Perspectives

“It’s the Prices, Stupid.”

Uwe Reinhardt’s Warning and How Oxbridge Health Responds

Executive Summary

More than a decade ago, the late Uwe Reinhardt, one of the most respected health economists in the world, delivered a searing verdict on the American healthcare system:

“It’s the prices, stupid.”

With that blunt phrase, Reinhardt captured the core dysfunction of U.S. healthcare: we don’t necessarily use more healthcare than peer nations — we just pay more for nearly every service. This price inflation, largely hidden from consumers, is a primary driver of our unsustainable healthcare costs.

Today, that diagnosis remains tragically accurate. But new models are emerging to directly confront Reinhardt’s insight — none more pointedly than Oxbridge Health’s Episode Benefit Plans and its companion platform, Episode Advantage.

Making Prices Known, Before Care Begins

At the heart of Reinhardt’s critique was opacity. Most Americans still walk into a medical appointment with no idea what it will cost — not just in total, but even their own share of the bill.

Oxbridge’s Episode Benefit Plans upend this. Every covered procedure — from knee replacements to childbirth — has a clear, guaranteed, all-in price before care begins. This is bundled pricing in action:

• All services related to an episode of care are wrapped into one price.
• No surprise bills. No facility fees tacked on after the fact.
• The price is known upfront, and shopping becomes possible.

This is Reinhardt’s dream of price visibility — finally fulfilled.

Bundles That Drive Better Behavior

When prices are known and fixed, people act like consumers. They ask questions. They compare providers. They evaluate value. And that’s exactly what Episode Advantage enables.

Through Oxbridge’s Quilt™ engagement engine, members receive targeted, personalized nudges at the exact moment care decisions are being made. Rather than react to a bill, members are prompted beforehand to choose between options — often saving thousands in out-of-pocket costs for the same outcome.

And when members choose lower-cost, higher-value bundles, they get to keep a share of the savings through their Benefit Bank™.

This is a complete inversion of the traditional system — where ignorance of price is exploited — to a model where informed consumer choice is rewarded.

Harnessing Consumerism to Lower Prices

Reinhardt believed prices were high because buyers lacked power — or even basic information. But with bundled episodes and consumer incentives, that dynamic changes:

• Providers now compete not just on quality, but on price transparency and value.
• Employers are empowered to offer benefits with predictable pricing and lower trend growth.
• Consumers are not passive patients — they are savvy shoppers with skin in the game.

Episode Advantage drives this flywheel further with psychographic segmentation and A/B-tested messaging, ensuring each member is met with the right message, at the right time, through the right channel to optimize decisions.

In short: the demand side finally has power.

It’s Still the Prices — But Now, We Can Do Something About Them

Oxbridge Health doesn’t pretend that consumerism alone will solve healthcare. But it directly addresses Reinhardt’s fundamental truth: we pay too much because we don’t know what things cost — and we don’t behave like we do.

Episode Benefit Plans, powered by Episode Advantage, are a blueprint for real value:

• Transparent prices.
• Bundled payments.
• Consumer engagement.
• Shared savings.

It’s not just about reducing costs — it’s about reshaping the system so prices become tools for decision-making, not barriers to care.

Uwe Reinhardt called out the problem. Oxbridge is building the solution.