Dr. Eric Bricker returns for Part 2 of our analysis of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" and the timing couldn't be more critical. Just as the Senate moves toward a final vote, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Sunday (6/29/25) that the Senate version would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

This internal medicine physician and founder of AHealthcareZ (400+ healthcare finance videos, 100,000+ subscribers) delivers his signature straight-talk analysis on what will be the most earth-shattering healthcare legislation in decades. Dr. Bricker exposes how this bill would strip Medicaid coverage from 11-16 million Americans while dismantling the state funding mechanisms that keep safety-net hospitals alive.

Dr. Bricker and the VHV guys discuss:

• How "provider tax safe harbors" being cut from 6% to 3% will trigger massive prior authorization increases
• Why hospital systems will face a "double squeeze": less Medicaid revenue AND higher debt refinancing costs
• The brutal politics behind using patient care as a "political pawn" to fund tax cuts
• How charity care programs could become the only lifeline for millions of Americans
• Why even Republican senators are questioning these Medicaid cuts

Dr. Bricker's urgent message to physicians: "The age of passivity is over. No one is coming to save you or your patients." He provides concrete actions healthcare professionals can take locally while this legislative earthquake unfolds in Washington.

From work requirements that target caregivers to state-directed payment caps that will bankrupt safety-net hospitals, this episode breaks down thousands of legislative pages into what every healthcare leader needs to know before the Senate votes.

Subscribe to Value Health Voices for critical healthcare policy analysis. Check out Dr. Bricker's AHealthcareZ YouTube channel for his complete healthcare finance education library.

Chapters:

00:00 The $3.3 Trillion Healthcare Bill: An Overview

02:05 GOP Budget Reconciliation Bill: Key Healthcare Proposals

03:45 The Human Cost: Real Stories from Safety-Net Hospitals

07:23 Work Requirements: Who Really Gets Hurt

10:53 The Great Medicaid Funding Squeeze: Provider Taxes Under Attack

18:03 State-Directed Payments: The End of Hospital "Scavenger Hunts"

23:33 Political Power and Healthcare: The Real Game Being Played

29:02 The Double Squeeze: Medicaid Cuts + Rising Interest Rates

31:35 Taking Action: What Physicians Can Do Right Now

37:27 Hospital Innovation: Learning from Ochsner's Success Model

44:49 The Future of Healthcare Finance: Reasons for Optimism

Keywords: #Medicaidcuts, #budgetreconcilation #Senatebill, #CongressionalBudgetOffice #Medicaid #providertaxes #statedirectedpayments #workrequirements, #safetynethospitals healthcare finance #DrEricBricker #AHealthcareZ

Dr. Eric Bricker, the powerhouse behind AHealthcareZ's 400+ healthcare finance videos with 100,000+ subscribers, joins Value Health Voices to decode the labyrinthine money flows that determine which hospitals succeed with Medicaid—and which avoid it entirely. This internal medicine physician and former co-founder of Compass Professional Health Services (which grew to 1.8M members across 2,000+ clients including T-Mobile and Southwest Airlines before being acquired) reveals the complex "scavenger hunt" that separates thriving hospital systems from struggling ones.

Discover why Medicaid isn't actually one program but 50+ different state systems with wildly different funding mechanisms. Dr. Bricker exposes how provider taxes, DSH payments, and state-directed payments create a $80 billion federal funding ecosystem—and why only sophisticated hospital systems with armies of consultants can navigate it successfully. You'll learn why California gets 50% federal matching while Mississippi receives 77%, how children's hospitals depend on Medicaid for half their revenue, and why some suburban systems can ignore Medicaid entirely while urban academic centers live or die by these payments.

Known for his viral whiteboard videos that deconstruct the US healthcare system, Dr. Bricker delivers essential insights every healthcare leader needs to understand the financial forces reshaping American healthcare. This eye-opening conversation explains why administrative complexity has become a competitive advantage—and what it means for patient care.

Subscribe to Value Health Voices for expert healthcare policy analysis. Check out Dr. Bricker's AHealthcareZ YouTube channel for his complete healthcare finance library.

Chapters:

00:00 Understanding Medicaid: A Complex Landscape

02:12 The Mechanics of Medicaid Funding

05:41 Provider Taxes and Their Impact

10:01 Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments

17:22 State-Directed Payments: Variability and Controversy

20:16 Expansion vs. Non-Expansion States

24:22 The Role of Managed Care Organizations

28:40 Challenges in Accessing Care for Medicaid Patients

32:35 Understanding the Complexities of Healthcare Funding

36:56 The Scavenger Hunt for Revenue in Healthcare

39:48 The Friction in Healthcare Administration

Keywords: Medicaid, healthcare finance, health policy, state funding, provider taxes, DSH payments, state-directed payments, expansion states, healthcare access, revenue generation

Michael Chernew is a distinguished Harvard economist, Chair of MedPAC, and leading healthcare policy expert with decades of experience in healthcare economics. In this episode, Michael provides a masterclass on why healthcare economics differs fundamentally from other markets, unpacking information asymmetry, moral hazard, and adverse selection in accessible terms. He reveals the surprising truth that Medicare Advantage plans cost the government approximately 20% more than traditional Medicare despite delivering care more efficiently, explains how these plans use this payment gap to finance enhanced benefits, and discusses the future challenges of healthcare payment reform. Michael shares breaking news about MedPAC's upcoming recommendation to partially tie physician payments to inflation after decades of declining purchasing power, explores the complexities of drug price negotiations, and offers insider insights into how Medicare policy decisions affecting billions of healthcare dollars are actually made.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Healthcare Economics and MedPAC

02:56 The Evolution of Health Economics

06:05 Unique Challenges in Healthcare Markets

09:11 Moral Hazard and Insurance Dynamics

12:10 The Role of Technology in Rising Costs

15:10 Understanding MedPAC's Function and Influence

18:01 MedPAC Recommendations and Their Impact

22:16 The Complexity of Medicare Payment Systems

25:07 Challenges in Hospital Profitability

28:20 The Future of Payment Models in Healthcare

38:16 Geographic Variation in Medical Practice

39:15 Alternative Payment Models and Pricing Issues

46:53 The Rise of Medicare Advantage

55:20 Future of Medicare and Healthcare Reform

About:

Value Health Voices is a podcast redefining conversations around health policy and healthcare finance, delivering accessible and expert-driven discussions on the topics shaping the future of healthcare. Hosted by Dr. Anthony Paravati and Dr. Amar Rewari, the podcast explores how regulations, emerging technologies, and financial pressures impact patient care, provider operations, and healthcare systems. With their combined experience as radiation oncologists and healthcare leaders, they break down complex topics like Medicare reimbursement, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and prior authorization in ways that are actionable and engaging. Each episode features insights on legislative efforts, best practices for providers navigating policy changes, and trends shaping the future of value-based care, empowering listeners with knowledge they can use immediately.

Connect with Value Health Voices on:

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/VHV-apple

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/VHV-Spotify

Amazon music: https://tinyurl.com/VHV-amazon

LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/VHV-Linkedin

Even seasoned healthcare leaders—those with decades of clinical, financial, or operational experience—often miss the two most powerful levers behind how care gets paid for: the CPT process and the RUC committee. These aren’t just billing codes and obscure meetings. They’re the gatekeepers of what and how much is paid for care in the U.S. healthcare system.

To truly understand healthcare in the U.S., an understanding of CPT and RUC is fundamental.

In this special episode of Value Health Voices, we flip the script—Dr Anthony Paravati interviews co-host Amar Rewari, a nationally recognized expert in the CPT development process and the RUC (Relative Value Scale Update Committee). This is your backstage pass to the invisible forces that decide how doctors are paid, which services get valued, and why the U.S. healthcare system rewards what it does.

In this episode, we unpack:

• What the CPT process really is—far beyond billing codes

• How the RUC committee wields extraordinary influence over payment policy

• The lifecycle of a medical service’s valuation—from clinical utility to reimbursement

• How these processes directly affect hospital strategy, service line planning, and physician compensation

No deep dive into CPT and RUC is complete without exploring the critiques—many of which are long-standing and still unresolved:

• Specialty Bias: Procedural specialties often dominate the RUC, leading to higher valuations for procedures and lower ones for cognitive services like primary care.

• Lack of Transparency: Decision-making behind closed doors fuels frustration and distrust, especially among non-physician stakeholders.

• Inertia and Inequity: Efforts to revalue services often move at a glacial pace, creating systemic lag between innovation and payment.

We challenge assumptions, unpack the politics, and explore what meaningful reform could look like.

Whether you're a hospital executive, a health policy analyst, a medical director, or a clinician trying to understand your paycheck, this episode gives you what textbooks and boardrooms don’t: a clear, actionable understanding of the CPT and RUC systems and how they quietly influence everything from your budget to your workforce strategy.

You’ll walk away with:

• A framework to think critically about reimbursement strategy

• Insight into why your specialty is—or isn’t—being adequately valued

• Clarity on how to engage with these systems to advocate for fairer healthcare

Keywords: CPT process, RUC committee, physician reimbursement, healthcare payment reform, US healthcare finance, healthcare policy podcast, Medicare valuation, specialty society lobbying

In this episode of Value Health Voices, Dr. Vipan Nikore discusses his journey as an entrepreneur in the healthcare sector, focusing on the innovative concept of Home Care Hub. He shares insights on the challenges and opportunities in home-based care, the importance of metrics in measuring outcomes, and the regulatory hurdles faced in the industry. Dr. Nikore emphasizes the need for policy changes to support alternative care models and advocates for a future where smaller care homes provide dignified and personalized care for the aging population. He also offers advice for aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs, highlighting the importance of mentorship and networking.

takeaways

• Dr. Nikore's journey from software development to healthcare entrepreneurship.
• The importance of home-based care in improving patient outcomes.
• Home Care Hub aims to create smaller, community-based care homes.
• Metrics such as decreased readmissions are crucial for success.
• Regulatory challenges vary significantly across states and provinces.
• Advocacy for policy changes is essential for funding alternative care models.
• The future of healthcare will involve more personalized and accessible care options.
• Data collection from home care can drive better patient outcomes.
• Entrepreneurship in healthcare requires resilience and adaptability.
• Mentorship and networking are key for aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Home-Based Care Innovations
01:39 The Journey of Dr. Vipan Nikore
10:15 Exploring Home Care Hub
17:13 Metrics and Outcomes in Home Care
20:29 Navigating Regulatory Challenges
22:34 Navigating Regulatory Challenges in Healthcare Innovation
23:49 Advocating for Alternative Care Models
25:05 The Importance of Personalized Care
26:20 Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation
27:42 Leveraging Technology in Home Care
29:39 Policy Advocacy for Healthcare Solutions
32:18 The Role of Data in Improving Outcomes
33:03 Envisioning the Future of Home Healthcare
36:12 The Entrepreneurial Journey in Healthcare
39:16 Advice for Aspiring Healthcare Entrepreneurs

As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, more employers are turning to direct employer contracting and self-insured models to take control of their healthcare costs. But how do these models compare to fully insured arrangements? And what are the key considerations for health systems, PBMs, and employers looking to engage in value-based care?

In this episode of Value Health Voices, Dr. Anthony Paravati and Dr. Amar Rewari sit down with Ned Laubacher, CEO of Health Spectrum Advisors and an expert in direct-to-employer contracting, to break down:
✅ The shift toward self-insured models and employer-driven health benefits
✅ The role of quality metrics and shared savings in employer-provider contracts
✅ How data transparency is transforming healthcare finance and cost control
✅ The impact of legislation on employer health plans
✅ Common pitfalls in direct contracting and how to avoid them

💡 Key Takeaways:
🔹 Self-insured employers have more control over healthcare costs and provider networks
🔹 Direct contracts with health systems help improve cost transparency and health outcomes
🔹 Employers must take a proactive role in healthcare policy to navigate complex regulations
🔹 PBMs and cost-plus drug models are playing an increasing role in employer-led health plans
🔹 Analytics & data-driven decision-making are the future of value-based care

In this episode of Value Health Voices, hosts Anthony Paravati and Amar Rewari welcome Matt Wetzel, a trustee at the American Health Law Institute, to discuss the complex regulatory environment surrounding healthcare. The conversation covers insights from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, changes in NIH grant funding, Medicaid spending, and the future of FDA regulations. Wetzel emphasizes the importance of understanding the nuances of healthcare policy and encourages listeners to look beyond sensational headlines to grasp the underlying issues affecting the industry.

Takeaways

Matt Wetzel is a lawyer specializing in medical technology and life sciences.
The JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is a key networking event in the industry.
The Trump administration is focused on efficiency in healthcare regulation.
NIH has implemented a cap on indirect costs for grants.
There is a debate within the industry about the appropriateness of indirect cost caps.
Medicaid spending is a politically sensitive issue that may face cuts.
The FDA's regulatory environment is evolving, with potential for increased efficiency.
Personnel changes in government can significantly impact healthcare policy.
The media often sensationalizes healthcare regulatory changes.
Understanding the details of regulations is crucial for stakeholders.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Regulatory Landscape
04:53 Insights from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference
10:16 Changes in NIH Grant Funding
20:33 Medicaid Spending and Work Requirements
24:03 Understanding Federal Health Programs
28:24 Navigating Regulatory Challenges
32:47 The Strategic Landscape of Healthcare Policy
38:23 The Future of Leadership in Healthcare
42:59 Key Takeaways for Navigating Change