The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Jason Lee & Matthew Herman Discuss Enhance Health, Jason's Run For Stockton City Council + More

Episode Date: December 8, 2023

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Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God.

What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. We need help! That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast

Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show, Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people.

We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit. The podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while running errands or at the end of a busy day. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Listen to Black Lit on the Black Effect Podcast

Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Morning, everybody.

It's DJ Envy, Charlemagne the guy. We are The Breakfast Club. We got some special guests joining us today. One gentleman, he's running for Stockton City Council District 6. He's a friend to the room. You know him, ladies and gentlemen. Jason Lee. Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you. And the other brother is CEO and owner of Enhance Health, Matt Herman. Good morning. Good Herman. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. So let's start off with you, Matt. What is Enhance Health?

So Enhance Health today is the largest ACA provider in the United States today. Primarily, most people don't know that you can get affordable health insurance for free. Around the COVID era, the government put in place a, what you call a low income subsidy. So what we do is we help the underserved and unprivileged population get health insurance. So for example, this past year, we got about a little bit more than a million policies out to people who never even knew that they can get coverage for free, nor did they ever have health insurance. So not only do we do that, but we educate these consumers on how to access healthcare. So a lot of people just run to the emergency room, they run to urgent care. They don't even know that

they can get a primary care physician. So not only do we help them get coverage, but then we pair them up with a doctor and really help people get healthy. Now, how do people do that? I know a lot of people that actually have to go to emergency room or urgent care when something happens because they don't have a primary physician. So what's the process of gaining a primary physician and for free? So there's no co-pays or nothing? Depends on your state, depends on the policy that you have. But usually, yes, usually you will find policies with no co-pay, but the policy that you have but usually yes usually there's it's you will find policies with no copay but the premium that you usually pay is usually expensive in the prior years but that would be free to the individual how long you been in the healthcare field I've

got you into it I've been doing about health care for about 15 plus years always been passionate and helping people always thought health insurance is important. And when found out that we can give coverage now to individuals for free, it really sparked an interest for me to really help people. You have people out there that are single mothers that are pregnant, you know, diabetes, mental health, special needs kids that need coverage more than anybody.

And to not realize that you can't get it, the government is doing a poor job letting people know that this is here to help people. And that's really what my message is, is to really spread that amongst the communities. And that's why we partnered with individuals like Jason Lee and some other celebrities and influencers to really help use their platform to spread the message.

Before we get into the collaboration you and Jason got, why should somebody choose Enhanced Health over other healthcare programs? Sure. So Enhanced Health is not competing with any carrier. So what we do basically is we are a brokerage, if you want to call it, where we have access to every carrier within the exchange. The exchange is where you go to get coverage. So based on your demographics, your zip code, what medications you may take, we'll actually give you the information of what's going to be the best policy for that individual. So we're not, we don't just say, hey, we're going to put you here because we make more money. We place individuals where they should

go based on what they need. How difficult is it, you know, as far as age is concerned or pre, you know, preconditions, like whether it's somebody has cancer or HIV or, you know, they are a smoker or one of those things, how difficult is it to place people in places where they can actually get the care that they need? Yeah. So that's a great question. So in prior years, you would go through something called underwriting. Underwriting is where they would turn you down in ACA they made it so anybody with pre-existing conditions can get approved guaranteed issue so it's just like anybody if you had no condition or you had a condition anybody can easily sign up how did this partnership come together Jason so I met Matt you know at the Floyd Mayweather fighter who's one of the sponsors and then

eventually when we had the Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards and we were looking for partners that would be able to integrate into the event, understanding that it's about how people that have influence use their platforms to move the culture. We had lunch, and when he told me about Enhance and all that he's doing to help our community specifically, he integrated into our award show, came up on stage with Tiffany and I, talked about Enhance and what he's doing to help our community specifically. He integrated into our award show, came up on stage with Tiffany and I talked about Enhance and what he's doing for our communities. We

immediately met after that. And, you know, my background before entertainment, I spent 11 years with the labor union working with Kaiser Permanente. And I remember when we were going through that process of developing the Thrive campaign, it was really about educating specifically people of color who look like us, who only go to the doctor when they're dying. That preventative care was important instead of managed care. So how do we prevent diabetes or colon cancer instead of managing it when you get it? And so, as you know, I've been like heavily involved in my process. I lost 132 pounds because of you and our relationship. I started being open at therapy and I'm actively participating in it. I feel the change. I see people see the change. And then I recently got my colonoscopy after I

found out my dad had found polyps and they found polyps when they did mine. And so I mean, yeah, I had three. And one of them was, I guess I don't know the specific answers. Yes. And so now I got to go back in three years to get it checked again. And so that kind of scared me. But, you know, as you get older and then you get more involved in your process of really wanting to live longer and have a more healthier life experience, you understand that there's a lot of us that may not have the benefits or privileges that some of us where we are in our careers may have. And those are the people, my family members, my friends, people in the hood that I want to make sure they have access. So we sat down and I said, you know what? We need to create a partnership where we can get to the culture, where we can, where we can do it in a way that the government is unable to do it. So why don't we create a

partnership? And that's where we established Healthcare Unlocked. And so we have Hollywood Unlocked and then we have Enhance Health. And I said, our tagline is going to be making healthcare cool because we should, we should want the young 20 year olds who have health insurance or 21 year olds or whatever. We have health insurance to understand that participating in your health care process isn't when it's too late or when it's almost too late. I had prediabetes, inflammation, sleep apnea. I was 323 pounds and I was literally on the pathway to a heart attack and I just didn't want to die. So I took aggressive measures to get healthy. And now we've been able to create a partnership where we can get access for folks who may not have had it before.

And not only that, I think a lot of kids when they graduate college, I think the age is 22 or 23 when COBRA ends. And COBRA is when you're under your parents' policy and it ends and you have to get your own. And most people don't know how. If they don't have a job, they can't get out. So this could be a perfect way for them to definitely check it out. So I was going to ask you, besides that, is this part of the reason why you're running for Stockton City Council District 6 to help people in the neighborhood with things like health care, jobs? I seen you on the picket line the other day. Is that part of the reason why you're doing it?

Yeah. I mean, you know, those folks shout out to OP3, the union that was striking and stocked and striking against the city. Part of that is they're in the process of negotiating their benefits with the city. Health care in the world of the workforce is a benefit. And those benefits are always at stake because those become one of the most significant line items in employer budgets. So that is part of it, but it's also, you know, at my kickoff on December 11th, we're going to have a table there to educate people on Healthcare Unlocked and how to get access. We have a phone number they can call. And we've also taken this partnership beyond just the way we actually have a whole department at Enhance Health

of agents who are helping to sign people up and helping to navigate through the process. So yeah, this will be a part of my campaign because healthcare is important, and my district definitely needs to have access to it. We talked about this earlier, Jason, like at the top of the show. Well, this is an interview, so shut up, Charlamagne. But do you think you're going to be taken serious because of the Hollywood Unlocked background, because people associate Jason Lee with mess and messiness, even though I've known you long enough to see the growth, to see the evolution. Do you think others will? We live in a different time right now where the

world took Trump serious, even after he said, grab him by the vagina. And we've seen that in most cases, cancel culture applies to the culture more than it applies to people that don't look like us. And if a person can fast track his way to the highest office in the country and become the most powerful person in the world, I think anything's possible. When it comes to me, I think that the reason why I wanted to come here and love coming here, the reason why I did Simone Sanders show, the reason why I'm allowing black storytellers to interview me is because we're not a monolith and we're not the sum of one experience or one job. I worked in education. I worked in probation. I worked in healthcare.

I worked in community organizing. And so I'm pretty much just showing people another layer to me. And now having gone through therapy and understanding the power of my platform, which is why I did the partnership with Hanson, Matt, the reason why I decided to step in the game and to become an elected official, because I don't want to say politician, because I'm not accepting money from the developers in the city or meeting with groups that don't plan for economic development on the South Side. If they don't believe that the black and brown kids in South Stockton deserve the same life experience as those on the other side, then they're not for me. I'm in the business of people. Do I think that people are going to come up with messages? Yeah, I already got one person that emailed me and said

i heard you own you own only fans and our only fans model i'm like well only fans is worth 18 billion dollars and if i was an owner and a model i probably wouldn't be running for public office but i'm expecting it but you know if they know my job they know that i pulled up every receipt i can find and i'm ready for it and i look forward to it now what would you say to people that say okay jason we match receipt receipt for receipt baby i mean the person i'm running against right now uh i understand yesterday they filed an ethics complaint against her because she uses the city resources for her job she's a mental health professional uh she's literally going to be absent from one of the biggest votes in the city today when we're turning out hundreds of people because they're voting about a warehouse initiative

that's going to cause an extreme amount of environmental issues that she has refused to meet with the people about, hasn't showed up, had no town hall, and she's not even going to be present during the meeting today. So she's one of those people that doesn't, she cares more about her position in politics over the people. I've just gone back and now given a bigger platform, a bigger voice, and also outside resources where they're more focused on local district attorney

holding them accountable. I'm talking about, hey, we got the DOJ, we got other ways of doing that. I have to give a certain shout out to Brando. He's one of the city council members up there. When I went back to do my nonprofit, he said, why should we support your nonprofit to help these kids who are dying every day and have no opportunity? When you're friends with Floyd Mayweather and

Rihanna, why don't you just ask them for help? And although I am talking to Floyd and Rihanna about helping everybody else I know, I just felt like that was a loser response to like a crisis that's crippling the community. And so when I went and did my research on him, I found out he allegedly robbed his grandmother. These are the type of people who are leading in the city right now. So, you know, all my stuff is out there, and I'm the most transparent person. I'm excited about this whole experience. I was going to ask you, you know, what do you say to people that say,

well, is he taking this serious? Meaning, you know, we always see politicians run, and usually sometimes they run for the right reason to be in office. And sometimes they run to for their side job. Just just get the recognition. What do you say to people that say Jason Lee has so many goddamn jobs? He has a show on Revolt. He has a lot of people two months ago. Oh, sorry. No, thank you for that. Yes. Yes. His podcast. He has Hollywood Unlocked. he has all these shows that he's doing he's doing hosting he's traveling around the world when will he have time to concentrate on stockton california

yeah i'm taking this serious one i went got me a home in the city i made sure to create that as my place of my domicile where i live i actually moved in and i'm excited to be back in the community my show is my job does require me to travel. I think all my global traveling, I'm getting out as soon as I can because when I went in the primary March 5th, then I have until January 1st to start. But I have a full staff of people who manage my company.

So I have two days that I film and the rest of the time I'm committed to my nonprofit, Hollywood Cares. I'm committed to Healthcare Unlocked. I'm committed to doing the work there in the city and are you gonna have to give all that up if you win no absolutely not no I just we did have an executive meeting recently where I'm leaning on my staff and like the the leadership to really own all of the parts of my business so Rob Smith

who's my CEO is in Miami every week all week you know leaning on our partners there at Enhance to lead healthcare unlocked. Yeah, I think it's a valid question, but I'm welcoming all the questions. I'm welcoming all the suspicion because what I learned for sure is that we have given up in this political game right now because the right is too right, the left is too left. It's like we're in the middle of this ping pong match. And so I am glad that people are questioning the process but i'm also excited at watching how more uh civically engaged my community is there's more black and brown

people i mean one person yesterday drove all the way to the airport to get keys to a property so they can go and put my signs in i mean that's how supportive the community is and active in this campaign so yeah i welcome all the criticism we We're going to still win though. Matt, what are some common mistakes people run into when they're choosing their healthcare program? You know, most people are going on that do know about insurance because you see the little ads on TV, healthcare.gov. It's very confusing. You know, you could sit there and spend 45 minutes and I would say most people go to the top right of your screen and hit the X button, and they're out. Not choosing the right policy, not making sure that there's coverage for doctors in your area. Just really got to pay attention to what's wrong, what symptoms you have, what medications, to be able to pick the right policy for yourself.

And that's why we're able to do this in about a 12 to 15 minute window when somebody calls in and we're able to pick the right policy for you I would say picking the wrong policy is probably the biggest mistake and when you when you're talking health coverage does your health coverage include eyes and dental it just depends on you know which care it is and what what policy I mean we work with so many different carriers every carrier that's offered within the country we have on our platform. And also, what about Medicaid redetermination? Because that's a big conversation as well.

Yeah. So you have 12, 15 million people just got kicked off of Medicaid throughout the entire year, and it's happening throughout the year. Most people that had Medicaid didn't even realize that they lost their Medicaid. So it's another problem. We're currently in the White House and also leaning in on the states on fixing that problem for the country as just a massive issue right now. What do you say to people who say they can't afford health care? It's free. It's free. Damn. Simple as that.

Shut up. It's free. And people don't know that. That's why partnering with folks like Hollywood Unlocked is good because you can amplify that. Well, and the other thing that's crazy when you talk about we're in the White House so you know I remember when I started my when we were at the first Christmas party for the president and I remember we came back here and Charlamagne was like okay you get up you know when you

get over there and you make those people mad or whatever you don't you know agree with them it's gonna get tricky you know the one thing I will say you're right the second part I will say is that getting in there and learning the different departments and how the government works and how the government's broken. You know, we did go to the vice president's house for the 50th anniversary of hip hop, but then we set up a meeting with CMS and HHS who regulate and oversee all the health care in our country. And to see like there's this thing that's available, this health care, access to health care, free health care in our country. And these people have access to the people who are responsible for getting the word out.

But there's certain things they can or cannot do. And educating people in partnership with us has been a really tricky thing. So we're trying to figure out how to truly partner with them. And I've said to the vice president's team, this is my number one priority right now because I do understand the power of my platform. If I can use it to promote Blueface and Krishan all day, I could also use it to promote getting people healthy, especially people who look like us. So, you know, there's a lot of yellow tape,

but I'm confident that, you know, the folks over at the White House are going to figure out how to cut through that so we can get to the people. How come people don't know health care is free? Because you always hear about it, you know, people just want an affordable health care plan. That's what everybody always says, they want it affordable. But how come people don't know health care is free? Because you always hear about it, you know, people just want an affordable health care plan. That's what everybody always says. They want an affordable. But how come people don't know it's actually free? Well, it's up to the government to put that message out there. And how is the government advertising that health insurance is free? And they're really not. That's really what the problem is.

You know, you have to let the people know what's going on for the people to know that it's there, you know, and that you have the option to do so. Well, and another thing too, like one of the things we said to them on the call with CMS is, you know, on the same day that Cardi B has told me she's going to jump in the campaign and support it and do this for free, just to use her platform to educate people, especially that New York is what right around the corner to being one of the states that you all are helping to make sure the people of New York can get signed up. I said, it's the same day she just put the administration on blast for defunding education and funding a war. And so you all can't get to that, but you can't pay the people that we have relationships with in the culture to push your program. But we're partnering with people to help them push an initiative that is your thing. So how is it that you can't figure it out?

And I keep trying to explain to these people that you have to listen to us. And that's the one criticism that I have of this administration. I really believe in specifically it has to, you know, I have to land this plane at Kamala's front door because her team has failed to take an opportunity to connect with culture drivers, culture disruptors, to be creative in how we reach the people. If the Breakfast Club, Hollywood Unlocked, Shade Rooms, Baller Lurs, Neighborhood Talk, all those platforms are the vein of what everybody's talking about online. How do you not make it a priority before Election Day or the election process to tap into us? The other thing, I'll say the DNC and DCCC, you have, they're raising, what, $1.3 billion in this administration's campaign. So you mean to tell me that in every state around the country where the lack of access to medicaid or health care or voter whatever voter uh the ability to protect the vote is at a top priority you're spending less than one percent of advertising with uh black

owned media that's crazy that's insane but but but when you show up you know when they say we did it joe it's the black vote the Simone Sanders and the Kamala Harris who put their faces out there to drive us to the poll or to drive us to the election or the ballot box but then after that then what nothing matters you know so when you wonder why people are excited about Trump it's because he's out there being disruptive for his interests and I feel like they need to be a little bit more creative and disruptive in ours. Disruptive for his interests, disruptive for his people. Yep.

You know? Yeah. Well, we appreciate you guys for joining us. Tell them how they can get in touch with you and, you know, support your campaign. Both of you guys. Yeah. You can go to HollywoodUnlocked.com slash healthcare or just call straight into a hands at 1-888-987-3719.

And I believe 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, you can get help navigating through this process. All right. Well, it's Jason Lee. It's Matt Herman. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Thank you. Wake that ass up.

In the morning. The Breakfast Club. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy.

55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan. on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that

affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jacqueline Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit. The podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks

while running errands or at the end of a busy day. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Listen to Black Lit on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together.

Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.