We have waited for politicians, health care institutions, and insurance companies to fix health care...and they haven't. But I know two secrets:

Because American employers pay for the health care of more than half of all Americans, they have the power to change the system.

Employers can exercise that power without heroic efforts—simply in the course of doing what's best for their business.

Medicare and Medicaid are not going to be fixed. But out-of-control costs, ridiculous rules, and lack of choice are all in your power to fix.

Why? Because healthcare spending in the U.S. is about $2.7 trillion and about half of the costs are being paid by employers. That's about $1.3 trillion worth of market power.

They will tell you that that market power doesn't exist because all of the employers in America can't combine and coordinate their efforts; and that is true; it has been tried repeatedly with disasterous results.

But we don't need coordinated efforts—individual, self-interested efforts will accomplish change better.

In the Payer Revolution podcast, I hope to convince you of your power. Check out this introductory episode and this draft manifesto:

The healthcare system in the United States of America is broken. It has been broken for years and our politicians and healthcare institutions have proven themselves unable or unwilling to fix it. Instead they have thrown the burden of managing the healthcare of half of all Americans upon America’s employers.

We, the employers of America’s workers, declare that we will use the power vested in us by virtue of the fact that we pay for all this care, to bring about a revolution in how care is paid for and managed. We warn insurance companies, healthcare institutions, and anyone else who tries to hold too tightly to the current way of doing things that they will feel the weight of our economic power.

The Payer Revolution