“Crystal Clear” Podcast Explores a Waste-Free Health Care Transaction

In the series trailer, Skenes said the most expensive part of the US health care system often stems not from clinical care but from opaque payment standards, varied code sets and groupers, and fragmented workflows that make adjudication difficult to follow. For patients, she said, the result is uncertainty: the question “How much is this going to cost me?” is typically met with “It depends” or “I’m not really sure.”

Skenes said that default transaction is wasteful, citing more than $265 billion in annual administrative waste.¹ That cost, she said, shows up in delayed care, surprise bills, and hours of administrative labor for both payers and providers, contributing to a general resignation that nothing will change.²

The podcast will look at what has been done, what is being worked on now, and what a “waste-free healthcare transaction” could look like—a cleaner, simpler interaction among providers, payers, employers, and patients. Guests will include people working in health tech, at payers, with providers and employers, and in academia who are trying to replace ambiguity with clarity and fragmentation with standardization.

Skenes said she views price transparency as more than understanding negotiated rates between payers and providers.³ In her framing, it involves mapping every step of the process that can be simplified or transformed so that an upfront cost reaches patients.

The show is designed for both industry insiders and consumers, according to Skenes, who said listeners will not need a master’s degree in health care administration or a PhD in economics to follow along. She said she hopes each episode leaves audiences with optimism that change is possible and a clearer understanding of how it can happen.

Follow season 1 of Crystal Clear With Carol Skenes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and TuneIn under Manage Care Cast.

Listen above or on one of these podcast services:

Apple Podcasts
TuneIn
Pandora
Spotify

References

1. Sahni NR, Mishra P, Carrus B, Cutler DM. Administrative simplification: How to save a quarter-trillion dollars in US healthcare. McKinsey & Company. October 20, 2021. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/administrative-simplification-how-to-save-a-quarter-trillion-dollars-in-us-healthcare
2. American Hospital Association. Reduce administrative waste in the system. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://www.aha.org/issue-brief/2026-05-20-reduce-administrative-waste-system
3. CMS. Hospital price transparency. Updated September 16, 2026. Accessed October 21, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/priorities/key-initiatives/hospital-price-transparency