Stephen Dubner

I mean, my first question there would be, you're saying these are employed people getting insurance through their employer. Why are the firms offering such bad choices?

Exactly. But still they were doing it. The story that you're telling now about... These firms offering pretty bad plans to their employees suggest that firms have as hard a time navigating these health care insurance plans as civilians do. Is that too shorthandy or is that what this amounts to?

Exactly. But still they were doing it. The story that you're telling now about... These firms offering pretty bad plans to their employees suggest that firms have as hard a time navigating these health care insurance plans as civilians do. Is that too shorthandy or is that what this amounts to?

Exactly. But still they were doing it. The story that you're telling now about... These firms offering pretty bad plans to their employees suggest that firms have as hard a time navigating these health care insurance plans as civilians do. Is that too shorthandy or is that what this amounts to?

So is it in that case the, quote, fault of the firm or is it the, quote, fault of the health care provider who is knowingly offering a suboptimal plan with the knowledge that most people are going to have a really hard time telling good from bad?

So is it in that case the, quote, fault of the firm or is it the, quote, fault of the health care provider who is knowingly offering a suboptimal plan with the knowledge that most people are going to have a really hard time telling good from bad?

So is it in that case the, quote, fault of the firm or is it the, quote, fault of the health care provider who is knowingly offering a suboptimal plan with the knowledge that most people are going to have a really hard time telling good from bad?

Meaning the firm comes up with a subsidy that they are going to then recoup from the employees, but they may differ from plan to plan. Exactly. And you're saying they're mispricing those subsidies, it sounds like. Yes. Is this a case where the price that you're looking at and the terms that you're looking at are simply not transparent enough? Or is it miscalculations on behalf of the employer?

Meaning the firm comes up with a subsidy that they are going to then recoup from the employees, but they may differ from plan to plan. Exactly. And you're saying they're mispricing those subsidies, it sounds like. Yes. Is this a case where the price that you're looking at and the terms that you're looking at are simply not transparent enough? Or is it miscalculations on behalf of the employer?

Meaning the firm comes up with a subsidy that they are going to then recoup from the employees, but they may differ from plan to plan. Exactly. And you're saying they're mispricing those subsidies, it sounds like. Yes. Is this a case where the price that you're looking at and the terms that you're looking at are simply not transparent enough? Or is it miscalculations on behalf of the employer?

But the kind of certainty you're talking about isn't just the certainty of what you will need over the coming year. It's what the plan actually includes. Is that right?

But the kind of certainty you're talking about isn't just the certainty of what you will need over the coming year. It's what the plan actually includes. Is that right?

But the kind of certainty you're talking about isn't just the certainty of what you will need over the coming year. It's what the plan actually includes. Is that right?

The more I hear from Ben Handel, the more I believe that sludge isn't just a nuisance. It's a cancer. It's a malignancy that turns otherwise healthy tissue sick. Think about it.

The more I hear from Ben Handel, the more I believe that sludge isn't just a nuisance. It's a cancer. It's a malignancy that turns otherwise healthy tissue sick. Think about it.

The more I hear from Ben Handel, the more I believe that sludge isn't just a nuisance. It's a cancer. It's a malignancy that turns otherwise healthy tissue sick. Think about it.

Administrative burden for physicians that leads to more and more independent practices being essentially forced to join a big corporate practice, which, given the way big corporate health care operates, will produce even more sludge, which will infect even more healthy tissue. Healthcare is obviously a big and important sector, but let's be honest, sludge is everywhere.

Administrative burden for physicians that leads to more and more independent practices being essentially forced to join a big corporate practice, which, given the way big corporate health care operates, will produce even more sludge, which will infect even more healthy tissue. Healthcare is obviously a big and important sector, but let's be honest, sludge is everywhere.

Administrative burden for physicians that leads to more and more independent practices being essentially forced to join a big corporate practice, which, given the way big corporate health care operates, will produce even more sludge, which will infect even more healthy tissue. Healthcare is obviously a big and important sector, but let's be honest, sludge is everywhere.

And the digital revolution has driven the spread. Early on, the internet was relatively free of sludge. Now, it's soaking in it. In 2023, the American Dialect Society named as its word of the year, which had been popularized by the writer Cory Doctorow. Let me read you a passage that Doctorow wrote. Here is how platforms die. First, they're good to their users.