The Checkup with Doctor Mike
Why Rainn Wilson Loves Paramedics & Thinks Dwight Schrute Is MAHA
17 Sep 2025
I'll teach you how to become the media's go-to expert in your field. Enroll in The Professional's Media Academy now: https://www.professionalsmediaacademy.com/Huge thanks to Rainn Wilson for coming on the pod! Check out his new movie "Code 3" now.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rainnwilsonTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rainnwilsonIG: https://www.instagram.com/rainnwilsonRainn's Soul Boom podcast: https://www.soulboom.com/00:00 Intro00:51 Code 308:31 Pharmacy Benefit Managers09:45 Price Transparency12:04 Investing In Primary Care14:00 My Insurance Proposal15:28 DMV As Healthcare22:20 Mistreatment Of Front Line Workers27:18 His House Burnt Down31:40 Rainn’s Doctor / Mental Health40:19 Bullying and Social Media48:40 The Soul1:00:20 Trauma1:14:55 Dwight SchruteHelp us continue the fight against medical misinformation and change the world through charity by becoming a Doctor Mike Resident on Patreon where every month I donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity, organization, or cause of your choice! Residents get access to bonus content, an exclusive discord community, and many other perks for just $10 a month. Become a Resident today:https://www.patreon.com/doctormikeLet’s connect:IG: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/instagram/DMinstagramTwitter: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/twitter/DMTwitterFB: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/facebook/DMFacebookTikTok: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/tiktok/DMTikTokReddit: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/reddit/DMRedditContact Email: [email protected] Producer: Doctor MikeProduction Director and Editor: Dan OwensManaging Editor and Producer: Sam BowersEditor and Designer: Caroline WeigumEditor: Juan Carlos Zuniga* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of Rainn Wilson's new movie 'Code 3'?
Do you think Dwight would support the Maha movement?
I think Dwight would be beyond Maha. What's beyond Maha? He probably creates his own vaccines involving like goat urine and nettles.
Welcome back to the Checkup Podcast. Today's guest is Rainn Wilson, the actor, author, and producer who turned Dwight Schrute from the office into a cultural icon. Super excited to have him on to discuss his new movie, Code 3, where he takes on the harsh reality of being a frontline healthcare worker. In our convo, we get real about frontline healthcare work.
Chapter 2: How do pharmacy benefit managers affect healthcare costs?
We explore spirituality, our mental health, and yes, he even lets me sort of perform a medical procedure on him. Please welcome Rainn Wilson to the Checkup Podcast. I watched Code 3. I am very excited to talk to you about it and your passion for why you chose to do that project.
Because for us on this channel and on the podcast, we're constantly railing against the fact that there is a inherent misunderstanding between the general public and the healthcare community.
Chapter 3: What insurance proposals does Rainn Wilson suggest for healthcare improvement?
There's a lot of anger towards health insurance companies, hospitals, physicians, healthcare administrators, understandably, because the system really sucks.
But at the same time, there's this tremendous burnout, sadness, anger from the healthcare worker side that hasn't adequately been documented until some shows that have been doing it well recently, The Pit as an example, now September 12th, Code 3. Why did you choose to undertake a project about being an EMS provider?
Well... what a great intro. And I'm so excited to answer that question. But I want to say too, like this is, even though I did the film, I did some ride-alongs, you know, I tried to learn what I could. I'm really ignorant in this field whatsoever.
Chapter 4: How are frontline healthcare workers treated in the current system?
So I barely know how to pop a zit. So- But you know how to do chest compressions. I know how to fake chest compressions at the right rhythm. We did it on The Office. Staying alive.
Chapter 5: What personal experiences shaped Rainn Wilson's view on healthcare?
Staying alive. Staying alive.
That's all I know.
That's all you need to know.
Chapter 6: How does mental health impact healthcare professionals?
And that if you break ribs, it's perfectly okay.
It's good. Yeah, that means you're doing it right, as you guys said.
Yeah, exactly, exactly. Well, listen, this film was, it was an honor to do. It was a privilege to do because I met with this wonderful producer about this project that I really wanted to do. And he's like, you're not right for this project. And I think they ended up offering it to like John Hamm or something like that. So it's like, okay, I get it.
He goes, but you know, just the other day, this script came in and you'd be really perfect for it. He handed me this 180 page script about EMS workers and just a night from hell. These EMTs, it's funny, it's sad. And it was all based on real experiences of one of the co-writers of the script, Patrick. And yeah, There was so much potential in this script. It was incredible.
Chapter 7: What role does spirituality play in mental health?
I laughed until I cried. I cried until I cried. And it just opened my eyes to the dilemma that this script was getting at, which is exactly what you're talking about. Um, so over time we, we condensed it down to about 120 pages. We, we, we cut out the, the, some of the, the flabbier bits and to get to do a movie that is entertaining.
Like it's a good, if you just want to go laugh and be entertained and have some popcorn at a movie theater, great. Code three is gonna, is gonna rock. but it also is about something. And I think the way that EMS workers, frontline workers, hospital workers, ER room workers have responded just to the trailers and the clips so far.
And the, and the, the, you know, the, the movie that we've sent out for folks to watch, they're so thrilled. They're like, finally someone is telling our story. And that's what we wanted to do. We wanted a film that was going to get at something deeper. Like, The American healthcare system is colossally broken.
We have the most powerful, the richest empire in the history of planet Earth, and we cannot provide a simple doctor's visit or a simple surgery without you know, tons of bureaucracy and paperwork and lawsuits and, you know, insurance companies being involved and the government being involved when they shouldn't and not being involved where they should. And the list goes on and on.
So, you know, it's also a touch point and a talking point. And so I'm thrilled to be a part of it. And I'm so excited to see the reaction of the EMS workers and it hasn't even come out yet.
Were you aware of the plight of first responders prior to reading that script?
I was not. I had no idea. I knew the healthcare system was broken. My wife had an emergency C-section at this down and out Van Nuys, California hospital. She had a placental abruption and it was touch and go for the baby, even for her. And then I remember like, she lost five units of blood and he was in the NICU and it was just awful. And it was days in the hospital and she was there for a week.
And then I remember getting this bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I- And you're like, what is the insurance for? Yeah. And I was shaking and calling the hospital billing or the insurance billing. And they're like, oh, don't worry about that. We take care of that with the insurance companies. And and work it out.
And then why send that bill? Why send the bill? And then, you know why they're sending the bill, but on the off chance that someone's like, Oh, I owe money. I'm going to send some cash.
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Chapter 8: How does Rainn Wilson perceive the character Dwight Schrute's values?
Like, let's see what we can get out of people. Like, that's not caring for our populace or caring for the hospitals themselves.
If you even know the inside baseball of it all, what happens is sometimes there's one price that they'll give to insurers because they know that insurers reflexively pay only 60% of whatever they bill. So they'll raise up that number because they're like, we're only going to get 60%. So let's make the price much higher.
And then when you come in to pay and you say, I only have cash, I don't have insurance, they still charge you that ridiculous rate that they only expect 60% of from the insurer, but they charge you the full 100%. So it's a disaster on so many fronts.
So do you have a plan for us, Dr. Mike? Come on. Have you figured this out? You've been talking about it for hundreds of hours.
I react to medical memes and TikToks. I'm not the solution here.
Figure out the medical healthcare system, please. What are three things we can do? What have you learned?
Number one, transparency.
Okay.
Specifically surrounding pricing and with middlemen, specifically pharmacy benefit managers. This is... basically a coupon company that was started as a way to be the middleman between pharmacies and insurance companies to say, well, look, if we're going to prescribe this many or dispense this many medications for you, give us a better deal.
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