Why is U.S. healthcare so broken? If you're not sure why it’s so expensive or dysfunctional, this week’s podcast may illuminate the answers for you.I sat down with Alex Barrett, Cofounder & CEO of Meroka, who's tackling one of the root problems:Consolidation that strips doctors of autonomyMisaligned incentives across the systemOutdated models that sacrifice care for throughput70% of doctors now work for big systems but Alex is charting a new path by giving independent practices scale, liquidity, and ownership without the need to sell out.Special thanks to Alex for joining the pod - this is one of the smartest takes I’ve heard on how to fix healthcare from the inside.⏱️ Chapter Markers00:00 – Welcome & Guest Intro01:20 – What is Meroka?03:30 – Why Independence Matters in Healthcare05:30 – The Trade-Off Between Scale & Patient Experience07:20 – Breaking Down Reimbursement Rates10:30 – Why Scale Has Meant Consolidation—Until Now14:50 – How Independent Practices Survive17:00 – The Myth That Doctors Are Bad at Business20:30 – Meroka’s Employee Ownership Model23:50 – Comparing to Private Equity Models26:00 – The Future of Healthcare as a Real Market28:30 – Final Thoughts & GratitudeLinks:Alex Barrett: LinkedInMeroka: Website, LinkedInInterplay: Website, LinkedIn, TwitterMPD: LinkedIn, Twitter