The ShiftShapers Podcast

This week's episode is about a new technology platform that aims to boost the primary care provider and patient relationship, as Ankit Patel, co-founder, and President of Pearl Health, discusses the implications of not having a primary care relationship on both the employee and administrative sides, and most importantly, how they are attempting to solve these issues. What You’ll Learn From Th...

This week's episode delves into a new development in the dental insurance industry. Josh Jackson, founder of Promptous, discusses the company's efforts to provide better, simpler, and more affordable dental services that are designed to be used, rather than a plan that is not intended to be used. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:35 The main distinction between a self-funded medical...

This week's episode gives insight into the necessity of having the right support to help you navigate the complexity of things that occur before and after a loss. Esther Pipoly is the founder and owner of Loss of Life Advocates, a bereavement consulting firm that assists families in preparing for life's unexpected transitions, such as loss. She is also the author of Lying on the Floor Ho...

This week's episode digs into how drug price is determined, with John Zevzavadjian, president at RxSense, explaining how pricing changes from the moment the producer sends the items to the distribution channels to the end consumers. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:38 John’s experience from pharmacy to a front row seat at the marketplace. 2:44 A couple of things they’re working to solve...

In this week's episode, Frank Sutter, a chiropractor and Associate Director of the Harvard Business School's Health Care Initiative, explains why he left medicine and how the medical system in the Netherlands inspired him to go back and change the healthcare in the United States. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:54 Why he sold his practice to a physician group and moved to the Neth...

This week's episode is all about determining which EAP is best for your organization. Because there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, John Troutman, National Director of Mazzitti & Sullivan EAP, discusses the vast range of possibilities and what to look for in an EAP. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:50 What is an EAP? 2:30 Reasons why some EAPs have gotten a bad rep...

This week’s episode explores the new tools available for doctors shifting to direct primary care. Mark Nolan, chief operating officer of Hint Health talks about some of the reasons why a lot of doctors would like to escape into the old-fashioned doctor-patient practice and what’s stopping them from doing so. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 2:30 Three largest obstacles to providing healthcare....

This week's episode is all about recognizing our inner leadership gold. Roxanne Kaufman, CEO of ProLaureate, discusses how to find and cultivate these skills, as well as how they might affect the company's future. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:54 The leadership gold in everyone. 3:34 The importance of building good relationships. 9:55 The importance of soft skills and why they a...

This week's episode is about effective communication. Deirdre Van Ness, a keynote, speech, and story artist talks about the importance of connecting at the emotional level, especially in a sales setting, as well as some proven techniques to establish that connection. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:27 The difference between talking and communicating and why that is so important. 04:28...

This week’s episode gives insight into benefits and healthcare solutions from employment to retirement. Carrie Espinosa, principal advisor at Horizon Benefit Services talks about the comprehensive solutions that they offer to employers, as well as employee education to help them make informed decisions and how to do that effectively. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:46 What hire to retire me...

This week’s episode is about the importance of creating a good culture within the company. Peter Drucker once said that “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” And in this episode, Nikki Fielding, chief culture fairy at Conscious Culture Fairy discusses how to spot a bad culture, as well as tools, and ways to bridge the gap. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 2:06 Nikki talks about the heartbeat...

This week’s episode is intended to help brokers and advisors understand how automation tools work and why it’s worth the expense of their time as Tonya Sowles, founder and CEO at Sowles Consulting talks about the pain points of managing a small business and how these tools can help make a business workflow more effective and efficient. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 2:19 Tanya’s background a...

This week's episode gives insight into what it takes to live a legendary life. Tommy Breedlove, a mindset coach, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author, and featured keynote speaker talks about how you can find your purpose in life and shares some valuable techniques to conquer your time and start living a meaningful life. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:47 Tommy’s back...

This week's episode of the ShiftShapers Podcast talks about how companies are shifting the way they do business. According to Gleb Tsipursky, an internationally-recognized thought leader and the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts, this shift has begun even before COVID-19 and will continue even after the pandemic ends. In this episode, we talk about the challenges of managing the workplace, mo...

This week’s episode is about supplemental health benefits. Mike Zarrillo, Chief Revenue Officer at Brella Insurance discusses the market's current state, what's new, and what's on the horizon. We'll dive into understanding what makes a good supplemental benefit and what opportunities exist in this market for advisors. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 1:46 Supplemental healt...

This week's episode delves into alternatives to musculoskeletal surgeries. In an effort to reduce costs while improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, Mark Testa, Executive Vice President of Regenexx talks about some cool stuff their company is doing to help employers save money on their orthopedic spending and patients avoid elective surgery. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 2:17 How...

This week's episode is about small group businesses. Our guest, Nancy Giacalone, is the president of Olympic Crest Insurance, a locally owned and operated insurance brokerage firm. In this episode, she discusses the difficulties that small business owners face, as well as some strategies and opportunities for advisors. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 02:21 What drew Nancy to specialize i...

This week's episode focuses on the healthcare supply chain. We've been hearing a lot about it, but what exactly is it? Phil Hamburger, risk advisor at Ellerbrock-Norris provides insights about this system and highlights how they can improve benefits while simultaneously lowering costs. He also offers advice on how to start the conversation with the clients and how to educate employees. W...

This week’s episode is about bringing your A-game every day. Machen MacDonald, founder and lead strategic business coach at ProBrilliance talks about what it truly means to bring our A-game and what holds us back when we have those days where we don’t. We’ll dive into understanding self-awareness and how that affects our ability to perform at our best. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 2:59 Wha...

This week’s episode goes over how Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a major driver of high claims costs, but we don't often see it at the top of claims reports. Kimberly Langford, a registered nurse and the director of Business Development - Specialty Care Management, discusses the major causes of kidney disease and how businesses can mitigate the risks associated with it, particularly in terms...

This week’s episode explores the tools and techniques used to level up employee communications especially around benefit plans. Joel Daniels, Chief Advocate of Revolution Benefits Group, explains how they utilize CRM and create workflows for employee engagement. He also shares his take on choosing the right software for your business and overcoming perceived barriers in the insurance industry. Wha...

This week’s episode describes what separates successful, high-performing individuals from everyone else. Michael Zipursky, CEO of Consulting Success and author of Elite Consulting Mind, discusses the importance of taking action and having a deeper understanding of our limiting beliefs and intentions. He also touches on the common behaviors that prevent people from making progress in their business...

This week’s episode offers interesting insights on how we can leverage Telehealth to close healthcare gaps. Justin Davis, CEO at Congruity Health, describes how transforming the Telehealth industry can lead to proactive care and decreased healthcare costs. He also identifies the central friction points throughout the shift and ways to handle them. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 02:02 The cur...

This week’s episode features a group fostering a unique collaborative environment to help benefit consulting firms excel. Scott Smith, president and CEO of True Network Advisors, shares how his group builds a collaborative process across different agencies and the challenges that lie beneath it. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 02:22 Introduction to Scott and how True Network started 07:06 How...

This week’s episode explains why it takes both art and science to make a health benefit plan work for all stakeholders. Allison DePaoli, founder of Altiqe Consulting, shares their process in creating a health plan that affects all constituents positively while helping people work through the setbacks in these plans. What You’ll Learn From This Episode: 02:13 Allison on the rebranding of her benefi...