Dr. Bill Hennessey talks prices of American healthcare

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Buddy, Bill Hennessy is back, an expert on healthcare transparency,

(00:03):
on what's going on in our country with some healthcare issues.
Now one in three Americans a bit shocking cannot afford
healthcare and prescriptions. Bill, welcome in, Thanks for being here.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hey, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
So I guess the advice is don't get sick. Huh.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
I mean if you get a decide between paying the rent,
eating tonight or taking my meds, well I'm going to
eat and yeah, I got to have shelters. So get
in line healthcare.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hey, you got to quip being so crazy there and
using common sense, people are going to turn the radio station.
Don't ever do that again. If people were thin and
healthy and don't smoke cigarettes, they wouldn't need to take
any drugs. If you're overweight, you need drugs for diabetes,
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, reflux, depression, ostro arthritis. So

(00:49):
you did hit the nail on the head. Maybe I
should call you doctor.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Look, I know what to do. It's this bacon tastes
so good.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
So with that said, our health care situation here in
America obviously needs some revamping and looking at. When the
costs go through the roof, it's crazy to me that
you know, well, we're gonna have to charge you fourteen
hundred dollars for that you don't have any insurance. Wait,
you do have insurance, Okay, three dollars. You know it's like,
what what's the swing here?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah, so you actually get punished if you have insurance.
If you have insurance, your cough cough discount price is
higher than if you didn't have insurance. So you know
rule number one seeding off what you said is is
by law, you do not have to use insurance. Right,
eighty percent never meet their crazy high deductible six thousand dollars.

(01:37):
So ask for the cash price first, if you have insurance,
ask for your insurance discount price second, and you decide
which price you want.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
So, if you bring up your card and you have
insurance and the pharmacist seize that, but your company does
not cover this particular draw, sorry, you're gonna have to
pay the fourteen hundred dollars. You're actually better off walking
up saying I don't have insurance. How much will that
cost me? You're telling me it's going to be cheaper

(02:08):
than the fourteen hundred dollars if I don't have insurance.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
There's a good amount of time that is correct.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Wow, did not realize that's it.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
I never give I never give insurance. I stay healthy
but mostly but I always ask for cash price first,
I say, do you have insurance? I say no? And
then afterward I asked for an insurance price, and I say,
I thought, I thought you said you didn't have insurance.
I said, well, I needed to get the cash price
out of you first. Now give me your BlueShield price
serve wow price.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
So with the insurance, though, you end up paying less, right,
unless you haven't met your six thousand dollars inductible yet.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Yeah, you can toss a coin nowadays as to which
one is going to be lower?

Speaker 1 (02:48):
And why is in Congress getting involved in this? Do
we not need the government in our free market system
when it comes to pharmaceuticals?

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah? Have you not paid attention to your price healthcare
from the nineteen nineties to now?

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, I've seen I believe me.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Yeah. So, just in short means the lobbyists of hospitals
and health insurance companies have gotten their way. It doesn't
matter if the Republicans are in control or the Democrats
are in control. Above them. Who's really in control if
the drug industry, the hospitals, and the big four health
insurance company h.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Followed the money. All right, let's talk about.

Speaker 3 (03:24):
What needs money.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
How do you fix it?

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, you know, you have to have known pricing. With
known pricing, you create competition, and with competition, the consumer
wins every time with lower prices. So again, get your
cash price, get your insurance price, get the first name,
last name, rank, and serial number who you talk to.
Get it in writing. That's your price, whether it's for

(03:47):
drug or if it's for outpatient medical care. That's one
way to do it. Another way is there are health
bundles out there. There are companies that sell care bundled
outside of hospitals, outside of insurance companies that can get
you great prices on let's say, over a thousand generic drugs,

(04:08):
whether you're on two or ten of them, it's no
out of pocket.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
These partners are on you know, my website cgasaves dot
com at the top that says get care Guide and
we can show you some of those partners. But the
bottom line is is if you stay away from hospitals,
Blue Shield, United SIGNATNA, all of a sudden your care
can be a lot more affordable, and some of those

(04:34):
partners are outlined like on our website, But you look
for pharmacy drug saving solutions that are not owned by
the big insurance companies who are encouraged, enforced by their
stock shareholders to make sure you pay more every year.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Well, I really appreciate it. What's the website
once again.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
It's CGA saves dot com.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Very good, we'll build. I appreciate you, Bill Hennessy, Thank
you so much, buddy. We'll talk again soon.