The Ship Has Sailed: Mike Munger on Medicare, Markets, and Debt

The Ship Has Sailed: Mike Munger on Medicare, Markets, and Debt

Author: The Doctor's Lounge August 28, 2026 Duration: 57:08
Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary Duke political economist and podcast host Mike Munger (The Answer is Transaction Costs) joins Anthony DiGiorgio and Anish Koka to argue that what Americans call "health insurance" isn't insurance at all — it's a social program where, as Bastiat put it, everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else. Munger walks through why Medicare functions as a bilateral monopoly rather than a market, compares the U.S. system to Germany's competitive-insurer model a...

In The Doctor's Lounge, the white coat comes off for a conversation that moves freely from the exam room to the boardroom. This isn't a lecture hall; it's the back table where practicing physicians gather to unpack the complex systems that define modern medicine. Hosted by Dutch Rojas and Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, with regular voices like Anish Koka, MD, Dan Choi, MD, and Sanat Dixit, MD, the discussions are built on frontline experience. You'll hear unfiltered perspectives on the policy debates that shape care, the realities of navigating business and entrepreneurship within a medical practice, and the constant push for meaningful reform. The dialogue is grounded in a shared commitment to physician autonomy and, ultimately, better patient outcomes. Each episode in this podcast connects the dots between clinical fitness and the health of the medical profession itself, offering a rare look at the challenges and opportunities that exist where patient care meets the mechanics of the healthcare industry. It's a space for the nuanced, often contentious, and always real conversations happening behind the scenes.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Doctors’ Lounge
Podcast Episodes
The Shah's Spleen, Quality Metrics, Health Insurance & the FDA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:27
Send us Fan Mail Dr. Anish Koka and Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio open with the little-known medical story behind the death of the Shah of Iran — how Mohammed Reza Pahlavi came to be operated on in Cairo in 1980 by legendary car…
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden Battles the Health System [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:21
Send us Fan Mail In this conversation, Dr. Mary Talley Bowden shares her experiences as an independent physician during the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing her courageous battle against health systems and the Texas Medical…
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:13
Send us Fan Mail In this engaging conversation, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya discusses his unique perspective as a health economist and the impact of his training on his approach to public health, particularly during the COVID-1…
The $2 Million Verdict: Inside the First Detransition Lawsuit Trial [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:45
Send us Fan Mail Benjamin Ryan was the only journalist in the courtroom for every day of the first detransition lawsuit to reach a jury verdict. In January 2025, a White Plains jury awarded $2 million to Fox Varian, who…