The Doctor's Lounge

Send us a text Keywords healthcare, primary care, ER, cost reduction, pharmacy reform, 340B program, healthcare access, bureaucratic reform Summary The conversation focuses on the need to shift healthcare from emergency rooms to primary care, emphasizing cost reduction and improved access through reforms in pharmacy practices and bureaucratic processes. Takeaways Shifting healthcare to primary car...

Send us a text Keywords healthcare, Medicaid fraud, DEI, vaccine safety, Eli Lilly, ACA, healthcare policy, trust in medicine, social determinants of health, healthcare reform Summary In this episode, the hosts discuss various pressing issues in healthcare, including Medicaid fraud, the impact of fraud on legitimate healthcare needs, and the ongoing debate about healthcare as a human right. They a...

Send us a text Summary Dr. Anahita Dua is a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who joins Dutch Rojas, Anish Koka, and Anthony Digiorgio to discuss her views on women's health and cardiovascular disease, the need for a broader understanding of women's health issues beyond reproductive health, and the problems female physicians face in medicine. We discuss the challenges of research...

Send us a text Summary In this episode of the Doctors' Lounge, the hosts discuss a range of topics centered around healthcare, including personal experiences with medical procedures, the importance of trust in healthcare providers, the economics of office-based surgeries, and the role of insurance companies in driving up costs. They reflect on the need for a more patient-centered approach to healt...

Send us a text  🎯 Why Listen: Dive into a heated discussion on the future of healthcare, where leading physicians debate the merits of free market principles versus centralized healthcare planning. Discover why the current system may be failing and what can be done to steer it in a better direction. 👥 Co-Hosts: Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Health Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA – Neurosurgeon, UCSF...

Send us a text 📌 Episode Overview: In this episode, the co-hosts dive into the complexities of healthcare policy, discussing the impact of ACA subsidies, the role of insurance companies, and the potential for HSAs to empower patients. They explore the challenges of healthcare costs, the influence of government subsidies, and the need for a competitive marketplace. 👥 Co-Hosts: Anthony DiGiorgio,...

Send us a text Show Link: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-153-8-201010190-00274 Why Listen 👥 In this episode, the hosts delve into the complexities of the healthcare system, discussing the impact of large hospital systems as major employers, the broken window fallacy in healthcare, and the challenges of high premiums. They explore the historical context of certificate of need la...

Send us a text Why Listen 👥 In this episode, the hosts delve into the complexities of healthcare costs, the impact of policy decisions, and the role of market forces in shaping the healthcare landscape. They discuss the consolidation of healthcare providers, the influence of insurance companies, and the challenges faced by independent practices. The conversation also touches on the COVID-19 pande...

Send us a text 📌 Why Listen Explore the complexities of the 340B program, its impact on healthcare systems, and the implications for both hospitals and independent clinicians. Understand the need for transparency and potential reforms to align the program with its original goals. 👥 Co-Hosts Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA – Neurosurgeon, UCSF; health policy researcher Anish Koka, MD – Cardiologist, P...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen When Senator Chuck Schumer joined Dr. Mike’s podcast to discuss “The Truth About the Government Shutdown,” the talk quickly became a lesson in political spin. In this episode, the co-hosts of The Rojas Report dissect Schumer’s claims, challenge Dr. Mike’s deference, and unpack the policy mechanics behind Medicaid, ACA subsidies, and America’s trillion-dollar healthcare...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen This episode is a no-holds-barred takedown of how hospitals manipulate billing codes, exploit DRG loopholes, and increase patient risk—all while squeezing out independent physicians. Whether you’re a patient, policymaker, or healthcare insider, you’ll walk away questioning everything you thought you knew about how hospitals operate behind the scenes. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen In this fiery and insightful episode, the doctors dissect the political and economic fault lines behind the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the looming government shutdown, and the multi-billion-dollar subsidies keeping America’s healthcare afloat. From insurance distortions and Medicaid loopholes to why the system rewards bureaucracy over care, this is an unfiltered conver...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen This episode of The Doctor’s Lounge cuts straight into one of the most polarizing questions in U.S. healthcare: Did the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fix the system—or hand it to corporate interests? The doctors debate how government mandates, corporate lobbying, and political theater have created a bloated insurance economy that benefits everyone but patients and doctors....

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen What happens when private equity buys hospitals? Do staffing cuts and profit motives compromise patient safety? This episode of The Doctor’s Lounge dives into the controversial world of private equity in healthcare, the role of RVUs and the RUC, and why physicians are losing control over their profession. Expect an unfiltered discussion on power, profit, and the future...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen Ever wonder who actually decides how much doctors earn for surgeries, visits, or procedures? This episode takes you inside the mysterious but powerful Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) — the body that determines physician payments for Medicare and beyond. If you care about fairness in healthcare, innovation, or why a complex surgery can pay the same as a rout...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen Journalist Ben Ryan joins the panel to unpack what really happened during the 2022 monkeypox outbreak, how public health messaging shaped public perception, and why institutions like the CDC are facing a crisis of trust. With decades of experience covering HIV and infectious disease, Ryan shares his perspective on risk communication, stigma, and the politics that shape...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen A spicy, inside-baseball roundtable on why rural healthcare dollars keep missing physicians, how enterprise EHRs and retail chains distort priorities, and why media narratives around leaders’ health go off the rails. Practical, provocative, and very quotable. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Health Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA – Neurosurgeon, UCSF; health polic...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen Dive into one of the most consequential debates in medicine: how should the FDA balance speed, safety, and patient need in approving new drugs and gene therapies? Dr. Bob Goldberg, joins the Doctors Lounge to unpack regulatory science, RCTs, accelerated approvals, and the controversies around muscular dystrophy treatments. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Hea...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen When an 88-year-old with dementia lands in the hospital, should we implant a device simply “because we can”? The panel examines futile care, ICU economics, malpractice fears, and the cultural bias to always “do something.” With special guest JP Kolcun , a seventh-year neurosurgery resident, they also debate whether physician-owned hospitals could restore dignity, effic...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen Organ donation is one of the most emotional and misunderstood processes in modern medicine. In this minisode, the hosts tackle the ethics, procedures, and misconceptions around declaring death and procuring organs. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, patient advocate, or simply someone who has “organ donor” on your driver’s license, this conversation offers rare...

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen North Carolina approved a bill letting some international medical grads practice without U.S. residency. Smart fix for shortages—or a back door for cheaper labor that risks quality? We break down patient impact, wages, malpractice, and what it means for the profession. Plus: Vinay Prasad’s surprise return to the FDA, catastrophic insurance, and why prices stay opaque....

Send us a text 🎯 Why Listen Is there really a physician shortage—or just bad incentives driving doctors out of practice? In this episode, the crew unpacks Representative Greg Murphy’s call for more foreign-trained doctors, the real barriers U.S. medical students face, the role of residency caps, gender dynamics in the physician workforce, and why private practice may hold the key to keeping docto...

Send us a text Original Substack Release: Aug 23, 2025 🎯 Why Listen When hope collides with billion-dollar incentives, who protects patients? We unpack Vinay Prasad’s FDA resignation, Sarepta’s $3.2M Duchenne gene therapy, and how accelerated approvals can leave families without the long-term data they deserve. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Health Anthony DiGiorgio, DO, MHA – Neurosu...

Send us a text Original Substack Release Date:   August 29, 2025 🎯 Why Listen Heard “surprise billing” blamed on doctors? This episode shows how insurers shaped the narrative, how the No Surprises Act (NSA) was meant to protect patients, why weak enforcement broke it, and what Rep. Greg Murphy’s No Surprises Enforcement Act could fix. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch Rojas – Founder, Bliksem Health Anthony DiGi...

Send us a text Original Substack Release Date: August 9, 2025 🎯 Why Listen This episode pulls no punches on the future of physician independence. From the looming physician shortage to the retaliatory tactics of insurers, you’ll hear an unscripted conversation about the raw realities inside American healthcare—and the strategies physicians can use to fight back. 👥 Co-Hosts Dutch Rojas – Founder,...