For a long time, Dr. Scott Anzalone referred to himself as “the last physician standing in private practice” in his area of southeastern Ohio. But in 2024, after seven years of looking, he finally found a partner to join Stagecoach Family Medicine in his small town of Logan, Ohio.
Staunch in his commitment to not joining a hospital system, but wanting a little more leverage when negotiating with insurance companies, Dr. Anzalone also recently joined forces with several other independent physicians to form a group called Northern Ohio Medical Specialists.
But despite all these changes, he says he’s like many other Americans whose plans for the future revolve around health care and health insurance, which keeps getting more expensive.
“This sounds crazy, but one thing that’ll keep me from retiring is not having health insurance for myself,” Anzalone said. “And I hear that every day from all my patients, like, ‘Well, I want to retire, but I don’t have health insurance if I retire.‘“
“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal talked with Dr. Anzalone about life in private practice and the state of the American health insurance system.
To listen to their conversation, use the audio player above.
7 hours ago7:09
12 hours ago30:57
12 hours ago12:45
a day ago25:17
6 days ago28:44
4 months ago24:33