Ep 236 – Liberating Primary Care to Become Basic Care for All with Ken Terry

What’s the alternative to Medicare for all?

According to today’s guest, Ken Terry, award-winning healthcare journalist, it’s his alternative model of basic care for all. Ken believes we have to liberate primary care, pulling it out from under the pressures of poor reimbursement, overburdened staff, and an inability to effectively care for those on the cusp of chronic disease by reallocating our primary care providers into basic care groups, funded by the federal government, to provide population health and preventive care. For everyone. 

In my conversation with Ken, we talk about one of the key differences in his model versus Medicare for all – retaining the robustness of the private market. While Ken agrees that we can’t leave primary care to the mercy of the private market, he also asserts that we must find a way to provide good healthcare for everyone and continue to let the private market thrive. 

Ken Terry comes to the show with more than 30 years of experience covering healthcare policy, economics, Medicare, physician practice, healthcare reform, and  value-based care. A former Senior Editor at Medical Economics, he is the author of three books,

including his most recent book: Beyond Medicare for All: Cracking the Code of the Healthcare Affordability Crisis, which outlines a practical, market-based blueprint to reduce costs, eliminate waste, and make quality healthcare more affordable for all Americans. Terry is a sought-after expert on healthcare affordability and the future of the U.S. healthcare system.