Can you really “shop around” for healthcare?

For most people in Southern Oregon, the answer is no.

In this episode of Reimagine Healthcare, Noah Volz breaks down one of the most misleading ideas in American health policy: the belief that healthcare works like a normal market.

A real market requires clear prices, meaningful competition, time to compare options, and the ability to walk away. Healthcare often gives patients the opposite: no real price upfront, limited provider choice, urgent decisions, insurance complexity, and a massive knowledge gap between patient and clinician.

And in Southern Oregon, the problem is even more concrete.

Asante is the dominant healthcare system across much of the Rogue Valley and surrounding region. For many patients in Jackson and Josephine counties, “choice” often m ...