1336: Dialysis | Skeptical Sunday

1336: Dialysis | Skeptical Sunday

From The Jordan Harbinger Show by Jordan Harbinger

May 31, 2026 · 1h 17m · Episode 1336

About this episode

Jessica Wynn discusses the dialysis industry and its implications for patient survival and healthcare costs.

This Skeptical Sunday, Jessica Wynn explains how dialysis became a $50B industry where under 40% of patients survive five painful years of dependence. Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and a guest break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions. This time around, we’re joined by writer and researcher Jessica Wynn ! Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1336 On This Week's Skeptical Sunday: Dialysis is a life-sustaining external filtration system for the roughly 800,000 Americans in kidney failure — but it's grueling. Most patients endure three to five hours per session, three times a week, indefinitely, and fewer than 40% survive beyond five years. The financial structure is staggering. Dialysis is a $50 billion-a-year US industry, with Medicare spending about $36 billion annually — roughly 7% of its entire budget for under 1% of the population. Two companies, DaVita and Fresenius, control about 70% of all clinics. The system rewards permanence over cure. Since 1972, Medicare has covered kidney failure for everyone regardless of age…

People in this episode

Host: Jordan Harbinger

Guest: Jessica Wynn

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: DaVita, Fresenius, Medicare

Places: United States

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