How Can We Avoid The Rising Cost of Healthcare? | Ian Day, M.D.

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of youf're the cure. I'm Dr. Ben Edwards. You know, one of the things that. [00:00:06] Speaker B: We don't talk about a whole lot. [00:00:08] Speaker A: Here is the economics of sick care or healthcare. I call it sick care management of chronic disease instead of getting to the root of it and resolving it. But there are a lot of economics to this and especially this time of year, a lot of folks are up for renewals on their health insurance. A lot of companies are looking at renewals, a lot of self funded insured companies that we deal with. So I just heard actually last week from a person that their own personal health insurance that they purchase and they're a healthy 40 something year old lady is going up $800 a month for her health insurance. So the economics is something that we, we do need to talk about from time to time, especially when there's so many great alternatives in the health share space. And we have in the past talk a health share company or two in the past and y' all can dig through the archives to find those. But Medi share is one of the options and we wanted to highlight them today. And Dr. Ian Day is going to join us to talk to us about that. But before he jumps in here, I just want to remind folks, especially for new listeners, our whole goal here at Veritas Wellness on the wellness side, on the education side, is to teach, teach you how to live, eat and move more like your ancestors when there wasn't such thing as chronic diseases because the mitochondria was stewarded better, as Dr. Weston A. Price found out in the 1920s, 1930s, as he surveyed 14 people groups around the globe, that the ones that continue to eat like their ancestors, avoided dental, not only dental disease, he was a dentist, but also he noted mental health which was very good resistance to infectious diseases like tuberculosis. And he did not see chronic disease or very, very little. In fact, he interviewed a surgeon in Alaska who had been there for 36 years, Dr. Joseph Romig. And this when he interviewed Dr. Romig, this is in the 1920s. So Dr. Romag had been in Alaska since the late 1800s and he told Dr. Price he never saw a single malignancy in the native population until they moved into Anchorage and started eating what Dr. Roemigan Dr. Price called modern food, which was processed white flour and processed sugar. And I'm not going to go down that whole path. You've heard me talk about Dr. Price before. But the point being the body's amazingly designed. It's not so poorly designed that we should start cratering in our health at age 27, which is what the 2019 Blue Cross Blue Shield Millennial Health Study found. Age 20 is when the average millennial's health starts to decline. I don't have the latest stats on how many prescriptions the average millennial is taking these days or how much money they're spending, but the answer to both those is a lot and a lot more than they need to be if they weren't being standard American. So for those who are spending a lot of money on pharmaceuticals, on health insurance premiums and deductibles, our goal here, not just to save you money, obviously, but to save your health so. So that you can have the quality of life that I believe Jesus actually bought and paid for. He said, I came to give you life and life more abundant. And when you really study that Greek, the quality of life that the giver of it possesses, that. Think about that for a second. The quality of life that God, the giver of it possesses. There's a quality of life, both physical and mental, emotional. We can walk in, I believe, as we walk in more and more truth, and we can steward our dollars better. It's not just stewardship of our health, but our all our resources, including the financial resources. [00:04:05] Speaker B: There's a way to do it better. [00:04:06] Speaker A: So if we're designed to be healthy and we start changing our diet, lifestyle to get healthy, and we no longer have symptoms, then you sure don't need to be paying a whole lot of money into a system that doesn't really match and fit what your need is. You'll need that system. You'll need a good trauma surgeon if you're in an automobile accident or some sort of catastrophic trauma or where we need great quality surgical care. Other than that, for the most part, we shouldn't need it. So health shares pair very nicely with this philosophy. And Dr. Ian Day and the folks at Medishare are one of the groups that can help assist you in stewarding your dollars better. So I want Dr. Day to come on and just introduce himself the program Medishare, what all they offer, but also just talk about the state of healthcare and the. [00:04:57] Speaker B: On the economic side of things in. [00:04:59] Speaker A: Particular, just to paint this picture. Dr. Day, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us. [00:05:05] Speaker C: Dr. Ben, thank you so much for having me on your show. It's a. It's a real pleasure. [00:05:09] Speaker A: Well, thank you. [00:05:10] Speaker B: I know you're a busy man, I'm. [00:05:12] Speaker A: Sure, over there in central Florida. So first, I just want to maybe get to know you a little more, let the listeners get to know you a little more, a little bit of your historical background, you know, why you got into medicine and your career in medicine and just kind of your journey into your official role here at Medishare. [00:05:32] Speaker C: Well, thanks for that. I grew up in rural Michigan and over the years I felt that I really wanted to help people and that's what drew me into, into medicine. And then ultimately after medical school I found my way down to Florida because I wasn't so much of a snow person. And in Florida is where I met my wife. And I've been in practice as a family physician in the central Florida area for the past 25 or so years. My style of practice is hospital based. I'm a hospitalist and I've been doing that for 20 plus years. And then along the way I had collected skills in rehab facilities and offices and hospital and eventually found myself in hospital administration. And then it was two January's ago, I was sitting on the couch with the wife and I was saying, you know, is there a way of leveraging the clinical skills and these administrative skills in some type of God honoring way? Wow, that, I mean does that company even exist? It was the next day that a air quotes, unsolicited ping came to me from a recruiter say hey doc, you know, have you ever heard of Medicare? In fact it's right down the street from you and they need a chief medical officer. And so to me that was a door I needed to knock on and opportunity sent from God. And I think a lot of us have that, that experience in our, in our journey with, with Christ as we're nudged different ways. [00:07:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:10] Speaker C: And so I started with Medishare as the chief medical officer of Medishare and of Christian care Ministry in the summer of 2024. [00:07:21] Speaker A: Well give us for the listeners who's never, never heard of Metashare, give us. [00:07:25] Speaker B: A little background and historical framework of that company or that I guess you call it a company I know Health. [00:07:30] Speaker A: Shares believer, non profit or is that right? [00:07:34] Speaker C: That's right. And I've mentioned two things, their Christian care ministry and medicine and the Medicare program. So what's the difference? So Christian care ministry is a not for profit 501 C3 organization. It's the organization that administers the Medishare program for the last 32 years. So what's the Medishare program? The Medishare program is an accredited healthcare sharing ministry. The Medishare program is a membership, a community of Christian believers that enables Members to to share in other members medical bills according to the guidelines voted on by the members themselves and the members share in other members medical bills through their own individual member accounts. Christian care ministry then helps to administer this sharing and the purpose of medashare is to bring Christians together to share God's blessings and to share in each other's burdens. Members share in each other's eligible medical bills. That would be bills from doctors, hospitals, operations, testing, treatments, etc. But we also share in the spiritual burdens that often arise, as we know in the healthcare journey. So staff come alongside members in prayer with every call and I love that aspect. We have several departments here. Last year one of the departments we sent out over 450,000 prayers. So prayer with every call it's just hundreds of thousands of prayers go out and that's we're really excited about that aspect. Also staff come alongside members with coaching like health coaching and health education. And I think it's important takeaway this affected our family as well is that the medishare program is built on a foundation of like ideals agreed upon by the very members. So there's peace of mind knowing that the people sharing your contributions are not using your money for things that conflict with your faith. In other words, there's peace of mind participating in God honoring healthcare. Somewhat like Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4 where believers would come together to support each other in their physical and spiritual needs. In medishare, all the adult members must acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and profess to the posted statement of faith in order even to qualify for membership. And members agree to live by biblical standards and regularly attend church. So you can see how distinct healthcare sharing is, how the Medicare program is compared to insurance. But the wonderful things that we offer over the past 32 years that are in alignment with your faith, especially especially in the healthcare space where folks are, you know, Christian families are generally not excited about paying for abortions or gender reassignment operation, illegal drug usage. Well here we have a membership throughout the country approaching 350,000 members where we agree to live with the biblical standards. And all this is God honoring. And also. [00:11:09] Speaker C: It'S a great financial option for Christian families. [00:11:14] Speaker B: Well and let's talk about that maybe. [00:11:18] Speaker B: Like I said in the intro, I don't have the latest stats necessarily on individual health expenditures and health insurance, just all these anecdotal reports. I'll hear from folks that are in shock when their new insurance premium notices come in the mail or from their employer and the contributions that the employees are having to make more and more and more. But can you speak to that a little bit, especially in terms of Obamacare? That was, I think, supposed to drive some of this down, but in fact, we've seen it kind of skyrocket in some sectors. [00:11:49] Speaker C: Well, this must be one of the most hot topics right now because it's open enrollment November 1st through the middle of January, open enrollment in the health insurance marketplace, otherwise known as the Affordable Care act or the Obamacare marketplace. So There's a record 24 million Americans who are now engaged, engaging in the, the, that health insurance marketplace, the ACA marketplace, to find, to find insurance. And the healthcare costs are skyrocketing for a variety of reasons, which we can talk about. But the sticker shock is, for example, the median increase in Premium monthly is 18% increase. The average increase is 26% increase in premium. I saw one stat the other day where a typical example, like a family of four who make 400% of the federal poverty level, so that would land them in the $129,000 per year range. Well, their average increase in premium is $650 increase per month. So it can be crushing prices right now. And, and Christians are wondering what they can do. [00:13:10] Speaker C: Healthcare costs will increase and continue to increase through 2026 for a variety of reasons. For example, prescription drug costs are going up. They say that there are hospital consolidations, and when that happens regionally, well, it reduces competition. There's ever increasing medical technology and innovation. On the one hand, that's beneficial and even miraculous, but it comes at a cost. It comes at a price. We also know, and you've alluded to it, that there's an increasing burden in the country of chronic disease. Not to mention anybody who's entered the health care system knows how complex it is. So the administrative complexity, all these layers of bureaucracy, well, they add cost as well. And then the possible expiration of the COVID area, Covid era, government subsidies. So all these things will increase health care costs. So, you know, and right now there's a lot of focus in society on the politics and the blame game around this. Yet as Christians, we have a responsibility to be prepared to take care of our families and to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. And that's my focus, helping Christian families prepare for 2026. And there's several things Christians can do to prepare for the upcoming year. [00:14:41] Speaker B: Is there besides, I mean, the list you just kind of ran through. [00:14:46] Speaker A: Does. [00:14:47] Speaker B: Anyone know a specific reason why such a jump? Because I know things have been going up, it seems like year by year by year, but it seemed to be a substantial jump just this year. Was it just still combination of all these things or is there some unique. [00:15:04] Speaker B: You know, even increased burden? For instance, I had someone ask me or, or maybe I heard this, I forget. It's all hearsay anyways. But the cancer rate, especially in young people have gone very much the past year or two and that, that's driving a lot of that. But have you heard of any specific factors that would cause this dramatic rises this year? [00:15:26] Speaker C: I think it would be difficult to pin down just one thing. It's a super complex interplay of so many factors. But you're right. I've also heard that we're seeing unusual, like unusual age groups, developing cancers. What's causing it? I don't think there's really a known answer yet. [00:15:48] Speaker B: Let's talk a little bit more about. [00:15:52] Speaker B: Historically met a share. [00:15:56] Speaker B: And as far as. Because one of the questions I'll get from folks I get a little nervous with, you know, will my medical bills actually be covered? Will they run out of money? I mean 30 plus years, I think you said kind of speak to that a little bit. [00:16:12] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the bottom line is does it work? And I think three takeaway points about Medishare that I'd like people to know is the proven track record speaks for itself and we are Christ centered and we support the whole person. So with regard to the track record. So for over 30 years the Medishare community has shared in every eligible medical bill as determined by the member voted guidelines and we're now sharing in more than $50 million each month for medical bills. So Medishare is the most trusted name in medical bill sharing and we want to be the best. We raise Christ in the banner of our very name. We're an accredited health care sharing ministry and it helps, this helps the Christians in this community of believers to stay true to their biblical connection, biblical convictions and we understand how living for God drives every life choice. So we create programs and services to help you honor him. So honoring Christ and doing our best job and you know, God has blessed us then with this, this ability to serve our members for all these decades and you know, we support the whole person where a community of believers committed to biblical wellness to help our members live healthy and holy lives. You know, we want people to be well enough to serve Christ with. I mean well enough to serve others and to share Christ with those around them. [00:17:53] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:17:55] Speaker B: What about the requirements, I think this was when Obamacare came in. The requirements to have an insurance plan of some sort and probably a little getting a little mixed up with on the corporate side for businesses they have to offer health, some form of health insurance. I think if they have 50 employees or above. How do you all operate in that space? If you do at all corporately or with employees of companies, maybe you, you know, you're more affordable and they opt out. Just speak to that a little bit. [00:18:26] Speaker C: Yeah, MetaShare program is a valid option in that, in that case, you know where there's that, that mandate you had referenced, people can, you know, Christians can fill that mandate by signing up with a healthcare sharing ministry such as medishare. [00:18:44] Speaker B: Okay. And on more of a kind of practical which I'm sure folks can go to your website and read all the details but maybe speak to some of the frequently asked questions on coverage. For example pre existing conditions or you know even getting into some of the numbers what, what it looks like for maybe the unshared portion that an individual would be responsible for themselves before the community kicked in their support. [00:19:13] Speaker C: Yeah. So when a, what happens is a bill comes in to medashare and then staff reconcile that with the guidelines voted on by the membership. By the way, those guidelines are available online to the public. You don't have to be a member to see the guidelines. If you were to just search for Medicare guidelines, you'll see them. So we take a bill, we you know, take in a bill, a medical bill and check that out relative to the guidelines. And if the guidelines say the membership wants to share in that, we share in that. The members share in that. Is there a cap for example? That's a common question. No, there's no cap for that situation like a new in membership condition. No caps on either duration or quantity of the sharing. I think that plays part of the role why we are blessed to be able to share in $50 million plus per per month. But it's not a great fit for everybody. Some people need insurance. So for example, what if you require payment for a high priced medication? Maybe you have a cancer and this is for somebody who's not actually a Medicare member yet. Say for example they have cancer right now and they're getting really expensive chemotherapy. Well, they may want, they would probably be better fit for insurance rather than entering medishare because the medications for pre existing conditions are not shared in. Or for example maybe you're, you happen to be on a very expensive weight loss medication. The membership has decided not to share in such medication. So one has to make sure this is a good fit from a prescription or pharmaceutical standpoint. And I mentioned pre existing conditions. Pre existing conditions are not shared in for the first three years of membership. Now at the third year we do share in pre existing conditions up to a particular limit. And then five years into membership at a higher limit we have sharing. So up front there's no sharing in pre existing conditions, but a few years later there is sharing in those. That's the good news there. So if you have a pre existing condition, like maybe a major heart condition and you need a heart operation within the next few months or a year, you'd probably be a better fit in insurance rather than Medishare. We also don't share in folks who engage in non biblical lifestyle. I mentioned that before. So we don't share in illegal activities or if you use tobacco or if you abuse alcohol, or if you want gender reassignment surgeries or operations, it wouldn't be a good fit for you. So it's about fit and the community of believers wants a good fit. I hope I answered the question. [00:22:30] Speaker B: Yes, you did. Would most folks, again, on a real practical level, would you tell the healthcare provider you're seeing that you're a cash patient and then you just send the receipts in or is it handled a different way? [00:22:46] Speaker C: Ah, so membership members have a card like somebody with insurance might have. On the backside is printed the. [00:22:57] Speaker C: Electronic, the information where the providers, be it an office or hospital, how they can file the bill electronically. So it's a fairly standard way of. [00:23:10] Speaker C: From the provider standpoint, you know, engaging in the transaction itself. Now sometimes the office might not recognize the card. And so we have teams at Medishare that come alongside the member to negotiate the bills, which is a great benefit. You've probably seen anybody who's gone into the healthcare system, they might get a bill. And on the bill it shows like one charge, but then a couple lines later it says after insurance discount it's you know, one quarter that amount. That's because there's negotiation and leverage power of insurance. With health care sharing ministries you'll, you could run the risk of getting that unadjusted initial price or charge from a provider. So we help our members out by having negotiation teams to work on reducing that, that charge. And over the years we've saved millions of dollars on behalf of the members, which will leave more monies in the membership that they can share with each other. [00:24:21] Speaker B: Okay, and then what about. [00:24:25] Speaker B: The monthly share amounts? You know what in the insurance world, you might think of your monthly premium and deductible, that type of thing. [00:24:34] Speaker C: Sure. [00:24:36] Speaker C: When you apply to Medishare, you or your family, you decide what your what we call the annual household portion. Some people may look at it somewhat like a deductible, but you say what your annual household portion will be. Maybe that's $2,000, $6,000, $10,000 and then that will decide the the share amount that you pay monthly. And once you have had medical expenses that go above the annual household portion, then the sharing kicks in, so to speak. And for the, for the main, there's no cap on those, on that sharing either duration or quantity wise. [00:25:24] Speaker B: Really nice. So you, you know what to budget for every year you decide what fits your family budget and then you're locked. [00:25:31] Speaker C: In and the budget will be. You'll find that Medicare is far more affordable than health care insurance. [00:25:41] Speaker B: Are you able to give like a ballpark average, you know, family of four. No pre existing. [00:25:48] Speaker B: Gives an example or would that be too people can get on the way. [00:25:51] Speaker C: It might be a bit too granular and I'd want to have folks get the exact information by maybe filling out a preliminary query as to what you, you or your family's monthly share would be, but it would be in the hundreds rather than in the thousands. I think it's fairly routine now that the healthcare insurance premiums are in the thousands or multiple thousands. I'm hearing that Medishare can save people half or even two thirds what they would be paying in, in insurance. And part of that is because we're in, you know, members agree to live by this biblical lifestyle. So take out the tobacco use, alcohol abuse, the illegal drug usage. [00:26:44] Speaker C: Take out abortion, take out gender reassignment, all these things and you reduce the, the, the amount of health care expenditure and that keeps the prices under much better control. I think people like that to have that option that Christians would like to have that option of participating in God honoring and less expensive. [00:27:09] Speaker C: Health care. [00:27:11] Speaker B: Right. You mentioned earlier some other support, health coaching, the whole body support. [00:27:20] Speaker B: You know, I'm thinking especially for folks with a chronic condition that you would not be covered for the first three years and then partially covered between three to five years and a little more than after five years. Are you actively engaged in or just voluntarily, you know, asking folks to engage in that health coaching? What's that look like? What does that consist of? How does that work? Is that an extra charge? [00:27:45] Speaker C: So for years we had a program called the Health Partnership where folks with higher risk conditions, diabetes These type of things would engage with our with our health health coaches and it was only maybe 3 or 4% of our entire membership population. The question well, what about the rest of the folks? So it was within the past year that we've opened up a platform. It's an external vendor that is available at no additional charge to the entire membership. If you go on to the member center you can then take press a link that takes you over to external vendor called Avedon. And on Avedon you have healthcare information and preventive information. You know things like exercise, diet, weight loss. You can have all this content now available to entire membership online. [00:28:45] Speaker C: For those who are still in the Health Partnership program, they engage in health coaching at no additional cost than what they're currently paying. For the folks who are not in the Health Partnership program, they can elect to also engage in health coaching through Avedon. But that does come at an additional price. [00:29:10] Speaker C: We did find it important to at least offer access to health coaching now to the entire membership program, the entire membership. [00:29:20] Speaker C: To help them with the lifestyle and improving and reversing conditions and preventing conditions. You'll find that all those health coaching options though are less expensive than worried to do it outside of Medicare. [00:29:37] Speaker D: Are you ready to take control of your health together? You're not alone. Dr. Ben, as well as a mission driven team here at Veritas created this online wellness membership because so many are suffering. We want to help more people by sharing the truth that we believe will change lives. Veritas Wellness Membership is more than just a wellness program. It's a movement designed to empower you with truth, practical tools and a support community at a price that's accessible for everyone. One membership covering your entire household. Upon signing up, you gain access to life changing educational resources, expert led webinars, live movement classes and exercise series, community groups and wellness initiatives, interactive classes as well as exclusive discounts on supplements and advanced lab testing. We we also offer complimentary peace consults, a space for you to go deeper, discover who you were created to be and explore how stress contributes to disease. We believe in getting to the root cause and understanding why what we believe truly matters. Our team of wellness navigators are here to guide you every step of the way. So whether you're just starting your wellness journey or ready to go go deeper. There's something here for you. So jump in today. We can't wait to walk this journey with you. Visit veritas wellnessmember.com to get started. [00:31:16] Speaker B: And what about preventative services like colonoscopy, female exams for Cervical cancer screening, stuff like that. [00:31:24] Speaker C: Well, since 2020, I'll maybe answer it indirectly at first. So since 2020, as far as preventive care goes, we've been sharing in annual physicals and the labs that go with that, some screening labs like the hemoglobin A1C for diabetes checks and lipid panels. And also we do share in, well, child care that's shareable up to age 6. [00:31:55] Speaker C: And we do not share, however, in screening mammograms or screening colonoscopies. But part of the strategy we would like to emphasize for folks is, you know, the amount that you save monthly by going to healthcare sharing will allow you to budget for the screening mammogram and colonoscopies screening that is so screening mammogram every one or two years after age 40. Well, the, the price there on average is about $550. And the screening colonoscopies every 10 years or so for the baseline risk. Well, the average price there is $2,700. So 550 every two years, $2,700 every 10 years. Well, one month of health and health care insurance premium would wipe that out right there. So going into healthcare minutes, healthcare sharing ministry. Well, you can afford these type of screening things because you haven't spent all that money on, on a, on the premium, right? [00:33:04] Speaker B: Yep. [00:33:06] Speaker A: What about. [00:33:07] Speaker B: I haven't found health shares to do this, I don't think, or much of it, but covering what might be considered a non conventional or more alternative, whether that be chiropractic or naturopathic, homeopathic or nutritional supplements, things that wouldn't be considered traditional medical. Well, I mean chiropractic maybe could be considered by most folks now. [00:33:31] Speaker C: Yeah, common question and with regard to anything, you know, is a shared or ineligible for sharing, we appeal to the members guidelines and in the guidelines it does say that alternative care is not eligible for sharing. The membership does share, however, in things that are FDA and CMS approved. And that's the decision of the guidelines and sorry, the decision of the membership as found in their guidelines. [00:33:58] Speaker B: Okay. [00:33:58] Speaker C: It also says in the guidelines, for example, we don't, they don't share in cosmetic operations as well. So that's another aspect there. [00:34:10] Speaker B: And what about dental or vision? [00:34:12] Speaker C: Dental is not as far as routine dental cleanings, these type of things Medicare does not cover. Sorry, Medicare does not share in routine dental cleanings like that. However, if you have trauma to the head and neck that involves the, you know, the dental aspect and that is shared in, or for example you have a medical problem like an oral cancer that then has a, you know, direct or secondary effect on the, on dentistry. Well, that because it's related to the eligible cancer, it would be shareable. So it kind of depends. But from a routine dental cleaning standpoint, no, that's not shared in. So one might seek dental insurance for that. Some folks are also asking about vision, while routine vision screenings, for example glaucoma, that is not shared in. But I do like to emphasize that. [00:35:14] Speaker C: These important screening tools do come at a price, but the price is much less than the amount that you save by engaging in MetaShare from the monthly payment standpoint. [00:35:30] Speaker A: Right. [00:35:30] Speaker B: And that is a good point. We're not just trying to exactly mimic all the things that were covered over in the insurance for various reasons, but like Dr. Day's saying, keeping in mind the savings each month and especially as you're engaging in more and more healthy lifestyle practices, you should need less and less things. But these screening opportunities are very budgetable, affordable, and considering the amount of money that you're saving. [00:35:57] Speaker B: Trying to think of other questions your average person's going to have and one that for sure I think would come to mind, especially right now with all the re enrollment price increases. And I would expect over time, you know, health shares would have to increase things as well. Again, there's options I think you mentioned people can get on the website and look at those options. But in general, what would one expect as far as seeing increases in rates through medishare over the years? [00:36:27] Speaker C: In recent years there we have held steady on our rates, but we did have an increase this year. The members might feel a 6 to 8% increase somewhere in that range, but that increase is far less than the average increase in healthcare insurance. [00:36:47] Speaker B: Right. [00:36:48] Speaker C: So although it's increased, it's not nearly as much as insurance. Yeah, on, on one level, two, we have to be able to share in, in, you know, healthcare journeys. But as we mentioned earlier, the cost of healthcare is going up, so we do have to increase our premium, so to speak. You know, the monthly shares are going up when insurance also goes up, but not nearly to the extent of the healthcare premiums. [00:37:23] Speaker B: Right. Especially if you average over the last however many three to five years. If you've held steady for the most part, then occasionally there's an increase compared to the year by year by year dramatic increase on the health insurance. It's really no comparison. [00:37:37] Speaker C: Christian families will still find it far more affordable despite the increases to go with medishare than with insurance. [00:37:46] Speaker B: Right. [00:37:49] Speaker B: This is more maybe just a Letting you opine your opinion on things. Just personally, as a, you know, a 25 year veteran of this health care industry, I'll call it, you know, I'm thinking back to my granddad's, which this was back in the 50s, probably 60s maybe, but my dad's dad in particular, I remember him telling me when he first started practicing how he would decide what the cost of an average office visit would be and whatever the price of a stamp was. And I remember the example he gave me, the stamps were 3 cents, he would move the decimal place to two spots so his office visit would charge would be $3. And when the price of stamps went up to 5 cents and you go to $5 and 10 cents, $10, that was kind of his cost inflation, you know, standard. And of course that then we had insurance and Medicare come in and HMOs and PPOs and all the things. And even just in the last 25 years, I've been out of the insurance model, doing cash only concierge medicine for 12, 13 years now. Some haven't been in that system in a long time. But just kind of what do you see is that trend, you know, even historically, talking to some of your mentors or attending physicians that trained you and then over the last 25 years, your own personal journey through this system and the administrative pieces of that, where do you see this thing going in the coming years? [00:39:28] Speaker C: You know, when you mentioned this, I, I can't help but wonder, is it actually at. Is the main driver of this spiritual ill health? [00:39:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:39:40] Speaker C: And it gets me to wonder about the, our ideas of, of health. [00:39:48] Speaker C: Historically have been so much so related to Christianity. And I wonder if, you know, do we have an increasingly secular population and if folks are, if a society is more, sorry, if, if there's less Christian backing to healthcare ideas, is that a driver? You know, Christianity is so very much behind historically our ideas of health and also even behind the medical sciences. And there's a long Christian history behind the roles of, for example, nurses and physicians. Even, even the first hospitals were founded by Christians. [00:40:30] Speaker C: Christian ideas of health arise of what we find in scripture, the call for compassion and healing and charity for caring for others and serving others, based on the firm foundation in the dignity and great value of human life, even the life of a stranger. And if we depart from that, I wonder if that's a driver of what we're seeing now in healthcare. You know, consider that Jesus performed countless miracle healings and cast out demons. And by grace, Jesus gives us the comfort and assurance of Salvation through faith in him alone. And so Jesus's form of healing is physical and emotional and spiritual total healing. And so we model Christ by caring for the whole person, sharing the love of God, while trusting in God and giving thanks to God as the ultimate healer. And I think we're missing that maybe in society Jesus provides for us the number one model of love and caring for one another, caring for one another through his perfect life and sacrificial death. For it is with his stripes that we are completely healed. So without that backing, are we surprised where healthcare has gone? Secular medicine focuses too often on just the physical. Medishare supports biblical wellness, physical, emotional, spiritual health. We don't embrace abortion or gender mutilation. So total healing involves addressing the physical, emotional and spiritual issues. So I guess that's a long winded answer to your kind of philosophical question of what's going on is maybe the root of it is a spiritual ill health that we need to take care of. [00:42:22] Speaker B: Well said and I would agree 100%. You know, we, we teach the four pillars here. Nutrition, hydration, movement and peace. And about three years ago we flipped that. Yeah, peace, movement, hydration, nutrition. [00:42:43] Speaker B: Because that underlying really this foundation, the other three pillars should sit on that foundation of peace, true peace as a body that's in a chronic state of fear, anxiety, fight or flight mode, worry, angst. [00:42:58] Speaker B: You know, that sympathetic dominance. And we can go down the hole line of what that translates to in the body with you know, increased phasoconstriction and heart rate, breathing rate, all the digestive impacts of that fight or flight mode with decreased stomach acid and peristalsis and immune system white blood cells, even not as many white blood cells produce when you're in a state of fight or flight. Adrenaline, cortisol, impact on the immune system and on the gut microbiome and on the serotonin and all the neurotransmitters, you know, just again could go on and on about that. [00:43:38] Speaker A: So not addressing, yeah, not addressing those. [00:43:40] Speaker B: Deeper things and then just trying to medicate yourself out of that without going. And considering that we're more than just physical cells, we have these, these other deeper components in scripture, speech speaks to that body, soul and spirit. [00:43:57] Speaker C: Yeah. And for what larger purpose? You know, at Medare we believe very strongly about being salt and light in this dark and fallen world. So we aim, aim to help our members live both healthy and holy lives so that they may be well enough to serve God with their whole being and in doing so reflect, reflect Jesus to those around them. So in Scripture, we're commanded to love God with our heart, mind and soul, with our whole self. And this also speaks to the idea that we can't separate the physical self from the mind, emotion, or soul. So if we consider health holistically, we need to care for all of these areas, recognizing that indeed, they work in concert. Secular health care too often focuses on just the physical symptoms, treating them with, you know, without addressing underlying causes such as maybe lack of sleep because of anxiety. And mental health, practitioners can fall into the same situation, not looking for physical or spiritual factors contributing to depression or anxiety. But I think as Christians, we see the strong relationship between our spiritual health and how it impacts our physical health and our emotional health and our mental stability. So we like to encourage our members to expand their health checklist, if you will, and ask, how am I doing spiritually? Am I walking with God and experiencing his peace in my physical and mental health? Am I remembering that my body is a temple like in First Corinthians, chapter 6, and making wise decisions regarding what I put in it? Am I getting the physical activity and the rest that I need? I'm thinking on rest, you know, this time of year, the fall and winter, the inflammatory chemicals rise, and adequate rest and sleep help to control those inflammatory chemicals. So it's very topical for this time of year. And, you know, research shows that people who pray regularly and practice their faith consistently tend to to live longer and have better health outcomes physically as well as mentally and emotionally. So indeed, as you were saying, it's all tied together just the way God designed it. [00:46:19] Speaker B: Yeah, and medical school separates us. I mean, really doesn't even get into the spiritual at all. But even in the physical, compartmentalizes everything into different separate systems and divides the body up. So. [00:46:32] Speaker C: And we cannot forget about prayer. That's a distinction too, with, with Medicare and biblical wellness. We talked about the whole, whole person. But biblical wellness also includes seeking God's wisdom, not chasing after fads or controversies. But like in James chapter one, verse five, we should appeal to God in prayer through faith for his wisdom, which we lack. It says in James chapter one that if we do appeal to God for His wisdom, he will provide it liberally. I mean, too often we turn instead to online sources, I don't know, Facebook, WebMD, etc. [00:47:09] Speaker B: Etc. [00:47:10] Speaker C: Instead of turning to God, when it comes to physical and emotional and spiritual health, the first and most important step is discernment and prayer. And then following prayer, it's important to do research, making sure to include a variety of sources so you can have a complete picture. I mean, just consider the, the resources that are available nowadays to the general population. Never before in human history has so much been available for us to make decisions about our health. And then after prayer and research, well, it's important to them bring those to a discussion with your doctors so he can, he or she can help you review your research in light of your personal history. But you know, in the end, all of this also has to wrap up with gratitude. We don't find that in insurance, but we find it with biblical wellness. God has blessed us with amazing medical miracles, from medicines that take away pain of maybe a headache, to treatments for cancer and debilitating disorders. So thanks be to God for all these things that he's provided. [00:48:21] Speaker B: Well, I love what you said because I tell my patients the same thing. First seek God's wisdom. Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. And sometimes we quickly run straight to the doctor without pausing in prayer, seeking guidance from God. And I do. I mean, I'm a research guy and a wise man seeks much wise counsel. It's great to get opinions from medical professionals or even if it's not medical, whatever. You're trying to make decisions in your life. But starting with what Dr. Day just said, first get quiet and get alone and start talking to your Father in heaven about it because he loves you, he wants the best for you, and he. He knows. [00:49:08] Speaker B: The path you should go. So thank you for reminding us of. [00:49:13] Speaker C: That first step. [00:49:15] Speaker C: As you had asked about what's going on in our healthcare in this country. And I, I think maybe a. Maybe it's a spiritual illness. And what if we were to improve that? Would things change dramatically in multiple areas? Do you know. [00:49:33] Speaker C: I had mentioned First Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 19:20. It says, do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God and you are not your own for you. [00:49:49] Speaker C: For you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So I think this is very powerful. Recall that in the Old Testament the temple was considered a sacred place in which God dwelt, set apart for worship and dedicated to God's service. And so as Christians, our bodies are now the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and we are called to honor and respect this divine indwelling. If we had more of that, I bet things would be different in the country, in healthcare. [00:50:22] Speaker B: Amen. I could not concur Greater. That's 100 right. And you know, I've had folks I forgot who told me this. Another guest I had on in the past that. [00:50:37] Speaker B: If you, you know, if. [00:50:38] Speaker A: God calls you to move somewhere and. [00:50:41] Speaker B: This is going more into what we teach Dr. Day on, on getting to the root cause of things, bringing resolution instead just symptomatic treatment. You know, if God calls you to Uganda and you've got 10 prescription medications and you simply can't go for that very fact, there's no pharmacies there that can fill all those medications that keep you going. We shouldn't have to be so dependent upon this pharmaceutical based symptomatic treatment. And that's, that's my encouragement guys is there are root causes to things and when you're seeking God in prayer, he can show you where what step one is. Step one's not just throw your meds in the trash. That is not what I'm saying. Step one is start talking to him about what are the things in your life you need to change. And another thing I'll often hear from folks is I can't leave my job because it has this good quote unquote health insurance. It's, you know, I just can't leave my job. What if God's calling you to leave your job at the one thing holding you onto this is you've got to be hooked into this system because all these expensive pharmaceuticals are being paid for. Can you get to that root cause and resolve that and then steward those dollars better like we're talking about today. So this is great, Dr. Day. You've been very encouraging, very informative, very encouraging. Definitely want to get the website. I don't think we even mentioned that yet. And then just any parting words that you would have or any last thoughts you would have. [00:52:08] Speaker C: Thanks for that. The, the website is very easy. It's just metashare.com metashare.com on the first page there's frequently asked questions and you can engage with a live person right there. Also there's some technological help if you need right there. Really easy to see if this is a great fit for you, for God honoring healthcare. You know, healthcare is, it's just getting more expensive. And I hope after this discussion Christians out there realize that there is an affordable option that they might not have been aware of before Medishare. And Medishare is a leading community that supports Christians. [00:52:45] Speaker C: It's a Christian community that aligns with your faith and your values. Thanks be to God for that. [00:52:53] Speaker B: Amen. Well, thank you, Dr. Ian Day, for being with us. Today. Medishare.com guys on go learn more about it. Appreciate all the work you and your team are doing to help like minded believers steward their dollars and steward their health better. So y' all keep up the good work out there in Florida. [00:53:12] Speaker C: Thanks, Dr. Ben. God bless you and God bless your audience. [00:53:16] Speaker B: All right, everybody, that's Dr. Ian Day Medicare, y'. All. Check it out. Thank y' all for joining us today today. We'll be back next week with another Great show, Veritas. Wellnessmember.com is where this show will be archived, as well as all the podcast platforms and YouTube. And we'll see you next time. [00:53:32] Speaker A: Bye. Bye.