Pharma Whistleblower Reveals Who Really Runs American Healthcare (Video)

Who really runs American healthcare? The answer is not your doctor. 

In this 6 August 2025 video, host Dr. Mark Hyman is joined by pharma whistleblower Brigham Buhler, a former drug rep turned healthcare entrepreneur who pulls back the curtain on a system designed for profit, not your health.

Together, they expose how “corporate capture” of our regulatory agencies like the FDA and hidden financial deals between insurance companies, their Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and Big Pharma have created a system that profits from chronic disease. You’ll learn the secrets the industry doesn’t want you to know.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The PBM Shell Game: Uncover the role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) in driving up drug prices for medications like insulin and opioids through secret rebates that benefit the insurance companies.
• Corporate Capture & The Revolving Door: Learn how the FDA’s revolving door with industry executives contributed to the opioid crisis and is now being used to suppress access to beneficial compounds like peptides.
• The Profitability of Sickness: Understand why insurance companies are incentivized to deny claims and keep you on expensive prescription drugs, rather than paying for preventative care or cures.
• The Illusion of a Free Market: Discover how corporations mislead the American people, block transparency, and limit your choices to protect their revenue streams.
• Empowering Yourself: Find out why you must take sovereignty over your own health and what you can do to navigate a system not built to support your well-being.

This conversation is more than just an exposé; it’s a blueprint for taking back control. Learn how to become your own health advocate and join the movement to reclaim American healthcare for the people, not the profiteers

https://youtu.be/062lululORA

(0:00) Brigham Buhler on exposing the pharmaceutical industry’s broken incentives
(1:19) The paradox of the U.S. healthcare system and influence of corporate interests
(3:40) Brigham Buhler’s insights as a former pharmaceutical rep
(5:06) Corporate capture’s impact on chronic disease and the opioid crisis
(12:31) Misaligned incentives in healthcare: insurance companies and PBMs
(19:01) Healthcare inefficiencies and the opaque billing system
(24:00) Proactive, personalized healthcare and solutions for misaligned incentives
(30:08) Insurance approvals and economic incentives for patient health
(35:08) Food companies’ influence on health and legislative momentum for policy change
(43:01) The illusion of a free market in healthcare and food industries
(45:45) Front-of-package labeling and the true cost of food
(49:02) Challenges with pharmaceutical pricing and FDA approvals
(53:43) Regulation and optimism for the future of peptides
(1:00:48) FDA controversies and incentivizing health over disease
(1:04:41) Government and FTC actions on health and food policies
(1:06:11) Change with new administration and impact of consumer actions
(1:09:07) The role of grassroots advocacy and historical change
(1:10:38) Chronic disease as a unifying issue and closing remarks