Other People’s Money

In the 1991 movie Other People’s Money, Danny DeVito plays a slick corporate raider who proudly admits he doesn’t build anything—he just buys and sells using other people’s cash. The film is a sharp satire of greed and capitalism, but it also holds up a mirror to one of America’s favorite pastimes: spending money that isn’t ours.

Take kids, for instance. When they swipe a parent’s credit card for a “tiny” in-app purchase, it feels harmless—until the monthly statement reveals hundreds of dollars in “digital coins” and “skins.” It’s not malice; it’s distance. When it’s not your money, it doesn’t feel quite as real.

That same distance shows up in the grown-up economy too. Corporations spend shareholder money. Politicians spend taxpayer money. And in healthcare, there’s no shortage of “other people’s money” changing hands.

Who’s Paying?
In the American healthcare system, nearly every player is spending someone else’s money, yet few fully grasp how that actually works. From a 40,000-foot view—setting aside government programs like Medicare and Medicaid for a moment—the private sector tells a revealing story.

Plan sponsors, such as employers and Taft-Hartley trust funds, buy healthcare plans from insurance companies. They pay most of the bill, but workers chip in too—through premiums, deductibles, copays, or even lower wages in exchange for coverage. In other words, plan sponsors are spending other people’s money—workers’ money—every step of the way.

Hospitals and doctors then negotiate with insurers in a labyrinth of codes, rates, and contracts, trying to cover costs and protect their margins. In doing so, they’re also playing with other people’s money—insurers’, plan sponsors’, and ultimately, patients’.

Insurance companies, in turn, must manage costs, control risk, and still make a profit. When hospitals and doctors secure higher reimbursement, insurers raise premiums on plan sponsors, who then pass some or all of those higher costs to workers—either directly through increased contributions, copays, or deductibles, or indirectly through smaller (or no) raises. In the end, the system runs on other
people’s money.

In this cycle, no one feels fully in control. Costs shift, contracts change, and trust frays. Patients often feel like bystanders in the business of their own health.

Lost in the Process
Healthcare in America runs on good intentions but is slowed by competing interests. Insurers juggle risk. Hospitals balance budgets. Employers and unions manage benefit costs. Workers struggle to pay their ever-rising share. Policymakers argue over who should pay—and how much. Meanwhile, millions remain uninsured or underinsured, falling through the cracks.

In the process, trust has fractured—maybe beyond repair. Many Americans no longer believe that insurers, policymakers, or even healthcare institutions have their best interests at heart. The system has become a maze of fear, frustration, and finger-pointing.

Affordable, universal healthcare isn’t just an economic decision—it’s a moral one. In the end, no one’s really playing with house money. Every premium, every paycheck, every policy choice affects us all. It’s not other people’s money—it’s our shared investment in the nation’s health. And the stakes couldn’t be more real.

Happy reading,
Suzanne Daniels

Enjoy the weekend!

Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]

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