Organization

Empower Patients Initiative

Coverage areas

2026-11-03
Empowering Patients: Reclaiming Control Over Healthcare
with Deane Waldman
In the latest episode of the Health Policy Podcast, host Bryan Hyde interviews Dr. Deane Waldman, Chairman of the Board at Empower Patients Initiative. Waldman discusses the loss of patient control over healthcare spending, the challenges faced by healthcare providers, and the implications of government programs like Medicaid and Medicare. He advocates for empowering patients to manage their healthcare dollars directly to improve service and reduce costs.

“Consumers whose money is being spent on their behalf don't control that money that is being spent.”
“The average American worker last year, 84 million Americans, had $27,000 of their wages went to an insurance company.”
“The reason we all, most of us, went into medicine was for what Maslow called the highest of human needs, which is self-actualization.”
“I believe in single payer. The single payer should be the patient.”
“What if the patient actually had control... there'd be no third party to steal it.”
“Help yourself by becoming empowered. I'm not going to do it for you. The government sure as hell is not going to do it for you.”