This week, First Opinion published an essay that went viral: More than 15 years ago, Wendell Potter went from a PR executive at Cigna to a whistleblower. On Tuesday, he wrote a scathing piece about the health insurance industry: “the relentless profit demands of Wall Street, its growing entanglement in the health care sector, and how it is adversely impacting patient care.” It resonated with many readers, I’m proud to say.

I plan to continue publishing essays on First Opinion about the backlash to the health care industry. But I want to make sure to start focusing on where we go from here. I’m going to continue looking for essays that make sharp, clear proposals for what should happen next. What fixes would actually make a difference in a sprawling, complicated health care system? Critically, what fixes have a chance of being implemented in a fractured political environment? What do people within the industry think that the backlash is getting wrong, and what changes would they like to see? The more specific, the better. I want to see the conversation both on STAT and elsewhere go from anger to idea-generation.

If you have an idea for something along those lines, please reach out: first.opinion@statnews.com.  

Recommendation of the week: I really enjoyed this week’s episode of the health care policy podcast “Tradeoffs,” which featured a nuanced interview with pediatrician and researcher Aaron Carroll about the health insurance industry backlash. Carroll argues that criticism of insurance companies is valid, but that they are just one part of a dysfunctional system. (Disclosure: I donate money to “Tradeoffs” monthly. Remember: Support the media that you find valuable!)