"I would say a lot of it is education, helping both the member and the provider realize that it's okay for them to get healthcare in home." - Dan Cochran

On the third of four podcasts filmed at a recent healthcare thinktank I hosted in Frisco, Texas, Dan Cochran, CEO of Cochran Health Ventures, joined me to discuss infusions, in-home healthcare, why the future of healthcare will be personalized, and how we educate consumers.

I, and many others in this industry, consistently advocate that much of healthcare is way too complex for the average consumer and that they don’t know how to utilize the solutions when they are available. Dan and I discussed that problem, ways that people can educate themselves, and how we can push for more healthcare education in America.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Meet Dan Cochran
00:09:58 The Future Of Self-Insurance for Employers
00:12:09 The Payer-Provider Dynamic
00:19:19 How Do Consumers Navigate Healthcare?
00:28:29 Sustainable Business Success By Focusing On Clients
00:36:12 We Can Fix Healthcare By Focusing On Patients
00:42:01 Healthcare Cost-Saving Strategies
00:45:34 Empowering Consumers Through Healthcare Education

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

Self Insurance, Cost Management, Healthcare Solutions, Client Retention, Consumer Education, Healthcare Complexity, Care Appropriateness, Plan Design, Payer Insights, Infusion, Home Infusion, Remote Specialty Care, Future Healthcare, Healthcare, Insurance, self funded, podcast

#SelfInsurance #CostManagement #HealthcareSolutions #ClientRetention #ConsumerEducation #HealthcareComplexity #CareAppropriateness #PlanDesign #PayerInsights #Infusion #HomeInfusion #RemoteSpecialtyCare #FutureHealthcare #Healthcare #Insurance #selffunded #podcast

"There can be a better path forward. We don't have to remain adherent to the system that is built against us. It's just going to take some rolling up of the sleeves and a commitment to it." - Shawn Sanford

This week, another ParetoHealth colleague joins the show: Shawn Sanford, RVP of Sales and Pod Leader.

Shawn and I discussed his transition from pro baseball to ancillary benefit sales to Pareto, and what he learned from each step along the way.

We also discuss some of the biggest problems in this industry and why they excite Shawn so much, and what he sees as the single biggest case of “highway robbery” in healthcare.

Join us this week on Self-Funded as we discuss the opportunity we have to fix healthcare.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Meet Shawn Sanford
00:14:02 An Unexpected Career Transition Into Insurance
00:22:43 The Importance Of Networking In Sales
00:25:48 Building Trust With Brokers
00:31:39 Transition to ParetoHealth
00:42:25 Having The Right Sales Process
00:51:49 Equity and Transparency in Healthcare
00:55:54 Aligning Incentives Properly

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

Sales Success, Career Transition, Relationship Building, Healthcare Reforms, Insurance Industry, Education Matters, Sales Process, Healthcare Awareness, Healthcare Challenges, Healthcare Transformation, Sales Networking, Career Advancement, self funded, podcast

#SalesSuccess #CareerTransition #RelationshipBuilding #HealthcareReforms #InsuranceIndustry #EducationMatters #SalesProcess #HealthcareAwareness #HealthcareChallenges #HealthcareTransformation #SalesNetworking #CareerAdvancement #selffunded #podcast

“There's a reason why every insurance carrier likely owns or is owned by a pharmacy benefit management company, that’s one of the ways that they can drive revenue." - Kristen Rivers

My guest this week, Kristen Rivers from ParetoHealth, is one of the strongest healthcare advocates I know.

This week on Self-Funded, Kristen and I discuss her upbringing, how that affects the work she does today, what caused her to leave a position at the biggest insurance company in the world, and why she believes in the work she’s doing at ParetoHealth today.

Along the way, we talk about some of the biggest problems in healthcare, from the user experience to misaligned incentives that profit from driving up the cost of healthcare.

The main takeaway: we need more advocates like Kristen if we’re going to fix this industry.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Kristen Rivers
00:08:16 Kristen’s Introduction To Health Insurance
00:16:10 The Importance of Data Transparency and Choice
00:19:50 Advocating For Better Healthcare
00:33:23 Renewal Increases in California Insurance Market
00:35:18 Medicare Cuts
00:41:18 Employer-led Healthcare Plans
00:51:06 Misaligned Incentives
00:53:26 Driving Down Healthcare Costs through Employer Advocacy

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

Healthcare Industry Transition, Transparency Matters, Navigating Healthcare, California Insurance Market, Medicare Cuts, Self Funded Plans Healthcare Quality Metrics Industry Complexities, Employer Advocacy, CAA Regulations, Healthcare System, Cost Management, self funded, podcast

#HealthcareIndustryTransition #TransparencyMatters #NavigatingHealthcare #CaliforniaInsuranceMarket #MedicareCuts #SelfFundedPlans #HealthcareQualityMetrics #IndustryComplexities #EmployerAdvocacy #CAARegulations #HealthcareSystem #CostManagement #selffunded #podcast

“PBM is one of the most complicated concepts out there and it's incredibly difficult to understand. But it's not because the system itself is complicated. It's because pbms make it complicated.” - Justin Jasniewski

Justin Jasniewski, CEO of Serve You Rx, joined me this week to discuss the state of the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) market in 2024.

We discussed the competitive landscape in the PBM industry, why that’s (slowly) leading to more actual transparency, and how Serve You Rx fits into that market.

Justin and I also discussed GLP-1s, how they’re going to continue to be a problem for the industry to solve for, and what they say about the effectiveness of wellness initiatives.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Justin Jasniewski

00:03:01 The PBM Market in 2024

00:06:28 Tailoring PBM Solutions

00:17:59 How Do GLP-1s Affect The PBM Industry?

00:26:37 Real Transparency In PBMs

00:32:39 The Importance Of Customer Service For PBMs

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

PBM Landscape, PBM Flexibility, Self Insurance Simplified, GLP1s, Future Of PBMs, Service Quality PBM, Client Satisfaction, Regulatory Changes, Transparent Pricing, Rebate Handling, Emerging Solutions, self funded, podcast

#PBMLandscape #PBMFlexibility #SelfInsuranceSimplified #GLP1s #FutureOfPBMs #ServiceQualityPBM #ClientSatisfaction #RegulatoryChanges #TransparentPricing #RebateHandling #EmergingSolutions #selffunded #podcast

“You know, Africa has no peanut allergies.” - Dr. Marty Makary

I was honored to be joined this week by Dr. Marty Makary to promote his new book “Blind Spots”, which published this week and is currently a national bestseller.

To purchase “Blind Spots”, use this link: https://geni.us/blindspots

Dr. Marty Makary is a surgeon, researcher, and author, as well as an advocate for better approaches to public health. He’s known for challenging medical dogma and asking the questions nobody else will. In our conversation, we talked about his new book, why these misguided public health recommendations get broadcast in the first place, and why it’s so important to have better health conversations in this country.

One of the bigger topics that we covered was the peanut allergy epidemic, and why Marty Makary believes that recommendations based on opinion instead of data caused so many more kids to get peanut allergies than they would otherwise.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Dr. Marty Makary
00:08:13 Misguided Public Medical Recommendations
00:14:49 Challenging Established Health Norms
00:24:46 Why The Low-Fat Diet Was Misinformation
00:36:45 Why Are We Doing So Many C-Sections?
00:41:46 Unnecessary Medical Care
00:47:56 Questioning Medical Dogma
00:50:11 Influential Figures Shaping Health Conversations

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

Blind Spots, Medical Dogma, Evidence Based Medicine, Public Health, Nutrition Misinformation, C-Section Consequences, Healthcare Challenges, Health Awareness, Public Health Figures, Critical Thinking, Health Discourse, Quality Healthcare, self funded, podcast, peanut allergies, peanut allergy, peanut allergy epidemic, marty makary, dr marty makary, pediatricions, public health recommendations

#BlindSpots #MedicalDogma #EvidenceBasedMedicine #PublicHealth #NutritionMisinformation #CSectionConsequences #HealthcareChallenges #HealthAwareness #PublicHealthFigures #CriticalThinking #HealthDiscourse #QualityHealthcare #selffunded #podcast

“So many times these employers are like, ‘dude, I spend so much money on this, and my employees don't care at all.’ Or what's even worse is they go, ‘our employees love it, we have a great, great plan.’ Did they tell you that?” - Luke Aslesen

This is one of my favorite podcasts of the year: Luke Aslesen, Founder of INFRMD, joined me to talk about entrepreneurship, creativity in insurance, comedy, and how to stay authentic.

INFRMD is an insurance education platform, designed to make it as easy as possible for employees to understand and use their benefits. Luke and I discussed the importance of education, why this type of solution is so needed, and how he value it provides to employers.

This podcast is a bit longer than usual, but only because I think this conversation truly justified that. Join me and Luke this week on Self-Funded to learn how to stay creative and authentic in this industry!

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Luke Aslesen
00:00:35 Timing and Persistence in Entrepreneurship
00:07:42 Embracing Imperfection
00:10:56 A Creative Approach to Insurance Education
00:21:29 How Do You Teach People To Navigate Healthcare?
00:32:09 The Importance Of Creativity
00:46:11 Humor In The Insurance Industry
00:49:12 Revolutionizing Insurance Literacy with INFRMD
01:05:06 Empowering Informed Decision-Making

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

#Entrepreneurship #StartingBeforePerfect #InsuranceEngagement #GenerationalShift #ConsumerEmpowerment #InformingConsumer #CareerCreativity #InsuranceCommunity #HumorInCommunity #HealthcareLiteracy #selffunded #selffunding #podcast

Entrepreneurship, Starting Before Perfect, Insurance Engagement, Generational Shift, Consumer Empowerment, Informing Consumer, Career Creativity, Insurance Community, Humor In Community, Healthcare Literacy, self funded, self funding, podcast

“If we're facing a [mental health] crisis and we want radical change, we’ve got to think about radical solutions. If those radical solutions can show objectively with safety and efficacy data, that they're really helping people and really changing lives, then I think we ought to at least explore and get curious about offering those solutions to to people.” - Amil Patel

We have a mental health crisis in America, and we need new solutions to help those who are struggling.

Amil Patel, from Meeko Health, joined the show this week to talk about offering ketamine therapies through the employee benefits channel.

I would suspect that many of you who listen to the podcast would be immediately skeptical about the effectiveness, safety, and utility of psychedelic therapy; honestly, going into the podcast, I was too.

But I would urge you to hear Amil’s testimony, look into the research and studies currently going on, and form your own opinion. And as Amil shares, hear the testimony of the many people who feel like they would still be in a mental health crisis without these therapies.

Join us this week on Self-Funded as we discuss why employers should consider offering psychedelic therapy as an employee benefit!

Check out their website - https://www.meekohealth.com/

Chapters:

00:00:00 Introducing Amil Patel00:03:30 Struggling With Parental Judgment00:12:58 The Mental Health Impact of Childhood Experiences00:18:16 Psychedelic Therapy Access Through Meeko 00:33:37 How Can We Prove That Psychedelic Therapy Works?00:43:37 Do Employers Want To Offer Ketamine Therapy To Employees?01:01:08 The Transformational Effect Of Ketamine Therapy01:03:58 Getting To The Root Of Mental Health Issues

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

#MentalHealth #PsychedelicTherapy #MentalHealthCare #KetamineTherapy #PsychologicalApproach #CulturalImpact #HealingJourney #PersonalGrowth #PsychedelicSupport #MeekoHealth #selffunded #selffunding #podcast

Mental Health, Psychedelic Therapy, Mental Health Care, Ketamine Therapy, Psychological Approach, Cultural Impact, Healing Journey, Personal Growth, Psychedelic Support, Meeko Health, self funded, self funding, podcast