Point of View October 20, 2026 – Hour 1 : Super Intelligence to Reach Human Potential, Regulate AI? Start with Health Care

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kerby Anderson.

[00:00:42] It was interesting last night, we had an event and one of the questions was about data centers, some of the other questions were artificial intelligence. There was one about inflation and another one about the midterms, but it is a top of the mind kind of topic and that's what we're going to be talking about today here on Point of View. Yes, we're going to devote a lot of time talking about artificial intelligence today, but yes, it's so great to be here in Georgia and meet so many people who listen through the Good News Network. We're enjoying our visit so much.

[00:01:09] Well, again, I would love to say more about that and we will a little bit later talk about one of the races here in the state of Georgia that might have a national implication later on. So those of you can certainly pay attention, but let me just again right away introduce our guest and that is Todd Sheets. He's an investment banker and economist, graduated with honors from the University of Iowa, actually has managed some very prestigious firms,

[00:01:33] probably best known for his book, a 2008 What Really Happened, Understanding the Great Financial Crisis. But he's also been talking about this idea of super intelligence and artificial intelligence. So Todd, welcome to Point of View. Kirby, it's great to be with you today. Well, if we can, let's get into that because the president now says, well, we shouldn't call it artificial intelligence. We should call it super intelligence.

[00:01:59] And as an investment banker and an individual dealing with finances, and certainly your book illustrates that, how did you kind of get into this whole idea of wanting to use super intelligence to help us reach human potential? Yeah, you know, I think it's very important for us to look at this from a couple of different perspectives. One of this is technological evolution and change is inevitable in human life. We've been experiencing it throughout human history.

[00:02:29] There have been many points in times when we were worried that technological developments, you know, might cause big problems, maybe even bring an end to humanity, that type of thing. You know, the development of atomic weapons in the nuclear age brought about a lot of those fears. But each and every time those fears have been resolved, people have been able to find a way to deal with the potential problems

[00:02:56] that might develop no matter how catastrophic they might be. And ultimately, we have found a way to not just deal with those things so that they don't become a catastrophic problem for humanity, but also to use these new technologies to help us move forward, expand, have a higher quality of life, have a wider range of jobs that are available to us, have more free time because they help make us more efficient and that kind of thing.

[00:03:23] And I think artificial intelligence or superintelligence, which probably is a better name for it, is going to fall right in line with all of these past historical developments. You know, Mr. Sheets, it's great talking with you. A lot of people, including leaders of these huge AI companies, have been the ones really talking about these doomsday predictions lately. And, of course, we've covered that on Point of View.

[00:03:48] But a lot of people are concerned about that and they think, okay, we know that technology has progressed this far. But from the mouths of the people who are developing it themselves, they're saying this is different than any other kind of technology. It has more potential but also more danger. So when you hear some of those very dramatic predictions that, you know, humanity could be wiped out and some of these really scary things, what's your response to that? Yeah, I think it's very understandable. I think that there are real risks there.

[00:04:18] I don't think the most dire risks are anywhere near as highly probable as some of those people make it seem. And I think it's also important to realize there are a couple of different factions in the AI community and in the technology community. One is this kind of doomsday scenario group, which is largely being led and has Dario Amadei from Anthropic at the forefront of it.

[00:04:46] And they have been pushing this agenda that this is potentially a doomsday-like product if it's not controlled properly, so on and so forth. My perspective there is that I think, one, they are trying to run an agenda that basically leads towards some type of government regulatory body that is overseeing and defining the future of AI that they will play a very significant role in.

[00:05:15] And then there's a term for this in economics. It's called regulatory capture, where that then gives a large successful company the opportunity to have significant influence over the regulatory body, which establishes rules that are then to the benefit of that company that's leading the process. I think that's what they're trying to achieve with a lot of this, even though they're, you know,

[00:05:39] maybe they are genuinely concerned about these kinds of things, but we often, our own self-interest blinds us to the reality of the approach we're taking. There's another part of the community, Mark Zuckerberg at Meta is a part of this, Jensen Wong at NVIDIA. You know, what their perspective on this is, we need competition. We do not want one firm like Anthropic controlling what's happening through the regulatory process.

[00:06:07] And the responsibility to make sure that AI is developed in a responsible and safe way really rests with the companies that are developing it. And that's actually my belief. This is one of the reasons why capitalism works is if you think about it, the only people who really understand this right now are the people developing it. This is new. It's cutting edge.

[00:06:34] It's not an area where there's an existing body of understanding research and those kinds of things that could help guide a regulatory body. So the people who are going to push this forward are going to be the people leading these companies. And the best line of defense for us is that it is in all of their interest to create products that are better for their consumers than not adopting their products and that do more benefit than harm.

[00:07:03] So if any of these create and put out a product that I sign up and subscribe to, and then it causes me far more harm in my life by, you know, doing things within my computer systems or my records or my data, those kinds of things that I don't like. Well, I'm going to cut the subscription and never go back.

[00:07:21] And so the people who are ultimately funding the advancement of all of this, you know, are users like us and like companies that are hiring on all of whom have a vested interest in only working with systems and developments that better our lives instead of making them worse. And I think that's the best line of defense.

[00:07:41] That's far better than trying to set up a regulatory body that will be guided by people outside of the industry that don't know what they're doing and people inside the industry who, you know, may, you know, propose to be working in an altruistic way but are also working in a way that benefits their own company.

[00:08:02] Thank you.

[00:08:34] Thank you.

[00:09:16] Thank you.

[00:09:45] Thank you. Thank you.

[00:10:19] Thank you. Thank you.

[00:10:50] Thank you.

[00:11:22] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:11:52] Tan sonra, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. is going extinct, but just the gradual intellectual offloading that might erode cognition. And so I'm wondering if you're concerned about that and if you see a future of potential AI usage where we're not running into that or we're able to avoid that, what would you

[00:12:22] say about that? Yeah, so I think all of these are reasonable concerns. And as we develop new technologies, you know, whether it's artificial or super intelligence today, you know, it was the smartphones not that long ago in the late 2000s. It was the personal computer in the 1990s. You know, we can go back and back and back. There's always the potential and the reality that some of the uses will be less than ideal.

[00:12:50] And we as a society, as parents and as individuals will have to figure out how to use these things in a way that makes our lives better and that, you know, doesn't take them down a dysfunctional path. And some of the choices that people will make, you know, will end up being less than optimal or potentially very harmful. So those are things that we'll have to deal with at all the different levels that we just talked about.

[00:13:15] But it's very easy to lose sight of how much these kinds of things can improve life. And I think it's good to go back and look at some historical examples to get a sense of these kinds of things. If we go back, you know, maybe a little over 100 years or so, when Henry Ford started to what they call automobiles. We could have sat around and we had the kind of community that we have to take.

[00:13:44] And many of us thought, oh, my gosh, you know, if they use an assembly line that makes making cars more efficient, it's going to put all of the existing automobiles out of business, even though it's a relatively small industry. You could put all of the people in the horse and buggy and making whips and shooing horses and all those kinds of things out of work. And then we could also have talked about and imagined, think about all the dangerous things that could happen.

[00:14:11] I mean, a car could get into an accident with another car that could cause, you know, human suffering. A car could be used, you know, as a weapon to try and run over somebody on purpose. And so there were all these possible things. But as a society, what ended up happening, let's kind of work through it sequentially. Henry Ford created the assembly line. When he did, it made manufacturing a car significantly more affordable.

[00:14:39] The cost of an automobile dropped from somewhere around $2,000 or $1,500. It was known at that time as a rich person's toy down to less than $300. As that happened, demand for automobiles exploded. And there was so much demand that they had trouble hiring enough people to work in the Ford factories.

[00:15:03] And so Ford implemented a number of means of outreach just to try and bring in. So the number of auto workers actually expanded significantly. Auto workers became much more efficient as a result of the assembly line. And when that happened, at one point Ford decided we could shorten the work week down to, I think it was five or six days at that point in time.

[00:15:31] And the company became so profitable, he also decided we needed to share the benefits of the workers for our own benefit to help retain workers so that they weren't, you know, getting lost in the drudgery of assembly line work. They actually doubled workers' wages. There was the $5 day, which was a historic moment for labor. So it would have been easy to imagine a number of, you know, maybe not doomsday, but very dangerous scenarios, some of which actually did happen.

[00:16:00] It was very hard to conceive of all the amazing and positive things that came from that. Later it would have been road construction and all of the highways and the motels that came along the highways and the gas stations that then developed and the mechanics that worked in those gas stations to work on the cars.

[00:16:19] So active onset of one of these new technologies, it's often easy to identify problems, very hard to imagine the things that we can't quite envision because we don't know exactly how these new technologies will be used. To improve our lives.

[00:16:38] But we do know that throughout history, whether it was the automobile, the advent of greater communications, let's say through television, you know, going back in the 50s and the 60s, then the computer revolution, then the cell phone and the smartphones and those types of things, that by and large society has learned how to deal with them.

[00:17:01] And I think for the most part, it's helped advance us to a place that most people would not want to give up and go back to an earlier point in the time of technological development. And again, you talk about the issue of education. Another example, of course, you use cars, is when we first electrified homes, people thought they were going to catch fire. And I've seen all sorts of stories about that as well. And so a lot of it is education.

[00:17:26] And I might just point that we do have a link to, of course, the Todd Sheets website on wealth and progress. You have a commentary about politics, economics, all the kinds of issues we talk about. And in some respects, I think we need some education because, as you well know, oftentimes when some of the valedictorians and even some of the speakers at college graduations mentioned AI, there was a round of boos from the audience.

[00:17:55] So there's a real need for education. And so in the last minute or two I have with you, talk about how people can connect up with you, what maybe they can find on the newsletter in case they would like to get into some of those issues. Or perhaps if they'd like to get a copy of your book, 2008, What Really Happened? It does seem to me that there are some ways in which we need to educate people. And that's, of course, what Point of View is all about. Yeah, thanks, Kirby. They can find my weekly newsletter. It's free.

[00:18:24] It's my way of giving something back for having had the opportunity to perceive and live my version of the American dream. It's called On Wealth in Progress, and it's available on Substack. So if you go to Substack and search my name, Todd Sheets, On Wealth in Progress, you can find it there. Another way to get to it is there's a link on my website, which is Todd Sheets Writer, W-R-I-T-E-R, and Sheets is S-H-E-E-T-S.

[00:18:48] And there's a link right on the home page there and some additional information about me that will take you either to the Substack site or to my book. And then finally, I put out a weekly podcast on the major services under On Wealth in Progress in my name also, which basically takes the weekly newsletter and provides it in roughly a 10-minute, 8-10-minute kind of video discussion.

[00:19:14] And I just mentioned on the Point of View website, pointofview.net, you will see the link to On Wealth in Progress. If you scroll down, there's a place where you can just type in your e-mail, and that is all you need to do. If you'd like to have him come and speak and address some of these issues, there's a place at the bottom where you can contact him. There's a place where you can learn more. Just keep pushing all the buttons, and you will find out all sorts of different ways in which you can interact with him. You can see him playing the guitar and a variety of other things. I think you will appreciate that.

[00:19:40] And so, Todd, thank you for being with us today as we have been so often talking about this issue of artificial intelligence. And I appreciate your perspective, and thank you for joining us today. Kirby and Liberty, thank you to both of you, and I appreciate you guys helping get the word out here. Liberty, this is something you've been writing about for some time. I've called you our expert, and in some respects there are just so many different facets of that. But he was talking about the fact that if we want to reach human potential, this is one way to do so. Well, yes, I don't know if I'm an expert or not.

[00:20:09] I don't think so. But I do appreciate Todd's perspective because so many of the perspectives that you hear are very extreme one way or the other. And I admit that I'm a skeptic when it comes to a lot of the current uses of AI. And then when you hear these doomsday predictions, they can be very scary. So hearing Todd kind of bring in that kind of historical perspective I think is helpful. And so I'm glad we're able to share that perspective with our listeners today. We're going to take a break. And when we come back, first of all, let me just encourage you to find some of the information that we've made available.

[00:20:39] Matter of fact, you can do the search engine at pointofview.net and type on AI or artificial intelligence or now super intelligence, since that's another phrase we're using. And you will find numerous articles, PDFs, and other resources. When we come back, though, we're going to talk with Randall Mark Hultgren. He is a former member of Congress. Our friends up there in Illinois would know who he is from 4th Congressional District. He now is currently president and CEO of the Illinois Bankers Association.

[00:21:08] And, again, we're going to tackle some of these issues. What about these data centers? What about AI and how that might affect jobs? What about the fact that we might be creating a surveillance state? Some very important questions. We're going to talk about it with him and Liberty right after these important messages.

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[00:22:59] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson. Broadcasting again from the Good News Network here in Augusta, Georgia. And we're privileged to have with us, of course, around the table, Liberty McCarter.

[00:23:24] And the two of us have been talking about this issue of artificial intelligence, or as we talked about in the last segment, super intelligence. And we wanted to bring another expert to the microphone, and that is Randall Mark Hultgren. He's an individual that served as a U.S. representative for Illinois' 14th congressional district. He's an individual that in the past served in the Senate seat there in the Illinois General Assembly.

[00:23:48] We have a couple of different websites for him, one for the Illinois Bankers Association, where he is currently the president and CEO. We also have one for Alliance Healthcare Sharing. We'll explain all of that in just a minute. We also have his ex as a variety of other places where you can connect up with him. And so, first of all, Congressman Hultgren, welcome to Point of View. Thank you, Kirby. Great to be with you.

[00:24:14] Liberty, I think we are going to be getting into some other of these very controversial issues with artificial intelligence, aren't we? Yes. You know, there are so many ways that AI is affecting all areas of our life. And one area that I was reading about here, Congressman Hultgren, that I was glad that we're highlighting with you is how it might be affecting things in the healthcare industry,

[00:24:38] specifically whether or not these healthcare companies are using artificial intelligence programs and agents in order to approve or deny people's healthcare claims, and whether or not that might be a problem. So I was wondering if you could kind of introduce us to that issue and what's been going on in that area. Yeah, it's a thank you, Liberty. Good to be with you as well. And it is a, you know, it's a real concern. It's I use AI. I know other people do as well.

[00:25:05] There's some great benefits to it or super intelligence, as you're talking about. There's certainly benefits, but with every powerful tool, it can be misused. And we're seeing that happen on some things where people think they're maybe working with a real person, getting direction from a real person. But unfortunately, that's not always the case. And I don't know that it's always clear enough of, especially when it comes to healthcare, healthcare questions, healthcare needs.

[00:25:34] And so my challenge, my encouragement that I give to myself, my own family, to my friends is to be good stewards, certainly, of your information. I think government, Congress, the administration are going to have to continue to lean into this. It changes almost every single day. So I know that's a challenge of just figuring out again.

[00:25:57] And usually, I thought when I served in Congress for eight years that when Congress acts on things that they don't understand, oftentimes there's a lot of unintended consequences. And we don't want that. So we want good information. But also, I think this is one of those places that is as important as any place that I've seen in my lifetime and in my career of service where people need to be engaged. People need to take responsibility for it and see that they've got choices. They can ask questions.

[00:26:26] They can push in and find out some more of what actually is happening. Who actually are they getting information from? Who is approving or denying certain claims? And I think this is, again, going to be something that your listeners are going to have to be aware of. And I'll also kind of flip the switch a little bit and hoping we can talk about this some, too, is there's other options out there where you really know you're working with real people. And that's one of the things I'm excited about. I'm serving as executive director for the Alliance of Healthcare Steering Ministries.

[00:26:55] And it's something that I didn't know much about 20 years ago, but had to be on Obamacare when I was in Congress. Hated it. It just didn't work well for my family. My wife and our four kids were back in Illinois. Since my work address was D.C., I had to be on the D.C. exchange, and it was a nightmare. And so we'd ended up doing some research, again, taking control of our own healthcare and finding out that there were other good options out there,

[00:27:20] like healthcare-steering ministries that have been around for decades, serving millions of people, and a wonderful alternative to insurance. And, again, knowing that you're dealing with real people. So we can go in a lot of different directions here. But I did want to get that out there, that American families really do deserve healthcare that they can afford, but also healthcare where they can make the choices and they can know they're working with somebody who cares about them, who's not profiting from their illness.

[00:27:49] And that's one of the things I love about healthcare-steering ministries. I'm happy to go any direction you all want to go as far as thoughts or questions. Yes, absolutely. I do want to get into talking about the benefit of these health-sharing ministries. I know we've highlighted some of those in the past, including Samaritan Ministries. And so there are a lot of great options there for people. And so before we talk about that in more detail,

[00:28:12] I just want to kind of ground for people to be aware of what's happening with some of the traditional health insurance companies. So, for instance, I know there's been a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, against, I think, Humana and Cigna, where an AI program was used to deny payments to a patient, even with the doctor saying that continued care was necessary.

[00:28:37] And what these lawsuits are alleging is that people did not realize that it was an AI program that was denying these claims. And so if somebody finds themselves in a situation like this, then what are the steps they can take to seek transparency? And then, of course, they may want to make a decision about changing their healthcare situation, which we can talk about a little bit later. But what are some steps or ways that they can go about seeking that transparency,

[00:29:04] whether directly from the company or maybe state and congressional levels? Yeah, it's a really good question and not easy answers, unfortunately. I'm also not only a recovering politician, but I'm a recovering lawyer. And so there's always that option that these have taken of a lawsuit. And, boy, that's a serious step, but sometimes that has to happen. And I think reaching out to customer service, talking to real people there,

[00:29:30] hopefully there still are a few real people around that you can talk to at your insurance company. And pointing in on this, making sure your doctor is aware of it. You know, they've got maybe a different leverage point than you do. And, you know, they've got to feel violated as well when they've authorized something and then it's denied. So I think getting your team put together of your doctor, others, talking to customer service with your insurance company,

[00:29:58] anybody else that, you know, you can have some leverage there. Hopefully you don't have to default to a lawsuit right away that can get addressed. These can get cleaned up and fixed where there's been an error made by a computer, by an AI program to identify this and get it rectified and cleared up. And hopefully also somebody else doesn't have to go through the same steps that you have to go through.

[00:30:23] I would also say it's really important to let elected officials know when stuff like this happens. And again, they're trying to figure this out in real time as it's changing every single day. But they care about their voters. They really do. As we know, the election's coming up in two weeks. If you haven't voted yet, get out and vote. We need every single person to get out and vote. I say it every election, but this is the most important election of our lifetime. And each one is.

[00:30:52] And so we need to be engaged in this process. But we also not only need to vote, but also talk to elected officials. It may not always feel like it, but they work for you. Your member of Congress works for you. Your U.S. senator works for you. Your state legislators work for you. Talk to them. If something like this comes up, if there is a nightmare scenario, they need to know about it.

[00:31:12] And they're a powerful voice that when they have a hearing, when they make a phone call to an insurance company or send a subpoena or other things like that to testify on things, it gets attention. So, marshalling your resources, hoping and honestly praying that something like this doesn't happen to you or your family. But if it does, lean into it. Find out.

[00:31:36] Put your team together that can help you with your doctor, with other people, hopefully somebody at the insurance company that can recognize the mistake and fix it, or elected officials at the state or federal level. Let me just say that we're coming to a break. And when we come back, I do want to talk about the health care sharing ministries. As Liberty mentioned just a minute ago, we've in the past talked with MediShare recently, Samaritan. And this one, I think, is another great benefit.

[00:32:02] And when we come back, I'd like to talk about some of those because, as you can appreciate, Congressman Holkren, when I'm put in a pool with a lot of individuals, some who use drugs, some who maybe have STDs, some who are engaged in all sorts of different types of activities, which actually increase the health care cost,

[00:32:20] there is a real benefit oftentimes in, first of all, being in a pool with individuals who have a similar political and cultural and even moral perspective. And then, of course, the opportunity to pray for other individuals and to be involved in their lives, I think, is very significant. So when we come back from the break, I do want to talk about that a little bit. But as I mentioned before, if you would like to know a little bit more about Congressman Holkren,

[00:32:47] you can click on his picture and you will see that we have provided a couple of different links. And one of those, which we'll come back to, is, of course, with the Alliance Health Care Sharing. There's also one with the Illinois Bankers Association. There's also his ex-file so that you could interact with him as well. And as many of our listeners in the state of Illinois know, he served with distinction there in the 14th Congressional District. Before that was in the Senate seat there in the Illinois General Assembly.

[00:33:17] So we want to come back and talk a little bit more about that. This whole idea of artificial intelligence is one issue. How it can be used or misused in the health care issue is one we've just talked about, a topic we really haven't gotten into very much. And then I thought it would also be important for you to know a little bit about our particular Alliance Health Share Care Ministry. So let's take a break. When we come back, we'll continue our conversation broadcasting live from the Good News Network studio right here in Augusta, Georgia. We'll be right back.

[00:33:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Once again, as we broadcast from the Good News Network here in Augusta, Georgia, Liberty with me as well. Well, I'm spending just a few more minutes with Congressman Holtgren. And we have, of course, talked about the fact that he's president and CEO of the Illinois Bankers Association. But I thought, Congressman Holtgren, for just a minute we might talk about the Alliance Health Care Sharing Ministry, as you've already picked up. I am a very strong believer in that.

[00:34:27] And we have talked about that before. But Alliance, this may be the first time we've ever talked about it on Point of View. Well, thank you. And I do need to clarify something. Thank you so much. I actually just recently retired from the Illinois Bankers Association after six and a half years. Loved it. But I retired to really focus on passions that I have. And one of them is ministry. And what I'm really excited about is to be executive director for this Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries. So I retired from the bankers.

[00:34:57] Loved working with them and for them for the last six plus years. But now focus on health care sharing. And really excited about that because it's made such a difference for my own family. And so, real quickly, as you mentioned, you've talked with Samaritan Ministries, which is a great health care sharing ministry. And Medicare, another great health care sharing ministry. The Alliance is basically the umbrella.

[00:35:20] And we represent and work for several of these health care sharing ministries, the largest accredited health care sharing ministries across the country. And so, really making sure that we're presenting how valuable these health care sharing ministries are in states and among the federal government. Making sure that good laws are passed, bad laws are stopped. And then also doing things like this.

[00:35:49] Talking on interviews and things. Just to encourage people to look at it. It's not insurance. It's an alternative to insurance. But it's something that has been so wonderful for my family and I over the last 14 years. We've loved. We're part of Samaritan Ministries, which is one of our members at the Alliance. But the Alliance kind of speaks for all of them in recognizing different ministries, serve different groups, different people, have different focus. And yet all this common passion.

[00:36:17] And as you mentioned before the break, it is such a privilege to be gathered with several hundred thousand other like-minded people across the country. For me, thinking biblically, this idea of neighbor looking out for neighbor, even if my neighbor happens to be, again, across the country, up in Washington State or in Florida or wherever. Excuse me.

[00:36:40] This ability to be able to help people care and pay for their needs is something that has been very, very sweet and something that I'm so honored to be able to talk about on behalf of these health care sharing ministries through the Alliance. Let me just mention, too, there's a section on by the numbers. It talks about eight of these 107 health care sharing ministries, more than a billion dollars of medical expenses shared, certainly some of the other numbers.

[00:37:08] Because for some people, they may just not necessarily know much about it. You also have a rundown of what happens in each state. And Congressman Holger, we broadcast in about 40 states. So, again, people can scroll down and see what might be happening in their community, in their state, in terms of members and households. So, in some respects, you have this really good umbrella to educate people about many of the ministries we've talked about before.

[00:37:35] And so, again, thank you for that because it is, I think, very helpful for many people hearing about it for the first time and wondering, what exactly is this? I think you've done a pretty good job on the website of educating people about the impact of these ministries. Well, I appreciate that. And we're working on our website even to make it more functional and more valuable to people. But there is a lot of good information there. Because it's such a good story to tell and an important story to tell, again, it's very important for people to realize this is not insurance.

[00:38:05] This is not a legal contract. It is a covenant, a moral covenant that I make, my family makes with other families. So, the ministry, we're a part of Samaritan Ministries. It's several hundred thousand people who are part of Samaritan Ministries. Some are bigger ministries, maybe a little bit larger. Liberty is another one that's not quite as big. So, different ones, different groups. But all 50 states have coverage by health care-caring ministries.

[00:38:31] Another thing that's kind of interesting, I talked about Obamacare and how frustrating that was for my family and I. But written into that law, that was passed before I got to Congress. It was kind of a big reason why I won back in 2010 was that bill getting shoved through before people could read it and really know what was in it. But in that bill, one of the things that's interesting is that health care-caring ministries literally are written into that bill recognizing their legality, recognizing them as a viable alternative to insurance.

[00:38:59] So, there is strong standings. Both parties have voted in support of health care-caring in the past. And so, it's a great alternative. Is it for everybody? Maybe not. But I think many more people, like I said, there's maybe a little under 2 million people, Americans who are part of health care-caring. I think another million or 2 million people could benefit from health care-caring ministries. It still would be a small number.

[00:39:26] But it has been such a relief for me to know that when I'm sending my check to another family, I know it's going to a real medical need. Not something that I am morally opposed to, like an abortion, like a transgender type work or operation or medicine. I know it's not doing that. It's going to, it's a group of people who share common faith that I have, common beliefs that I have.

[00:39:54] So, the group that we're a part of, we sign a statement of faith. We also sign and have our pastor or church leader sign a document that we're a part of a local community. There are things that you can kind of predict that people are living healthier lifestyles. And just like you said, having a group together that make good choices, it ends up that, by and large, their health expenses are not as much.

[00:40:21] So, I think there again, over the last 14 years, my family and I have saved well over $100,000 on our health care coverage. And you have to count in, you know, family having to pay for other dependents and things like that on employer health care. And also deductibles that just don't apply with this. And on top of it, we get to choose the doctor that we want to go to, choose the hospital that we want to go to. And we become good stewards. We ask questions.

[00:40:50] We ask, is this really necessary? Unfortunately, when people, you know, all they have is their co-pay, they don't care. They'll go to the emergency room. They'll get any procedure. And a lot of doctors, again, fearful of lawyers, will give every test, even knowing that they're not necessary. And so, all of this makes for better stewards of health care who are part of health care sharing ministry. So, again, we just appreciate the work that you're doing here.

[00:41:15] And, again, if people are interested, the first website will take you to, again, Alliance Health Care Sharing. If you scroll down, you can find out about the different organizations, many of which we've interviewed here before. And then some very good material about some of the numbers and even what might be happening in your community. So, Congressman, thank you for your service first in Congress, before that even in the Senate there in the Illinois General Assembly.

[00:41:39] But thank you now for not only serving in the Illinois Bankers Association but now with Alliance Health Care Sharing. So it's been great to have you on the program. Oh, so good to be with you. Thank you for the great work you do. Good beginning people. And, again, love how you do that and encourage people to be informed and not be victims but really to be a part of their own care but also our future as a nation. So thank you so much for having me.

[00:42:06] Let's see, McCann, just before we finish off this first hour, mention that when we come back, we're going to talk about the fact there's a very interesting race here in the state of Georgia that has some national significance. I'll talk about that in just a minute. And Liberty will talk about what's going on in France. We haven't done so. And that, in some respects, sets up for the conversation we'll have in the second part of the next hour. So some great things to look forward to. Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of people are seeing these headlines on what's going on across the pond.

[00:42:33] And so we need to break it down and understand that from several different perspectives. And so we're definitely going to do that in just a few minutes. We're going to take a break. Let me, again, encourage you to go to the website if you were saying, well, I'd like to know a little bit more about Todd Sheets. I'd like to know a little bit more about Randall Mark Holtgren. Or you'd like to know some of the other material that we're going to be talking about in the second hour. It's all available at the website, pointofview.net. Take the time to get the app. I'm looking at it today right here. And we're doing our live broadcast from the Good News Network here in Augusta.

[00:43:03] And, of course, visit the website as well. We're going to take a break. When we come back, second hour, we'll talk about some things happening in these midterm elections right after this. I'm sure that you've noticed that social media is now filled with information generated by AI. Dramatic descriptions of politicians and music stars supposedly making statements about a current issue. Leaning into the microphone. Looking into the lens. Opponents silenced.

[00:43:32] It's powerful. It's riveting. And it's all lies. Even several national television networks were recently found using enhanced pictures. Meaning manipulated. Falsified. Literally not giving a true picture. So many liars. So much deception. Where can we turn for truth? Right here. From Kirby and the team at Point of View. We need your support.

[00:44:00] Please join the Point of View Truth team today with a monthly gift of $30 or more. Together we can shine the light of truth and dispel the darkness and deception of this day. Give now at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. Pointofview.net and 800-347-5151.

[00:44:30] Point of View will continue after this.