Episodes

How CBD Works with the CEO of CORGANICS, Chad Collins.Have you ever wondered about CBD? What is it? How does it work? Is it actually real, or placebo? Then this is the episode for you! I sat down with Chad for Episode 57 to discuss his Company called CORGANICS, and how they are "bridging the gap between healthcare professionals and their patients when it comes to understanding and treating the endocannabinoid system." Chad referenced a 2019 Gallup poll, that showed 1 in 5 Americans was ...

The Modern TPA - Tech when you need it, people when you don't. In episode 56 of Self-Funded with Spencer, I sit down with the CEO of HealthSmart, Craig Julien. Craig is a fascinating person, being an avid Triathlete, Mountain Climber, and a World Record Skydiver, while also running a very successful Third Party Administrator. Throughout his career, Craig has always been willing to raise his hand to take on more responsibility, or a new opportunity, even moving to India for a few years to run a ...

There are people that have dreams. There are people that execute dreams that other people have. Few people get to do both. Those people are entrepreneurs. That’s the core message that Seth Denson, Head of Benefits for Acrisure, delivered on Episode 55 of the “Self-Funded with Spencer” podcast. In this episode we discussed his successful journey as an entrepreneur, as well as his second career as a business analyst for some of the largest news outlets in America. I’m grateful to call Seth a ...

Jared Pope is the Founder of Work Shield, and a self-described "recovering attorney" to discuss the origins of his company and the solution they provide. Recognizing the gross inefficiencies in the way companies currently handle internal misconduct, Jared recognized an opportunity to deliver a better dispute resolution service, that was unbiased, faster, and easier to implement than most "Check-the-box" options on the market today. Work Shield is on a mission to change the way organizations ...

The Power of SimplePay Health, a discussion with Wally Gomaa, Co-Founder. Wally has an extensive track record of success in the healthcare and employee benefits industries, and his latest venture - SimplePay - is an exciting new solution to help bring "Price Certainty" to the health insurance world. SimplePay Health - Where happy and health plan live together. https://www.simplepayhealth.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spencer-harlan-smith/support

John shares his own experience with Burnout at 41, which nearly cost him his life, and we discuss the challenges that men have in discussing their mental health with others, even with the typical EAP offerings most employers provide their employees today. It is even harder for people like John, who had been a pastor at a church for his whole career up that point, and who was perceived as a community leader, to express feelings of fear, weakness, emotional pain, etc. because of concerns of how...

Jake Thompson started Compete Every Day as an inspirational apparel company, and over the course of a decade, has grown it into a vehicle for performance coaching, business consulting, and traveling the country to do public speaking. The mindset of getting 1% better every day, while viewed on a micro scale may not seem much, but the aggregate effect over time on your life will have a massive impact. Whether it is your health, your job, your relationships, focusing on the little things you can...

Chas Fields is Senior Partner at UKG - Ultimate Kronos Group - and is also a fellow podcaster, a public speaker, a change management expert, a volunteer, and a baseball coach. Oh yeah, he's also a really cool dude!This episode covers what Human Capital Management is, how it works, and how technology is enabling companies to better manager their Human Capital. We cover topics like the merger of two giant organizations into an even bigger one, managing people through the pandemic, fatherhood, ...

How Jumbo Employers are Solving Healthcare. This podcast focuses on the Health Transformation Alliance (HTA) - A Co-Op - that is fully owned by about 65 Jumbo employers, whose entire mission is to create superior outcomes for their health plan. Their goals are to save lives, and save dollars. These employer groups need to have about 5,000 lives on their health plan and pay $500k to join, and all own an equal equity stake in the Co-Op. This fee can be paid over time and can come out of your heal...

Everything you need to know about Insurance Captives, featuring Stephani Manning of Innovative Captive Strategies. We discuss the Layers of Captive, how those layers interact, and which parties are responsible for each of the three layers of the captive. Stephani is a teacher by nature, and it really comes across in how simply she explains how captives work. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spencer-harlan-smith/support

Have you ever wondered what it is like to MC (host) a big conference? In this episode of "Self-Funded with Spencer" on the road in St Louis at the True Captive Symposium, I discussed this topic with the host of the event - Kiera Hanselman. Kiera started to MC events during the pandemic at virtual conferences, and did such a good job that she kept getting asked to do it again. She talks about how her theater training helped her prepare to be on stage, but it really comes down to understanding th...

How Fasting Can Change Your Life. What is Fasting? What are the benefits of Fasting? How does a beginner get started Fasting? What is the difference in Fasting and Intermittent Fasting? What is Autophagy? What is a Water Fast? What is a Fasting Mimicking Diet?. Mark Testa is an expert at Fasting, as well as an expert in Stem Cells. Mark has personally gone through multiple 5-day fasts, and is a regular intermittent faster like myself. Personally, Intermittent Fasting has helped stab...

The "PBM Princess" joins me again on Self-Funded with Spencer on the road, this time in St. Louis at the most recent True Captive Summit, held at Busch Stadium. In this mini-episode, Rachel highlights the convoluted supply chain in Pharmacy Benefit Management. So many different entities have a hand in the Rx supply chain, from payers, wholesalers, contracts with PBM's, marketing firms, insurance companies, etc, which makes it very difficult to uncover why prescription drug trends continue to in...

Your own Stem Cells can be extracted from your bone marrow, concentrated, and then later injected into certain areas to potentially eliminate the need for surgery. Many people just refer to it as "stem cells", but bone marrow concentrate which contains stem cells is the most accurate way to describe what Regenexx does. Regenexx can help self-funded employers who have employees which knee injuries, shoulder injuries, back injuries etc. as a possible intermediate step before the last hope is su...

What is it like to be a Serial Entrepreneur? When you hear Mark's story it becomes clear that it takes someone with a combination of drive, intelligence, will, luck, faith, and a sense of humor! Mark Combs started his career in financial planning, moved into the employee benefits broker world, helped grow an agency into a successful acquisition, and after experiencing nothing but success in his work life thus far, that is when he said, "everything STOPPED working"! He talks about having to re...

Private Equity Explained What is it? How does it work? How do you get a job in private equity? When do you use equity vs debt? What types of firms should go public rather than stay private? What are the stages of growth that impact capital requirements? All of these questions and more are answered in Episode 44 of "Self-Funded with Spencer", featuring Kyle Coots, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Miramar Equity Partners. Kyle and I have known each other for almost 30 years, and we recon...

Life Rewards Effort. Randy & I discussed Leadership, Faith, Family, Personal Growth, Managing Career Success, Being a Star Hurdler in High School, Moving from CA to TX, Advice for Young Salespeople, and the roles both of our Wives have played in making us the men we are today. From a random meeting at a children's play-place called "Cheeky Monkey" two years ago during the pandemic, to having Randy sit down this week for the podcast, it has been an interesting two years for both of us. --- Su...

“Never Pay the First Bill” This is the title of Marshall Allen’s extraordinary book, which empowers working Americans to fight back against unfair medical billing practices and WIN. Marshall came on Self-Funded with Spencer to discuss: ✍️ His investigative journalism career 📚 His Substack newsletter 📽 His upcoming video series 👨‍⚖️ How to win in small claims court 🏥 His son’s recent ER visit ⛪️ His faith and time in ministry 🏛 His new job in the federal gov 📕 and of course, the book!...

Allergy season, muscle cars, space shuttle launches...and Dependent Eligibility Audits? Keith Bird, VP of Sales for AmWINS came on the Self-Funded with Spencer Podcast to discuss the fiduciary responsibility that Self-Funded Employers have to ensure the dependents enrolled on their health plan are eligible to be there. Unless you have a good way of validating the eligibility of enrollees manually (you probably don't) then you likely have dependents on your plan today that are not supposed to be ...

How much does surgery cost? How good is my surgeon? Sanjay Prasad MD sits down with me to discuss the answers to both of those questions and more. Sanjay is an Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon by trade, the Author of "Resetting Healthcare", and the founder of SurgiQuality. Sanjay is a brilliant man on a mission to create more transparency for patients around the ability of their surgeon, and the price the member will pay. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spencer...

Modern marketing is evolving, and Trey Hinson of Ocozzio shares everything you need to know about this changing landscape.We covered an array of topics from Self-Funding, Bourbon, LinkedIn Sponsored Posts, The Power of Video for Marketing, Personalized Prospecting, the Decentralization of Healthcare Solutions, Storytelling, and so much more!This was one of the most difficult episodes to edit because there was so much great content. I ended up making 4 promo clips instead of 1!--- Support ...

Episode 38 of Self-Funded with Spencer features Jorge Arzate , CEO and Founder of MAKINA BENEFITS . Jorge joined me on the show to discuss the role of a boutique-style independent TPA and his passion for helping small employers take control of their healthcare spend. We had conversations about discipline as an entrepreneur, focusing on growth over just setting goals, and even kicked the chat off with our mutual upbringing on #heavymetal . --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.co...

Dan is the US Head of Sales, Middle Market for Meritain Health. He has an extensive career in Employee Benefits, especially in Self-Funding, and received his CEBS designation through an affiliation with the Wharton School. In particular, this episode focuses on the advanced role of a TPA for self-funded groups, and how they can serve as an open architecture solution for employers to customize their health plan and better control the cost of care. Dan is also an avid fitness enthusiast, participa...

One of the most neglected parts of our healthcare system in the last few years has been the lack of availability in virtual mental/behavioral health support for employees. In this episode, Mike Kohl of Vida Health joined me to discuss whole person healthcare, which includes a heavy emphasis on getting members of an employer sponsored health plan access to mental health support as quickly as possible. Mike is a great person, with an awesome story, and I hope you find this information valuable. --...