The ShiftShapers Podcast

In our visit with, Eric Parmenter (National Leader of Value-based Care at Collective Health) we discuss a little-known metric that research proves correlates positively with growth. The Net Promoter Score has been used in other industries for more than 10 years, but despite its simplicity and effectiveness, it has not been widely applied in our industry. The best part of this predictive metric is...

Brian Klepper, Principal at HC Performance Inc. and Worksite Health Advisors, believes that the value being delivered in today’s health care system is a “train wreck” and that many are complicit – and know that they are complicit. He explains why he believes that Fee For Service is the crack cocaine of healthcare. The good news is that Brian sees a new model emerging that focuses on delivering val...

Forbes Magazine called our guest, David Contorno, "One of America’s most innovative benefits leaders." So, what’s he up to and what tools, techniques and strategies is he bringing his clients? We discuss why the "old way" just isn’t working and how this leads employers to a dilemma. We also explore whether the advisor community is moving to a completely different delivery model...

Gene Thompson is both a Project Director and Director of Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI), an amazing facility that is delivering higher quality, lower cost care with greater patient satisfaction scores. Pioneered by Dr. Devi Shetti, a physician and health care visionary based in India, HCCI has become a leading model for medical tourism. With the increased interest in self funding, the cost and...

Mike Dendy is CEO and Founder at Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions (AMPS) and a student of the irrational pricing and misaligned incentives that drive today’s US healthcare system. We begin our conversation by discussing the widely-held myth of the PPO discount. From there we explore the general pricing methodologies and incentives in healthcare. Once you wrap your head around all of that, the di...

David Snow is Chairman and CEO of Cedar Gate Technologies and a self-described “health care junkie” whose career has touched nearly all facets of the health care system. As such, David has a very unique view that informs how he works with and helps companies use data to drive better decision-making. We discuss the notion that data provides multiple levels of analysis, from focusing on the patient...

Ten years ago, a number of physician “academies” came together to pioneer the concept of Medical Home. Today, that concept is more widely known as Direct Primary Care (DPC). Today, interest in DPC and the practice model itself is rapidly evolving. Our guest, Jon Hernandez is the CEO at PeakMed Direct Primary Care in Colorado, and he is one of the drivers who are pushing DPC into its next evolution...

As our population ages and medicine gets better, we are dealing with more chronic disease than ever before – and it is a huge cost driver in overall medical spend. Most of it falls into five categories and it represents a significant portion of overall spend. Sterling Smith, Director of Ventures at ACAP Health, offers perspective, as well as tools and techniques advisors can use to help their clie...

In the 40’s we hired hands. In the 80’s we hired hearts and minds. Today we hire every bit of every employee – and that includes issues they deal with in their private lives. Savvy employers understand the drag on productivity that causes, and are providing information to help employees make smarter and more informed decisions. This week’s guest, Anna Mittag, has spent her career studying this pro...

T.J. Morrison is a second-generation agency owner with an interesting insight into what is happening in the self-funded universe. He believes that the huge interest in these plans requires that they be designed and operated differently than in years past. Listen to learn why T.J. thinks RBP is like a divorce attorney and Bundled Pricing is like a pre-nuptial agreement. We explore regional differen...

With 23% of the US population using 3 or more prescription drugs, it is amazing that many physicians are still (essentially) guessing which drugs to prescribe. Adverse drug events cause 1 million ED visits, 280,000 hospitalizations and are the fourth leading cause of preventable death. But pharmacogenomics can alleviate all of those AND lower costs while providing a much better patient experience....

One of the benefits of moving from old-fashioned “wellness” programs to today’s wellbeing initiatives is the opportunity to include and address more of the issues employees are dealing with. One such issue has been under the radar, but is now beginning to be addressed: life challenges. In this episode we explore what that means, and why is it critically important for employers and employees alike....

Employers are beginning to move the needle on healthcare, and advisors have their ear. There is a lot of debris from old models that needs to be cleared, and on this episode we explore how that is happening and what is coming in its place. New and innovative models of care delivery and payment models are being incorporated into health plans. More importantly, many employers and employees are begin...

Relatively new to the benefits arena, Dawn McFarland, President of M&M Benefit Solutions began to look around and realized that there weren’t many OTHER new folks coming into the business. Worse, many older practitioners are aging out of the business with no succession plans. Coupled with her involvement with the California Association of Health Underwriters, she has started one of the few int...

The current health care environment is complicated, convoluted and fraught with misaligned incentives, care decisions that focus on a single price point and doesn’t help consumers plan based on a desired final outcome. Scott Schoenvogel, CEO at Compass Professional Health Services, believes that healthcare navigation programs that account for benefits, consumer decision making and clinical decisio...

We have been talking about consumers in healthcare since the turn of the century, but real health care consumers – in the true sense of the word – are still apparently hanging out at the unicorn farm somewhere far away. Eric Haberichter, Co-founder at Access Healthnet knows why – and is working hard at creating a consumer environment in health care that approximates our consumer engagements in eve...

Not too many years ago, the role of a TPA was fairly straightforward: Pay claims, handle eligibility and make a network connection. In today's fast-paced and rapidly growing self-funding world, a TPA has to be flexible, nimble and multi-faceted. Jeff Bernhard, President of Continental Benefits, represents a TPA built for today's commerce. We talk about what to look for in a TPA relations...

Travel for treatment used to be an esoteric benefit reserved for only the largest of employers. Today, the benefits are as much quality as cost driven and most often involve fully-accredited facilities. Some even use U.S. physicians and are attached to teaching hospitals. Yet for many employers and employees it still remains mysterious. Jim Polsfut, CEO and Chairman of North American Specialty Hos...

According to our guest, Erica Kiefer, VP of Sales and Marketing for AgencyBloc and a tech veteran in a number of sectors, we often neglect to investigate some critical questions when choosing software. In addition to looking at the user interface or the sheer functionality of any tool, Erica cues us in on the questions behind the questions that will ensure we end up with the right tools. What You’...

Musculoskeletal  claims  represent  16-22%  of  medical  spend  in  most  plans.  Yet  with  a  misdiagnosis  rate  of  nearly  40%  and  with  new  evaluative  and  treatment  regimens,  plans  can  save  as  much  as  25-35%  of  that  spend.   Chad  Gray,  CEO  at  Integrated  Musculoskeletal  Care)  has  been  tracking  this  trend  and  is  one  of  the  foremost  experts  on  how  plans  can...

Jessica Waltman is principal at Forward Health Consulting and one of the most in-demand healthcare political and regulatory analysts in the country. She is also a ShiftShapers regular contributor. As we approach the mid-term elections, you may not be hearing much healthcare discussion on the legislative front, but the regulatory environment has been chock full of initiatives, advices and changes....

David Weingard is an entrepreneur who used his personal experience with diabetes to create Fit4D, a company that helps with both the personal and financial costs of this widespread and growing disease. David believes that even with all of the work that has been done, there is a huge opportunity for improvement. In the past, addressing this problem has been more art than science. David believes tha...

Gene Thompson is both a Project Director and Director of Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI), an amazing facility that is delivering higher quality, lower cost care with greater patient satisfaction scores. Pioneered by Dr. Devi Shetti, a physician and health care visionary based in India, HCCI has become a leading model for medical tourism. With the increased interest in self funding, the cost and...

Data and reporting is playing an ever-more important role in helping advisors and employers manage their health care chain and spend. But our guest on this episode, Phil Litvin, Business Development Manager at First Capitol Consulting, warns that there are some red flags you may not even be aware of when evaluating the reporting you are getting. Phil discusses the emerging patterns that we can be...

David Snow is Chairman and CEO of Cedargate Technologies and a self-described “health care junkie” whose career has touched nearly all facets of the health care system. As such, David has a very unique view that informs how he works with and helps companies use data to drive better decision making. We discuss the notion that data provides multiple levels of analysis, from focusing on the patient t...