Self-Funded

“We need to solve for all of that, so that it's more rewarding, more enjoyable, because that's where the cost savings will come in. That's where the innovation will come." - Ben Callaghan Ben Callaghan, Chief Experience Officer at Empara, joined me this week to discuss how design can actually play a huge role in fixing many of the problems in our industry.  Before working at Empara, Ben actually a...

"If you do hard things now, your life will be easy in the future. If you do easy things now, your life will be hard in the future." - Nick Bellanca Nick Bellanca joined me this week to get his perspective on something we don’t get a lot of on the show: selling as a consultant.  Nick and I talked about his upbringing, how he got onto the football team at the University of San Diego, and starting ou...

"When your brain is programmed that the only way it can be done is through submitting your insurance and when your brain has been for years and years and years that accepting cash is criminal, it's very hard to break that." - Dr. K My good friend Dr. K, founder of the NTTC Surgery Center and Hinkapin Health, joined the show to shed further light on what upfront pricing and value-based healthcare c...

“It's the second largest line item that a company has, but they will stroke a check every month for a fully insured program without having data to support what those costs are for.” - Stephanie Koch Stephanie Koch joined the show to share what it was like to work in benefits and HR in a fully funded company before moving to one that self-funds.  I invited Stephanie on to hear the employer perspect...

“I realized that 95% of the scheduled surgeries, like shoulder/knee repairs, back fusions, even some pelvic floor surgeries, they're no more effective than doing nothing at all, on average.” - Heidi Ojha Heidi Ojha, founder of Aware Health and recently a part of our MSK roundtable, joined me this week in studio to talk about why there are so many unnecessary surgeries performed in this country, wh...

“In what other industry are you just not covered up with business if you're cheaper and better? This is America, for God's sake." - Keith Smith This is a special episode with a special guest: Dr. Keith Smith from the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. Keith realized in the 1990s that the surgery system in America was exploitative and unfair, and decided to “rebel”, setting up a “parallel market” to sell...

"No one wins alone. And you know what? You can't do it on your own." - John Butler John Butler, from JB Benefits Consulting, joined the show this week to talk the big-picture future of health insurance.  From AI sales tools to ICHRA plans to Health Sharing Plans, John Butler is constantly thinking about the future of this industry, and it was fun to hear about how his life experience as a consulta...

"I don't believe that random doctors should treat random patients in ongoing continuity of care. I don't think that transactional care is good for patients, and I know it's not good for physicians." - Chris Mathew The great Chris Mathew, Chief Growth Officer at Sniffle, joined me to talk about the future of Telehealth and the amazingly cost-effective ($15 a month!) benefits plan that Sniffle offer...

Does bone-on-bone contact always lead to pain? What's the best way to get good, new solutions in the hands of brokers? How many MSK surgeries are really necessary? Chris Hamilton, Heidi Ojha, and Mark Testa joined me in studio to answer those questions and many more in this special bonus episode of Self-Funded with Spencer, The MSK Roundtable. Key Links for Social: @SelfFunded on YouTube for video...

"I always knew there was more. I always knew there was a different dimension to what this personnel or HR thing was." - Monica Panetta Monica Panetta, Chief People Officer at ParetoHealth (a show sponsor and the company I work for), joined me for an evening podcast in studio as we talked all things HR/People, starting with why the industry has moved away from saying HR. Monica’s so well-versed in...

 "I think the more questions the employer asks, and just the deeper that they're willing to think about this and have already thought about it, the more they're able to buy into this mission." - Russell Pekala Russell Pekala, co-founder of Yuzu Health, joined me in studio for this week’s episode focused on controlling pharmacy costs and emergency claims.  Yuzu Health is a startup in the TPA space...

“To me, a private equity firm should never look at a healthcare vertical and say, God, there's opportunity there. That means that there's profit exploitation to be had in those areas.” - Taylor Rogers Taylor Rogers, former professional baseball pitcher turned insurance consultant, joined me this week for a podcast focused on profit exploitation in the current healthcare system, and what we need to...

“You can have the same provider, same treatment, two different locations, different outcomes.” - Gentry Lynn Gentry Lynn, VP at Healthcare Bluebook, joined me this week to discuss what it means to actually make an impact in this industry, why there’s so much cost variance between locations, and how we can more effectively engage members to use new solutions. One of the key points of our discussion...

“It's like the Wizard of Oz, I think, or The Matrix. You have this veil that as the participant in it for so long, you just don't think about your benefits. But I think when you kind of peel back the curtain and you're looking at the greed of it and how everyone is getting paid on people being sick, it's gross. And I don't vibe with it.” - Durrell Finch Anyone who listens to the show should know b...

"Compliance does not have to be a burden. It doesn't have to be hard. It can be a value differentiator and an opportunity to really help people." - Jen Berman Jen Berman joined me this week to close out our trilogy of compliance episodes. We focused on why regulations exist, the purpose of recent legislation like the CAA, and why it’s important for consultants to learn the compliance process. Jen...

"When consumers understand that they can get the same level of care at half the price, they feel good about making that decision." - Josh Schreiner “We're actually going to collapse that concept entirely. Everyone's in network from your perspective, from the consumer, from the patient perspective." - Michael Mather Continuing from last week’s theme of compliance and regulation, Josh Schreiner, Chi...

“The CAA was the most significant piece of healthcare legislation that we've had since the ACA.” - Sarah Borders Healthcare compliance, especially post-CAA, can be a complex thing for employers to navigate. There’s an increased level of scrutiny on employers, with heavy fees for those who don’t comply.  This week on Self-Funded with Spencer I’m joined by Sarah Borders , co-founder of Benefits Comp...

"I think our industry is craving some disruption - and it needs it." - Jack Crotty What does it actually mean to disrupt the health insurance industry?  Jack Crotty, the Director of Business Development of Adyptation, joined me in studio this week for a discussion on the innovative solutions he’s bringing to the consulting world, including pharmaceutical sourcing and specialized disease care that...

"There's no reason you can't make content. There's no excuses. Just get started. Because it could open opportunities you don't even know." - Jake Rushton Jake and I can both honestly say that we would not be where we are in our careers today without social media, but for many of those who tune into the show, getting started with producing content can be super intimidating. How do you film reels or...

“I think we're now at a point where we as a society are recognizing we can't wait until it gets bad enough. And how do we get people into care sooner?" - Megan Rozanski I wanted to close out January with a focus on mental health and how to continue breaking down the stigma surrounding it, and Megan Rozanski was gracious enough to join me in the studio to do just that.  Expanding access to and impr...

"Whereas the current structure pits [employers, doctors, and patients] against each other, with Direct Primary Care, we all want the same thing." - Dr. David Cameron For Dr. David Cameron, DPC (direct primary care) isn't just another health insurance acronym; it’s a revolutionary approach to delivering healthcare that has transformed his role as a physician. Beyond incorporating DPC into his pract...

"The only thing that will fix healthcare is restoring the doctor patient relationship without anybody in between it." - Emma Fox Emma Fox joins me on this special pre-YouPowered Symposium episode to talk about her healthcare journey, from moving to America and discovering just how broken our system was for the first time to recently meeting with the President to discuss what needs to be done.  Emm...

"If you show me the incentives, I'll show you the outcomes." - David Contorno "I want to fix the healthcare system. My mission ended up being to correct the injustices I find in the healthcare system as I find them. And that's what I do every single day." - Emma Fox On this bonus episode of Self Funded With Spencer, I sat down with David Contorno and Emma Fox for this bonus episode focusing on how...

"Health insurance has been so perverted that it becomes the one insurance that we go bankrupt when we use." - David Contorno I was super grateful to have David Contorno, founder of e-Powered Benefits, join me on the podcast for a conversation covering many aspects of the healthcare landscape, from how brokers can think outside the boxes to change the industry to how we need to change the way emplo...

"If we can take that [financial] anxiety away from them to where they can focus on their health, that's our mission, that's our cause. That's what we want to do." - Brett Morris Brett Morris joins me on the podcast for a conversation revolving around the Samaritan Fund Program, which he developed to help those individuals and families who have been physically and financially devastated by a medica...