Take Charge with HELPcare

Mower County set out to control rising health care costs without reducing benefits or shifting more expense to employees. One year later, combined medical and pharmacy spending had declined by nearly 7%, putting the county on track for approximately $500,000 in expected savings. Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon welcome back Colton Storla, vice president of employee benefits at North Risk Partners, to discu...

Why do we wait until people are “sick enough” before helping them get healthy? In this episode of the  Take Charge with HELPcare Podcast , Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon welcome  Sara Persinger, DNP , one of HELPcare’s newest nurse practitioners. Sara shares her journey from growing up on a Wisconsin dairy farm to working at Mayo Clinic and ultimately finding her calling in relationship-based primary car...

What does it look like when a nurse practitioner with surgical experience, wound care expertise, and a deeply personal understanding of caregiving joins HELPcare? In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon welcome Karen Popp, CNP, to the team — and to the podcast. Karen shares her journey from growing up on a Minnesota farm to working in orthopedic surgery, nursing hom...

What if your doctor could catch health problems while your body is still  whispering  instead of waiting until it’s shouting? In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , founder  Lee Aase  and co‑host  Dan Hinmon  introduce  Dr. Dawn Jacobson , the newest physician joining  HELPcare Clinic Rochester on January 6 . Dr. Jacobson is board certified in  preventive medicine  and  integrative and fu...

Open enrollment is more complicated—and more important—than ever. In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , Lee Aase sits down with licensed insurance expert  Kelly Connaughty of HealthMarkets  to break down the seismic shifts happening in Medicare Advantage, MnSure exchange plans, and the individual insurance market. Kelly has great experience guiding individuals and families through the en...

🎉  Big news for Albert Lea! In this special episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , host  Lee Aase  joins co-host  Dan Hinmon  to share an exciting announcement:  HELPcare Clinic is expanding to Albert Lea, Minnesota , with a brand-new clinic opening in early 2026! Lee tells the inside story of how everything came together — from discovering the perfect location in  Skyline Plaza  (the former VA...

In Part 1, we uncovered how America’s healthcare system became what  Chris Deacon  calls a  “coordinated heist.”   Now, in Part 2, we focus on the solutions—and how employers, unions, and individuals can take charge of healthcare and make it work for real people again. Chris, author of  The Great American Healthcare Heist  and former director of one of the largest public-sector health plans in the...

Why does American healthcare cost so much—and deliver so little? In this eye-opening episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , we talk with  Chris Deacon , author of  The Great American Healthcare Heist  and featured voice in the documentary  It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Healthcare . Chris has spent years inside the system—first as a lawyer, then as the director of one of the largest public-sector h...

For more than two decades, Christy Haag lived with the exhaustion, brain fog, and frustration of Hashimoto’s disease. Despite countless doctor visits, she was told her labs looked “normal.” But she didn’t feel normal—and she was ready for a change. In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , Christy shares her powerful journey of transformation: How personalized care at HELPcare Clinic helped...

What if your company could dramatically reduce healthcare costs while improving quality of care? In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , guest  Matt Ohrt  shares how employers can stop overpaying for overpriced procedures, embrace direct primary care as the heartbeat of smarter health plans, and give employees better access to the care they deserve. Matt joins hosts  Lee Aase  and  Dan Hin...

When rising healthcare costs threatened Merrill Steel, HR leader  Matt Ohrt  pioneered a direct primary care clinic that saved millions and improved employee health. Now as Executive Director of the Free Market Medical Association and co-founder of new health plans, Matt shares how  direct primary care (DPC)  and  direct specialty care (DSC)  are transforming healthcare for employers, patients, an...

In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , hosts Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon talk with Dr. Steve Borene, an anesthesiologist and co-founder of Renovo Health, about how direct specialty care is challenging the traditional healthcare system—and winning. Dr. Borene shares real stories of patients avoiding care due to high costs, and how transparent, bundled pricing through direct specialty care is h...

In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , we welcome our newest nurse practitioner, Kristen Ehmke, to the team! Hosted by Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon, this conversation explores Kristen’s 12-year journey in nursing, her passion for serving rural communities, and why HELPcare’s relationship-based approach to care felt like the perfect fit. Kristen shares what inspired her to pursue a Doctor of Nu...

In this episode of  Take Charge with HELPcare , host  Lee Aase  is joined once again by healthcare policy expert  John Kelly  for an in-depth look at how the  One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)  is reshaping healthcare options for employers—especially those in high-cost regions like southern Minnesota. John breaks down what the new law means for benefit plan design, including: Why  Direct Primary...

Health policy expert John Kelly joins us to discuss an important change contained in the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which makes direct primary care memberships such as at HELPcare Clinic an eligible expense for people with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

Healthcare has become too rushed, too impersonal, and too controlled by outside forces. In this episode, we explore how HELPcare is restoring the soul of medicine through relationship-based care, practitioner ownership, and a model built on values that truly matter.

In this episode of Take Charge with HELP Care, Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon engage with Rick and Sally Kennedy, exploring their journey from graphic design to creating a mission-driven agency. They discuss the importance of branding in healthcare, emphasizing that effective branding goes beyond visuals to include company culture and values. The conversation highlights the role of user experience in web...

In this conversation, Lee Aase and Colton Storla discuss the challenges and opportunities in employer health plans, focusing on cost containment strategies, the role of pharmacy benefit managers, and the benefits of direct primary care. They explore how modernized health plans can align incentives for employers and employees, ultimately leading to reduced healthcare costs and improved access to ca...

In this episode of Take Charge with HELPcare , hosts Lee Aase and Dan Hinmon delve into the transformative practice of fasting. They explore Lee's personal journey with fasting, its health benefits, and practical advice for incorporating fasting into daily life. The conversation covers various fasting methods, including intermittent and extended fasting, and discusses the science behind how fa...

Everybody agrees health care in the U.S. is way too expensive. Our guest this week on  Take Charge with HELPcare has devoted himself to learning the reasons why, and to developing health plans for employers that enable them to provide better benefits for employees while keeping costs under control. Colton Storla  from North Risk Partners has been a trusted partner for us in developing employer hea...

In this episode of Take Charge with HELPcare, Margo White shares her inspiring journey from military service to becoming the clinic director at HELPcare Clinic. She discusses her diverse nursing background, the challenges she faced, and her passion for patient care. Margo emphasizes the importance of sincerity in healthcare and the supportive environment at HELPcare Clinic, which fosters teamwork...

Two of HELPcare Founder Lee Aase's children, Rachel Borg and Joe Aase, play crucial roles in on the Leadership Team for HELPcare LLC, the management services provider for HELPcare Clinic. In this episode they discuss the HELPcare family roots that have borne fruit in a more personal, affordable model of health care.

Nurse Practitioner Danae Boorsma describes her health care journey that led to a literal journey for herself and her family, leaving her traditional insurance-based practice in southern California to move to southern Minnesota to join HELPcare Clinic. We're growing and planning expansion, so we're looking for more practitioners who resonate with this approach to primary care and share our...

In this episode, Physician Assistant Elizabeth Hedlund shares her journey from traditional family medicine to joining HELPcare Clinic. She discusses the challenges faced in the conventional healthcare system, emphasizing the importance of time and personal connection in patient care. Elizabeth highlights the benefits of the HELPcare model, which allows for longer appointments and fewer insurance h...

In this episode of Take Charge with Help Care, HELPcare Founder Lee Aase and co-host Dan Hinmon interview Stephanie Kimmes, a nurse practitioner with a diverse background in pediatrics and family medicine. Stephanie shares her journey from nursing school to her current role at HELPcare, highlighting her passion for direct primary care and the freedom it provides to practice medicine in a way that...