Author Archive

In this episode, we explore some of the most common questions advisors ask about self funding and discuss concerns ranging from minimum group size to tools and techniques. Our guest on this episode of ShiftShapers is Adam Russo, Esq., co-founder and CEO of The Phia Group, as well as the founding and managing partner at a law firm, Russo & Minchoff. He believes that, in light of the healthcare reform, the current environment is full of exciting opportunities that many brokers can take advantage of.

We also have a frank exchange about what is behind recent efforts by some Departments of Insurance to try to put the brakes on certain segments of self funding and the potential impact that may have on employers seeking an alternate to the fully insured marketplace.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• Adam’s journey and how The Phia Group came about.
• How advisors can remain relevant in the current environment.
• The minimum size for a successful self-funded group.
• Why the government wants to stop or severely limit self-funding.
• How can advisors begin the self-funded conversation.
• What you need to devise a properly constructed client plan.

Featured On The Show:

• www.PhiaGroup.com
• Sicko (2007) – A documentary by Michael Moore

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Today, we’re talking to Craig Lack, CEO of Premium Reduction Strategies. He is a best-selling author and nationally-recognized health care expert and an expert on self-funding who has appeared on ABC, CBS and FOX as well as in a number of national publications.

Craig’s 25-year experience in the industry has given him a deep understanding of the challenges facing benefit advisors in a post-ACA world. We invited Craig to discuss strategies such as the “Spousal Incentive HRA” and other opportunities for self funding created by the Affordable Care Act. He will also share why premiums are just “CRAP”.

Seasoned self funders and advisors new to the world of self funding will learn how to engage employers in compelling conversations that create differentiation and value.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• The difference between fully-insured and self funded.
• Why the premiums are just C.R.A.P.
• Why this isn’t the typical renewal discussion.
• How ACA has impacted the world of self funding.
• What the Spousal Incentive HRA is.
• Whether you should create a deductible rewards program.

Featured On The Show:

• NAHU – National Association of Health Underwriters
• Certified Self Funding Specialist Program
• 2013-54
• Think and Grow Rich Today! by Craig Lack, Napolean Hill
• Doing More with Less by Craig Lack

Listen To The Full Interview:

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On this episode of Shiftshapers, we’re very excited to talk to Gary Robinson, Executive Vice-President of Business Development at HealthTap. Founded in 2010, HealthTap’s goal was to reinvent the way people all over the world take care of their health and wellbeing. While that is a classic B.H.A.G., the conversation we had with Gary makes it clear that things may be changing even more rapidly than anyone thought – with technology breaking new ground on a nearly constant basis.

We invited Gary to the program to talk about HealthTap’s beginnings, as well as their new initiative, the Health Care Operating System, and how it helps to create an “intelligent triage system.” Today, advisors who want to help their clients bend the trend while simultaneously dealing with ever-increasing personal responsibility amounts have some really amazing tools at their disposal. It isn’t just advisors or employers who are the drivers in this “new normal” so we asked Gary about how the evolution of consumer expectations and the advent of mobile technology are creating an unparalleled opportunity for the transformation of everything from the conventional physician practice to patient’s on-demand access.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• The initial considerations and challenges in telehealth.
• How the consumer expectations are evolving, especially in light of increased personal responsibility.
• The role of mobile technology.
• What patient engagement is all about.
• How the physician practice has to transform to meet the needs.
• What the free-access physician-crowdsourced database is and how consumers can interact with it.

Featured On The Show:

• www.HealthTap.com
• Stanford BeWell program
• Ep #83: Power To The Patients! – With Dr. Eric Topol

Listen To The Full Interview:

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One of the things that’s always at the forefront of everyone’s mind today, as well as an expectation from clients, is the ability to keep all of the appropriate communications secured. And it isn’t just good business – it is the law. Ari Gardner, the Director of Sharefile for Insurance at Citrix, is one of the foremost subject matter experts and we were pleased to have the opportunity to interview him about what advisors and firms need to know on this critical component of our business.

Many practitioners believe that data security is a federally induced and regulated mandate. Ari points out that there are state requirements as well and we explore how advisors can comply with both. He explains which data exactly needs to be secured and why, as well as the importance of having a comprehensive system that makes the process easy and which integrates easily in all the ways we communicate today. Listen in as we discuss what you need to know to be able to offer your clients an easy-to-deploy secure environment that meets and exceeds current legal requirements.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• Where the secure file and email sharing first intersected with the health and employee benefits universe.
• Whether these regulations are all Federal or state driven, and which takes precedence.
• The importance of ease of use and user experience.
• The additional considerations when using mobile devices.
• The meaning of the different security standards.
• The data storage requirements and how they differ from the communication requirements.

Featured On The Show:

• www.sharefile.com
• HIPAA violations and examples
• Ep #83: Power To The Patients! – With Dr. Eric Topol

Listen To The Full Interview:

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Every study available continues to show that consumers need help with understanding and selecting plans. One company has developed an Uber-like marketplace that helps to make that connection. In this episode, we chat with Dan Hughes of Softheon about what’s new with private exchanges and how they are evolving to meet consumer’s needs.

We explore the ongoing viability of private exchanges and how consumers are interacting with them. We also touch on the ever-increasing need for advisors to have access to data. We ask Dan about how they expect to vet the advisors they list on their site and what he sees in the near-term future for private exchanges and what those changes mean for your practice.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• How Softheon came to be and the problems they were trying to solve.
• How the private exchanges evolved and what their future looks like.
• How Softheon is working on connecting advisors to prospects who are shopping for coverage.
• How they vet brokers to get quality folks.
• Why white-labeling is important for advisors.

Featured On The Show:

• www.Softheon.com

Listen To The Full Interview:

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This week’s guest believes that the smartphone has the power to transform the way health care is practiced and to put patients back in control of their health care. Dr. Eric Topol, joins us to talk about his recent book, “The Patient Will See You Now”. A practicing cardiologist, professor of genomics, and director of Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, CA, Dr. Topol outlines the beginnings of what he believes is a long-overdue shift in medicine that will put the future of medicine in consumer’s hands. That change will have profound effects on all aspects of our business.

In this episode, we discuss the gap between the patient and the doctor, and how Dr. Topol believes the system is rapidly evolving toward “democratized medicine”. I ask Dr. Topol why he believes that the US health care market is “unique and irrational”. We also talk about the idea of upgrading patients from being passengers on their health care journey to being their own co-pilots and how we can prepare our clients for that future of health care.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

• What “democratized medicine” is.
• How the smartphone has become the driver of exponential change.
• Why medical paternalism is holding us back.
• What “MOOM” is and why it matters.
• Why the US Healthcare market is “unique, opaque and irrational.”

Featured On The Show:

• The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine is in Your Hands by Eric Topol
• Dr. Topol’s page at Scripps Translational Science Institute

Listen To The Full Interview:

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