Anyone improving American healthcare swims in an ocean of opposition. I'm used to these hostile waters, and avoid the sharks and pirates as well as I can. A few of my fellow swimmers are regularly headbutting the sharks and sinking the pirate ships, though, and I wanted to publicly thank them: it is lonely to be a voice of courage and resistance. Thank you for setting an example for the rest of us. Cora Opsahl has been fighting the most powerful hospital system in New York, with the DoJ now getting involved with antitrust accountability Chris Deacon has been speaking truth to power on this platform as well as to civic leaders and recently to Congress, supporting employers and patients Leah Binder is fighting a frivolous, national-attention lawsuit attempting to silence her ability to share safety information to patients and employers Sherry Rais has been advocating for new, breakthrough behavioral health therapies, refugees, and child victims of civil unrest Pramod John has been throwing down on the PBM business model with the most stubborn integrity of almost anyone in the industry I'm just glad to be here in the freezing water cheering each of you on.
Thank you for such kind words. The only way we can do all these things is with our friends swimming in the water with us.
Thank you for the shout out Lee Lewis! I’m in good company!
Hats off to you all. Keep demanding what’s right. 👏 “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” — Frederick Douglass
It takes 4 years in a lab like Virgílio (“V”) Bento
Thank you for bringing attention to these professionals who are working hard to improve the system. You're right, it often feels like walking the narrow path!.
Well said. Transforming American healthcare isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes persistence, creativity, and a willingness to navigate those rough waters. Here’s to the leaders who keep swimming toward a better system, even when the current fights back!
Thank you so much for including me/Enthea in this, and for recognizing the work so many of us are doing in these “shark-infested waters.” I’m so proud to be swimming alongside such courageous and committed people. 💛
Having built startups with folks like Pramod John (appreciate the shoutout for VIVIO, a Public Benefit Corporation!), I can confirm: the system’s rigged against anyone truly trying to fix healthcare—especially the economics. We score small wins, maybe even big breakthroughs, but lasting change? That’s the uphill battle no one warns you about.
Cracking the health cost code | Author, Relocalizing Health | Creator of community-owned health plans | RosettaFest 2025: Transforming healthcare's waste into community prosperity
3wAll rock stars! And you too!