
Cutting out health insurance to shop for healthcare
From The Pursuit of Health: a podcast on health policy for a free and modern society. by Center for Modern Health
March 20, 2026 · 35 min · Season 2 · Episode 5
About this episode
This episode discusses the broken healthcare payment system and explores alternatives to health insurance for accessing healthcare.
How we pay for healthcare is broken. Some insist that we just need to fix health insurance as the main way of paying for most of our healthcare. Others are developing new ways to shop for healthcare that does not require insurance, such as direct primary care and cost-plus pharmacies. In this episode we discuss the practicality and morality of shopping for healthcare. To support our show, and the Center for Modern Health, you can make a tax deductible donation here .
Topics covered
- healthcare payment
- health insurance
- direct primary care
- cost-plus pharmacies
- healthcare shopping
Keywords
- healthcare
- insurance
- direct primary care
- cost-plus pharmacies
- healthcare shopping
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- Fixing the FDA: a two-track plan to end regulatory chaos · May 22, 2026 · 30 min
- Why Health Insurance Pays for ‘Sickcare’, with Tina Marsh Dalton · May 15, 2026 · 53 min
- The No Surprises Act fails at arbitrating fair healthcare prices · May 8, 2026 · 41 min
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