Episodes

How AI Could Repair our Healthcare System - Meet Healthee Join Spencer Smith in his latest episode of Self-Funded with Spencer as he delves into the world of artificial intelligence with Healthee and their co-founder/co-CEO - Guy Benjamin. Guy shares the story behind "Zoe", Healthee's AI-based personal health assistant. The podcast also discusses biases and inefficiencies in the healthcare industry and how Healthee's platform uses AI to improve the health coverage services and experience for e...

he Connective Tissue of a Health Plan - Planned Administrators Inc In the latest episode of "Self-Funded with Spencer," host Spencer Smith invites George Stiles, the President and COO of Planned Administrators Inc (PAI), to discuss the transformation of the TPA industry and what makes a good TPA partner. George shares his journey from claims processor at Blue Cross Blue Shield to his current role at PAI. The conversation covers topics from data analytics, and direct primary care, to how to na...

How to Create Better Wealth with The AND Asset - Caleb Guilliams Welcome to the Self-Funded with Spencer podcast! In this episode, we are thrilled to have Caleb Guilliams, founder of Better Wealth and author of "The And Asset." Spencer and Caleb discuss the power of life insurance as an investment tool, and how it can help people achieve their dreams while building wealth. Caleb shares his inspiring story of overcoming his insecurities and using his fear of failure to become a successful busi...

Health Payment Accounts (HPA) with Paytient CEO - Brian Whorley Welcome to Self-Funded with Spencer, where we dive into the world of healthcare and explore ways to make healthcare coverage more accessible and effortless for everyone. In this episode, Spencer Smith welcomes Brian Whorley, CEO and founder of Paytient. Brian is creating a new category for health payment accounts that helps remove the impediment of out-of-pocket costs for patients. Together they discuss the importance of creating ...

Revolutionizing Healthcare Coordination and Advocacy with Curus Get ready to dive into the world of healthcare benefits and savings with Spencer Smith's Self-Funded podcast, sponsored by Pareto Health. In this episode, COO Jared Mort from Curus Health shares his expertise on clinical care coordination, or as he refers to it "Care Orchestration", and how to help mid-sized employers reduce their healthcare costs. Jared also discusses Curus Health's approach to total life concierge services, whi...

Data Analytics for the Modern Benefits Broker - Mike Pattengale - Springbuk Looking to learn about the future of data analytics in healthcare? Look no further than Self-Funded with Spencer! Host Spencer Smith welcomes guest Mike Pattengale from Springbuk to discuss their innovative approach to data analytics and how it helps drive informed decisions. The two discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare industry and how data analytics can help employers make better decisions regarding the ...

Join podcast host Spencer Smith as he sits down with guest Scott Smith from TRUE Network Advisors to discuss topics ranging from leadership to personal growth in the latest episode of Self-Funded with Spencer. Scott and Spencer delve into the concept of authentic leadership, exploring what it means to be "authentic" (a buzzword that makes them cringe) and striving to be the best version of oneself. The discussion also touches on the challenges of providing mentorship and guidance to others and ...

Join host Spencer Smith on another episode of Self-Funded with Spencer, as he welcomes the PBM Princess, Rachel Strauss from EHIM. In this engaging and informative podcast episode, Rachel shares valuable insights about the Pharmacy Benefits Management industry and EHIM's merger with ProCare Rx. Rachel and Spencer also take a deep dive into the importance of transparency in PBMs and how it affects the relationship between PBM and clients. Rachel shares her journey of becoming a PBM consultant a...

How to Find Money in Medical Bill Errors - Zoe Holderness - Co-Founder of Slingshot Zoe Holderness, the CTO and co-founder of Slingshot, recently appeared on the podcast, Self-Funded with Spencer featuring host Spencer Smith. Slingshot is a software company that specializes in auditing medical bills. They automatically monitor every claim that comes through for an employer, finding savings and overcharges both for the plan and member. Zoe grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and later attend...

How Artificial Intelligence is Powering the Future of Risk with Matt Weaver of Gradient AI In this episode of "Self-Funded with Spencer," host Spencer Smith chats with Matt Weaver, Director of Sales for Gradient AI, about Artificial Intelligence in underwriting tools for self-funding and other stop-loss initiatives. Gradient AI helps underwriters make better assessments of risk, especially when limited loss and claims history exists, or even in the potential absence of claims data altogether. ...

A Professional's Guide to Bespoke Fashion in 2023 - Will Russ - R6 Clothier Get ready to elevate your fashion game with Spencer Smith and his guest, the founder of R6 Clothier, Will Russ. In this exciting episode, they discuss men's fashion in a professional setting, sharing insights from Will's experience in door-to-door sales and the importance of relationships and credibility in starting a successful clothing business. They delve into the mechanics of setting up a custom clothing business,...

Ross Conner, CIC, CRM is a Partner at Hotchkiss Insurance in Fort Worth, TX, where he focuses on helping middle market and franchise businesses grow through a compliant, consistent, and streamlined risk management program. Oh, and Ross is in Property and Casualty, not Employee Benefits. Now you might ask what is a P&C guy doing on a self-funded benefits podcast?! Well besides being hilarious (follow him on LinkedIn here ----> https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-conner-cic-crm-9b1189a/ ) and having...

ICHRA Explained - Everything You Need to Know About Individual Coverage HRA's with Kyle Estep Self-Funded with Spencer, hosted by Spencer Smith, is a podcast for those looking to strategically navigate the complex landscape of health insurance. In this episode, Spencer speaks with guest Kyle Estep from Take Command Health. Kyle Estep is the VP of Growth for Take Command Health. Kyle spent 8 years of his career early on consulting for Deloitte, one of the top consulting firms in the world. He a...

Welcome to Self-Funded with Spencer, a podcast that explores how employers can most effectively manage their health plan costs by "Self-Funding" their insurance. In this episode, Spencer talks to Kari L. Niblack, Esq. from Blackwell Captive Solutions, a risk attorney with 30+ years of experience in the business. Kari shares how her law career prepared her for sales, and her experience with the obstacles faced by women in the benefits industry, especially those seeking leadership positions. Perso...

This is a great episode for anyone interested in what it is like to succeed within the largest insurance brokerage in the United States. Travis is EVP at Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA). Travis was an exceptional wrestler in high school but hung up his wrestling singlet in college, where he studied general business at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Like quite a few of my guests in the past, Travis has a thrill-seeking side, being an avid skydiver AND scuba diver, where he jokingly says to ...

The Black & White Truth with Kareim Cade and Andy Neary. This episode features the duo of: 1) Kareim Cade - Owner and CEO of the Great Lakes Benefits Group 2) Andy Neary - Founder of Complete Game Consulting Together they make up a partnership called "The Black & White Truth". Their program has 3 pillars: Modernize how Salespeople are Trained Redefining Leadership Encourage Diversity of Thought Black & White Truth combines collaborative coaching, on-site workshops for insurance agencies, ...

Jason Scott is First Vice President for Alliant Insurance Services in Dallas, TX. Jason originally learned the art of sales from his Dad, who taught him how to sell without being "sales-y". He also taught Jason the power of getting to the yes or the no as fast as possible, because the "maybe's" are career killers. His Dad was actually instrumental in helping popularize a seasoning in the United States called "Tajin", which is a mixture of lime, chili powder, and salt, and is very popular within ...

Can one app manage pricing, communications, and payments for health plans? In short, YES! Medxoom "unifies member identity, pricing, communication and payments into one, easy-to-use app". For Episode 82, my guest is James the EVP of Strategy and Growth for MedXoom. His hobbies are triathlons, for which he trains 16-20 hours a week to prepare for events, and scuba diving. Jame calls himself "a back-of-the-pack triathlete", and recently he had to back out of a full Ironman race in Florida about...

Join me as I sat down with Ahmed Marmoush, Founder and CEO of Handl Health to hear his story, and learn more about Handl Health. Ahmed was born in Egypt but grew up in New Zealand, where he studied at the University of Auckland and received a Bachelor of Pharmacy. He then went to work at a Hospital in New Zealand as a clinical pharmacist where he got to experience everything from primary care in the field to geriatric care in a hospital setting. This gave him a ton of exposure to healthcare oper...

This episode is focused on the topic of Direct Primary Care, also known as "DPC". The DPC model transforms primary care into a membership-based model, rather than the traditional fee-for-service model. The goal is to provide all of the same routine services that patients receive from their primary care physician but eliminate the incentive for fast patient turnover, which often leads to a decrease in the quality of care provided. Our guest, Andy Bonner, the President & CEO of Healthcare2U, sha...

This episode is all about entrepreneurship. The highs and the lows, and everything in between. Gabe knew he was going to be an entrepreneur from an early age, recalling that he didn't get the best grades, didn't love to follow rules, and even recounts knowing at the age of 14 he was going to build his own businesses. He studied entrepreneurship in college at Baylor University, but outside of making friends and meeting his wife there, his belief that he would have been better off taking the $15...

Josh Sullivan is a Territory Manager for Morgan White Group, which creates and delivers innovative insurance products to the marketplace. Even though they have a full suite of solutions, for today's episode, we specifically focused on their Gap Supplemental Health Plan called the "Premium Saver Plan". I have always been intrigued by the financials of a Gap Health Plan, which aims to lower the overall cost of an employer-sponsored health plan by providing a way to bridge the "gap" between the fir...

There is a better way to construct a healthcare plan, and that is why I had Chris Hamilton, Partner at Hotchkiss Insurance back on the @SelfFunded with Spencer podcast after spending the last episode discussing Sales Best Practices only. You can view Chris' episode on Sales mastery here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrdbOgRxYis&t=1205s Chris came from the finance world before coming to benefits, and what drew him to our industry was that he kept seeing very sophisticated employers with hug...

Entrepreneurship in Autism Therapy - Derek Barrows of Belay On Autism Services Derek is the Founder and CEO of Belay On Autism Services, which offers Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for children diagnosed with autism in North Texas. In this episode, Derek shares information about applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, a widely used approach that focuses on reinforcing positive behaviors and teaching new skills. While ABA has been shown to be effective for many children with autism, ...