090 Free Markets and Value

Dr. G. Keith Smith is a board-certified anesthesiologist in private practice since 1990. In 1997, he co-founded The Surgery Center of Oklahoma, an outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City. SCO is owned by over 50 top physicians and surgeons in central Oklahoma. Dr. Smith is the medical director, CEO, and managing partner while maintaining an active anesthesia practice.

In 2009, Dr. Smith launched a website that displays SCO’s all-inclusive pricing for various surgical procedures. This move garnered national and even international attention. Not only do many uninsured or underinsured American patients take advantage of this cash pricing, but many Canadians have traveled to The Surgery Center to receive care. Recently, the focus has expanded to working with self-funded employers to offer high-value care to their employees. Increasingly, self-funded health plans are taking advantage of Dr. Smith’s pricing model resulting in significant savings for their employee health plans.

The free market focus of the Surgery Center, the innovator of this free market model in the U.S., has gained the endorsement of policymakers and legislators. Dr. Smith hopes as many facilities as possible will adopt a transparent pricing model, which he believes will lower costs for all and improve the quality of care. Dr. Smith is the co-founder of the Free Market Medical Association. The association provides a platform where buyers, individuals, and employers seeking high-quality, affordable healthcare can find free market-minded sellers, both physicians and facilities.

Additionally, Dr. Smith has appeared on the John Stossel Show, CNBC, Huffington Post, The O’Reilly Factor, Capital Account with Lauren Lyster, and the Ron Paul Channel. Reason Magazine’s TV division and NBC affiliate, KFOR, has also featured him. The New York Times, ABC News, Forbes, and others have written articles featuring Dr. Smith’s revolutionary approach to healthcare pricing and uncompromising free market principles.

He is also a strong supporter of #DPC and NBPAS.   

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The Pediatric Lounge - A Podcast taking you behind the door of the Physician's Lounge to get a deeper insight into what docs are talking about today, from the clinically profound to the wonderfully routine...and everything in between.

The conversations are not intended as medical advice, and the opinions expressed are solely those of the host and guest.