Weekly Review With Clay and Buck H1 - Dishonest Dems

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Weekly Review With Clay and Buck H1 - Dishonest Dems
Date: November 15, 2025
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Theme: The episode dissects the aftermath of a recent government shutdown, which the hosts attribute to Democratic strategy and dishonesty. It covers the political motivations behind the shutdown, the state of health care policy, and media efforts to shift the narrative, particularly around Donald Trump and the Epstein scandal.

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Overview

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dive into the fallout from the recent government shutdown, arguing it was a calculated but failed maneuver by Democratic leadership to secure more funding for pet projects, especially sustained Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. They question the ethics and effectiveness of this tactic and discuss broader issues with the American health care system. The episode also critically examines media attempts to redirect public attention by resurfacing the Trump-Epstein narrative, viewing it as a smokescreen for Democratic missteps.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. The Government Shutdown: Motives and Outcomes

[03:11–05:44]

• Opening Analysis: The hosts describe the end of the shutdown as a “shutdown of the shutdown.”
• They play a soundbite from Stephen Miller, highlighting his claim that the shutdown was “worse than pointless” and caused major disruptions for Americans, all for what he calls “Democrat sabotage of the Trump economy.”
  • Quote (Stephen Miller, via Rodney Williams, 04:48):
    “It was cruel, it was capricious, it was dangerous, it was radical, it was extreme. The Democrats shut down the government in a failed attempt to extort $1.5 trillion for their pet projects..."
• Hosts’ Interpretation: Clay and Buck argue the Democrats’ real motive was to maximize voter turnout and create chaos that could be blamed on Republicans, especially Trump.
• They suggest the move failed:
  • (Clay Travis, 05:44):
    “A part of me thinks there has to be a larger strategic imperative in play here than just we shut down everything for 43 days and now everything is fine.”

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2. Health Care Subsidies and Political Spin

[07:05–18:58]

• Discussion on ACA Subsidies: Cut to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries defending extension of ACA tax credits, saying Democrats want to “stand by our hardworking federal employees” but need to “extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”
  • Quote (Hakeem Jeffries, played at 07:05):
    “We want to reopen the government. ... but we have a responsibility to make sure that we extend the Affordable Care act tax credits so that tens of millions of Americans don't experience dramatically increased health care costs.”
• Hosts’ Rebuttal:
  • Buck describes the Democrats’ position as “incredibly dishonest” (08:55) since these subsidies were explicitly temporary emergency measures during COVID.
  • Clay critiques the tactic of labeling all expiring temporary programs as “cuts” (08:55):
    • “As soon as the temporary program runs out, a decision not to continue with the temporary program is seen as a cut. ... Obamacare is just a big giveaway to the health care insurance industry.”
  • Both hosts lament the lack of transparency about health insurance costs and criticize how the current system forces young people to subsidize older, sicker Americans.
  • Notable Exchange ([12:58–14:34]):
    Buck: “It's not insurance if you are young and healthy. ... You are forced into this system to subsidize the care for the old and sick.” Clay: “We have way too few young people and a huge influx of older people. It's gonna break.”
• Excessive Testing and Defensive Medicine:
  • Clay claims up to “50% of the medical coverage people get is unnecessary” due to fear of lawsuits, inflating costs (14:34).
• Potential Silver Lining:
  • Both discuss new GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic) as a major positive for reducing obesity-related health costs (16:50–17:57).
  • Buck cites Elon Musk’s suggestion to “widely subsidize GLP1 access to medication ... it would pay for itself many, many times over.”

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3. Health Care System Failures & Ideas for Reform

[18:31–38:59]

• Bureaucracy & Lack of Price Transparency:
  • Frustration with paperwork and the intentional complexity insurance companies create (18:33–19:04).
  • Calls to “give consumers choices” and reintroduce market mechanisms into health care (32:13–35:45).
    • Clay: “We have basically eliminated the market from health care. And when you eliminate the market ... what do you end up with? A broken system.”
• Employer-Provided Insurance Conceals Cost:
  • Many people don't realize the high cost of their employer-provided plans and might prefer the money in salary instead (32:13).
• Comparison to Other Markets:
  • Clay compares the competitive, consumer-oriented market for cosmetic procedures (like Botox) with the confusing, uncompetitive state of mainstream health care clinics (38:15–38:59).

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4. Media Distraction: Epstein, Trump, and Narrative Control

[25:46–30:08]

• Reemergence of Epstein Story:
  • Buck theorizes the new Epstein/Trump email story is “planned by Democrats in the media as essentially a smokescreen for their retreat from the disastrous and obviously cynical shutdown.” (25:46).
  • Clay agrees, noting the timing: “Miraculously this morning you wake up and there has been a calculated attempt to suddenly shift the talking points ... it was their lead story this morning.” (26:31)
• Hosts’ Refusal to Engage:
  • Both decline to dissect the story further, stating there’s “no data, no information” to implicate Trump and dismissing it as a tired attempt to distract the public.
• Clay’s Summary ([28:26]):
  • “They’re trying to tar and feather Trump with the Epstein connection and it feels desperate ... all they have to do is wave their arms and say, hey, look at what we’ve got here. And suddenly the whole discussion about the shutdown ... has vanished.”

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5. Short Segment on Coins and Currency

[44:42–47:00]

• Lighthearted debate about whether pennies (and coins more broadly) should be phased out, with both hosts leaning toward eliminating coins due to their impracticality.
  • Clay: “I think we should eliminate all coins. I don’t think there should be coin currency anymore.” (46:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Stephen Miller (as played), 04:48:
  “It was cruel, it was capricious, it was dangerous, it was radical, it was extreme. The Democrats shut down the government...”
• Clay Travis, 05:44
  “Is there a larger game plan here? ... It’s just so dumb and ineffective that a part of me thinks there has to be a larger strategic imperative in play here...”
• Buck Sexton, 08:55:
  “The Democrats are being incredibly dishonest, which is not a surprise to any of us.”
• Clay Travis, 08:55:
  “Obamacare is just a big giveaway to the health care insurance industry.”
• Buck Sexton, 12:58:
  “It's not insurance if you are young and healthy, you are forced into this system to subsidize the care for the old and the sick.”
• Clay Travis, 14:34:
  “Probably 50% of the medical coverage ... is completely unnecessary because doctors are afraid of being sued.”
• Buck Sexton, 17:57:
  “If you want to have a positive on health care ... these drugs are changing people’s lives all over the place.”
• Clay Travis, 32:13:
  “We have basically eliminated the market from health care... we don’t allow [consumers] to make rational decisions by and large for themselves and their family...”
• Buck Sexton, 38:59:
  “Obamacare is a failure. Top to bottom, a failure.”
• Clay Travis, 46:38:
  “I think we should eliminate all coins. I don’t think there should be coin currency anymore.”

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• [03:11–05:44]: Analysis and critique of the government shutdown
• [07:05–18:58]: Deconstruction of health care subsidies, insurance system problems, and potential solutions
• [25:46–30:08]: Discussion of media attempts to change the narrative post-shutdown (Epstein/Trump)
• [32:02–38:59]: Arguments supporting more choice in health care and the pitfalls of employer-based insurance
• [44:42–47:00]: Debate on the future of coins in US currency

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Tone & Style

The episode retains the hosts’ characteristic mix of cutting political commentary, skepticism of Democratic strategies, and humor. The language is energetic and irreverent, as they dissect political spin and policy failures.

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For Listeners

If you missed this episode, you’ll come away with a clear understanding of why the hosts believe the recent shutdown was a failed Democratic tactic, how the current health care system disadvantages consumers, and their thoughts on the cynical use of media to redirect political attention. The conversation is particularly relevant for those interested in health policy, political media strategy, and the ongoing battle over government spending.

Transcript

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[Rodney Williams]

Edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. The shutdown has come to a shutdown, I guess, or they've unshut it down. So that's good. That's something that we can certainly have a moment of, well, if not satisfaction over. We can definitely look at each other and say what the heck was that about? And we're gonna do that. Also got some discussion underway after appearances by the President himself and also his Secretary of homeland security on H1B visas, on immigration. Some interesting points coming across, particularly in a interview with Trump and Fox News's Laura Ingraham. We will have those discussions. We've also got hopefully an end to the flight delays or pretty close to an end to the flight delays here. So that's going on. That is certainly a good thing. Secretary of War, not to be confused with Secretary of Defense Pegseth, has some thoughts about the reformation of some of the military that he has put into effect and we will discuss that too. But Clay, I want to start with this. Stephen Miller had some thoughts to share on the Democrat shutdown. The White House's own Stephen Miller, this is what he has to say. Play 11 it was worse than pointless. It was cruel, it was capricious, it was dangerous, it was radical, it was extreme. The Democrats shut down the government in a failed attempt to extort $1.5 trillion.

[Travis Holloway]

For their pet projects, including, as has.

[Rodney Williams]

Long been documented in black and white, full funding for health care for legal aliens for several hundred billions of dollars. They resulted in, as a consequence, their shutdown, massive flight delays for the American people, huge impacts on public safety, federal.

[Travis Holloway]

Workers going without pay, people who are.

[Rodney Williams]

Living paycheck to paycheck, not being able to make ends meet. This was a Democrat sabotage of the Trump economy. It was Clay. And it was used to try to get maximum turnout result on Election Day. And Democrats did have good results, unfortunately, in those elections. But it was deeply cynical. It was destructive. And I hope that the American people who are open to the evidence of their own eyes and ears will remember the madness that was inflicted upon us for a month by Democrats pouting and demanding that they get their way. And it was outrageous.

[Travis Holloway]

Do you think it's a test potentially for 2026? In other words, are they trying to look at the numbers that came out in Virginia and New Jersey and say, if we're shutting down the government, does the idea that there's chaos work against Trump? Is there a larger game plan here? We know that they gain nothing essentially from this shutdown, but going forward, did they learn something that they want to apply? Is there any resonance here, or is this just going to vanish? They're already moving on. I'm watching the news stories right now. They're not even discussing anything having to do with the shutdown. They've moved on to emails and Epstein and everything else there, which they're trying to turn into a story to, to connect Trump to Epstein. And they've been trying to do this for, for years, candidly. But so what is the, what is the takeaway? Right? You go into a game, you lose. They lost. Did they test anything? Did they learn anything? It's just so dumb and ineffective that a part of me thinks there has to be a larger strategic imperative in play here than just we shut down everything for 43 days and now everything is fine.

[Rodney Williams]

Well, if we look at cut 12 here for a second. Clay, this is Hakeem Jeffries, and he is saying the following about where House Democrats stand On this play. 12 House Democrats will strongly oppose any legislation that does not decisively address the Republican health care crisis. We want to reopen the government. We'll continue to stand by our hardworking federal employees and civil servants, but we have a responsibility to make sure that we extend the Affordable Care act tax credits so that tens of millions of Americans don't experience dramatically increased health care costs. That's going to prevent them from being able to see a doctor when they need one. Let's unpack this a little bit for a second, Clay. The Republican health care crisis. Okay, let's really look at the facts here. The facts are as follows. The Democrats during COVID put in place a multi, multi billion dollar temporary. All agreed that it was temporary at the time. Basically windfall for Obamacare exchanges. It's going to throw billions of dollars into this on a, on a temporary basis. And now we have come to a point where the Democrats under Schumer earlier this year agreed to spending levels without those temporary billions in subsidies. But then they say, you know what, they're not really temporary. We want them forever and we're going to shut down the government. And this is a Republican problem. I mean, that is, I think when people look at what has happened here, there's an understanding that the Democrats are being incredibly dishonest, which is not a surprise to any of us. But they really don't have a leg to stand on other than lying about what's really happened here.

[Travis Holloway]

Also, this is reflective of everything that is in any way not permanent. If you end it is described as a cut. Right? Like the reality is this was a temporary program that was for its entire existence predicated on the idea that it would not exist forever as soon as the temporary program runs out. And the reason why it was temporary program Buck is they didn't want to have the cost tallied for decades into the future of just how expensive this was going to be as soon as that temporary program runs out. A decision not to continue with the temporary program is seen as a cut. The big flaw here that is I think becoming increasingly clear to so many Americans of all different backgrounds is the health care industry is broken. And the idea that by subsidizing health care insurance you're going to help with health care costs I think has been proven to be frankly 100% wrong. And all it is done is inflated the bureaucracy of the health care insurance companies and given them way more money. Obamacare is just a big giveaway to the health care insurance industry. And I, we talked about this some earlier this week and last week. But I do think it's significant that if you polled Americans and you said what companies do you hate the most dealing with in America, don't you think health care insurance would be number one overall right now? Buck, if you asked Americans, hey, what for profit industry out there that you have to deal with on a regular basis do you hate the most? I don't even think there's a close second. I think it's the health care insurance companies. And unlike car insurance, which is frustrating, but as these self driving cars come on the market, I actually think the overall cost of car insurance is going to plummet. I mean you can argue as we move into more and more of a self driving car industry and future that that's one where you look at it and you say, oh, the amount of money that we're having to spend on cars could end up going down in the future, and I'm optimistic that that could occur. The problem with health care insurance is we're getting more and more older people in the country, and the amount of health care that you need skyrockets as you age. And so I don't see any way that this is going to get better. And really, the only way health care works, the only way health care insurance works, is if there are tons of young people who basically never need insurance that are paying for older people who do need insurance. I was meeting with a healthcare industry guy recently, Buck, and he said, hey, we got killed in our company. He said, how do you think we got killed in the company recently? And I said, I don't know. He said, we had people going out and signing up young people. What is the one thing that could crush you if you're a health insurance company and you're signing up young people? Pregnant women. Because the cost of having a baby is high. And so somehow the cost of these insurance companies, pregnant women, all got signed up. A cost of having a baby is expensive. And that's basically for young people. For people under the age of 35, the only way under 40, the only way that these health insurance companies really get hit is when they have expensive, when people have kids. Otherwise, most people putting money in never use it. And elderly people are able to benefit from that. The problem is now we have way too few young people and a huge exit, huge influx of older people. It's gonna break.

[Rodney Williams]

Well, this is where you see the problem lies. It's all about hiding what's really going on from people so that they can't unf understand where the money is being spent and what their role in this whole system is. Because if you buy insurance as an individual, something like 70%, they estimate clay of the people who buy insurance on the individual marketplace. Right? So not company subsidized, which is a whole other component of this. 70% of them said that if without the billions in subsidies from the government, the enhanced subsidies, they would have a huge increase in their premiums that they would not be able to afford. Why is that? Right. Why are the individual marketplaces so very expensive? Why is it that people keep seeing their premiums going up year after year? It's not insurance. If you are young and healthy, you are forced into this system. And when I say young, I mean relatively young. 30s, 40s, 50s, you are forced into this system to subsidize the care for the old and the sick. Now, if that's what we have to do As a society, that's one thing, but we at least need to have an honest conversation about that. You are not getting a good deal if you are in your 30s, 40s, and 50s, and you are getting anything that is a health insurance plan on the individual market, anything that is Obamacare, approved Medicaid, any of that stuff.

[Travis Holloway]

Well, and I may be. I think there's a lot of people around my age that kind of are in this world. I care less about the individual expense and more about just having catastrophic protection. It's highly unlikely that you're going to have a catastrophic health issue. We hope in the same way that I bet you, Buck, have taken out life insurance now that you have a baby. A lot of dads and moms out there, when they have kids, they go back and they look at their overall expenses and they say, okay, what if the worst case scenario happens to me? It's highly unlikely. The insurance companies look at you. If you get a decent amount of health insurance, they come out and take as much of your blood as they can, they run your, you know, all your vitals to try and make sure that there's not something out there that is an issue. Most people only are concerned about catastrophic issues, particularly when you're in your 40s, your 30s, your 20s, and that isn't actually that expensive in the grand scheme of things. But the problem is, again, that's just a math equation. We don't have enough young people to deal with what people in their 60s and 70s are going to be costing for health care. Here's another part of this, Buck, that very few people talk about. Probably 50% of the medical coverage that our average people get in the United States is completely unnecessary because doctors are afraid of being sued. And so they don't think that you need that mri, they don't think that you need that CAT scan, but they, they go ahead and check the box because if they get sued and something really wrong, something is really wrong with you, and then they want to be able to say, oh, we gave as much standard of care as we could, not to mention the hospital makes money on it. So I'm not even kidding. I think we could eliminate 50% of all health care. One positive. Buck. I do think some of these GLPs, which could drive down obesity, if they are widely distributed, could, could start to decline because obesity is probably the leading cause of necessary.

[Rodney Williams]

I'll tell you something right now, and I'm not a doctor, but I am allowed to have opinions on national policy when it comes to health if we took some of the tens of billions of dollars wasted on nonsense in the health care apparatus and directly subsidized GLP medication. Because right now, I. Look, these companies, they're going to make their money. They have a right to make their money because they did the research, all that stuff, right? We're capitalists. Ok? But if you want to talk about government subsidies subsidizing, and this is, by the way, straight from Elon Musk, he said the same thing. Widely subsidizing GLP1 access to medication for people, not making it free, but making, you know, subsidized. Because it's crazy expensive now. I don't know.

[Travis Holloway]

Yeah, that's right.

[Rodney Williams]

It's thousands of dollars a month or something. If you can't get your insurance to cover it and insurance doesn't want to cover it because it's so expensive, the health care cost, that this would actually bring down clay for individuals and the whole nation. It would, it would pay for itself many, many times over. That's just, that's just the reality of the way that obesity is $200 billion a year of health care spending.

[Travis Holloway]

I'm cautiously optimistic that that is if you want to have a positive on health care. I am cautiously optimistic. These are for, by the way, the we. What, what are the companies?

[Rodney Williams]

Manjaro, WeGovy. Ozempic is the super famous one. This is El Lilly, this is Pfizer. This is the big drug giants. These drugs are changing people's lives all over the place.

[Travis Holloway]

And so if we can drive down obesity, we drive down the need for as much medical coverage. To your point, Buck, we could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in health care. It's a positive out there. If you need a positive, well, we have AI.

[Rodney Williams]

Sorry, I know we got, we got to jump into a break here.

[Travis Holloway]

Clip.

[Rodney Williams]

We have AI doing all these things for us now. It's amazing. I get there are cheeseburgers, maybe this Ozempic and cheeseburgers. Go ahead. But there are cheeseburgers being delivered to me by robot. Can AI handle this so that I don't have to spend 30 minutes filling out paperwork every time I go to every doctor, Even when I fill out stuff online before I go. Like, can't we get to the point where the bureaucracy of medicine at least is less of a total disaster?

[Travis Holloway]

Doctors want that too, because the amount of time that they have to spend on paperwork, it's absurd, infuriating.

[Rodney Williams]

By the way, it's all the insurance companies do this to make it as a whole other conversation. They actually do this on purpose.

[Travis Holloway]

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[Travis Holloway]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. We got so fired up talking about the healthcare world that we got a short turn here we come back. There's some Epstein story emails that have come out. Nothing new, but it feels very calculated. We will discuss why we think they're coming out now when we come back. But in the meantime, where does your energy come from? Caffeine in the morning, energy drink in the afternoon. How about all day energy that can come with making chalk's vitality stack a set of supplements that's part of your routine for guys. Energy normally comes from the testosterone our body produces, but as we age, it diminishes. Chalk's male vitality stack of supplements has been proven to replenish it by 20% in just a matter of months. There's also a chalk female vitality stack to focus on the healthy hormone balance that can provide more energy in the process. Chalk spell with a Q as in cho Q. And the website chalk.com Texas based company, family owned. Our guy Seton is awesome. If you don't want to feel like Joe Biden, if you don't want to be a white dude for Harris, you need chalk in your life right now to boost your testosterone. That's chalk.com. my name Clay for a massive discount for life. Chok Clay get hooked up today.

[Rodney Williams]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. I'm not planning to spend much time on this story today at all. I think what's interesting is that there's in my opinion, and I guess I'm putting the. I'm putting the card ahead of the horse here or I'm bearing the lead. Clay, they want us to talk about some new Epstein email with Trump or something, meaning the media. There's clearly this effort. We didn't coordinate this beforehand. We were talking to break. I have a theory on it. Clay has a theory on it. I don't know if we have the same theory on it, but we'll try this. I think that this was planned by Democrats in the media as essentially a smokescreen for their retreat from the disastrous and obviously cynical shutdown. Is that. Is that your take too?

[Travis Holloway]

100%. I mean, the idea, the idea, the timing on this. The shutdown is going to be voted on in the House. I think tonight to officially end. By all intents and purposes, it is over because the Senate, which is where the shutdown had taken root, has voted 60 senators. They've opened back up the government, uh, the House will officially rubber stamp that we expect sometime later today. And then miraculously this morning you wake up and there has been a calculated attempt to suddenly shift the talking points after Democrats were embroiled in a calamity of their own creation to a multi year old Jeffrey Epstein related scandal that they want to try to connect to Donald Trump because they see it as politically weak for him. I mean, it's very calculated and it was their lead story this morning.

[Rodney Williams]

This is so, so I had a feeling we would, we see it exactly the same way, which to me might as well be gospel. This is the anti Trump media, the Democrat media deciding that they're throwing out some smoke bombs to cover the retreat from their disastrous assault, if you will, which is the government shutdown. And they want us. So I don't, if anyone's gonna say, why aren't you guys. No, I don't actually want to play the game that they want us to play, which is sit here and be like, what did he, what did he mean in this email? Or whatever. We've been over this. I do not believe. You do not believe that Trump had anything to do with anything illicit that every, that Jeffrey Epstein was involved in whatsoever. There's no data, no information, nothing to suggest otherwise. And I don't want to keep having our, our, our, our leashes pulled like dogs whenever the media wants us to go, oh, let's defend Trump again on this. I, so I'm, I'm ready to just move on from this, but I want to, you know, you can close the loop on it.

[Travis Holloway]

Yeah, look, I think the way to think about it is this, and this is the argument I've been making since this whole thing happened. I don't know what, eight months ago or whatever the heck it was. Democrats and their allies tried to imprison Donald Trump for the rest of his life. They tried to bankrupt Donald Trump and people motivated by their rhetoric tried to kill Donald Trump. You think there was smoking gun evidence of Trump engaging in criminality at all, that they would have been raiding Mar a Lago to find out whether there were potentially classified documents there? Of course not. They would have brought every charge they could have against President Trump during the four years that Joe Biden had access to all of these Epstein files, that no Democrat demanded be released at all until Joe Biden was already out of office. So again, they're trying to tar and feather Trump with the Epstein connection and it feels desperate to me, but this story in particular, I kind of have to just tip my hat to them. Because all they have to do is wave their arms and say, hey, look at what we've got here. And suddenly the whole discussion about the shutdown, what was the basis for it? Why did Democrats suddenly decide to open the government? It's vanished. It's vanished. And we haven't even gotten the House vote yet. Very calculated. I kind of just tip my cap to him because it is impressive the degree to which they can take over the narrative based on their still ownership of legacy media institutions seems very obvious to me.

[Rodney Williams]

So let's actually get back to the shutdown on what really happened here. How about that for a second. One thing, Clay, I wanted to make sure that we put out. There was all this stuff about the credits. This was all part of the American rescue plan in March of 2020. Remember that, everybody? So while Biden was acting like a maniacal Covid dictator, telling us about we need to get the shot or else you're going to get fired. Gonna use OSHA, his winter of death speech, all this craziness in 2021. They, the Democrats went forward with this, with this plan to temporarily, because of COVID make it easier for people to get subsidies on Obamacare exchanges and essentially shovel some more money into the health care system. Not really the health care system, the insurance system. Yes, to make it easier for people. So this was emergency funding. I want everyone be very clear on this. The Democrats did emergency funding during COVID This is a vestige of COVID that the Democrats shut the government down over. Now, what's really interesting is you look at this, you say, well, hold on a second. What would have happened without Covid? I mean, or rather. Well, yes, but without these subsidies. Oh, the exchanges that people think that they're operating under and everything else, you'd be paying 50% more. That's what would happen. That's how out of control this Obamacare spending actually is. Now, something else has been pointed out, Clay, by some people. A lot of Americans, according to all the polling, because you keep saying everyone hates their health care company, people hate what's going on with health care. A lot of people actually like their health insurance. It's about 66%. So, you know, there's a little bit of nuance here.

[Travis Holloway]

Yeah, well, the complicating factor, I've got so many. I'm of all this.

[Rodney Williams]

It's a big issue with a lot of things. People are frustrated by the system. That's true, but. But keep going. I'll let you know.

[Travis Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, my thing on it is there are so many parts of it that need to be remedied. For instance, a lot of people have no idea how much their health care plans cost that they get from their companies. It's not taxed. And if you told the average person, hey, did you know your health care is costing $30,000 a year? Let's just toss that out there. As can be the case for you and your family. Do you think that if you got that money yourself as income and you were then able to go out and shop for the best health care coverage for you and your family, a lot of people would say, I'd rather have the $30,000 in extra income and be able to make a decision for me and my family. My point on it, Buck, is we have basically eliminated the market from health care. And when you eliminate the market from health care, what do you end up with? A broken system. Because nobody can make a rational decision by and large for they and their family as to what they actually need that fits their family's needs.

[Rodney Williams]

So I do think this even ties in for those who like their current insurance. And I will tell you that my, my approach to this in Miami beach, where there's a lot more of this stuff than I've ever seen before, is to pay for things that I can pay for, health care wise. And just do that. Now that doesn't work when you're having a baby, right? So we've been getting all these crazy bills and all this stuff and I have insurance, but we got a baby. They didn't cover this. They cover that, didn't cover this. But for day to day stuff, and I'm not saying this is for everybody because obviously expensive and people have, they have their concerns about their budgets, but a lot of, a lot of medicine is just going to go more just, I'll pay for this, just get it to me. Don't make me wait in a room for an hour. Don't make me fill out all this paperwork before, after and during. So that's one part of this. But people on their insurance plans that they like, there are all of these subsidies that exist. You mentioned that your employer gets, gets this on a preferential basis. Employers, especially large employers, have more bargaining power, get better plans. Where you see the real pain of the system is people who are earning a living, who are on the individual exchange, who are not in Medicaid and who are trying to make. That's where all of a sudden the premiums go crazy and everything else, because that's the first place that is, if you will the canary in the coal mine or the camel's nose in the tent. Pick your preferred. That's why everyone is seeing those crazy increases, Clay. So to your point, a lot of people like what they've got because they're actually sheltered from the realities of the health care system.

[Travis Holloway]

Totally. And as you age, your health care expenditure is going to skyrocket on average, and the health care companies know it. And this is, again, all we have done is broken the marketplace and subsidized the broken marketplace, which breaks the marketplace that much more. And to me, the only way we can solve health care in this country is to give consumers choices as we do in every other product. Yeah, everybody doesn't drive the same car. Everybody doesn't buy the same groceries. It's a product. Healthcare is a product, and people can make rational choices, and we don't allow that.

[Rodney Williams]

I'm also going to just point this out, and I have doctor friends who listen to this show. There are great doctors, and they're crappy doctors, and that's always going to be the case. Having a little card that says you're covered doesn't mean that you're getting the. Even if the procedure is covered. Right. There's all this. You're talking about a vast system of goods and services within health care, and people need to be understanding or need to be advocating for themselves within that system and being proactive. I think that our system of health care, Clay, we're sheltered from the. We're not even allowed to know the cost we have. We're not allowed. And it prevents people from being more proactive and figuring out, look, I mean, I'll tell you guys this. One of the reasons that I went on my health journey and I've got my supplements, everything else is my blood sugar started to get a little high on a blood test and not like, high enough where it was alarm bells. But, you know, it's one of these things where I don't want to be thinking about type 2 diabetes in 10 or 15 years. If I can avoid it, I want to start doing more. So, you know, really had to kick it into high gear and work on some things people are led to believe. You go to the doctor when you're sick, you have a magic little card where everything's going to be paid for. And this is the wrong approach. This is the wrong approach financially, it's the wrong approach as policy, and it's the wrong approach for individuals health.

[Travis Holloway]

Think about this, and I know that a bunch of you have probably done it. If you have to get a knee replacement or a hip replacement. You can travel to Europe. You can travel and pay out of pocket. And still it can be infinitely cheaper than what it cost in the United States. You read some of these stories, people can decide, hey, I want to go on a European vacation for three weeks. And some of you have looked into this. And I'm going to stay in an incredible for profit hospital that focuses on giving treatments to Americans. And the cost of the procedures that you get there in sparkling, brand new, exquisite facilities when you're paying out of pocket are better than the options you have in the United States. I would submit to you that's a function of a broken marketplace. And again, I come back to it over and over again. But they can't tell you what anything cost. Name something else you buy that, you choose that. You have no idea what it costs. It doesn't exist in any other part of America.

[Rodney Williams]

There's a doctor's office that's very near to where I live here in Miami, Clay, where they actually do a lot.

[Travis Holloway]

Of these.

[Rodney Williams]

Injections for women for like face, Botox kind of stuff. Whatever.

[Travis Holloway]

Yep.

[Rodney Williams]

And you walk into the, you walk into that place and you know they're given like free massages, champagne, there's gentle music in the background.

[Travis Holloway]

Yes.

[Rodney Williams]

Because they're competing. They want women to come in there and spend out of pocket. Mind you, I don't even, I don't know. I, I have not gotten Botox, I.

[Travis Holloway]

Don'T know, but thousands and thousands of dollars. But it's actually a sign of a competitive marketplace creating a better opt for consumer when it comes to, you know, the cost. They compete for your business.

[Rodney Williams]

But I want to go into like a local clinic here because I think I have, you know, an ear infection or something. It's, it's pandemonium. It's weights, it's. Where's your insurance? Oh, we don't take that anymore. We all. Once you've seen this and experience this, it becomes very apparent and very clear. I think this is why this matters, everyone. Not just because the Democrats have lied to you about the shutdown, and we don't want to let them get away with that. They're lying. They've made a mess of all this. Obamacare is an absolute. Obamacare is a failure. Top to bottom, a failure. That's one big part of this. But also, Clay Trump and the Republicans need to get it together for these midterms with, with, with ideas to make the health care system better. It's not going to be like the border where he fixes it in 30 days. But we, we need to have some plans to make this better. We'll also talk about immigration, by the way, coming up here in the next hour because some very interesting stuff happening there and people are asking questions about what's going on with policy and this White House. So we'll discuss that. The Preborn Network of Clinics is a nonprofit that does a tremendous amount to save the lives of unborn babies. They welcome and work with hundreds of pregnant mothers every day across the country. Mothers like Linda who is contemplating whether to have an abortion or to give life to her unborn child. When Linda learned she was pregnant, she knew abortion was wrong, but fear almost consumed her and led her to a very dark place. She didn't know where to turn until she went into a preborn clinic. There she was met with prayer, compassion and the truth that pierced through her. The truth that pierced through her fear. Linda chose life for her baby. Preborn made this possible and your donations to Preborn are necessary for this godly mission to continue day in and day out. $28 provides a free ultrasound to women like Linda. This is your chance to make a difference. Will you please answer the call, pick up your phone, dial 250 and say the word baby. That's £250. Say baby or donate [e-mail] Buck preborn.com Buck Sponsored by Preborn Want to be.

[Travis Holloway]

In the know when you're on the go? The Team 47 podcast drop highlights from the week Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Travis Holloway]

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[Travis Holloway]

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[Travis Holloway]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. We'll take some of your calls, let you guys react to a variety of different topics out there. I saw this and we could have some fun with it. Buck Charlemagne, the God fellow, I Heart Radio employee says that Jasmine Crockett is a phenomenal messenger and should be used more frequently by the Democrat party, to which I would soundly and roundly agree. We'll have some fun with that.

[Rodney Williams]

I want, I want Jasmine Crockett elevated and I want Sonny Hostin to be the chief strategist for the Democrats 2028.

[Travis Holloway]

I think they're wasting their talents. It would be racist and sexist if you did not take advantage of the talents of these profoundly successful, brilliant women inside of the party. I just put up a poll question, Buck, that we can have some fun with this too. Today the last pennies are being produced. That is the $0.01 coin is basically being phased out. Trump came in and said the penny doesn't make sense. It costs more than to produce it. Should we eliminate all coins? This may be stepping into. This may be like when I went after Fluke Players.

[Rodney Williams]

I'm, I'm a hard yes on this one. Producer Greg, I'm gonna get. We're gonna give you a minute. I don't know if he's by the mic in NYC or if he wants to just do a talkback or whatever he seems like he's not down for. And I want to know why would anyone want there to still be pennies? I, we need to have currency for every person because you eliminate the penny, you eliminate the nickel. That's the, it's the first step on the slippery slope to getting rid of all currency and then everything can be tracked by the government all the time. Okay, well, I'm with you on the digital dollar thing, producer Greg, so that I'm with you on that. But pennies, when was the last time you used a penny?

[Travis Holloway]

You'd be surprised how much jangling coins does producer Greg have you in his pocket right now just jangling around, weighing down his pants, dragging them down. I'm in. I'm with you, Buck. I think we should eliminate all coins. I don't think there should be coin currency anymore. That may be.

[Rodney Williams]

Is this going to be a scorching hot take that? We didn't expect to be scorching.

[Travis Holloway]

Maybe we may get fired up, get attacked on this one, but we're right.

[Rodney Williams]

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[Travis Holloway]

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