In this week's episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Ashish Jha—physician, health policy expert, and former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator—for a candid look at what the…
In this week's episode, Jim sits down with Dr. Ashish Jha—physician, health policy expert, and former White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator—for a candid look at what the pandemic revealed about how America actually works under pressure.
This conversation moves well beyond COVID.
Dr. Jha explains what happens inside government during a crisis, why emergency powers quietly reshape policy across the entire system, and how short-term urgency consistently crowds out long-term planning.
From there, the discussion turns to the deeper structural issue: healthcare.
The U.S. is on track to spend roughly $70 trillion on healthcare over the next decade —a number that sits at the center of federal debt, state budgets, and household finances. But the real problem isn’t how much care we use—it’s what we pay for it.
Jim and Dr. Jha break down:
Why prices—not utilization—are driving costs How innovation is both life-saving and financially destabilizing Why hospitals lack real surge capacity And why meaningful reform continues to stall They also tackle harder questions around personal responsibility, prevention, and whether a system can be both compassionate and financially sustainable.
At the core of the conversation is a broader insight: