How to Actually Fix U.S. Healthcare: HSAs, Price Transparency & Real Market Signals w/ Crom Carmichael

Guest: Crom Carmichael – investor in 60+ startups, host of From Our Generation, and creator of Giants of Political Thought

In this episode, Evan Meyer and Crom dig into why healthcare in America costs what it does — and what could truly fix it. They unpack how price transparency, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and market-driven competition could bring down costs by up to 70%, and why innovation is inherently destructive to old, inefficient systems.

Along the way, Crom explains the absurd incentives in today’s insurance system (like getting billed $6,600 for a $1,200 colonoscopy), shares a skin cancer story that reveals why doctors are paid per visit rather than per solution, and walks through how WWII-era policies still shape healthcare pricing today.

They also explore:

Why innovation needs intellectual property protection

The economics of creative destruction

What Uber, taxi medallions, and Waymo teach us about breaking regulatory capture

The beauty of nuance in civic debate and political philosophy

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Intro & Crom’s background (60+ startups; political philosophy roots)
02:30 – Nobel Prize & innovation: why IP protection matters
04:50 – The government shutdown analogy & innovation’s “destruction”
13:54 – The $1,200 vs $6,600 colonoscopy and broken incentives
15:35 – HSAs + price transparency could drop outpatient costs 70%
19:00 – WWII wage controls created employer-based insurance
29:50 – Taxi medallions → Uber → Waymo: breaking captured markets
39:00 – Political philosophy: from Plato to today’s “nuance gap”
42:00 – MDsave & paying cash for procedures: mdsave.com

45:00 – Crom’s personal health routine & Soltea

47:30 – Wrap-up: Giants of Political Thought, Rousseau to Locke

🔗 Links Mentioned

🎙️ Meyerside Chats podcast: https://meyersidechats.buzzsprout.com

📚 Giants of Political Thought: https://giantsofpoliticalthought.com

💸 Cash-price care examples: https://www.mdsave.com

🧃 Soltea (green tea supplement): https://soltea.com

🧠 Evan Meyer: https://evanmeyer.io
 | LinkedIn

💬 About Crom Carmichael

Crom is an entrepreneur, investor, and lifelong student of political philosophy. Through Giants of Political Thought, he curates the works of history’s most influential thinkers—from Locke and Adam Smith to Marx and Wollstonecraft—making them accessible through audio and streaming.

📬 About Meyerside Chats

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About Evan Meyer

Tech entrepreneur and civic leader - he founded mygovtools.org, a platform to drive government efficiency, constituent representation, and civic engagement; BeautifyEarth.com, a platform accelerating urban beautification through art; and its sister nonprofit, transforming schools in underserved areas. He also co-founded RideAmigos.com, a platform that optimizes commuter travel globally. Previously, he served as District Director for the California State Senate and led many civic initiatives in Santa Monica. Through seminars and his podcast Meyerside Chats, Evan inspires civic engagement, innovation, and cultural growth.
He loves the outdoors, is a master of creative projects, is an avid muralist and musician, and finds the world fascinating in every regard.