Introduced during the Trump administration, “direct contracting” is a Medicare payment model that allows private medical practices and insurance companies to arrange set payments from Medicare for the year, rather than bill the administration for services. But critics warn that the system, which has continued under the Biden administration, is being exploited by venture capitalists. Merrill Goozner is a health care reporter who has spent decades covering the slow-moving crisis of American healthcare, and he joins to Ryan Grim to discuss the present and possible future of Medicare.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.