Out of Patients
with Matthew Zachary

Welcome to 2026: The Year of the Patient where the sick shall inherit the ballot.

OPINION Matthew Zachary OPINION Matthew Zachary

The Luxury of Being Heard

Concierge medicine used to be for the rich. Now ordinary patients are paying out of pocket for advocates, navigators, and direct access just to get the care their insurance was supposed to provide in the first place. Welcome to the second bill nobody asked for.

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PODCAST Matthew Zachary PODCAST Matthew Zachary

When Denial Becomes the System: Jace Yawnick

US healthcare does not fail when it denies care. It performs as designed. This essay involving the life of Jace Yawnick examines how insurance incentives, prior authorization, and employer based coverage shape access, delay treatment, and shift risk onto patients while increasing total cost.

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OPINION Matthew Zachary OPINION Matthew Zachary

You Are NOT Medically Necessary

Health insurers turned “medically necessary” into a denial weapon. This article breaks down how coverage policies, anonymous medical directors, and financial incentives allow insurers to override doctors and block cancer care, then outlines concrete fixes that could shut the system down.

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Out of Patients?

Join the recurring Out of Patients dispatch from Matthew Zachary covering the latest American healthcare shenanigans. Essays, podcast episodes, media appearances, book updates, and live events delivered with a sardonic Gen X perspective from a patient who simply refuses to shut up.

Get the dispatch