Steven Kent

Skin Cancer Expert | Mohs Surgeon | Clean SPF Advocate | DM skin cancer/SPF Qs | Follow for skin/sun insights/tips

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

I grew with alopecia areata (spotty hair loss) since age one

I also grew up playing year round outdoor sports.

I didn’t wear sunscreen most of the time and I did get roasted a few times.

That’s going to catch up to me.

Few things I do to roll the clock back and help reverse sun damage:

Polypodium supplement - fern extract that supports the skin UV defense from the inside out and helps with brown spots.

Antioxidant/Exosome complex every morning - data still rolling out on exosome and very formula dependent

Daily mineral SPF - all the other things are for not when you skip this step

Prescription strength topical retinoid - I’m acne prone but also helps with fine lines, pigmentation, collagen remodeling & skin texture

This one is usually missed and can have asymmetric positive returns.

Yearly laser resurfacing and twice yearly pulse dye laser. Up to 50% drop in skin cancer (BCC/SCC), new collagen, improvement in tone, texture, fine lines, pigmentation

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

https://t.co/JvQnrv1glt

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

I’m a Mohs surgeon. I spend my days cutting skin cancer off people’s faces

Most of it is preventable

So I built a skin care and SPF brand with my brother

Meet Lazyface

Pure mineral formula. No white cast. No fear-based marketing. A clinically proven formula that goes to work for you that you’ll enjoy applying.

More on SPF, skin cancer and building this thing here

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@masforshort @newstart_2024 @TheSalonDon lol that would be insane

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@pert2pert @newstart_2024 Great questions/point. Incidence of BCC in the Asian population pales in comparison to the Caucasian population - especially North America & Australia.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

It’s interesting all the X, social etc press the Affordable Care Act is getting. Same problems (benefits depending on what side of the isle you’re in) since inception. Start lifting up enough rugs and you’ll find some dust

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

If you were born pre ‘92, low chances you wore SPF growing up

As a dermatologist I don’t tell my patients to avoid the sun. Lots of benefits from low UV index exposure

I do take niacinamide (500 mg twice daily) and wear mineral SPF.

[Dutch Rojas @DutchRojas]

I don’t know, Professor. Because in Michigan, it’s, illegal to find out.

Your employer, @UMich lobbies the state to keep it that way.

Michigan has “Certificate of Need” laws. Sounds bureaucratic. It’s not.

It’s a permission slip system where health systems get to decide if their competitors can exist.

Want to open a clinic?
Nursing home?
surgery center?
Imaging center?

You need permission from a state commission, staffed by representatives from existing health systems and the carriers.

Want to add an Operating Room to compete?
Same commission.
Same conflicts.

Want to offer a new service?
You’re asking your competitors for permission.

The university, your employer, aquired hundreds of independent physician practices across Michigan

It has used CON laws to block new competing facilities from opening

It converted the practices, so now they bill at Health Systems rates and easily raised prices 5x overnight.

Just acquired Sparrow Health System in 2023, making U of M a $7 billion organization.

Same doctor.
Same procedure.
Same building sometimes.
Different owner.
Different price.

Not because the quality changed. Because the competition was made illegal.

University of Michigan Health now generates $7 billion in annual revenue across 200+ care sites statewide.

They pay zero property taxes on 3.5 million square feet of real estate.

They’ve issued $3.2 billion in tax-exempt bonds meaning Michigan taxpayers subsidize their construction costs.

They receive hundreds of millions in Medicaid supplemental payments (DSH, GME, UPL) every year.

And here’s the kicker:

According to the Lown Institute, U of M Health has a $284 million fair share deficit.

That means the tax breaks they receive exceed the charity care they provide by $284 million.

University of Michigan is a $7 billion tax-exempt empire that uses government power to eliminate competition, then calls it healthcare.

One more thing:

U of M Health operates 340 contracts with 340B pharmacies.

The 340B program was created by Congress to help safety-net hospitals serve poor patients.

The University buy drugs at a discount, then are supposed to pass those savings to patients.

U of M turned it into a profit center with 340 locations.

The discounts don’t go to patients.

They go into the $7 billion revenue pile.

So back to your question, Professor:

“Will giving people money instead of insurance subsidies lead to better functioning markets?”

I don’t know. Because in Michigan, it’s illegal to find out.

Your employer, now a $7 billion organization lobbies to maintain Certificate of Need laws that make it a crime for physicians to compete on price, quality, or service.

I’ve built health plans with no copays, no deductibles, no prior authorizations.

Direct contracts between employers and physicians.

Transparent pricing.
Bundled payments.

They work. Prices drop 30-40%. Quality goes up. Premiums go down. Patients love them.

So before you lecture Americans about “adverse selection” and “market failure,” maybe explain why the University of Michigan gets to use state violence to prevent markets from existing in the first place.

You’re not teaching economics, Professor.

You’re teaching people how to defend a monopoly while collecting a paycheck from it.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@DutchRojas @UMich The non profit status is a steep scheme. The path that hell is paved with good intentions.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

I took my kids on a fry taste test tonight.

Wendy’s, McDonald’s, BK lounge, Arby’s, Five Guys, DQ Grill n Chill, Chik fil A..

Haven’t been to 90% of these in a decade.

Rolodexing those core memories.

Arby’s curlys slap pretty hard.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@homegymcoop Like that lost baggage place in Alabama. Prints.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@homegymcoop Had twins for our third and fourth a year and a half ago and it’s incredible. Congrats. you have the right outlook. You guys are crushing it.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@JD_DeYonker

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

Also not going to hurt you: putting a clean, mineral sunscreen on your face. WONT LOWER YOUR VITAMIN D

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

Early morning sunlight - not gonna hurt ya. Without sunscreen (I know I’m a mohs surgeon who cuts out skin cancers for a living)

Might even help you: helps regulate circadian rhythm, UV index low, vitamin D exposure

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

I was born in the late ‘80s.
10 years ago wasn’t 1994 - it was 2015.
If that hits close to home, might be time to think about skin checks, sunscreen, and other sun-smart habits.
Hate to say it, but I remove skin cancers from 30 year-olds every week.

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

@Rick_Pescatore God speed

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

Some interesting insight here most people (MD or not) are probably unaware of

[Real Doc Speaks @realdocspeaks]

This is all physicians need to see! Opt out of Medicare now!

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

If you’ve ever said…
“I don’t burn”
“I tan first”
“I’m only outside for a few minutes hear and there”
… you’re in good company.
But that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Skin cancer can show up silently. Get your skin checked

#skincancer #skincancerawarenessmonth #basalcellcarcinoma

[Steven Kent @skentmd]

500 ml with some electrolyte PRE COFFEE (diuretic and depletes magnesium rather effectively) is a game changer.