Having solution partners like Green Imaging is amazing. Because of Dr. Dickerson’s company, we’ve been able to save so many people thousands and thousands of dollars on diagnostic imaging services. Things like MRI’s and CT Scans.

Dr. Dickerson and I discuss ways employers are addressing imaging costs and staggering price variance in imaging.

Even a $25,000 mammogram she recently experienced!! Talk about robbery!

Status quo healthcare is a sacred cow, often immune to any sort of criticism. Especially in smaller communities, people are hesitant to speak out or disrupt a healthcare system that hurts people financially and sometimes even physically.

George Orwell wrote an essay entitled “Shooting an Elephant” many years ago, and it was about a man who was called upon to shoot an unruly elephant near a Burmese village. It was a metaphor about British imperialism.

Our status quo healthcare system is much like the unruly elephant. Hope you’ll tune in to this episode as I address the elephant no one wants to talk about.

Footprints are a fine compass, and no matter how hard we try, we can never perfectly replicate someone else’s path. When we forge our own paths, we are slightly enlarging the footprints of those who have gone before us.

Marilyn Bartlett has been an inspiration and role model to many in our industry, including myself. She has stood up to some of the biggest, most powerful entities in healthcare, and she’s accomplished so much good for so many people. I was honored to visit more about the work Marilyn is doing at NASHP.

I hope employers will head Marilyn’s advice, especially as it pertains to their fiduciary responsibilities to their health plans.

In this Special Episode, Bret and Josh discuss West Texas, legacies, and helping as many people through healthcare as possible.

Bret is a close friend and colleague, and in this edition, he flipped the script and interviewed me. Always good conversation.

After years of being told there wasn’t much his company could do to lower healthcare costs and improve company benefits, Michael was introduced to Josh and Butler Benefits, and we’ve now been working together for about a year.

CEO, Michael Haning sits down with Josh to discuss the impact they’ve had by doing things a little differently in their self-funded plan.

Shampoo: $8 Conditioner: $8

Shampoo and Conditioner combined into one bottle: $1,800 Who would buy that? NOONE!

But this very thing happens in health care, day in and day out. Listen in as Josh explains how drug manufacturers take two common, inexpensive ingredients/drugs, put them together in a “combo” pill, and charge unsuspecting plans thousands of dollars per script.

Look out for this….it’s happening in virtually every plan in America.

Saving money in healthcare is great, but what is even more important is making sure the care we receive is QUALITY care.

I’ve discovered that improving healthcare quality is actually the key to lowering healthcare, not skimping on quality.

As we kick of Season 2, let’s talk about quality of care and what people want from their healthcare experiences.

There’s a big difference between “price” and “cost”, and the PRICES we pay in healthcare are not based off of COSTS!

Find out just how messed up the payment methodology is in healthcare, and what you can do about it on this episode.

Watch VIDEO VERSION here!

Imagine being told you would only owe $1300 for your surgery, but a few months later get a hospital bill for $230,000! Well, that’s what happened to a woman in Colorado.

Did she owe it? Find out in this episode!

Watch VIDEO VERSION here!

High Plains Health Plan is reducing health care/benefits costs for employers by 20-40% while touting benefits like a $0 Deductible, $0 Coinsurance, and $0 copays for many health care services. Tune in and learn how we’re doing it, and how we helped one employer save over $84,000 on a single prescription drug!

Watch VIDEO VERSION here!

Direct Primary Care is an emerging primary care delivery model that increases access to high-quality health care while dramatically reducing the cost of primary care. Employers learn how to implement DPC into their organizations! Introducing Amarillo MD and Dr. Deborah Moore.

Outpatient surgery is becoming more and more common these days. What people/organizations need to know is just how much price variation there is between a hospital outpatient setting, and an outpatient ambulatory surgery center.

Josh chats with CEO, Mike Grant about ways employers can save big in this category!

Watch VIDEO VERSION here!

Despite being a 20-year old bill, many employers are unfamiliar with HB2015 and the data/reporting health insurance companies are required to provide to fully-insured companies, even small companies.

HB2015 data is useful in establishing high claimants within the population, as well as the company’s overall loss ratio.

Check out this episode as Josh breaks down how employers are getting and using this data.

Employers and employees are the true “payors” of health care in this country.

Calling an insurance company the payor of health care is like calling H&R Block the payor of people’s taxes.

Why is this important? Tune in and learn why….

Many employers think self-funding is “too risky”.

But how well do they understand stop-loss insurance?

Stop-loss does precisely what it says it does, it STOPS an organization’s losses at specific dollar amounts, allowing employers to budget just like with any other plan.

Episode 11 is all about the basics of specific and aggregate stop-loss insurance.

The CAA is one of the most impactful pieces of legislation on employers since Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Employers are “plan sponsors” and have fiduciary responsibilities to their employees and members of their health plans, and there are requirements in the CAA that employers must abide by.

Join us as Josh and Justin discuss meaningful information for employers and what they need to be doing now!

The Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement is a newer vehicle employers are using to reimburse employees money to seek individual health insurance.

The ICHRA is a versatile tool for employers looking to provide competitive benefits while controlling costs.

Tom DiLiegro joins Josh to discuss details.

High-Performing health plans are reducing healthcare costs for employers/employees by as much as 40%.

High Plains Health Plan is reducing healthcare costs by $3000 per employee per year on average.

If every Amarillo employer adopted a health plan that reduced healthcare costs by $3000 per employee per year, it would generate $380-$400 Million per year in economic stimulus.

Fix healthcare…..fix a lot of things.

“You want case studies? Here’s 100 pages. You want more? We have em!”

Josh visits with Dave Chase, co-founder of the Health Rosetta and author of The CEO’s Guide to Restoring the American Dream : How to provide world-class healthcare at half the cost.

Don’t miss this one!

Some people are told that if they have health insurance, than they have to use it to pay for medical services like doctor visits, imaging services, or prescriptions.

Some people are even told that it constitutes “insurance fraud” if a provider doesn’t file a claim with insurance.

Are they right? What are your protections? What do you need to know?

Check out Episode 16 as Josh breaks down the answer.

Marshall Allen is the author of best-selling book, “Never Pay the First Bill” and other ways to fight the health care system….AND WIN!

Josh and Marshall discuss all the beneficial and innovative things Marshall is doing for employers and families alike around the country.

Is your broker “BUI”, broker under the influence of the status quo health system? Do you know what you’re paying for medical services?

Check out Episode 18, you won’t regret it!

How to become a better patient, better consumer, of health care BEFORE you hit the doctor’s office.

Know the right questions to ask. Fight for your time, and make the most of it.

Bret shares some great tips for preparing for healthcare episodes BEFORE they become actual episodes!

If we bought every day items like we buy healthcare in this country, millions of people would unwittingly be paying $21.50 for a gallon of gas, $31 for a gallon of milk, $12 for a loaf of bread, and $7,663 for a new IPhone!!!!

But every day, millions of Americans unknowingly overpay for healthcare services and prescription drugs…..even as much as 7 TIMES MORE!

Think having health insurance prevents you from over paying? Think again.

In this episode, Josh unveils true price variance examples in Amarillo, TX.

So many companies say they hate annual health insurance open-enrollment.  And who can blame them?  Every year it’s the same ole carriers, same ole story….”your rates are going up, and your plan is getting even more watered down.”

 No wonder employers would rather wrestle a tiger in a phone booth than endure another annual renewal meeting.

If your broker isn’t providing real value (better benefits at lower costs), well, ask different questions, make your broker work for their $$$$

Check out this episode, we talk about how to do just that.

Kevin Trokey, Founder of Q4 Intelligence drops in to discuss the true “value” a good broker/consultant can bring to employers and their employees.

Kevin shares, “If an employer finds themselves talking to a broker, and they sound like every other broker they’ve spoken to before, they really need to move on and search for that one that is different, that truly brings different value.”

Josh and Alex geek out on data analytics, and how employers are embracing information to build best-in-class health plans at a fraction of the cost.

It’s often said, “You cannot manage what you do not measure”.  Imagine trying to manage a household budget but you have not idea what your mortgage payment is, or your car payment, or how much your kid’s school clothes cost.  It would be impossible!

That is why employers are leaning harder on their brokers and consultants to deliver insight on healthcare utilization and price data.

Tune in and learn ways your organization can leverage data and help you save money and maintain high quality health benefits!

Bryce Heinbaugh is one of the most compassionate and genuine healthcare consultants in the country.

In addition to building sophisticated health plans for employers, he heads a team of amazing nurses that assist people in their most vulnerable times….when they need to utilize our convoluted health care system.

Higher quality health care at prices people can afford.  That’s what Episode 24 is all about.  That’s what Bryce is all about.  That’s what this program is all about….restoring hope, and giving you a Snowball’s Chance in Healthcare.

I don’t have an issue with Medical Gap Plans in and of themselves.  I’ve actually seen where they have benefited many a family who knew they would satisfy a deductible, or multiple deductibles within the coming year.

What I’m talking about in this episode is the seemingly savvy strategy for employers to move ALL employees to a high-deductible health plan, and then purchase a medical gap plan for all employees.

Just doesn’t make sense, and in this episode, I tell you why!

Right now, the Atlanta Falcons are 5-7. They’re average.

Imagine a coach comparing his team to a 5-7 team and being satisfied with it, or saying they don’t need to do anything different.

When did employers give up on their health plans and just accept “average”?

Benchmarking your health plan, grading your health plan, is a first step in improving your health plan.

This episode is all about how to grade a health plan, and identify opportunities.

What is a plan sponsor/employer supposed to do when their “carrier” refuses to share vital claims data and contract information with them, causing them to violate their fiduciary duty?

Two labor unions have sued Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut because Anthem refuses to share paid claims information with the Union, aka….the plan sponsor.

It’s their money! And they can’t even see how it’s being spent?

Justin Leader and Josh Spivak share details that led to the litigation, and what plan sponsors should know about the CAA regulations.

Part 2 of the Season 1 Finale.

Two unions sue Anthem because Anthem refuses to share plan data.

Thank you for supporting A Snowball’s Chance In Healthcare!

Season 2 coming soon!