Ray Kober sits down in-studio with Lexie Leitner, PA-C, Vice President of Clinical Operations at River Health, to unpack why the traditional U.S. healthcare system no longer works — and what it will take to fix it.

Lexie shares her journey from family medicine to healthcare innovation, and explains how River Health is rethinking access, affordability, and care delivery for workers who are often left behind by employer-sponsored insurance.

One of the most powerful parts of River Health’s model? Mental health is treated as essential care — not an add-on. Members receive unlimited virtual therapy plus free access to the Calm app, helping address anxiety, burnout, depression, and everyday stress without barriers, copays, or long wait times.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why high-deductible health plans leave Americans functionally uninsured
• How hourly workers fall through the cracks of traditional healthcare
• The real reason healthcare costs keep rising (and who actually pays)
• How River Health delivers unlimited virtual primary care, labs, prescriptions, imaging, and urgent care access for a flat monthly cost
• Why unlimited teletherapy and Calm access are critical in today’s mental health crisis
• How employers can support workforce health without $40,000 insurance plans
• The difference between insurance and actual access to care
• How healthcare became so complex — and what simplicity looks like again

If you’re an employer, HR leader, healthcare professional, or someone frustrated with the cost and confusion of U.S. healthcare, this conversation will challenge how you think about coverage, value, and care.

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