"People do more research on buying a refrigerator than they do on buying their health plan. And so I saw that as a level of brokenness that I felt... we as consultants could actually make a profound impact." - Trey Halbert

The old-school, transactional broker is dead. My guest this week, Trey Halbert, CEO of ExperINS, joins the show to discuss the rise of the modern "Strategic Consultant" and what that evolution means for employers.

Trey breaks down the playbook for this new, elevated role. We discuss why consultants must align the benefits program with the C-suite's core business strategy, not just the HR department. We also explore how AI is not a threat, but a powerful tool to augment advisors by handling menial tasks (like contract review), freeing them up for the high-level critical thinking and problem-solving where humans truly add value.

This entire shift is part of a bigger journey: moving from a career focused on success and "resume virtues" to one focused on significance and "eulogy virtues."

Tune in for a high-level discussion on the future of benefits consulting!

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Aligning Benefits with the C-Suite: The Modern Consultant's Playbook

(00:06:23) The Evolution of Self-Funding

(00:15:05) Why Consultants Are More Critical Than Ever

(00:20:46) The Power of a Peer Network (True Network)

(00:29:07) Speaking to the C-Suite, Not Just HR

(00:35:51) How Benefits Drive Business Valuation

(00:43:19) How AI Will Augment, Not Replace, Brokers

(01:04:35) The "No A**holes" Rule & Building Culture

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

"One out of seven people in the United States have some form of chronic kidney disease... 90% of those individuals have not been properly diagnosed." - Mark Masson

My guest this week is Mark Masson, President of Renalogic, here to shine a light on one of the most expensive and hidden risks in every health plan: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). It's a "silent killer" that affects 1 in 7 Americans, but a staggering 90% of them don't even know they have it until it's too late.

In this episode, Mark breaks down the staggering cost of this disease, explaining how a market duopoly inflates dialysis costs to an astonishing 700-900% of Medicare rates. He shares the Renalogic playbook, which combines proactive clinical management to "hold the line" for early-stage patients and a powerful cost-containment model that saves plans over $100,000 per year on active dialysis claims.

We also discuss the importance of early detection, the benefits of home dialysis, and why employers must be proactive in managing this catastrophic risk. Tune in to learn about the silent killer in every health plan.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) The "Silent Killer" 90% of Your Members Don't Know They Have

(00:07:38) The 1-in-7 Statistic: 90% are Undiagnosed

(00:12:17) Slowing Progression: How to "Hold the Line"

(00:19:55) The Duopoly: Why Dialysis Costs 700-900% of Medicare

(00:27:11) The Benefits of Home Dialysis

(00:54:20) The Renalogic Solution: Containing Dialysis Costs

(01:03:38) Why We Need More Competition in Healthcare

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

"There needs to be a whole new suite of solutions that are forward looking and proactive and real time, and we gotta go and build that." - Sasha Gribov

My guest this week, Sasha Gribov, founder of Milu Health, is on a mission to build the proactive, forward-looking solutions our healthcare system desperately needs. He joins the show to discuss how he's using AI to create an "early warning system" for health, moving our model from reactive to proactive.

Sasha breaks down the Milu model, which uses AI to analyze health records and claims data in real-time. He explains how this allows his team to predict the need for surgeries an average of 90 days in advance and proactively reach out to members via text (no app required) to guide them to the right, high-value solutions already in their health plan.

We also explore the future of AI in healthcare, why he believes it will "augment" doctors, not replace them, and how this proactive approach is the key to saving lives and finally lowering costs for employers.

Tune in for a look into the future of proactive healthcare!

Chapters:

(00:00:00) How AI is Predicting Catastrophic Claims (Before They Happen)

(00:04:15) Why We Must Integrate All Health Data

(00:10:23) The "Early Warning System" for Patients

(00:12:40) Why EMRs are the Key to Proactive Care

(00:31:57) Predicting Surgeries 90 Days in Advance

(00:08:04) Will AI Replace Doctors?

(00:59:47) Building a Proactive Healthcare System

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/