October 2014

Ep #29: Want To Lower Costs? Focus On Quality, Not Cost – With Shane Wolverton

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This week on the ShiftShapers podcast, we are very excited to bring you a great conversation with Shane Wolverton, senior vice president of Corporate Development for Comparion Medical Analytics. Shane’s research shows that despite the constant historical focus on “cost”, the real opportunity to drive down medical spend is to focus on quality.

Drawing on 20 years of experience in the field, Shane discusses how benefits advisors can take what may seem to be a complicated tangle of measurements and create a simple, easy-to-understand system that engages employees and employers alike. Shane will explain why, in the final analysis, “Quality is cost.”

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Shane’s background.
  • Why there isn’t a “true north” when it comes to quality metrics.
  • The common quality measures advisors can look at.
  • How two hospitals in the same town can vary so much in quality, and what does that mean for total cost.
  • How advisors take can this complicated tangle of measurements and use them to create value for employers and employees.

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Ep #28: HIX 2.0: The Evolution of A More Personalized Benefits Experience – With Taylor Pechacek

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Private exchanges are evolving into a “version 2.0, Health Care As A Service” model. In this week’s interview, we chat with Taylor Pechacek of Maxwell Health, a company that had its beginnings in wellness. Today, the company is changing its focus and is helping to shape the employee experience by shifting the way employees can shape their personalized healthcare dynamic and elect and manage a much wider range of benefits in a year-round private exchange setting.

In today’s environment, employees want to to expand and personalize their benefits experience. Beyond access to their usual medical, vision, dental and possibly ancillary coverage, they want to select from things like childcare services, legal and identity theft plans, wearable activities, sleep monitoring and rewards programs.

I invited Taylor to discuss how benefit advisors can increase their value proposition and differentiate themselves from others with some of the new tools available. Listen in to learn how to harness this evolving trend and use it to bring a new conversation to your prospects and clients.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Maxwell Health’s beginnings in the Wellness space.
  • How they are expanding what health care insurance is today.
  • What a “personalized health care dynamic” is.
  • How benefit advisors discuss this new model with prospects and clients.
  • Whether user experience is the new differentiator.
  • Why the benefits continuum is a 12-month a year process; not just an open-enrollment period process.

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Ep #27: Digital Health and Wellness Revolution – With Jonathan Anders

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Jonathan Anders, the Executive Vice President for Business and Corporate Development at HealthJibe, joins us on the program this week. HealthJibe is a tool for modern internet-connected devices that helps consumers stay on top of their well-being and physical health.

On this episode, Jonathan shares his insight into how internet-connected devices are going to start shaping the health and wellness profiles in the post-ACA world. Find out how consumers are currently using tools like HealthJibe to incorporate health risk management and prevention into their daily digital routines.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • What “The Internet of Things” is and why it matters in healthcare.
  • How our  digital routines and can be used to foster wellness.
  • Whether the devices like FitBit and Google’s contact lens glucometer are the way of the future for digital health and wellness.
  • The effects of PPACA  on the evolution of Web 2.0 devices and individualism in wellness.
  • Why brands like HealthJibe choose to focus on metabolic syndrome.

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Ep #26: Direct Pay Primary Care Model Gains Importance In The Post-ACA Environment- With Erika Bliss

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On this episode of ShiftShapers, we welcome Dr. Erika Bliss, President and CEO of Qliance, a Seattle-based pioneer in the Direct Pay Primary Care (DPPC) practice model. Established in 2006, Qliance is delivering impressive results by focusing on an on-demand primary care model. With the increased personal responsibility consumers face with today’s plan designs, DPPC is becoming increasingly significant in helping to keep patients healthy while helping them to manage out of pocket expenses.

I invited Erika to the program to share her journey within the healthcare system and the shifts that DPPC has shaped in the process. Unsatisfied with the traditional healthcare model after working a number of years as a primary care physician, Erika transitioned into a new, more efficient model.

Listen in as Erika explains how the Direct Primary Care model eliminates the co-pays and deductibles that are often a barrier to routine and preventive care while also increasing patient health and satisfaction.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Erika’s background in healthcare.
  • What Direct Primary Care is.
  • How Qliance’s model works.
  • Whether the payers value managed care if they see the cost savings DPC practice models can deliver.
  • Whether it make sense to charge a co-pay for primary care.
  • Why the DPC model is more relevant in a post-ACA world.

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