All Episodes

October 28, 2025 22 mins

The cost of staying healthy shouldn’t feel like a second mortgage. We dig into why premiums, prescriptions, and basic visits keep climbing—and what you can do today to lower your lifetime health bill without sacrificing care. From the structural incentives that reward treatment over prevention to the everyday decisions that compound your wellbeing, this conversation is equal parts candid and practical.

We start by contrasting socialized and private systems to reveal the shared problem: access and affordability are breaking for ordinary families. Then we name the sick care trap—how subsidies, ultra-processed food, and reactive medicine keep the cycle spinning—and pivot to a plan that actually shifts your trajectory. Movement becomes your first policy: thirty minutes a day to cut risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, the biggest drivers of medical spend. Food choices follow: whole foods, lean proteins, and anti-inflammatory fats that calm the body and stabilize A1C. We round it out with stress and sleep—low-cost, high-return levers that prevent the slow burn of chronic disease.

You’ll also get a money toolkit: using Health Savings Accounts for tax-advantaged investing, demanding cash prices under transparency rules, shopping prescriptions with GoodRx or a warehouse pharmacy, and choosing providers who coach prevention, not just symptoms. We make the case for annual labs as early-warning systems you can act on before a crisis, and we share a striking family story of cancer, hard choices, and the power of intentional habits. The throughline is simple: you can’t control premiums, but you can control your inputs—and that control compounds.

Subscribe for more real-world strategies to build health independence, share this with someone who’s feeling stuck, and leave a review with the habit you’ll start this week. Your future self—and your wallet—will thank you.

Send us a text

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:23):
Welcome back to Living a Full Life.
We where we talk about how tostay healthy, be energetic, and
purpose-driven in every area oflife, body, mind, and spirit.
Today we're tackling a topicthat's affecting every American
household right now, and it'sthe rising healthcare costs.
According to a recent AP NORCpoll, most Americans are not

(00:47):
concerned about their healthcare, or sorry, are more
concerned about their healthcare expenses than they are
about rent, groceries, or gasprices.
And it's no surprise, premiums,medications, and even basic
visits keep climbing.
So today, let's talk about howyou can thrive in this
environment, not just surviveit.
We'll cover what's driving thesecosts, how to take control of

(01:08):
your personal health spending,and most importantly, how to
invest in preventative habitsthat actually lower your
lifetime health care costs.
Healthcare costs aren't justgoing up, they're accelerating.
In 2025, premiums foremployer-based insurance jumped
again, averaging over$24,000 ayear for a family plan.

(01:32):
Medications, imaging, andoutpatient services are all part
of the spike.
The frustrating part, manypeople are paying with more
without even feeling anyhealthier.
They're spending thousands forreactive care, fixing problems
that might have beenpreventable.
And that's what we're going tounpack today: how to shift from

(01:54):
a sick care model to a full lifemodel where your daily habits
become your best insurancepolicy.
Growing up in Canada, it was thewriting on the wall with a
socialized healthcare systembecause it got overrun with
unnecessary visits.
It's the opposite in the UnitedStates in a private healthcare

(02:15):
system where you may have accessto appointments quite quickly.
However, the cost of doing it isjust too high.
So both edges of these swordsare pointy and stab.
And I've seen them both.
And I have family in Europe aswell that work both in the
private in Greece and socializedcare in Italy.
And same things start to happenin those areas as well.

(02:39):
The nice thing about socializedcare is that you may not have to
worry in the back of your mindif something happens.
An ambulance will pick you up,bring you to the hospital,
hopefully help you, and you'llbe taken care of.
You'll get medical care andyou'll leave, and there will be
no bill in the mail.
In most cases, sometimes thereare certain treatments,
chemotherapies, special bloodtransfusions, there are costs of

(03:02):
that.
You will get a bill in the mail.
And it could be$25,000.
It could.
So it's not perfect, but thesethings can happen.
Or a helicopter ride in anemergency, you're gonna have to
pay for the helicopter.
So there are things like that.
And then in in the US system, ifyou've got good health
insurance, you know yourdeductible is 8K.
Well, that's the cap.
So there's there's wins andlosses to it.
But what happens when you'reactually trying to take care of

(03:23):
yourself?
It almost feels like it's moreexpensive to try and go do the
right things than it's not.
And what we're seeing uh from asociological perspective, from a
sociology perspective in societyis people are choosing to just
not take care, not seek medicaladvice and just hope for the
best.
That's where we're leaningtowards in both the socialized

(03:44):
and the privatized systems.
Interesting.
Well, the socialized becausethey just can't get access to
care.
They're like, it's not worthwaiting eight hours to go see my
primary.
So I'm not gonna do it.
And it's not worth waiting fivehours to go to the emergency.
So I'm gonna hope I'm okay andI'll wake up tomorrow.
This is exactly what'shappening.
Or if you call an ambulance, ittakes 45 minutes to get to your
house.

(04:04):
So that's one problem.
In the privatized, it's like, Ican't afford it.
I'm not gonna go spend$400 on avisit because I just don't have
$400.
There's these issues that arehappening, and they're really
real, and they affect mostpeople in the middle.
So this conversation needs to behad one way or another, instead
of our politicians closing downgovernment up front and saying,

(04:24):
well, we can't stop, we can'tcontinue spending on subsidies
or whatever it may be onhealthcare.
Healthcare should be a right,it's not a privilege, it's a
right to be taken care of ifyour health needs it.
Then there's the dilemma of arewe taking care of ourselves?
And if you're a smoker, shouldyou get to the top of the list
for a lung transplant?
I okay, those are differentconversations for different

(04:46):
days.
We're in a sick care trap.
That's what this really is.
And it's been cultivated.
Whether you're a conspiracytheorist or not, this is not
conspiracy theory.
This sick care trap has beenbuilt over the last hundred
years, and it's by the simplethings.
It's by government subsidies tothe pharmaceutical companies,

(05:07):
the food companies, and thetransportation companies, the
mobilization companies of ourfood, water, and services.
They all work together.
They're like, if we keep thiscircle going, we'll all stay
super profitable.
And they've done it, and it'scorrect.
Ultra processed foods makepeople sick, making people sick
require medical care.

(05:28):
They get those medical care,then they're sent home and they
go back to the ultra-processedfoods, and the transportation
companies get all their moneyand everything just keeps
working.
It is, it is the system.
It's why we can't break it.
If the government keepssubsidizing this, we'll never
break it.
And we're never going to breakit.
It's just the way it is.
Our system rewards treatment,not prevention.
You're buying policies that willonly help treatment if they're

(05:49):
pre-approved because you havethe pre because you have the
condition.
Otherwise, if you don't have acondition, it's not approved.
And you're like, well, I don'twant a condition.
I don't want any conditions.
I want to take care of myselfand my family.
Well, you're in the trap.
And you're trying to, you seeit, and you're trying to not
live in the trap.
We wait until we're in pain,fatigued, or burned out, then we

(06:13):
seek help.
By then, the costs are higherand the options are fewer.

So here's the reality (06:18):
a sedentary lifestyle costs you
more over time than your gymmembership.
100%.
Skipping preventative checkupscan turn a$100 problem into a
$10,000 problem.
And ignoring your stress orsleep leads to long-term
metabolic issues that drivehealthcare costs through the
roof.

(06:40):
The mindset shift is simple butpowerful.
Stop seeing health as an expenseand start seeing it as an asset
that pays dividends.
It really, really, really does.
Preventative health as afinancial strategy is not what
we normally talk about indialogue.
So let's talk about the habitsthat actually save you money in

(07:03):
the long term.
We got to prioritize movement.
This is the probably the numberone thing, even above nutrition,
is because we're so sedentary.
Most of the issues we get witharthritic conditions, joint
pain, muscle stiffness, muscleinflammation, myofitis, um,
respiratory conditions,breathing conditions,
cardiovascular conditions,metabolic conditions, uh, venous

(07:27):
issues with blood supply, veinconditions, artery conditions,
arteriosclerosis, brain fog,brain decay, white matter
slowdown.
The list can just keep going on.
In 30 minutes of day of walking,just or strength training can
reduce your risk of diabetes,heart disease, and obesity.
Those are the top cost driversin our healthcare system today.

(07:51):
They make up 80% of all thehealthcare.
I think we're approaching 1trillion in healthcare costs.
No, sorry, we're over a trillionin America of healthcare costs,
and almost a trillion of thatdollars is heart disease,
diabetes, and obesity.
That's what drives everything.
That's why it takes forever toget in with your cardiologist,

(08:12):
it takes forever to get in withan endocrinologist.
They're backed up because thoseare the diseases.
So eat like your health billdepends on it because it really
does.
The processed food companiesthrive on this.
They don't care if you get sickor not.
Their job is to make superdelicious addictive food.

(08:35):
That's that's their job.
How do we make this cardboardtaste good?
Make it certain crunch, add saltto it, or add high fructose
syrup to it, and either way,we'll hit the right taste buds
and it will taste good.
An Oreo is a piece of cardboardwith slime in the middle that
has the right consistency ofcrunch and just the perfect

(08:56):
amount of sugar that can killyou, and you love it.
That's why Oreos taste so good.
There's nothing else to them,and it's because it's addictive.
The crunch, the texture, that'swhat we're addicted to, instead
of just biting into a strawberryor an apple or pear or
vegetables.
Okay.
So people are like, I hate thetexture of chicken.

(09:18):
Are you stupid?
Like, eat the freaking chicken.
Like, what are you talkingabout?
Um, but you love the texture ofan Oreo.
Like, come on, we gotta get ourpriority straight here.
Um eat like your health billdepends on it.
Ultra processed foods causeinflammation, insulin
resistance, joint pain, all ofwhich translate to medications

(09:39):
and office visits.
Choose whole foods, leanproteins, and anti-inflammatory
fats like olive oil and avocado.
Manage your stress proactively,not reactively.
Chronic stress drives cortisolthrough the roof, which leads to
weight gain, fatigue, and bloodpressure spikes.
Meditation, journaling,chiropractic care, and deep

(10:03):
breathing are all low-cost,high-return tools.
Sleep like it's your part-timejob.
Some of you work harder at yourwork than you do on your family
or your faith or your home oryour finances.
I say work on your sleep, makethat a part-time job.

(10:25):
Like it every night, it's like,oh, going to work.
Gotta make sure the pillow'sright, the temperature's right
in the room, the lighting iscorrect, the blue light's not in
the room, uh, exterior lightsare blacked out.
Um, like just it's comfy.
I can, you know, I can roll thepillows at the right height.
Like, make it a job to go tosleep.
Every hour of sleep lostincrease your risks of chronic

(10:48):
illness that we talked aboutearlier.
Rest isn't lazy, it's freemedicine.
These shifts can createcompounding effects through your
life because prevention isalways cheaper than core
correlation, right?
Or correction.
There you go.
How do we reduce the cost ofthis?
We got to take control of ourhealth spending as well.

(11:11):
Here are practical steps you cantake to keep your health care
dollars under control.
Number one, use health savingsaccounts wisely.
HSAs allow you to invest moneytax-free for medical expenses,
even for alternative care likechiropractic, acupuncture,
supplements if if they'represcribed, uh, gym memberships,
all this stuff.

(11:32):
All the stuff we talked about,it can be used within health
savings accounts.
The healthier you are, the lessyou're going to use.
Health savings account can beused as investments.
That's what I do.
You're allowed to put, I thinknow$8,300 a year for a family
into this thing, been doing itfor eight years, and we don't
spend that amount in healthcare.
And this thing is compoundedinto a point now where I'm like,

(11:53):
even if something bad happens tome, there's money there.
I've got this covered foremergency care.
Um, and that's what it wassupposed to be.
And it keeps compounding.
Well, God love America,capitalism.
That's amazing.
Um, so use the health savingsaccounts.
If you work for a company thathas FSAs, utilize those as well.
Ask questions before procedures,ask questions about everything.

(12:17):
Price transparency is yourright.
The affordable um, not theaffordable care act, the um no
surprises act passed in 2022, Ithink, January 1st, 2022, by uh
no, this was passed in 2020 by Ithink Trump.
Um, anyways, the you have fulltransparency, and you'll catch

(12:40):
front desk off guard in mostmedical practices, but they have
to give you full transparencyfor all cash rates.
Some in most cases, your cashrate is cheaper than your copay,
they're often lower than whatinsurance negotiates.
They'd rather just take yourcash up front than wait 60 days
to get paid from Blue Cross BlueShield.

(13:00):
They'd rather just take the$50difference or the$100 or you can
see I send people for MRIs for$300.
Some people get$600 copayes forthis stuff for like a brain MRI
or thoracic MRI.
So I know it works, and weutilize these to our advantage.
Shop your prescriptions ifyou're on any.
Uh, good RX or Costco Pharmacycan save hundreds per month.

(13:25):
Use them.
Use them first before.
Always ask and use the internetand use Chat GPT to figure out
what and where you can savemoney on.
Uh, choose providers who focuson wellness, not just symptoms.
This is probably one of thebiggest things you can do.
If your chiropractor,nutritionist, or primary care
doctor talks about lifestylechange and long-term function,

(13:46):
you're already in the rightplace.
After doing this for almost 20years and seeing families grow
up healthy without some of themwithout insurance, uh, some of
them do have insurance, both inCanada and the United States.
They just repeat the samethings.
They all have one thing incommon.
They sleep well, they staytogether, they eat well

(14:07):
together, and they just go tosee the chiropractor together.
These families are healthier.
Do they have issues?
Do they still um have uh youknow thumb sucking or some colic
at a young age or maybe developscoliosis as a teenager?
Yeah, they still go through lifethings, but they're not going
through diabetes, chronic heartfailure, or any of these things

(14:27):
because there's the mindset andthe repetition of seeing the
chiropractor every month orevery two weeks where they just
keep going in and they'rerevitalized with the proper
information of foundationalhealth.
Okay, and invest in your ownannual wellness testing.
Please don't skip this.
So many of you are like, oh,it's been like six years since
I've had a blood test.
Oh my word.

(14:48):
This has to be done every year.
Most insurances that you take,whatever you choose, give you
one wellness visit a year.
Do you know why?
They want to see your um yourwellness blood work once a year
to gauge whether they shouldkeep you insured.
There will be risk factors thatwill show up, which they can
gently since the ObamaHealthcare Act passed, they're
not allowed to do this anymore,but they still do.

(15:11):
They're not supposed to, butthey cannot slide you out for a
pre-existing condition.
So if your A1C is running higherand higher and higher each year,
they can drop you off thisknowing that you're gonna turn
diabetic soon and they don'twant to pay for it.
It's a messed up system.
But who cares about the system?
We care about you.
If your A1C is starting to creepup, you will be on top of it

(15:32):
every 12 months to be like,whoa, what's going on here?
I got to change something.
You talk to a chiropractor likeme, boom, your A1C is gonna
start going down.
We're gonna fix that.
Um, and there's other markerstoo.
Are we getting anemic for somereason?
Are we losing red blood cellsfor some reason?
What's happening?
Why are the numbers changing?
Is our white blood cell countgoing up?
Do we have a chronic infection?
Do we have something going onbehind the scenes?

(15:53):
Is a pathology building?
You can catch these things supereasy.
Your annual preventativewellness check is probably the
most important thing to do.
You can do this for about$120across the country, no matter
where you're listening to thisfrom, to get a full panel done.
This is your thyroid, yourvitamin D, and the full red
blood cell count andcholesterol, liver panel, all
that for about anywhere between100 and 150 bucks.

(16:15):
You can get this done across theentire country, depending where
you're at.
Get good connections like us infunctional medicine, we'll get
you even the cheapest ratepossible.
So that's where functionalmedicine doctors can play a huge
role in as well.
So, from my 20 years ofexperience, these families that
have been staying healthy are onsome type of, instead of buying
insurance or instead of buyingall this other stuff, some type

(16:37):
of monthly subscription to agym, to a sport, to a
chiropractic facility withfunctional medicine, some type
of primary care and motioncombination for a couple hundred
dollars a month, two to threehundred bucks a month, is the
app for the family, which is waycheaper than any health care and
premiums that are out there tohelp preventative care.

(16:59):
Then all you can have is anemergency care, some type of
off-site or third-partyinsurance for the emergency
thing that will cover anambulance or cover five nights
in the hospital or coversomething for you to prevent
catastrophic financial loss.
So check your lab.
There you go.
And then the mindset of youknow, health independence.

(17:20):
This is what this creates ishealth independence for you.
At the heart of all of this ismindset.
You need to believe that if youdo the right things, uh, you're
gonna be better off.
You can't control insurancepremiums, but you can control
your daily actions.
You can't stop inflation, butyou can make choices that keep
your body strong and resilient.

(17:41):
Living a full life isn't aboutperfect health, it's about
ownership.
When you build daily routinesthat strengthen your body,
balance your hormones, and claimand calm your mind, you gain
freedom from medicationdependence, from constant
appointments, and from thestress of wondering what's next.

(18:03):
The cost of healthcare willprobably keep rising.
If I had to put money on it,it's gonna keep rising.
But that doesn't mean yourhealth, uh your health costs
have to.
You have more power than youthink.
Move more, eat real food, sleepdeeply, manage your stress, and
work with wellness-focusedpractitioners who look at the

(18:26):
whole picture.
The greatest return oninvestment you'll ever make
isn't in stock or property, it'sin your body and mind.
My father barely saw doctors,did his annual preventative, and
at 67 for some goes in for acolonoscopy, stage three cancer,
colon cancer.

(18:46):
He ate at home all the time.
Stress was up and down throughhis life, ate at home most of
the time, worked every dayoutside construction, um, worked
hard, moved a lot, slept everynight well.
He was a deep sleeper, did allthe right things, and then boom,
one day there.
But he wasn't intentional on hishealth ever.
He wasn't ever looking intothings and prioritizing his

(19:09):
health.
He just went through themotions.
And luckily, he had healthierhabits to make it to 67.
Guess what happened when he gotthat diagnosis?
He had the medical route to goor the natural route to go.
He looked at medicine and said,chemotherapy, 67 years old,
radiation.
I may lose uh function to myright leg with uh radiation and

(19:30):
chemotherapy.
He's like, I may not survivethis.
He looks at the natural way,he's like, but that's not
chemotherapy.
He goes the natural way, heloses 45 pounds in 99 days.
Raw food diet, uh looked thebest he's ever been.
Uh, no chemotherapy, noradiation.
99 days later, he's cancer free.

(19:51):
That's my story.
I've been working on a book aswe talk.
My dad.
So I can share that story veryeasily.
He's now just he's turning 82 ina couple months here.
Um, so there you go.
15 years post-care, never's comeback, doing great, has benign
hypertrophy of the prostate,like every other man his age.

(20:12):
Kept his bowels, kepteverything, um, and went the
natural route, and then wentback to medicine and said, Hey,
how do I take care of myself?
They didn't believe him, toldhim he needs surgery.
He actually signed up for it,did it.
This was two months later, andthey went in, they're like,
There was there was nothingthere.
Cut him from side to side, hisentire abdomen, went in there

(20:34):
for like a colonal rectalsurgery to remove part of the
colon because they're like, no,the cancer's got to be there.
It wasn't there.
The surgeon literally sewed himup and said there was nothing
there.
There was like a there's like agooky little, almost like
something disintegrated.
I'm like, could it have been thetumor that was disintegrated?
He's like, could have been, butthere's no way he didn't do
chemo.
And you can imagine how the restof that conversation went with

(20:56):
my hot headed 20, how old was I,30, 29-year-old hot head?
Yeah, didn't go well.
But that's how that all goes.
And uh, and then he went thatjust down the natural route.
He got two chronic infectionsafter that surgery, and he was
like, forget this.
I should have never everlistened to them.
And then that's not healthadvice for colon cancer.
Please do not take that home toyour family or anything like

(21:19):
that.
There's multiple things that hehad to do to do that.
But that's my personal story.
That's my dad's personal storyof when we get to a fork in the
road, it's a hard decision tomake.
And we want to avoid those forksas much as we can.
You can't control everything,but you can control the things
that you can control.
And it boggles my mind whenpeople are like, I don't sleep,
you know, I go to bed at 12, Iwake up at five, uh, I'm on the

(21:41):
screens all the time, I don'twork out, I don't do anything.
I'm like, oh my word, why didyou have kids?
Like, why would you put themthrough this?
Why would you put them throughthis train wreck and of them
watching you?
Going, you're gonna hit a wall.
So there you go.
Don't have kids if you're gonnabe like that.
But if you're gonna move andyou're gonna take care of
yourself, go ahead.

(22:02):
Uh, because it's unfair to yourfamily if you make those
choices.
Stay well, stay healthy, takecare of yourselves.
And if you need anything, infoat fulllifetampa.com.
We can link you up with goodfunctional medicine doctors that
you can add to your team, toyour for your family, that can
be there on call anytime youneed anything.
And bypass, when you get thoseno's and those denials from your

(22:24):
insurance, they can help you getto true health.
Take care, stay well, see younext week.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.