For a full transcript of this episode, . Are you on the board of directors of a company? Or are you a shareholder of a publicly traded company? Or are you a CEO or a CFO who reports to a board of directors or these shareholders? Well, this show is for you. And it’s about how the healthcare industry has become financialized at the same time that providing health benefits has become the second-biggest line item after payroll for most companies. We talked about that with Mark Cuban () also. So, this show isn’t really about health benefits; it’s about the business that these health benefits have become and how, if the CEO or CFO of an employer is not intimately involved in the financial layer wrapping around health benefits, then the company is getting really taken advantage of by those entities who are intimately familiar with the financial layer surrounding those healthcare benefits. And the employees of that company also are getting equally taken advantage of. This is not a case where paying more or less results in better or worse employee health or healthcare. It is a case where not minding the shop in the C-suite means that financial actors just take more of the pie and nobody wins but them. Employer loses; employee loses. Andreas Mang, my guest today, kicks off this interview talking about the conversation that will go down between himself and any CEO whose company gets bought by Blackstone. So, if you’re a CEO and you’re aspiring for this to happen, yeah … heads up. But he says it’s kind of an unnatural act to dig into anything that smells like health benefits or health insurance. Some may not even realize that this whole financial layer has developed that sits above the healthcare benefits themselves. And they also may not think that there’s anything that’s possible that can be done. As far as both of these points are concerned, Andreas Mang gives a list of, as he calls them, easy things a C-suite can do to save 10% while improving employee satisfaction and health. Saving 10% or more, this can be a really big number. A lot of this is just enforcing purchasing discipline that is being used elsewhere. Here’s Andreas’s list recapped: 1. Have CFO engagement throughout the year. (We talked about that with Mark Cuban also.) 2. Be self-insured once you have reached a certain size. (Andreas gets into this in more detail during the show itself.) 3. Be very, very careful who you hire as your broker or benefits consultant. There are five things that need to be true:  ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They have the experience to do the job.  ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Flat-fee model compensation  ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; No product pushing  ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fees at risk (30% or more)  ·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Simple termination provisions 4. Do carrier/ASO/TPA RFPs once every three years or thereabouts. 5. Do dependent eligibility audits. (Cora Opsahl talked a lot about this also in an episode [] last summer.) 6. Leverage pharmacy coalitions and stop-loss collectives. (In the show itself, Andreas offers some warnings because some of these coalitions and collectives are great and some are not.) But bottom line, just keep in mind, as Mark Cuban said two weeks ago (), those that are taking your money, your company’s money, are advantaged when you are confused. Where there’s mystery, there’s margin. If you can’t convince ’em, confuse ’em and all that. This is a business strategy. Healthcare should not be this complicated. But yet, it has become so; and anyone who doesn’t realize that is letting themselves and their employees really get taken advantage of. Unknown unknowns are not benign. As I have said several times already, Andreas Mang is my guest today. He is a partner at Blackstone, the private equity and alternative asset manager. His job is helping portfolio companies manage their US healthcare benefits for their employees. &nbsp;  You can learn more at ...

EP419: The Financialization of Health Benefits for Boards of Directors and C-Suites of Self-Insured Employers, With Andreas Mang

Interview segment with Lisa Hirsh president and CEO of Accurate Box Co about manufacturing in America impaired by healthcare costs. Echoes TED talk (http://bit.ly/TEDxChase): "Healthcare Stole the American Dream - Here’s How We Take it Back." Full interview at http://the1a.org/shows/2017-01-25/made-in-america

NPR 1A - Lisa Hirsh president and CEO of Accurate Box Co

Our next installment of the 2017 McKesson Pharmacy Systems Podcast Series is an interview with Pharmacy Owner Paul Fulmer, PharmD and&nbsp;Mary Gregory VP Customer Experience at McKesson Pharmacy Systems.&nbsp; We discuss the importance of Customer Care &amp; ensuring the pharmacy owner has accessible resources to maximize the effectiveness of the technology platforms.&nbsp; About Paul Fulmer, PharmD: Paul graduated from UNMC in 2007 and began working at Noble Drug alongside his father, Kim, that same year. Paul is the Pharmacist-In-Charge and has operated Fulmer U-Save Pharmacy since it’s purchase in 2011. Paul enjoys spending time with his family, sports, and hunting. Mary Gregory is a 20+ year McKesson patient &amp; customer advocate champion. Mary currently serves as the Vice President of Customer Experience at McKesson Pharmacy Systems.&nbsp; About the Pharmacy Podcast Series: McKesson Pharmacy Technology &amp; Services (MPTS) partnered with the Pharmacy Podcast Network to produce a special Podcast Series during the 2017 McKesson ideaShare in New Orleans, La. This series will include 12 podcast episodes featuring interviews from MPTS customers, as well as thought leadership from industry experts. https://marketing.mckesson.com/2017-MPTS-Pharmacy-Podcast-Series.html&nbsp;

Pharmacy Technology Enhanced by Customer Experience Assurance - PPN Episode 531

American Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Executives You Might Want to Know. Talking.

Relentless Health Value is a weekly interview podcast hosted by Stacey Richter since 2014. A dynamic healthcare entrepreneur and innovator, Richter has spent more than twenty years mentoring clients and colleagues in the shared pursuit of healthcare value. Subscribe to the podcast and spend an hour with us every Thursday.

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EP419: The Financialization of Health Benefits for Boards of Directors and C-Suites of Self-Insured Employers, With Andreas Mang

Relentless Health Value

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