Why is U.S. healthcare so broken? If you're not sure why it’s so expensive or dysfunctional, this week’s podcast may illuminate the answers for you.

I sat down with Alex Barrett, Cofounder & CEO of Meroka, who's tackling one of the root problems:

1. Consolidation that strips doctors of autonomy
2. Misaligned incentives across the system
3. Outdated models that sacrifice care for throughput

70% of doctors now work for big systems but Alex is charting a new path by giving independent practices scale, liquidity, and ownership without the need to sell out.

Special thanks to Alex for joining the pod - this is one of the smartest takes I’ve heard on how to fix healthcare from the inside.

⏱️ Chapter Markers

00:00 – Welcome & Guest Intro

01:20 – What is Meroka?

03:30 – Why Independence Matters in Healthcare

05:30 – The Trade-Off Between Scale & Patient Experience

07:20 – Breaking Down Reimbursement Rates

10:30 – Why Scale Has Meant Consolidation—Until Now

14:50 – How Independent Practices Survive

17:00 – The Myth That Doctors Are Bad at Business

20:30 – Meroka’s Employee Ownership Model

23:50 – Comparing to Private Equity Models

26:00 – The Future of Healthcare as a Real Market

28:30 – Final Thoughts & Gratitude

Links:

1. Alex Barrett: LinkedIn
2. Meroka: Website, LinkedIn
3. Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter
4. MPD: LinkedIn, Twitter