Healthcare Americana

Folia Health is on a mission to ensure that each individual person gets the care that's suited to their specific situation. Folia Health believes that great care must be individualized, and not focused on broad concepts of "average patients". Nell Luo, Founder and CEO of Folia Health, spoke about the need for better information to drive truly precise care for each individual patient, and the value of individual observations toward building a better picture of what each person needs.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Direct primary care physician Dr. Clara Krebs was once employed by a big hospital. While employed, she became inspired by her patients. They inspired her to want to educate them, as well as to connect with them. Eventually, she had to choose between the matrix and her patients. She chose her patients. Now, she is a direct primary care physician at Clear Medical Clinic.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Doug Geinzer, Founder and President of High Performance Providers, specializes in high-cost, steerable surgeries. During the episode, Geinzer and host Chris Habig discuss the direct alignment between the specialty care community and the direct primary care community, as well as Geinzer’s job as a consultant to surgeons. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Joseph Templin, Author of Every Day Excellence, dives into the mental health crisis in the United States. He opens up about how his divorce and speaking career disappeared because of the pandemic, and how those situations impacted his mental health. He shares advice on how little changes on a daily basis can create big results. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Healthcare is about 20 years behind other industries when it comes to utilizing technology effectively and intelligently. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the healthcare industry has learned that not keeping up with artificial intelligence or utilizing it properly, has hurt not only the industry as a whole but society. Sachin Patel, CEO of Apixio, explains how AI could’ve improved the pandemic response.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. James Hawkes grew up in a large family. His father was a U.S. diplomat, which exposed him to different models of healthcare. In addition to exposure, his grandmother encouraged him to become a doctor. He followed her recommendation, but to his surprise the definition of a good doctor wasn’t about improving patients’ quality of life, it was about hierarchies, documentation, administrative requirements, and quality measures. Shortly after saying goodbye to the traditional healthcare model, he launched his own direct care practice. Fast forward to today, he is a 100% debt free direct care physician. He shares his story of how it’s possible to achieve this goal.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Since 2020, the healthcare industry has lost half a million workers. The stress and burnout of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused workers to flee the industry, leaving physicians short-staffed and scrambling. Hadi Chaudhry, CEO of CareCloud, shares how medical practices are managing employee turnover, especially small businesses trying to stay afloat amidst COVID and the labor shortage. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Susan Conover, Co-Founder and CEO of Piction Health, is helping physicians better address skin conditions through computer vision and AI, which is resulting in the empowerment of patients with skin disease. Conover shares her personal story of how her diagnosis of Melanoma while in school resulted in the creation of Piction Health. Listen to her unique story.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Roxie Mooney, Healthcare Commercialization Strategist & Fractional CMO at Legacy DNA: Strategy for Health Innovators, shares how research indicates that 95% of innovations brought to the healthcare market fail. To lower the percentage of innovations that fail in healthcare, she invented COIQ™. It is an evidence-based framework that takes healthcare innovation from an idea to full market adoption. Dr. Mooney says the key ingredient to success is to create new value for customers within an ecosystem. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Sonia Hunt, food allergy activist, TEDx speaker, and best-selling author, is a first-generation Indian-American, who healed a lifetime of severe food allergies by reclaiming her native foodways and exploring Ayurveda and functional medicine as alternative paths to healing. After hundreds of visits to the ER, including four that nearly took her life, Sonia spent ten years examining the root cause of her allergies, and in 2020 was proclaimed in remission by her doctors, which is virtually unheard of among the 32 million food allergy sufferers today. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Steve Nevral, Director of Business Development at DisclosedRx, and Zack Robinson, Managing Partner at DisclosedRx, discuss how the company is the first fully disclosed PBM. The fully disclosed model prohibits them from receiving revenue from any source other than their clients. The company’s goal is to return trust between the advisor, TPA, and PBM relationship. Nevral and Robinson break down their model and explain how it’s possible to become a fully disclosed PBM.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Josh Itano, CEO and Co-Founder of CareCar, discusses a problem in the healthcare system that his company is solving. Some seniors or patients with physical limitations find transportation a barrier when they have a doctor’s appointment. CareCar is solving the problem by providing transportation for those who simply need a ride!Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Bettina Hein, CEO of Juli, is a serial tech entrepreneur who has founded several successful companies. One of her most recent companies is Juli, which is an AI powered health app and startup that helps people with chronic health conditions. Typically, it takes people years to learn how to manage and understand their condition, but with Juli, people are able to look at a dashboard and analyze their personalized data about their health and condition.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

To all of our supporters, listeners, sponsors and guests, we'd just like to say thank you for a great 2021. We hope you enjoy this time with your friends, family and loved ones, and we'll be back with more Healthcare Americana in January 2022. Happy holidays from all of us at Healthcare Americana!Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Panna Sharma, CEO of Lantern Pharma, discusses how his company is bringing cancer therapies to the market faster, cheaper and at a lower cost than other biotechs through artificial intelligence, machine learning and genomic data. He emphasizes that it shouldn’t cost $2 billion to make medicine. He shares it costs this much because Big Pharma is artificially inflating pricing. Lantern Pharma is changing healthcare because it is developing new medicines significantly cheaper than big pharma, in a time frame that is unheard of, with only a dozen people.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Baylor College of Medicine, has assisted in developing a new clinical care pathway for PCPs to easily identify and manage patients at risk of NASH. Dr. Kanwal is on a mission to raise awareness and improve understanding among physicians. She wants physicians to understand the importance of what it is and how together through proper education, physicians can change this disease. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Andrew Richburg, CEO at C3LX, Inc., shares how his company has developed an advanced remote monitoring and patient engagement solution for value-based care. The technology platform provides physicians data to fully understand patient behavior outside of the doctors office. Some of the data includes food, mood, activity, weight, sleep and remote monitoring data like blood pressure. The data is then sent back to the physician using smart dashboards. Listen to learn how Andrew’s company is disrupting healthcare simply by connecting patients and physicians outside of the doctors office. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

In this episode Chris talks with Mark Pinsley, Lehigh County Controller and Candidate for Pennsylvania State Senate. Mark's role as a controller in Lehigh County is to look at all of the money his county spends and receives. He essentially audits payroll to make sure people are getting paid properly and that there is nobody on the payroll that shouldn’t be on the payroll. During an audit, he learned his county was spending $30 million on healthcare. This discovery turned into curiosity, where he wanted to learn if the county was spending the taxpayers money wisely. His findings then turned into an ongoing journey to improve healthcare. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

This episode is a Veterans Day 2021 special that features Dr. Isaac Engholm, Medical Director of Magnus Veterans Wellness Campus, and CEO/Physician of Deploy Health Family Practice, Brad Nylin, Executive Director of the Magnus Veterans Foundation, and Dr. Shawn Alderman, Founder and President of the Magnus Veterans Foundation. The three discuss the Magnus Veterans Foundation and how it is providing exceptional care for current and former U.S. military members and families. The foundation specializes in Veteran health to assist in healing and honoring Veterans and their families through community fellowship and a comprehensive approach to restore the mind, body, heart and spirit.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Matt Ohrt, the Director of Administration and Organizational Efficiency at Team Schierl Companies, believes to achieve high quality and low cost care, consumers must be careful to not sign away their ability to shop. He shares how his company reshaped their benefits plan design to support the concept of shopping effectively for healthcare.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Mark Burt, the Director of Finance for GableGotwals, breaks down how his company implemented an innovative alternative benefit program. He answers the why and how through an analogy that most of us can relate to! This may be a benefit program you want to implement at your business. Listen now!Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Francisco Gutierrez, Physician and Owner at Solymar Direct Health, was once the medical director for a hospital in Rhode Island. After spending the majority of his career in the traditional system, he was forced to take a hard look at where he was in his career and where he wanted to be. In 2020, the pandemic forced him to evaluate his career. He came to the conclusion that if he is not a part of the solution, then he is a part of the problem in healthcare. Dr. Gutierrez did not want to continue to be a part of the rat race and see 35 plus people in a day. Instead, he wanted to provide high quality, transparent care. He said goodbye to the traditional system and he hasn't looked back since. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Edward Williams, owner and physician at Foundation Direct Primary Care, opened a DPC practice almost immediately out of residency after experiencing how unethical the traditional healthcare system was. There were many reasons as to what drove him away, but what really bothered him was the concept of the healthcare system owning patients and viewing them as “products” instead of as people. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Carm Huntress, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at RX Review, discusses how his company is helping physicians make the most clinically effective and cost effective decisions for patients. How is RX Review supporting 200,000 doctors in the United States? Listen to this week’s episode to find out!Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Elaine Parker, President of Job Creators Network Foundation and Chief Communications Officer for Job Creators Network, explains how Job Creators Network is advocating for small business owners including direct primary care practices. The Job Creators Network is a national conservative small business organization that was founded by the Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus. Even though Home Depot is considered a large business today, there was a time when Bernie created the first store and was considered a small business owner. His personal experience has allowed him to relate to and understand how small business owners think and work, as well as the challenges they are faced with. Bernie Marcus created The Job Creators Network to help small business owners succeed. In addition to how The Job Creators Network is advocating for small business owners, the company recognized healthcare has become a barrier to them and decided to conduct a national survey. The Job Creators Network surveyed 25,000 consumers to learn what they want in healthcare. They partnered with physician organizations and learned what matters the most and least to Americans. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Diana Girnita, MD PhD, and Founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall, is one of the few physicians who have successfully launched a pure direct care specialty model. After coming to America and realizing the healthcare system was broken, she took matters into her own hands and created her dream specialty practice. She breaks down how she launched her practice from scratch, as well as the journey ahead of her.If you are a specialty physician and interested in launching your dream direct care specialty practice, listen to the episode to gain inspiration and tips to turn your dream practice into a reality. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Gayle Brekke, a PhD candidate in Health Policy & Management at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and a consultant at Descant Consulting, dives into the topic of data and direct care. She has devoted a significant amount of her career into exploring the question, “does dpc lead to healthier outcomes and lower costs?”Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Drew Ellefsen, CEO of the Benefits Management Team, is changing healthcare through his healthcare advocacy product, BMT Care. The product educates consumers on how to navigate the healthcare market. Ellefsen is passionate about helping individuals navigate healthcare, but he explains it has been hard to compete in the individual insurance market due to the Affordable Care Act. During the episode, you follow his journey and learn how he is fighting for the individual.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

John Zevzavadjian, EVP of Enterprise Platform Solutions, has over 25 years of experience in healthcare and pharmacy management. In his previous role, he served as the SVP of Payer Relations where he led the strategy and execution of all Payer activities at CVS Pharmacy. During the episode, Zevzavadjian discusses the role and challenges of the U.S. government taking on more of the payer. Some of the challenges are the cost of new drugs and the balance around innovation. He says the government has a bias to do something, but he doesn’t see them taking over the total spend. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

After 15 years of traditional insurance-based specialty care, Dr. Grace Torres-Hodges, Physician and Owner of Torres Hodges Podiatry, transitioned into a direct care specialty practice five years ago. During this episode, she talks about her journey transitioning from insurance-based specialty care, as well as the misconceptions physicians have about the model. If you are considering the model, listen to this episode to be inspired.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

OTC and pharmacies are very confusing for consumers. Consumers wander down aisles unsure of what to purchase and unaware of the ingredients in their medicine. It shouldn’t be this way. Achal Patel, CEO and Co-Founder at Cabinet, shares how his company is simplifying and changing the over the counter medicine experience for consumers. With an emphasis on transparency, quality, and sustainability, Patel has created a first-of-its-kind refillable system that eliminates single-use plastic, assuring quality at the highest level science can offer, while focusing it all around a human-centric experience.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Jenny Aghamalian, Sedera's Chief Strategy Office, discusses a flurry of legislation across 12+ states that would be harmful to free-market healthcare options like medical cost sharing organizations and direct primary care, even though we need these options more than ever. She discusses this within the broader lens of why healthcare is so complex today, and how we need more affordable, transparent, and accessible options to even out the cost equation.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

When one of Dr. Nagaraj Kikkeri's, Medical Director for the NTTC Surgery Center, patients stopped coming in for her colonoscopies and other routine check-ups, he was concerned. About a year later, she passed away due to undetected cancer. He knew right then that something had to change. In less than a year, he revamped his medical center and started offering bundled procedures and a different approach to medical care. He's a huge advocate of patients first and money second.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Michelle Frank is the Chief Revenue Officer for Goodroot. Goodroot is changing the way pharmaceutical manufacturers, health plans, employers and others interact and how those changes can be beneficial for all.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Free Market Medical Association Executive Director James Dunavant joins Chris to highlight was can be expected at the 2021 FMMA Annual Conference.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Chris Habig talks with early DPC pioneer Dr. Douglas Farrago, who is board certified in the specialty of family practice and the founder of DPC News.Dr. Farrago shares how he used to fight “tooth and nail” in the traditional health sick system against quality metrics. He shares how his former chief medical officer challenged him asking what he hated about quality. Dr. Farrago’s response was you can’t define it. There is one quality metric that will never be tested and that is time with patients. The traditional system doesn’t want to measure that because it doesn’t fit with their agenda. The truth is insurers define the quality.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Digital health is going to be more integrated in the next 5 years in the continuum of care. There will be a deeper connection between the members, digital solutions, and medical professionals. Kiio's Lydia Zeller provides her take on where we go from here.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Listen. Learn. Know. Healthcare Americana is a podcast for the 99% of people who get healthcare in America. We’re not clinicians or policy makers…we’re patients and caregivers, executives and advocates who are fed up with the status quo and have a desire to change it. This podcast brings listeners backstage at innovative organizations across America that are putting patients first by delivering exceptional care to anyone and everyone.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

A small town urologist left the employed world and now has a thriving independent urology practice. Dr. Wallen took this route after tiring of hospital administrators being in control of his care decisions. Listen to his story and learn why he believes that administrators should be working for the people with real expertise in healthcare. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Joseph Krainin is a neurologist who runs his own independent, virtual sleep practice. He realized that as a physician, he can care for his patients while finding the elusive work-life balance that so many seek.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dr. Andrew Wickline specializes in hip and knee replacements, has the lowest complication rate in New York and will give you a cash price.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Matt discusses how great we are at shopping. Americans know how to shop for cars, groceries, household goods and so much more. But how do you shop for healthcare? Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

David Contorno breaks down the mechanics of how traditional benefits brokers aid and abet the misaligned incentives within health plans, hospital billing, and large health insurance companies.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Doug Aldeen represents self-funded employers in their medical claim disputes with hospital systems or out-of-network provider billers. --- He shares horror stories of what he has experienced and how the healthcare system is taking advantage of people.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

The differences between physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants is significant in terms of training and education. Many hospital systems are now trying to equate midlevel providers with their physician counterparts. While there is a big need for NPs & PAs, patients are being misled by the title, "Doctor".Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Pharmacy Benefit Management. Three words that bring confusion, complexity, and mystery to health plans. Learn about PBMs from Greg Greenlee at Verus Rx as he peels back the layers of complexity to shine some light on this mysterious industry.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

We are experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity for everyone in healthcare to make a positive impact. The ACA has continued to make an impact on US healthcare and innovators are using the new playing field to find opportunities that bring transparency, lower costs, and better access, despite more regulations.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Dan Meylan discusses the latest positive trend in healthcare benefits, reference based pricing. He is educating people across the nation on this topic and chats with Chris about the cost savings that can come with it.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Nicole Ascanio, MD shook her head when patient after patient would ask about insurance plans and thought they were getting a "free" yearly physical. Now in practice at her own aspireMD, she is educating her patients about the real value of a physical and it isn't what they thought.Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)

Brandon Hudgins has overcome opponents, obstacles, and disease on his quest to be a champion. A top-flight distance runner, Brandon hit rock bottom when he was diagnosed with a disease with a 5% survival rate. Brandon learned how to become his own patient advocate, a crucial skill to have in his struggle. Support the show (https://healthcareamericana.com/sponsors/)