Alex LeClair on Healthcare Prices, Site-Neutral Billing & the Basement Generation

Joanna and Andy open with a candid conversation about Democratic Party neutrality in primaries — and why the Vermont coordinated campaign's "buy-in" model undermines voter trust.Then Alex LeClair, CEO of Essex Physical Therapy, joins the pod to pull back the curtain on what it's actually like to run a small healthcare business in Vermont. Alex unpacks the authorization gauntlet that delays patient care, the jaw-dropping disparity between what hospitals and independent clinics get reimbursed for the same PT visit, and what House Bill 585's site-neutral billing proposal could mean for primary care. He also digs into Vermont's housing and healthcare premium crisis through a very personal lens — including a high school friend with a spinal injury who called him last summer worried he wouldn't be able to afford catheters if Medicaid cuts went through. Alex grew up in Essex, built a career in Boston, came back ready to plant roots — and is living in his parents' basement because the down payment isn't enough. He is the thirty-year-old in the basement.Plus: Joanna launches her State Senate campaign at the Richmond Library — live on mic, with her kid Isa by her side. The cookies got rave reviews. The signs are very slightly pink. And Isa has strong opinions about miniature horses.#TheresNoAInCreemee #VTPoli #VermontPolitics #VermontHealthcare #PrimaryCareCrisis #SiteNeutralBilling #HousingCrisis #AffordableVT #VTLeg #SmallBusiness #GreenMountainCareBoard #JoannaForSenate #VTElections2026 #Creemee #VermontLife #BasementGeneration