We Need a Union
Trying this again without any solicitation-adjacent things (hopefully). This is in response to many here who wanted more details on a post I made recently about a solution to the insurance industry's exploitative practices. Here's a broad overview:
I love being a therapist and helping people through their struggles. I know most of you feel similarly. The problem is, I don’t think we’re going to be able to continue doing what we love for very much longer (at the very least not how it is now) if we don’t do something. Our field is under threat in a number of ways, and every one threatens our ability to deliver care. First off, insurance companies have too much power. They deny claims, claw back payments (sometimes many years after the fact), and exploit our isolation to maximize their profits. Add private equity and vertical integration to that and we're watching in real-time as our field gets enshitified. Then, there’s a looming threat of AI. Meanwhile, it's illegal for 1099s to actually form a union (considered price fixing). In a nutshell: we're isolated, exploited, and currently have no leverage. No one is coming to save us and we have no power individually, but we could fight back effectively if we do it collectively.
We really do need a union, but to get one we have to get creative to keep it legal. The way around the law is to structure it differently. We're building a membership collective for health practitioners. Licensed mental health practitioners are our first focus but anyone who’s reimbursed by insurance is a potential member. It’s not a union, but it works a lot like a union, just structured as a Public Benefit Corp so it can't be corrupted by board politics or pressure from private equity and is able to operate flexibly enough to fight for and accomplish our goals. Also, I forgot to mention before, to eliminate profit as a corrupting influence as much as possible, bylaws state all profit must go toward creating value for members or toward furthering members' agenda.
I can’t tell you much about what it will look like because that apparently breaks the solicitation rules here. Basically, think of it like a brand new union in which you could opt-in to more services if you wanted to. Up-front value is quite limited, as it would be with any new union. We've got a way to earn everyone's trust with no risk to would-be members, but I don't want to break solicitation rules here by sharing that either. As the organization grows though, it’l have more leverage and can make greater things happen. Collective bargaining, legal services, insurance, partnerships with other companies, etc. are all on the table.
No private equity means no forced compromises, but also means a slower initial phase.