'It's A Giant Money Machine'– Joe Rogan Slams The Health Insurance System That Cares More About Profits Than Patients

Joe Rogan Slams Health Insurance: ‘It’s A Giant Money Machine’ That’s Not Focused On Making You Better

The U.S. health care system is broken – at least, that's the view of many Americans, including podcast host Joe Rogan. On his show, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” he and comedian Duncan Trussell recently discussed why they think health insurance companies care more about making money than helping people.

“It’s not really about making you better,” Rogan said. “Making you better is what they sell, but it’s about making more money.”

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The Problem With Health Insurance

The United States spends more than $4.9 trillion a year on health care or $14,570 per person, according to government data and health insurance firms take a sizable portion of that total. Serving as a bridge between patients and health care professionals, their role often comes at a cost – not just financially, but also in patient outcomes.

For example, before you get some medical treatments, insurance companies require “preauthorizations” to approve what your doctor wants to do. While this is supposed to stop unnecessary tests, it often delays important care. Sometimes, this can even put patients' lives at risk.

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Physicians, meanwhile, are burdened with paperwork and administrative tasks to meet these requirements and many hire extra staff just to handle them, which raises costs even more. Eventually, the expenses are transferred to patients through increased insurance premiums.

UnitedHealthcare Under Fire

As The Hill reported, UnitedHealthcare UNH, the largest health insurance company in the U.S., covers over 50 million people – about 15% of Americans. In 2023, the company made over $16 billion in profit from $281 billion in revenue. While that's great for business, critics say it's bad for patients.

In 2024, UnitedHealthcare spent more than $20 million lobbying to protect its interests. While such spending might make sense from a business perspective, it raises ethical questions about whether a company responsible for facilitating health care as a public good should prioritize shareholders over patient care.

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The recent shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, Brian Thompson, outside a Manhattan building has further brought attention to the industry's controversial practices. Thompson's tragic death has sparked conversations about the mounting frustration with a system where profits seem to overshadow the public good. 

Joe Rogan echoed these frustrations on his podcast, lamenting the high costs and unnecessary barriers to care. Trussell said you read about people being denied “really important medication, really important procedures” for so long. “It’s not really about making you better; it’s a giant money machine,” Rogan added.

The debate over health care reform isn't new, but it's gaining urgency as more Americans face rising costs and limited access to care. The Affordable Care Act attempted to address some of these issues, but critics argue it didn't go far enough. Duncan Trussell put it simply – Something has to give when things get this imbalanced.

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