Podcasts about Cigna

Attention listeners: We have been getting so much wrong about longevity.  After all, what's the point of living to 100 if you're not being joyful?  In celebration of our new book, The Joy Of Well-Being, integrative medicine doctor and four-time New York Times bestselling author Sara Gottfried, M.D., interviews Colleen and I about the wellness myths we see all the time and the simple longevity tips that have changed our lives. In this special episode, we cover: - What we've never shared about our fertility journey (~01:35)  - Colleen's experience with a near-catastrophic pulmonary embolism (~09:11) - How do you know when it's time to change your life (~14:37) - How to separate the fundamentals & accessories of well-being (~20:16) - Why Colleen & I decided to write a book together (~24:33) - How to discover the “doc stars” on social media (~28:06) - How social connection can save your life (~31:44) - How to exercise for longevity (~34:15) - The importance of protein & building muscle mass (~36:20) - Why love is the best drug (~41:39) - What you can do today for better social connections (~44:57) - The difference between wellness & well-being (~50:22) - How spirituality can reduce your risk for depression (~53:00) - Why we need more nuance in the health space (~54:10) Referenced in the episode: - The Joy Of Well-Being. - Cigna survey on social interactions. - A study on isolation & mortality. - A study on musculoskeletal health, falls & mortality. - The Roseto study. - Research on spirituality & depression. - An article on anger & virality. - Episode #344, with Lisa Miller, Ph.D. - Episode #346, with Esther Perel. - Sign up for The Long Game.  - Learn more about the Vitamix FoodCycler Eco 5.  We hope you enjoy this episode, and feel free to watch the full video on YouTube! Whether it's an article or podcast, we want to know what we can do to help here at mindbodygreen. Let us know at: podcast@mindbodygreen.com.

Today's guest is Ben Pleat   Ben is CEO and Co-founder of Cobu, a real estate technology company that is the leading community building platform built for multifamily. Cobu is live in over 85 cities and 34 states in the United States. Join Sam and Ben in today's show. -------------------------------------------------------------- [0:00] Intro [1:04] The 3 questions  [1:42] What caused you to start Cobu [3:50] The nuts and bolts  [5:15] How it all started [7:23] The 4 pillars  [10:02] How Cobu monetizes  [11:33] Challenges in growing Cobu [13:47] Scaling a distributed team [15:18] What have you done well? [17:28] Closing -------------------------------------------------------------- Connect with Ben:   Web: https://www.livecobu.com/ Email: ben@livecobu.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pleat/   Connect with Sam: I love helping others place money outside of traditional investments that both diversify a strategy and provide solid predictable returns.     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowtoscaleCRE/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwilsonhowtoscalecre/ Email me → sam@brickeninvestmentgroup.com   SUBSCRIBE and LEAVE A RATING. Listen to How To Scale Commercial Real Estate Investing with Sam Wilson Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-scale-commercial-real-estate/id1539979234 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4m0NWYzSvznEIjRBFtCgEL?si=e10d8e039b99475f --------------------------------------------------------------   Want to read the full show notes of the episode? Check it out below: 00:00:00:02 - 00:00:18:02 Ben Pleat We really started building that into the software to enable residents to do that themselves. So for residents to create their own book clubs, for residents to create their own morgan groups, for residents to help other neighbors and do it in a way that was kind of crowdsourced. Right? That was organic. So our communities in Austin, Texas, are completely different than our communities in South Florida.   00:00:18:02 - 00:00:37:02 Ben Pleat Completely different. Our communities. And, you know, Georgia, every community is unique in that way. What's not unique is the kind of attributes and pillars to how community building happens. So that's kind of the same. Obviously, the platform that delivers it is the same, but the actual content, the actual groups, the actual ways that residents engage the neighbors. I mean, it couldn't be more unique.   00:00:37:11 - 00:01:00:21 Intro Welcome to the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate Show. Whether you are an active or passive investor, we'll teach you how to scale your real estate investing business into something big.    Sam Wilson Ben Pleat is the CEO and co-founder of Kaboom, a real estate technology company that is a leading community building platform for multifamily. Kaboom is over 85 cities and 36 states.   00:01:01:00 - 00:01:02:06 Sam Wilson Ben, welcome to the show.   00:01:02:18 - 00:01:04:16 Ben Pleat Thanks for having me. Appreciate you guys reaching out.   00:01:04:20 - 00:01:13:02 Sam Wilson Absolutely, Ben, the pleasure's mine. There are three questions I ask every guest who comes on the show in 90 seconds or less. Can you tell me, where did you start? Where are you now and how did you get there?   00:01:13:13 - 00:01:31:05 Ben Pleat Yeah, we started CBU in Massachusetts. My background is in multifamily. We were just in one city at one state for for about a year. And we expanded now to about, like I said, 36 states, about 85 cities. And a lot of that's been in growth with our current customers who brought us to more parts of their portfolio. And we're in far as wide as places as California.   00:01:31:14 - 00:01:41:13 Ben Pleat We were in Canada as well. We're in Texas and we're still based technically in Massachusetts. We have teammates all across the U.S. and eight states, so that's serving a good portion of the country.   00:01:42:00 - 00:01:58:09 Sam Wilson That's awesome. I want to hear the kind of that process, how you were able to scale that. Obviously, that's been very strong. Keeping with the show. Before we get there, I want to hear kind of the backstory on why what caused you to found Cobu?   00:01:58:23 - 00:02:17:07 Ben Pleat Yes, I'm one of the co-founders here at Kaboom. So Kaboom really came from more of a personal experience. My background in multifamily property management worked for a small mom and pop property manager in the New York area and really kind of learned the industry there. But I would say that the impetus or spark for Cobo came from more of a personal experience than what you you'll see my mom achieve her lifelong dream, which was to live in the city.   00:02:17:07 - 00:02:31:12 Ben Pleat She immigrated to the States in the eighties and finally she had this dream of living in the city, and the thinking of it all grew to a beautiful building with amazing roof deck. All the amenities that you'd expect, right? American dream come true, visit her and basically scooped up a loan. She couldn't be a single person and it took a really big talent.   00:02:31:12 - 00:02:49:08 Ben Pleat And she is like the most sociable, most gregarious, you know, extroverted, personal ever meet. And she couldn't do that in her home. And it looked as if she realized this was 61% of the U.S., according to Cigna, a bigger issue for younger people, for millennials and for Gen Z and frankly, kind of ironic, right, that we're more digitally connected than ever before.   00:02:49:08 - 00:03:06:02 Ben Pleat And yet as human beings more disconnected and cope, it obviously didn't make any of that better. We realized that this is something that we can help deliver and along the way we realized that actually can solve. One of the things that I struggle has a property manager which was losing 30 to 60% of my residents every year. So roughly half my properties would leave turnover wise.   00:03:06:18 - 00:03:30:00 Ben Pleat And the big issue and realized one of the best ways to build stickiness was to build more points of attachment. And we found that when you drive that struck me engagement is not just something that a resident wants. It's actually something that can help drive stronger a bunch of other ways. But retention being one key primary driver, and that was the kind of initial impetus for KO, which is all about empowering people to feel that sense of belonging and helping owners drive stronger engagement, retention and ultimately in a way.   00:03:30:15 - 00:03:31:09 Ben Pleat Yeah.   00:03:31:09 - 00:03:50:07 Sam Wilson Okay. So walk us through, I mean, because it's one thing to say, okay, here's how we as real estate investment firm acts are going to drive engagement. We're going to do these things. Here's our blueprint as we're going to go out to do to, you know, create community events, this and that. The other, I don't know. I mean, all the different things probably that you've already thought long through.   00:03:50:07 - 00:04:11:20 Sam Wilson But it's another thing, I think entirely to say we're going to create a model that then can be replicated across anyone's property. I think that's that's a different a different ball. Ball of wax. There's a tell me, you know, what are what are some of the things that you guys think through maybe from a more just just nuts and bolts level on that community engagement side of things?   00:04:12:19 - 00:04:35:20 Ben Pleat Yeah, absolutely. A lot of what we're trying to do is in a fully moderated, kind of fully safe environment, enable residents to to connect with their neighbors and create, you know, great community that drives that stickiness. So think of it as a running club, a mom group, a foodie group, marketplace buying, selling trading items, giving stuff away for free local recommendations, finding dog sitters, nearby cat sitters, very kind of common ways that you'll see residents use.   00:04:35:20 - 00:04:57:18 Ben Pleat Kaboom. We typically specialize in in typically larger properties that we're finding like size is important. So our average size is right above 300 units. We typically recommend, you know, 200 plus unit properties. But what we're trying to do is in a fully safe environment via technology, enable those types of connections and to moderate everything, right. To make sure that everyone's playing nice in the sandbox and right and make it easy for the property.   00:04:57:18 - 00:05:15:00 Ben Pleat So we kind of do it soup to nuts. And we know how much your property managers and teams you guys are working with are going through. So a lot of the lifting is on our end. We just have a couple small best practices that the properties do, but it's really kind of how do you put that on autopilot and make it actually happen in a way that you can scale across your portfolio?   00:05:15:09 - 00:05:28:11 Sam Wilson Yeah, so so let's talk about that. Like how how did you get this off the ground? Because it's one thing, again, to do it for yourself. It's another thing to say, hey, here's the product and I can then sell this product to other property managers. How did you do that?   00:05:29:11 - 00:05:46:10 Ben Pleat Yeah. So today we're in about 115,000 homes, give or take. We started at really just doing it manually, right. We wanted to learn how to build a community in these in these apartment properties. Right. So we literally would go to a property like do it ourselves. We'd hosted an event, we'd bring a bunch of residents together and we learned a couple of things.   00:05:46:10 - 00:06:05:16 Ben Pleat One is that residents definitely wanted to engage with their neighbors. Right, too. As we learned, we had to make it really easy for the property team involved and we had to do it in a way that can scale across the portfolio. Right. You don't want just one something on one property, you want it across your platform typically. So I would say once we got the learnings of how we actually built communes, a lot of science on this stuff as well.   00:06:05:16 - 00:06:25:22 Ben Pleat So we learned like we looked at the community science out there. What are the attributes of the strongest communities we found there? Four typical pillars I to go deeper into it if it's helpful. But we really started building that into the software to enable residents to do that themselves. So for residents to create their own book clubs, for residents to create their own board game groups, residents to help other neighbors in doing the way that was kind of crowdsourced.   00:06:25:22 - 00:06:51:01 Ben Pleat Right? That was organic. So our communities in Austin, Texas are completely different, that our communities in South Florida are completely different. Our communities and you know, Georgia, every community and cocoa is unique in that way. What's not unique is the kind of attributes and pillars to how community building happens. So that's kind of the same. Obviously, the platform that delivers it is the same, but the actual content, the actual groups, the actual ways that resident engage with the neighbors, I mean, it couldn't be more unique.   00:06:51:01 - 00:07:04:02 Ben Pleat Every property has a personality and every property you you likes to engage on particular subjects and sometimes it surprises you kind of what residents love engaging it. You know, you might find there's an active, you know, kitesurfing group in a place that you wouldn't probably expect, that.   00:07:05:11 - 00:07:23:07 Sam Wilson Kitesurfing group in a retirement community, something like that. You're like, Oh, all right, cool. That's awesome. Tell me, I think that's really, really cool. I mean, again, you're building the framework and then crowdsourcing the kind of the kind of the filling in of the of the, you know, the details, which is, I think, a brilliant way to scale your business.   00:07:23:07 - 00:07:33:07 Sam Wilson But I do want to hear what are those four pillars as someone's thinking about this just in general, what are those four pillars that you guys have found to be so instrumental?   00:07:33:07 - 00:07:47:16 Ben Pleat Yeah. So again, a lot of it comes from the community signs out there. So one is membership. This idea of I need to feel like I'm part of something so the more tight you can down that membership. So being part of a property great. So you live at one on Main Street, being part of the one on Main Street Foods or the one on Main Street book clubs.   00:07:48:00 - 00:08:02:23 Ben Pleat More boundaries you can kind of create that makes it specific. The higher the sense of membership through shared experiences. So this kind of you mentioned a couple of them earlier, like events you guys might be doing, just ways to engage, bringing people together could be something as simple as a grab and go. It's a type of shared experience.   00:08:03:03 - 00:08:21:01 Ben Pleat Yeah. Number two three is needs to fill a community has to fulfill a need for you. So obviously in the properties we're serving, there's, you know, shelter, right? That's being fulfilled. But even something as simple as, hey, I'm looking for a recommended tailor in the neighborhood and looking for a recommended place to take, you know, friends or loved ones that are visiting in town.   00:08:21:01 - 00:08:42:21 Ben Pleat So these a film, it is typically how most people start to engage with their community. And the fourth is mutual influence, which is I can make my community better, my community can make me better. So this is really enabling residents to to help shape their experience. So whether it's getting feedback that you guys are doing a value add, you know, CapEx project on a new amenity space or just soliciting ways to make the community stronger and a better resident experience.   00:08:42:21 - 00:08:45:00 Ben Pleat So those are typically the four that we'll focus on.   00:08:45:05 - 00:09:02:08 Sam Wilson Yeah. And I would think like you said on the, on the mutual influence side of things, that's a great way and correct me if I'm wrong here because I haven't actually used your platform, but it would be a great way for property owners to then find out what residents want, like you said, you know, kind of playing off.   00:09:02:08 - 00:09:15:17 Sam Wilson What I mean is that am I hearing that right where they can come back and say, hey, you know, we're going to put in I don't know, I'm just making stuff up here because this doesn't make any sense for most communities to put in. But but golf in a, you know, in a some other amenity and they're like, no, none of us like putt putt golf.   00:09:15:17 - 00:09:19:22 Sam Wilson And, you know, maybe a hot tub would be better. I don't know. I'm just throwing out ideas. Yeah, that's a great.   00:09:20:17 - 00:09:46:23 Ben Pleat Absolute it's a great way to validate CapEx projects and kind of validate that having to spend 5000, 10,000 on, you know, a covered dog park. Right. Which sounds like a great amenity, but do residents actually want something as cheap as some additional benches? Right. It's a great way to not only get that insight and helps you make a better, more informed investment decision, but on top of that, it also helps kind of, frankly, gain some some trust and kind of gain some some buy in from the property residents that, you know, call that place home.   00:09:46:23 - 00:09:49:24 Ben Pleat Right. So you kind of win both ways in that way.   00:09:50:06 - 00:09:56:15 Sam Wilson Right? Because maybe nobody wants to cover Dog Park, maybe they want to be able to sunlight when they're walking their dog. Another dog, who knows? Who knows?   00:09:56:15 - 00:10:02:02 Ben Pleat The more data information that you get, like what are people actually engaging around the more you're able to make informed decisions?   00:10:02:07 - 00:10:19:07 Sam Wilson Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I think that's really, really cool. How, how do you guys even I mean, I wouldn't even know how to monetize this. Obviously I haven't because I know my business. But like you go to a community, say, like, how do you charge for it? How did how did you get your. Because it seemed like that would have been a big part of your kind of building.   00:10:19:07 - 00:10:25:17 Sam Wilson The platform dilemma is like what's this worth to a 300 unit apartment complex.   00:10:26:10 - 00:10:47:11 Ben Pleat Yeah. So typically, I mean like the main drivers of value, so to speak, are retention, right? So we're typically seeing resident engagement caboose or renewing at summer routine 10 to 17 percentage points higher renewal outcomes compared to those residents in the same property that don't. So there's kind of that retention benefit that you typically see. And time and time again, when we do that in stabilized communities and lease ups, we kind of see that outcome.   00:10:48:03 - 00:11:08:17 Ben Pleat The second piece is around driving Google reviews. So when we have a really strong, engaged community, obviously online reputation is really important to us or worsens our prospects or are looking before signing a lease. And often in your properties you can actually generate a pretty significant amount of Google reviews. And Google does that through a platform just by asking kind of the engaged, happy residents at the right moment in time.   00:11:09:00 - 00:11:25:11 Ben Pleat Mm. Those, those are kind of two of the three I would say components that we typically focus on. Obviously there are other ways to drive value in terms of information kind of giving kind of the data that we spoke about earlier. But in terms of like what the cost of the platform is, typically somewhere between 300 to about 600 per property per month.   00:11:25:11 - 00:11:32:17 Ben Pleat This is the rough average. It depends on the size of the portfolio. It obviously depends on the size of the property, but that's kind of the typical range that you see.   00:11:33:00 - 00:12:07:13 Sam Wilson Right, which is probably less than the cost of one turn turn over basically, correct? Yeah. Yeah. Right. And if you can, you can do to your property at 10% of that, you know, higher retention rate, that's 20 units a year that aren't turning over and make a lot of sense pretty quickly. So that's really, really cool. What have been some of the challenges maybe that you have faced and how have you overcome them as it pertains to growing Kobo and taking it really all across the country?   00:12:07:13 - 00:12:22:03 Ben Pleat Yeah, I would say like the first challenge is like how do we build community at scale, right? So we spoke a lot about kind of the early learning, like how do we actually do that? I would say that that's not easy, right? The second piece that we face is like how do we moderate community in a way that makes sense for residents?   00:12:22:03 - 00:12:39:05 Ben Pleat That's an experience that they're excited about, but also something that actually can exist in the context of of of where people live right there. Obviously, a bunch of hot button issues that residents might want to bring up. That code was obviously not meant for, right? Like, you know, code was not a space for residents to complain about. The property code was not a space to use profanity.   00:12:39:07 - 00:13:02:04 Ben Pleat It was not a place to, you know, have a rent rent revolt, if you will. All these things are clearly not like what we built the platform for. We've really built it to enable residents to kind of feel that sense of belonging and a sense of connection with their neighbors. And so that definitely took a lot of time for us to kind of develop and learn into and we've kind of developed this really sophisticated platform that uses air and natural language processing as well as a team of humans to do that.   00:13:02:04 - 00:13:29:18 Ben Pleat So I would say that that was definitely an important piece that was really important for multifamily context. In particular, how do how do we get the maturation rights? And that definitely took a lot of time and thought and process in terms of of expanding them. Most of our growth, you know, 60% plus has come from from current customers that bring us to to more parts of their portfolios that kind of like land expand model start with 3 to 5 properties, ten properties and then kind of continue growing within once you.   00:13:29:18 - 00:13:46:05 Ben Pleat So success has really been where we focus. So we really haven't spent a significant amount of resource and like marketing, a lot of it's really been, you know, internal growth with companies that we're working with as well as word of mouth. It's a very relationship driven industry. And we love we love kind of earning the business, showing the value and then kind of growing from there.   00:13:47:00 - 00:14:06:18 Sam Wilson How about scaling, scaling a team that there is not, you know, like it was like you've been talking all day long here. Golly, can't even think you're been but scaling a team is not you guys are aren't all right there in Boston you guys are across the country was the process been like for you like what's the word I'm looking for not scattered team had.   00:14:07:12 - 00:14:08:09 Ben Pleat Like a distributed team.   00:14:08:13 - 00:14:16:09 Sam Wilson Distributed thank you. Go live man. I can't think today. Like I said, yes. What's it been like, that process of scaling a distributed team? Thank you, Ben.   00:14:16:18 - 00:14:32:24 Ben Pleat Yeah, obviously it's interesting. Like, like we're we're kind of spread out across, I think, eight states at this point. I think a lot of it just forces you to be a lot more intentional around culture, around kind of hiring for the people that share your values with you, that will kind of add to your culture. We always think about that as more of a culture add than a culture fit.   00:14:32:24 - 00:14:52:24 Ben Pleat It's not like, Hey, who will fit our cultures? Hey will like push in advance and kind of make our culture stronger. I think a lot of us just being really thoughtful around having regular check ins, kind of frequency of interactions among among your team. We try to obviously spend time in person. We had inaugural event. This was around Labor Day, which was an amazing time just to come together in person.   00:14:52:24 - 00:15:08:20 Ben Pleat So obviously in-person is an important component of that. But look, we're a community building company. Our name Kaboom literally stands for community building. That's what we do for properties. But the most important to me that we're building is the one here at Google. So yeah, taking a bunch of process learning are always trying to get better at it.   00:15:08:20 - 00:15:17:14 Ben Pleat I would say by no means, Sam, are we perfect in that area, but that's the it's critical, right, cultural strategy for breakfast. So they say it's true.   00:15:18:02 - 00:15:29:05 Sam Wilson Yeah, no, I can absolutely believe that. What about you personally as a co-founder and then leader of the company, what are some things you feel like you've done really well that other people should emulate when they are looking to scale.   00:15:30:12 - 00:15:48:19 Ben Pleat The tough one? Sam I would say I think there's a lot that I could do it better, and I think I'm always trying to to grow and learn as a leader. I think kind of sticking true to the Northstar I think is really important. I think there are so many opportunities out there and there's always things that are presented to you and I can't tell you the amount of times that different types of, Hey, can you guys do this for that?   00:15:48:19 - 00:16:06:13 Ben Pleat Or Hey, can you guys do it for for this specific niche and segment? And it's always exciting, always want to help. But I think focus is definitely really important. And you know, especially for teams that are growing in teams that, you know, want to kind of be best in the world at what they're doing, I think focus and saying no to things is sometimes more important than what you say yes to.   00:16:06:13 - 00:16:13:08 Ben Pleat So I would say again, I don't think I've been perfect at that, but it's something I try to aspire to, to do better at. Hope is helpful to others too.   00:16:13:15 - 00:16:31:09 Sam Wilson Yeah, man, we hear that all the time here on this show and I think you're probably a fourth or fifth person today that's told me that it's like focus. You've got to focus. And because I think as entrepreneurs, our challenges that we just see everything is opportunity. It's like if that opportunity is like now, maybe that's just a distraction.   00:16:31:09 - 00:16:32:22 Sam Wilson Instead, it's a great.   00:16:32:22 - 00:16:47:21 Ben Pleat Framework, the good to great frame work that box about this idea of like the hedgehog principle, it's like what is what is something you can actually be uniquely best in the world that what drives your economic engine. And I think the question of like what can you actually be best in the world? That is an important one, right?   00:16:47:21 - 00:17:11:08 Ben Pleat Because if you can really excel and be best in the world at that, I think it's an important question to say, hey, should we focus elsewhere or should the focus be more narrow? Right. And I think sometimes a narrow focus gives you the opportunity to to go really deep and be really, really strong, kind of like a best in the world at something rather than like going really wide in a bunch of specific, you know, other areas that maybe you're not the best equipped to be to be in.   00:17:11:14 - 00:17:28:03 Sam Wilson Yeah. No, no, I love it. Absolutely love it. Ben, this has been incredibly insightful. I love the way you guys have thought through COBOL, how you're building it, the need that you're serving in the industry, how it benefits owners, it also benefits your residents. I think that's something that and I talked to somebody else about this again earlier today.   00:17:28:03 - 00:17:50:04 Sam Wilson It was just like, what is the right way to make the resident landlord property owner relationship you? How do you improve that? And it sounds like you guys are really working towards that in making it a more meaningful experience for the people that live in the communities that we own. So appreciate what you're doing and how you guys are putting that out there and really making a difference on that front.   00:17:50:04 - 00:17:56:01 Sam Wilson Certainly appreciate that. One of our listeners want to get in touch with you and or learn more about Kobi. What is the best way to do that?   00:17:56:18 - 00:18:10:15 Ben Pleat Yeah, absolutely. Sam, our website is live kogan.com. So i v kobe yukon. My email has just been live kogan.com. If you want to ask questions directly and definitely happy there to share more and see if may be able to help some of your portfolios.   00:18:10:23 - 00:18:13:20 Sam Wilson Sounds great. Ben, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it.   00:18:14:13 - 00:18:15:23 Ben Pleat Thanks, Sam. Appreciate having you on the show.   00:18:16:10 - 00:18:37:20 Sam Wilson Hey, thanks for listening to the How to Scale Commercial Real Estate podcast. If you can do me a favor and subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, whatever platform it is you use to listen. If you can do that for us, that would be a fantastic help to the show. It helps us both attract new listeners as well as rank higher on those directories.   00:18:37:20 - 00:18:41:01 Sam Wilson So appreciate you listening. Thanks so much and hope to catch you on the next episode.

The Dow rallied, closing up for the first time this week, and Jim Cramer is helping investors get ready for next week's action with his Game Plan. First, DraftKings climbed 15% today after earnings and Cramer has an exclusive with CEO Jason Robins to find out what drove the stock higher. Then, Cramer sits down with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince to discuss the importance of cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world and workforce. Plus, Cramer's exclusive with Cigna CEO David Cordani. Mad Money Disclaimer

Apr 23, 2023Title: The Church That BlessesText: Acts 2:42-47 CSB“That evening I recognized the importance of blessing and being blessed...We all need ongoing blessings that allow us to hear in an ever-new way that we belong to a loving God who will never leave us alone, but will always remind that we are guided by his love on every step of our lives.”Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved (New York: Crossroad, 1992), 69-72.Bless RhythmsB. begin in prayerL. listen and engage E. eatS. serveS. share your storyLoneliness1. In 2003, UCLA researchers studied the physical effects of loneliness on the brain and they discovered being excluded proved the same sort of reaction in the brain that physical pain might cause.2. Time Magazine recently called loneliness the next great health epidemic on par with obesity and substance abuse.3. In a recent study sponsored by an insurance company Cigna, they realized being lonely caused more inflammation and higher levels of stress. Loneliness increases the risk of premature death by 30%, making it as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People without meaningful connections experience disrupted sleep patterns, altered immune systems. Do you know who they discovered experiences the highest levels of loneliness? 18-24 year olds. They concluded that loneliness is making us sick.Meal Sharing-Sixty years ago the average dinnertime was 90 minutes; today it is less than twelve minutes.-The #1 factor for parents raising kids who drug-free, healthy, intelligent, and kind human beings?-The #1 shaper of vocabulary in younger children?-The #1 predictor of future academic success for elementary school children?-One of the best safeguards against obesity, eating disorders? -The variable most associated with lower incidence of depressive and suicidal thought among 11-18 year old's? *(Maral Eisenberg, “Correlations Between Family Meals and Psychological Well-Being,” JAMA Pediatrics)● In Luke 5, Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at the home of Levi (5:29-32).● In Luke 7, Jesus is anointed by a woman in the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal (7:36-50).● In Luke 9, Jesus feeds the five thousand (9:10-36).● In Luke 10, Jesus eats in the home of Mary and Martha (10:25-42).● In Luke 14, Jesus shares about the parable of the large banquet in whichHe urges people to invite the poor rather than their friends (14:7-24).● In Luke 22, we read the account of the Last Supper (22:14-23). “Sharing meals together is one of the most sacred practices we can engage in as believers...If every Christian family regularly invited a stranger or a poor person into the home for a meal once a week, we would literally change the world by eating.” —Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford, Right Here, Right Now  Serve“'Atheism [I.e. the Christian faith!] has been specially advancedthrough the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”*The Roman Emperor Julian, fourth cent

After helping his clients transition from employer-based plans to individually owned ones, Sarry Ibrahim stumbled upon a revolutionary way to help them build wealth and achieve financial freedom - a way no one saw coming. Discovering the power of "The Bank on Yourself Revolution" by Pamela Yellen, Sarry committed to debunking the myths and guiding his clients towards a tax-free retirement. But what could this unexpected twist be? Become your own source of financing, for you to grow tax-free retirement and other benefits. My special guest is Sarry Ibrahim Introducing Sarry Ibrahim, a financial expert specializing in cash value growth and tax-free retirement strategies. Sarry, the founder of Financial Asset Protection, is dedicated to helping high-net-worth individuals secure their retirement accounts, real estate properties, and businesses from market failures and other risks. With an MBA from Keller and experience at renowned companies like Blue Cross, Allstate Insurance, and Cigna, Sarry brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. His unique approach emphasizes both safety and accessibility for clients' money, making him a valuable resource for those looking to optimize their financial strategies. This is Sarry Ibrahim's story: Sarry Ibrahim was working with clients, helping them transition from employer-based plans to individually owned ones when one of them asked for help with a life insurance policy that builds cash value. Intrigued by the concept, Sarry set out on a quest for knowledge and stumbled upon the book "The Bank on Yourself Revolution" by Pamela Yellen. As he delved into the concept of infinite banking and learned how it could benefit people in various financial situations, Sarry realized the potential it held for his clients. With a newfound passion, Sarry became a Bank on Yourself professional, focusing on helping small business owners, real estate investors, and full-time employees use this strategy to become their own banker. In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the potential of infinite banking with whole life insurance policies. Uncover effective cash value growth and tax-free retirement strategies. Develop personal finance management skills through a banking mindset. Understand the differences between term life insurance and whole life insurance. Recognize the importance of collaborating with knowledgeable financial advisors. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Read the book The Bank on Yourself Revolution by Pamela Yellen to learn more about the infinite banking concept and how to utilize cash value whole life insurance for self-banking purposes. Consult with a trusted and competent financial advisor who specializes in cash value whole life insurance for self-banking purposes to ensure proper policy structuring and to fully understand the benefits of incorporating this strategy into your financial planning. Consider incorporating infinite banking into your financial planning if you are a small business owner, real estate investor, or full-time employee looking to become your own source of financing and grow a tax-free retirement. Ensure that the whole life insurance policy you choose aligns with your objectives and comes from a mutually owned insurance company, has a paid-up additions rider, is a non-direct recognition company, and is a whole life insurance policy. Connect with Sarry Ibrahim here: Website: https://finassetprotection.com/ Linked: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarry-ibrahim-mba-ltcp-bank-on-you/ Connect with Troy Holt here: Website: https:///www.troyholt.com⁠ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/troydholt Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/https://www.twitter.com/https://twitter.com/TroyTalksMoney Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063546310389 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/troy-holt/support

It's Hump Day! Sam hosts Patrick Rucker, finance reporter for The Capitol Forum and contributor at ProPublica, to discuss his recent piece entitled "How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them". Then, he's joined by percussionist Andy Blanco with the Musician's Union Local 802, to discuss their recent organizing efforts against Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). First, Sam runs through updates on Fox settling their dominion case, the Supreme Court's response to the Mifepristone hold, Canadian labor action, Clarence Thomas' corruption, DeSantis' visit to Washington, and Iowa advancing children's right to work, before diving into coverage of Fox's settlement, and the extant cases they still face. Patrick Rucker then dives right into his discovery of Cigna's scam, walking through the statistics of the inhumane pace at which their doctors would reject insurance claims, and the outrageous quantity of rejections that this has led to, with no substantive reason behind a vast majority of said rejections. After tackling the parallels with the banking sector's Robo-signing scandal and the breadth of the impact of this brand of corruption, Sam and Patrick wrap up by discussing the “legality” of Cigna's malpractice, how to push back against it, and whether the other insurance companies have already jumped on board with their tactics. Andy Blanco and Sam then parse through Local 802's role in the New York concert world and the exploitation they face, before looking at the impact of COVID on their labor situation, and how DCINY forced them into filing unfair labor practice claims. Wrapping up, they tackle the union's demands, and how we can help them in their fight. And in the Fun Half: Sam discusses the GOP's insistence on making Hunter Biden's D*ck Pics a story, Oscar from Compton discusses local disputes with firefighters, Michelle in Brooklyn tackles the exportation of labor overseas, and John from Indiana calls in about last week's Twitter drama. Sam and Bradley also touch on Floridian politics, with parents fighting back against theocratic rule while DeSantis goes to war with Disney, Ethan Schmidt makes a fool of himself, and Jasmin from Texas dives into corrupt election legislation, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out Patrick's piece here: https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims Find more info about Local 802's strike efforts here: https://www.local802afm.org/ Help out Happy Rock Coffee Shop here: https://www.savehappyrock.com/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Sunset Lake CBD: sunsetlakecbd is a majority employee owned farm in Vermont, producing 100% pesticide free CBD products. Starting today, all CBD products will be 30% off with coupon code “420”. Orders over $150 will get one FREE 20-count jar of gummies-Sour bears, good vibe gummies, or sleep gummies! 5% of all proceeds will be donated to the Last Prisoner Project-and The Majority Report will match those donations! Also, use code Leftisbest and get 20% off when you shop at http://www.sunsetlakecbd.com.  Henson Shaving: Go to https://hensonshaving.com/majority and use code MAJORITY for a free 100-pack of blades! Seder's Seeds!: Sam tried to grow some cannabis last year, didn't know what he was doing, but now has some great cannabis seeds! Use code "420" and you'll get a free pack of "Trainwreck" seeds (enter Trainwreck manually in your cart)! Go to http://www.sedersseeds.com and MajorityReporters will get an automatic 15% off. Enter coupon code "SEEDS" for free shipping! Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/  

Wendell Potter, as a former executive at Cigna, has a lot to say on the state of health insurance in this country. His view, from the inside out, is part of a new must-see documentary about democracy and American healthcare. Anyone who has dealt with a health insurance company knows it's enough to make you sick all over again. Along with some shocking insights, Wendell shares two very important things ALL of us need to do to make health insurance actually work for us. All this, while Marissa prepares a blood orange polenta cake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ChatGPTs Summary: Clearly it is not familiar with HIMSS.Auto GPT: A new autonomous version of GPT that layers chat GPT commands with memory. This AI can be given a task and, if put in autonomous mode, it will try to solve the task on its own. It has been used for a variety of purposes, including starting businesses and SEO optimization. Its potential applications in healthcare are still being explored.End of the Public Health Emergency: The end of the public health emergency may lead to less money in the healthcare system, with concerns about Medicaid redetermination and increased charity care. Some provisions have been protected, but overall, there may be less funding available for healthcare organizations.ONC proposes new rules for Cures Act implementation: The ONC has proposed new rules that aim to advance interoperability and reduce the burden of cost. These rules include making the Electronic Health Record Reporting program a condition of certification and expanding exceptions to information blocking regulations.Cigna physicians deny claims en masse without reviewing them: A ProPublica report reveals that Cigna physicians have denied large batches of claims without reviewing them first, potentially saving the company millions of dollars. Patients are encouraged to be vigilant and pursue denied claims.HIMS Conference: The annual HIMS Conference is now focusing more on technology and healthcare, with a shift towards innovation and digital health. The conference now attracts a wider range of attendees, including CHIME members and VC and private equity professionals.

Well, this episode became extremely relevant again after that Cigna case bubbled up in the news. Here's the “too long, didn't read” version: Attorneys filed a class action lawsuit against Cigna, alleging that the carrier is overcharging for lab services or did overcharge for lab services. The plaintiff is an individual member of a Cigna plan. The complaint tells a pretty wild story. On the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) that this member received for lab services, the amount billed was over $17,000. My understanding is, this member went to Labcorp to get those lab services. Cigna claimed it had negotiated a discount of over $14,000 for those lab services, meaning the remaining balance was something like $2700. OK … good news, I guess. Instead of the lab services costing $17,000, they cost $2700 to the plan and member. Except Cigna said to this member that they were only gonna pay $471 on the member's behalf. This left the member with the responsibility to fork out over $2000 in deductible and coinsurance payments. I'm rounding the numbers here for brevity. So, in sum, member's told she owes $2000+ out of pocket for charges that were allegedly originally over $17,000. Now, a couple things: The cash price for an uninsured customer at Labcorp for the same services was $449, according to the complaint. Also, weirdly, on the Explanation of Benefits, Cigna allegedly said that the lab services provider was not Labcorp. It was “Health Diagnostic Lab” (or everything I just said in all caps with some letters missing) instead of the actual provider Labcorp. Then the plot thickens … The lawsuit alleges that this “HLTH DIAG LAB” is a pseudonym for Cigna Healthcare of Arizona and that this Cigna affiliate used their pseudonym to create a fake invoice. This is also a quote from the complaint. Bottom line, and this is the real point I wanna make here, the actual out of pocket to the payer was something less than $500, $600, you would think. But it appears that the plan was hoping to get almost 5x that out of the plan member. And had this plan member met her deductible that year, I would speculate that this 5x would have come out of the pocket of the plan sponsor. Either way, 5x margin? That's some pretty sweet returns. Look, the point I'm making here isn't about this particular case. It's about the totality of the thing. This case just got a whole bunch of attention because, as Julie Selesnick put it on LinkedIn recently, “This case … hits all the high notes—overcharging, keeping the spread, fraudulent billing.” But think about this for a second. You think this was an isolated incident? That someone in Arizona had a brainstorm to juice their quarterly earnings and set up a whole company to jack up one person's lab payments? I don't know. What do you think? As Lee Lewis mentioned on LinkedIn, while this case has a lot going on, a member getting charged $2500 for what should cost $450 or whatever … he wrote, “I've seen worse.” I say all this to say: Plan sponsors? Hi there. Are you getting your claims data, and are you having it audited for stuff like this? And by whom are you having your claims data audited for stuff like this? And that's not a rhetorical question. I mean, here we have a well-respected payer opening up (allegedly) a reseller of lab services sending allegedly fake invoices. That's one way to vertically integrate, I guess. Here's another way you can vertically integrate that maybe we all should be aware of: companies that provide audit services that many plan sponsors use to check if claims have been paid properly. Those same auditing companies, these same companies oftentimes have another book of business besides their auditing claims for plan sponsors work. They also work with provider organizations doing revenue optimization. Right. They help providers maximize their revenue, revenue that is coming from … claims they send plan sponsors. Sometimes when I talk about this stuff, I feel like I'm in a cartoon—like that meme with all the Spider-Men pointing at each other and nobody knows who is actually Spider-Man because everybody is dressed up in the same costume pointing and saying the other guy is the one causing the problems here. As Dawn Cornelis says in this episode today, approximately 30% of healthcare spending (ie, healthcare payments) are some combination of fraud, waste, and/or abuse. It's a $1-billion-a-day problem. In this episode, we dig into the three main issues that Dawn tends to find when looking at the claims that were going to hit the checkbook of a plan sponsor as per their payer or TPA (third-party administrator): 1. Claims that were not paid correctly: Turns out, 5% to 10% of claims just aren't paid right. There's a whole motley crew of errors that can transpire, but bottom line, the bill was for $10 and somehow the plan sponsor was gonna pay $15. Or they double paid. 2. Things that, if we knew about them, we could do better in the interest of the member: Jeff Hogan put this really well on LinkedIn the other day. He wrote, “Today's purchaser fiduciary needs great analytics to prioritize the needs of their members … including wasteful and abusive vendors, site of care, cost/quality variation in health systems.” Do labs that the plan is being charged $2500 instead of $450 go here or in the next problematic category? I'm not sure. 3. Claims that are just wrong: They should never have been sent in the first place. We also talk about kind of a different issue entirely: the hidden fees that are buried in some of these payer contracts, which felt like a reprise, frankly, of the conversation I had with Paul Holmes a few weeks ago in episode 397 talking about PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) contracts and all the hidden fees and, ultimately, probably costly provisions buried in them that plan sponsors are on the hook for—a lot of times very unknowingly.   You can learn more at claiminformatics.com or by emailing Dawn at d.cornelis@claiminformatics.com.     Dawn Cornelis is a professional in healthcare cost containment with 30+ years of dedication to combatting improper payments, fraud, waste, and abuse. She has led the industry in developing healthcare transparency technology platforms and services. As a result of her efforts, hundreds of millions of dollars of improper payments were delivered through pre- and post-payment technology programs. She is an expert in the field of healthcare claims data, with an emphasis in audit and recovery, and has navigated the payment systems of all of the national healthcare carriers. Furthermore, she approaches each project with integrity and attention to detail while cultivating long-term client relationships. In 1993, Dawn cofounded the first audit and recovery firm and served for 17 years as the chief operating officer of Claim Recovery Services while representing some of the best Fortune 100 companies. In 2017, Dawn cofounded ClaimInformatics, a healthcare technology company that offers a SaaS-based solution product to support health plans in the marketplace that addresses the new transparency regulations. She developed and trademarked multiple technologies and has a United States Patent Pending named CONTINUITY OF CARE (Publication #20150127370). Dawn currently serves as a member of the Self-Insurance Institute of America's price transparency committee, which focuses on legislation and education for self-funded entities. Over the course of her career, Dawn's efforts have supported national and local organizations spanning financial, healthcare, union, and government sectors. With her years of healthcare knowledge, Dawn is a proven expert, consistently delivering excellence.   06:57 The story in the data. 07:33 Who's submitting these claims? 08:04 The three problems with the data. 10:54 The varying factor between carrier systems to stop fraud, waste, and abuse. 11:32 Why carriers don't push for better systems to stop inappropriate dollars. 13:28 The difference between fraud, waste, and abuse. 14:46 “When it becomes the norm, that's what's very bothering.” 15:10 The barriers or hurdles in the marketplace. 17:38 What we don't know about but could do better at when looking at the data. 19:10 “It's not so much the health system and what they are charging. It's about … what the contracted rate is agreed to. That's what drives our costs.” 20:04 “Data's fixed for itself.” 22:49 Identifying and eliminating fraud. 22:54 The lack of enforcement behind preventing illegal billing. 26:01 How providers ensure they aren't inadvertently harming employers and patients through billing.   You can learn more at claiminformatics.com or by emailing Dawn at d.cornelis@claiminformatics.com.   Check out our encore #healthcarepodcast with Dawn Cornelis of @claiminformati1 as she discusses saving billions through healthcare billing. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcarebilling   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Stacey Richter (EP399), Dr Jacob Asher, Paul Holmes, Anna Hyde, Dea Belazi (Encore! EP293), Brennan Bilberry, Dr Vikas Saini and Judith Garber, David Muhlestein, Nikhil Krishnan (Encore! EP355), Emily Kagan Trenchard

Taryn Marie Stejskal Ph.D. is an international expert on resilience, mental health and wellness.  She is the Founder and Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) of the Resilience Leadership Institute. Prior to founding RLI, she served as the Head of Executive Leadership Development & Talent Strategy at Nike and Head of Global Leadership Development at Cigna.  She is considered the #1 international expert on resilience, mental health, and wellbeing in leadership and life and her work has been featured by Forbes, TEDx and NBC amongst others.  She is the author of the new book The 5 Practices of Highly Resilient People – why some flourish when others fold which is available for pre-order now and will be available everywhere books are found from April 18th.. Here are some of the things we discussed in today's podcast:   The 5 practices of highly resilient people How resilience breaks us out of our vulnerability cage Productive perseverance -knowing when to maintain the mission and when to pivot to a new direction In the phase of diminishing returns How vulnerability instead of being the opposite of resilience is the cornerstone of resilience Why telling your story about what you overcome becomes part of someone else's survival guide And much more.    Her links: FACEBOOK Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal | Facebook WEBSITE Home - Dr. Taryn Marie - Resilience Leadership Institute (resilience-leadership.com) INSTAGRAM DR. TARYN MARIE STEJSKAL (@drtarynmarie) • Instagram photos and videos TWITTER Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal (@drtarynmarie) / Twitter APPLE PODCAST Flourish or Fold: Stories of Resilience on Apple Podcasts COACHING SERVICES Executive High Level Coaching, Expert on Resilience, Mental Health & Wellness - Dr. Taryn Marie — Dr. Taryn Marie - Resilience Leadership Institute (resilience-leadership.com) COURSES Taryn Marie Courses - Developing Resilience in Leadership and Life. Mental Health & Wellness. — Dr. Taryn Marie - Resilience Leadership Institute (resilience-leadership.com)

We investigate the decison by Medicare to delay cracking down on Medicare DIS-advatage overbilling and dig into the whole Medicare DIS-advatage scam, how much it steals from you and me, and how the whole sordid scheme works. For more, see https://hartmannreport.com/p/time-to-end-the-medicare-advantage

Federal data shows that health insurance companies denied more than 49 millions claims in 2021, but customers appealed less than 0.2 percent of them. Investigative journalists at ProPublica found that the insurance company Cigna is using an automated system to assess, and often deny, claims in bulk. Reporter Maya Miller joins Ali Rogin to discuss the findings. ProPublica is collecting comments from health insurance policy holders who have had their claims denied. Share your experience... PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Howie and Harlan are joined by Helen Burstin to discuss her career examining issues of equity and quality in healthcare, and her current role as CEO of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. Harlan reports on new research about the daily health effects of coffee; Howie looks at two investigations of misconduct by the insurance company Cigna.  Links: “Acute Effects of Coffee Consumption on Health among Ambulatory Adults” Helen Burstin: “Socioeconomic Status and Risk for Substandard Medical Care” Helen Burstin: “Impact of language barriers on patient satisfaction in an emergency department” National Quality Forum “Your Surgeon Is Probably a Republican, Your Psychiatrist Probably a Democrat” Council of Medical Specialty Societies: CMSS Statement on Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Case Council of Medical Specialty Societies: The Promise of Patient-Led Research Integration into Clinical Registries and Research Council of Medical Specialty Societies: Patient-Led Research Scorecards Patient-Led Research Collaborative: About Us Medicare.gov: How do Medicare Advantage Plans work? “How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them” “DOJ sues Cigna over alleged Medicare Advantage overpayments” Learn more about the MBA for Executives program at Yale SOM. Email Howie and Harlan comments or questions.

Thursday March 30, 2023 Cigna Has Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them

Today on Boston Public Radio: Several schools throughout the state of Massachusetts went into lockdown after receiving swatting calls. Even though the threats are false, the impact is real. We asked listeners to share their thoughts. Michael Curry, President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, joined to reflect on longtime Boston political activist Mel King and his legacy. Senator Elizabeth Warren joined to discuss her senate re-election bid and her demands for more oversight of the Federal Reserve. National security expert Juliette Kayyem on the Washington Post piece detailing damage done by AR-15s to young bodies and the significance of Trump at Waco. Medical ethicist Art Caplan discusses Sen. Sanders grilling Moderna for quadrupling COVID vaccine price and Cigna's penny-pinching practice of having doctors reject claims without reading them. Boston Globe travel writer Christopher Muther talks about his latest column on a Rockport man retracing his grandfather's path through WWI France and a new cat café in Peabody from an internet cafe in Bogotá. Naturalist Sy Montgomery discusses the battle for your garage space -- Black vs Brown widow spiders; a new study confirming neuroscience research is lacking female mice; and a wiring map of an insect's brain hinting at vast complexity. We ended our show by going down the rabbit hole of electric cars. They seem great but does the difficulty of charging them turn people off? Listeners texted and called in to let us know.

ProPublica Reporter Patrick Rucker tells us why doctors deny your health claims without even looking at them. 

Sean was joined by John Paul Spencer Terry A Fletcher BS CPC CEMC CCC CCS CCSP CMC ACS-CA SCP-CA, QMPM Stephanie Allard, CPC, CEMA, RHIT and Scott Kraft to discuss all of the big events impacting #healthcareoperations! So much to discuss including: 1. ChatGPT and its impact on #physician documentation 2. Sub-regulatory guidance and the False Claims Act 3. E/M Visits when the patient is not part of the visit 4. Cigna and Claims Rejections Don't miss this one!!!

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 740 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more 18 MINS Following a 20-year career as a corporate public relations executive, Wendell Potter left his position as head of communications for CIGNA, one of the nation's largest health insurers, to show the world the dark inner workings of the insurance industry. Check out his new documentary : American Hospitals: Healing a Broken System He has testified before Senate and House committees, briefed several members of Congress and their staffs, appeared with lawmakers at several press conferences, spoken at more than 100 public forums, and has been the subject of numerous articles in the U.S. and foreign media. His recent book – Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans – is an expose of health insurers and a stark warning that corporate spin is distorting our democracy. Currently a senior analyst at the The Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan nonprofit that produces original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern, Wendell is also the senior fellow on health care for the Center for Media and Democracy, an independent, non-partisan public interest organization. He speaks out on the need for a fundamental overhaul of the American health care system and on the dangers to American democracy and society of the decline of the media as watchdog, which has contributed to the growing and increasingly unchecked influence of corporate PR. He also serves as a consumer liaison representative for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 42 MINS Baynard Woods is a writer and journalist based in Baltimore. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Oxford American Magazine, and many other publications. He is coauthor, with Brandon Soderberg, of I Got a Monster: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy and has worked as an educator in a variety of settings. He has written opera libretti for Rhymes with opera and writes and sings with the Barnyard Sharks. Go watch the new film "I got a monster" Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page

What happens to a claim denied? The folks at ProPublica bring us a story about how CIgna uses a system that allows their doctors to deny your health insurance claim without ever looking at it. Read the full story here: https://www.propublica.org/article/cigna-pxdx-medical-health-insurance-rejection-claims

Tony opens the show by talking about CIGNA and a recent column about their alleged practice of immediately denying claims, and he also talks about the NCAA Tournament and the end of the WGC Match play event in Austin. Buster Olney calls in to talk about his early job of making bagels, and he also talks about the success of the WBC and the implications of that, Pat Forde phones in to give his thoughts on the unexpected Final Four teams, and Tony closes out the show by opening up the Mailbag. Songs : Pat McGee “Runaway” ; “Rebecca” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is how democracies are transformed into fascism oligarchies. Political power, wealth, and impunity for me, Republicans say, but not for thee. Also how Cigna withheld millions for stockholders by having its doctors reject claims without reading them. And Senate Dems blast Medicare Advantage giants over 'Exorbitant' CEO pay. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yeah, so while the commercial payer marketplace is completely boring, the reasons it's boring are not. Let me walk you through this conversation I have in this healthcare podcast with Jacob Asher, MD. First, we establish that the relative number of each carrier's commercial members in California don't seem to change year over year … and this has been true for years. When you rank order carriers by member count, the song remains the same. It's Groundhog Day. Here's a link to the 2022 CHCF (California Health Care Foundation) enrollment almanac, which shows for the large group market, Kaiser has captured and retained just over half of enrollees. Anthem comes in next with 14%, Blue Shield gets 9%, and then bringing up the rear we have UHC, Aetna, Cigna, Centene, and all others in descending order splitting the remaining 21%. Hmmm … intriguing, the whole idea that these relative member counts remain so consistent. Then Dr. Asher and I dissect what is anybody actually doing to cut into the Kaiser market share or try to grab share from the two blues plans, if anything. Dr. Jacob Asher was a great guy to have this conversation with. He was a practicing head and neck surgeon with Kaiser Permanente, and then he also served on the Permanente Medical Group Board of Directors. Then he changed careers and became a full-time health plan chief medical officer for, first, Anthem, then Blue Cross, then Cigna, then UHC (UnitedHealthcare). Now he's “retired” and reflecting back on unsolved and unaddressed issues within healthcare. And we've covered one here: Why is the commercial payer market as boring as it appears to be in California? Now, after I had this conversation with Dr. Asher, I called up Wendell Potter, who everybody already knows (EP384), and Lauren Vela, who everybody also probably already knows, but she has spent her career at various employer coalitions and now works at a big employer transforming their health benefits (and she lives in California). I learned a few things that really helped me frame my thoughts on some of the issues that surfaced in the conversation that I had with Dr. Asher and that you'll hear today. So, let's get to it. Why doesn't the relative market share of the big payers change year over year in California in the commercial space. May I present six reasons: 1. Everybody I talked to—Dr. Asher, Wendell Potter, Lauren Vela—first thing right out of the gate that practically everybody mentioned is employer inertia. Trying to get an employer to switch carriers is like trying to pull Excalibur from its stone. And right, not so surprising, it's disruptive and obnoxious for employees and also benefit teams if carriers are switching all the time. 2. EBCs (employee benefit consultants). They have deals with carriers and others, and they also have a lot of power over employers. Listen to the show with AJ Loiacono (EP379) and Paul Holmes (EP397) for more on this. 3. As Wendell Potter put it, “The commercial market is [as a whole] stagnant. No real growth nationally. And in many states, the real money for carriers is not in the self-funded market; so they don't care much about aggressively competing for market share.” Given that chart that just came out the other day showing the insane relative gross margins that carriers are making on Medicare Advantage patients, which is over double other lines of business … yeah, totally. 4. Just keep this in mind before we barrel into reason #4 here for a stagnant and maybe not exactly competitive market. Kaiser excluded, all of the rest of the California payers have what amounts to largely the same provider network. I'm exaggerating slightly here, but largely the same hospitals, the same consolidated integrated delivery networks. And one thing that's pretty clear (not just in California but across the country): Plans who bring the most members get the best prices from these hospitals and other provider organizations. Also, as Dr. Asher mentions in the show today, he never saw an employer buy on quality. Most were far more concerned about discounts. So, right … we have some circular reasoning here or circular logic. The big plans get the best prices, and then, because they have the best prices, they maintain their market share. But wait … there's more to this one, and it's not just big gets you lower prices. Remember from episode 395 with Brennan Bilberry? He talked about the concept of the Most Favored Nation (MFN) anticompetitive clauses in hospital contracts. This concept is also super relevant here for payers as well if you think about it. This MFN Most Favored Nation anticompetitive clause, this is where a big hospital and “big carrier” have a chat … in a back room. The hospital agrees to not give any other carrier a lower price than the “big carrier.” These MFN clauses are, of course, terrible for competition and plan sponsors and any patient with cost sharing. A lot of states have started to ban, restrict, and limit these clauses. The DOJ brought a case in Michigan about this, and here's a great federal government summary of the problem: “The department and the state of Michigan alleged … that the MFN clauses in [Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's (BCBSM's)] contracts with Michigan hospitals decreased competition among health plans. Some … clauses required hospitals to charge competitors more than the hospitals charged BCBSM, often by a specified percentage. Moreover, BCBSM often agreed to raise the prices that it paid hospitals, in part to obtain [the] MFN clauses.” Oh, hey … I'll let you raise your price so I can have a Most Favored Nation clause, just as long as I get a lower price, which is higher than it was originally. And this was actually back in 2013. I have no insight at all or knowledge, or I am not suggesting in any way that what was going on in Michigan is going on in California. However, this anticompetitive practice is common enough. If you're interested in how common, count the lawsuits. 5. Employers are unaware a lot of times of how they are being charged more than what might be appropriate. And they are largely unaware of options other than Blue Cross, United, Cigna, Aetna … the big payers. 6. As Dr. Asher talks about and which I never really thought about, Kaiser doesn't have Medicaid patients. [Correction: Kaiser does have some Medicaid members—just less than others.] And because their network and hospitals to a large extent are closed, they also don't have uninsured patients to a large extent. So, no charity care to speak of and, therefore (at least as it is posited), they can be cheaper because they don't have to cost offset. So, their price advantage has a structure element here that could make it even more untouchable. So, there's your six reasons. You can start to see basically all of these things solidify into the same thing. It's less about trying to get new business and more about locking in the existing business. It's not really a secret that this market is rock hard. Plans realize that. They realize that the cost of keeping an enrollee is cheaper than acquiring a new enrollee. So, carriers focus sales and marketing efforts on holding on to their existing customers, especially the coveted jumbo accounts. Interestingly (and I was talking about this with Lauren Vela), the more clinical programs a carrier has deployed for an employer, the more the carrier is locked in there. So, the more the clinical value proposition resonates, the more clinical stuff that gets integrated. Changing plans becomes even more disruptive, and employers are even more likely to remain where they are. So, there's more to clinical programs than payers catching themselves a little PMPM (per member per month) something something upcharge recurring revenue or trying to get new business. It's also locking in customer retention. Is any of this specific to California? Some of it is—like a lot of the Kaiser stuff—but most, not. Meaning a lot of the country doesn't exactly have a functioning commercial small group or large group marketplace either. To a certain extent, it's no wonder big employers don't change plans that often. Why would they bother, given probably fairly incremental differences between these big payer carriers? I realize I'm scrambling out on a limb here and making assumptions, but to achieve more than incremental improvements, a BUCA (Blue Cross, United, Cigna, Aetna) would need to invest all kinds of resources into being that shining star. And why would they do that when nobody can take down Kaiser? And for all the reasons that we just talked about, it's a hard row to hoe to grab new clients. There's a lot of ramifications to this, but this show can't be seven hours long.    You can learn more by connecting with Dr. Asher on LinkedIn.   Jacob Asher, MD, completed a residency in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, after receiving degrees from Brown University and the Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Asher then practiced as an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) surgeon with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and also served on the board of directors of The Permanente Medical Group, where he focused on physician compensation reform, member satisfaction initiatives, and retirement benefits. After transitioning to full-time health plan management, Dr. Asher served as a California commercial market medical director between 2008 and 2022 for Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. In those roles, he supported membership growth and retention in both fully insured and self-funded product lines and promoted value-based reimbursement, including capitation. He has led utilization management teams, collaborated with internal and external population healthcare advocates, and worked to develop clinical initiatives that sought to achieve the Triple Aim. In his role as the clinical face of the health plan to the local market, he worked with network colleagues on accountable care organization partnerships and hospital and physician contract renewals with integrated pay for performance, supported Obamacare exchange participation, engaged in quality improvement collaboratives, and supported regulatory compliance efforts. Currently, Dr. Asher is serving as a mentor for the Stanford Master in Medical Informatics program while exploring innovative solutions to healthcare delivery.   10:00 What is the competitive picture of California's health plans? 11:28 What was everyone doing in order to get market share? 15:07 EP387 with Betsy Seals. 15:22 EP379 with AJ Loiacono and EP397 with Paul Holmes. 15:26 Why is it difficult to take market share? 16:16 Who was Dr. Asher pitching to and why? 18:49 Did employers ever buy plans for quality? 22:43 What does this look like from the payer perspective? 27:01 What improvements have there been to engagement in health plans? 29:07 Have plans gotten better at communicating with employers? 30:38 Why is it hard to compare the Kaiser world to the non-Kaiser world? 33:00 EP390 with Gloria Sachdev, PharmD, and Chris Skisak, PhD.   You can learn more by connecting with Dr. Asher on LinkedIn.   @JacobAsher18 discusses California's #commercialpayer marketplace on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Paul Holmes, Anna Hyde, Dea Belazi (Encore! EP293), Brennan Bilberry, Dr Vikas Saini and Judith Garber, David Muhlestein, Nikhil Krishnan (Encore! EP355), Emily Kagan Trenchard, Dr Scott Conard, Gloria Sachdev and Chris Skisak  

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of us to stay at home without the chance to socialize in person. But technology allowed us to stay in touch. Social media platforms helped connect us with the outside world — there was Zoom and Houseparty, and remember Clubhouse? But many Americans still struggle with loneliness, even now as life has somewhat returned to normal. Younger Americans are twice as likely to feel lonely than seniors, according to research from Cigna. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Kimberly Adams, senior correspondent at Marketplace and host of American Public Media's series “Call to Mind.” In a recent episode of that show, she explored what role technology plays in people’s lives when they’re struggling with loneliness. And Adams says loneliness is something researchers have been looking into for decades, way before the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of us to stay at home without the chance to socialize in person. But technology allowed us to stay in touch. Social media platforms helped connect us with the outside world — there was Zoom and Houseparty, and remember Clubhouse? But many Americans still struggle with loneliness, even now as life has somewhat returned to normal. Younger Americans are twice as likely to feel lonely than seniors, according to research from Cigna. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Kimberly Adams, senior correspondent at Marketplace and host of American Public Media's series “Call to Mind.” In a recent episode of that show, she explored what role technology plays in people’s lives when they’re struggling with loneliness. And Adams says loneliness is something researchers have been looking into for decades, way before the pandemic.

For our milestone 200th Data Futurology podcast, we have the immense fortune of being able to host Gina Papush, the former Global Chief Data & Analytics Officer of wellness and insurance company, Cigna. Papush has a long history in data science, having been involved in modelling and coding from before the time where “data scientist” was a defined role. In the years since, she has observed that enterprises have become siloed across computer science, data science, and other roles, and that the next stage of data science evolution now is to now break those silos down and find ways to bring cohesion across the organisation. She has also seen the role of the CDO and their remit evolve, from one that focused on governance and controls, to being a value creator within the organisation. Being an effective agent for change has been important to that evolution, she says on the podcast, and data executives need to look to the “blind spots” that they might have. Many have the technical skills to excel in analytics, but building skills in influence and thought leadership, and to be a partner to the other stakeholders of the organisation, is the next critical step for the CDO. Finally, Papush also shares her insights on how value is extracted from data. A “one size fits all” approach cannot work, she says, and organisations need to build their strategies based on the maturity of their own data practice, rather than the hype in the market. Once the maturity is there, she says, data scientists can start looking at real life-changing innovation. “It's (data) a huge part of how we move healthcare to be more preventive and more interactive,” she said. “Health is currently very event driven. But analytics and AI could make it much more seamless and unlock real-time care.” Tune in to the full podcast for more of Papush's thoughts on the history and future of data science. Thank you to you our sponsor, Talent Insights Group! Join us for one of our upcoming events: https://www.datafuturology.com/events Join our Slack Community: https://hubs.li/Q01gKNBn0 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/datafuturology/message

On March 15th Sean put out a blog post on Cigna and their new demand for documentation when an EM and minor procedure is performed on the same day with the modifier 25 appended. Don't miss this one!

Jacob and Nikhil sit down with Dr. Jeffrey Kang, CEO of WellBe Senior Medical, and former President of ChenMed, SVP Health and Wellness Solutions at Walgreens, CMO at Cigna, CMO at CMS and CEO of Urban Medical Group. They discuss risk adjustment, retailers in healthcare and how healthcare has/hasn't changed since his work doing risk-based care for complex patients and at CMS in the 80s and 90s.

Dr. Jeffrey Kang– Geriatrician, former CMO of CMS, former CMO of Cigna, former executive at Walgreens and ChenMed, and now CEO of at-home primary care startup Wellbe Senior Medical– joins for an in-depth conversation on how to usher value based care innovations in the healthcare system. As the first Chief Medical Officer of CMS, Kang pioneered HCC codes, HEDIS and CAHPS metrics, and much of the foundation of value based care in the United States. Join for a discussion on the role of private equity vs venture funding in disruptive healthcare entrepreneurship, the future of primary care, and health system reforms needed in value-based care. During the conversation, Kang discusses novel ideas around risk adjustment coding in Medicare Advantage, which he outlined in a Health Affairs Article in response to the landmark piece by Dr. Don Berwick (S3E1) and Dr. Rick Gilfilan. You can find his article here: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20220706.909897/full/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tdio/message

Connie's motivational quote for today is by – Brigham Young, “Love the giver more than the gift.”   YouTube: https://youtu.be/z3KG3R811dk   Check Out These Highlights: If you have been listening to this show or following me on other SM platforms, you know I am all about building authentic, real, dynamic relationships where together, we can grow our businesses and revenue by using love, care, and respect. So you can imagine my excitement when I was introduced to my guest, Rabi Gupta, on how we can use AI gifting to accelerate relationships that help our businesses grow.   Corporate gifting has proven effective, with 66% of people who received a promotional product/gift remembering the brand and 79% saying they would do business with the company again. Are you as excited as me to hear about an AI-based corporate gifting platform?    About Rabi Gupta:   Rabiis the Co-Founder and CEO of Evabot. This AI-based corporate gifting platform makes it easy for businesses to send highly personalized gifts to their clients and employees, which helps them build authentic relationships that grow their companies. They serve 1000+ businesses, including giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, AT&T, Zendesk, Silicon Valley Bank, and Cigna. Before opening Evabot in 2016, Rabi sold his company called iCouchapp. After the sale, he boldly moved to Silicon Valley to start this new company. With no relationships there, he used gifts to build his network but got frustrated by the lack of technology to make gifting easier. So, together with a few friends, he solved this problem using AI, and that's how Evabot was born.   How to Get in Touch With Rabi Gupta:   Website:  https://www.evabot.com/ Email:   rabi@evabot.ai Free Gift:  https://www.evabot.com/ugl/treat/Rabi3565?code=36XqgzJb   Stalk me online! LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/conniewhitman Download Free Communication Style Assessment: https://www.changingthesalesgame.com/communication-style-assessment  All-Star Community:  https://changingthesalesgame.mykajabi.com/All-Star-Community   Subscribe and listen to the Changing the Sales Game Podcast on your favorite podcast streaming service or on YouTube.  New episodes post every week - listen to Connie dive into new sales and business topics or problems you may have in your business.

Today on Rising, we're joined by Stephen Cassell, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer at Point32Health. Point32Health is a nonprofit health care provider that is the combination of Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, two of New England's most iconic companies serving the market for over 90 years. Stephen has a 20+ year career in marketing. Prior to Point32, Stephen held strategic marketing roles at Cigna, JP Morgan, HSBC and American Express among others, in multiple countries and markets. In This Episode 0:00-9:00 - Stephen's Start & Multi-Country Experience (UK, Brazil, Mexico) 9:00-11:15 - Stephen's Goals & Launching Centurion Card in Mexico 11:15-12:50 - Coming Back to the US (JPM) & Moving Into Healthcare 12:50-15:30 - Switching Industries 15:31-17:25 - Assembling a Personal Board of Directors 17:26-19:38 - Acquiring Cultural Fluency (Companies & Countries!) 19:39-21:51 - Business School: Yes or No? 21:52-23:29 - Point32 & Health Equity 23:30-24.50 - Stephen's Thank You Note (Cesar Solorzano) 24:51-27:46 - Top Picks (Turning Points podcast, Born Extraordinary book, silence) Links Mentioned Point32Health Stephen Cassell on Linkedin Top Picks "Turning Points" Point32Health podcast on mental health Born Extraordinary: A Parent's Guide to Empowering Children to Embrace Their Visible and Invisible Differences by Meg Zucker Hosted by Josh Boaz and Mat Zucker, Rising is produced by Direct Agents and Prophet. For more information or to nominate a guest, please visit rising-podcast.com and subscribe to never miss a show! Original theme music created by Movers + Shakers. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/risingpodcast/message

GET MY FREE INSTANT POT COOKBOOK: https://www.chefaj.com/instapot-download ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MY LATEST BESTSELLING BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570674086?tag=onamzchefajsh-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=1570674086&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.1GNPDCAG4A86S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vegan Doc Talk with Dr. Scott Harrington: Every second Thursday of the month Dr. Harrington will present one of the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine followed by a Question and Answer session with the live audience. Dr. Harrington is here to support your journey toward optimal health and wellness. Dr. Scott Harrington, D.O. is founder of www.VeganPrimaryCare.com, where you can see a vegan doctor, as your Primary Care doctor, from the comfort of your own home in most US states. Dr. Harrington is Board Certified in Family and Lifestyle Medicine. You can book an appointment with Dr. Harrington here: https://www.veganprimarycare.com/appointment/ The goal at Vegan Primary Care is ongoing health support. Visits are not just a 1-time consultation but a vegan primary care doctor who gets to know you and be your health advocate. Primary care is provided through in person visits or telemedicine visits with the support of local specialists. Dr. Harrington has in-person offices in Dunedin and Pinellas Park Florida. He accepts the following insurance plans nationwide: Cigna, Aetna, Medicare and Tricare East. Dr. Harrington also accepts cash pay patients. At this time 1 hour visit are $150 and a 30 minute follow up is $75. Dr. Harrington currently holds medical licenses in over 30 states. He completed his education at West Point and then graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2003. There he learned holistic Osteopathic Principles. He believes in the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Harrington started his career using standard methods. Then he personally adopted a plant-based diet in 2012. Since then, his energy levels, exercise endurance and recovery time dramatically improved. His weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and hormone levels all normalized. This convinced Dr. Harrington to focus on teaching patients what he learned. The plant-based diet had impressive effects with his patients. Many patients suffering with chronic illnesses improved dramatically. Many patients were able to stop all their medications. After becoming plant-based for health, he adopted the vegan lifestyle. He encourages patients to go vegan, to end animal suffering, and to stop the environmental destruction caused by animal agriculture. He is an Army veteran and currently serves as an Army reservist. He served in Afghanistan for over 2 years. He is also a husband, and father of two children. He enjoys surfing in his free time. Dr. Harrington is ready to support your journey toward optimal health and wellness. He will encourage you to eat a healthy diet and stay active throughout your life. He is currently accepting new patients and welcomes them to Vegan Primary Care. Connect with Dr. Scott Harrington: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeganPrimaryCare/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganprimarycare/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeganPrimaryDoc

In today's episode, Host Dan Hesse talks with Bill Zollars, former YRC CEO and a 24-year veteran of Eastman Kodak during the company's heyday. The story of how Kodak, the third most powerful brand in the world, lost its way and ended up in bankruptcy remains so shocking on the surface that its journey is studied in business schools worldwide. There have been accounts in academic and business journals written about the demise of Kodak, but none with the anecdotes and insider's view that Bill shares. Zollars adds color to Kodak's journey with personal anecdotes of Kodak Moments and his unique insights into what was really going on behind the camera.  The lessons learned from the Kodak saga are applicable to any company - particularly those that think "this could never happen to us". After graduating Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Minnesota, Bill joined Eastman Kodak where he held roles in Finance, Strategic Planning, Marketing, Logistics and General Management during a 24-year career. Bill left Kodak to establish the Integrated Logistics business at Ryder Systems and grew it from $300 million to $1.5 Billion in 3 years. He later became President of Yellow Freight and two years later was promoted to Chairman, President, and CEO of YRC Freight, a company he grew from $1 billion to $10 billion in revenue and into the Fortune 250 during his 12-year tenure as CEO. He serves on the boards of Cigna, Prologis and several private company boards, and was Chairman of Cerner until it was sold to Oracle in 2022. He is also in his third year as a Governor of the U.S. Postal Service. Listen below... or on ANY podcast platform, ANY time... THE Mentors RADIO... Learn more SHOW NOTES: BILL ZOLLARS: BIO: (see above) ARTICLES: Fujifilm: Outlasting the “Kodak Moment” Kodak's Downfall Wasn't About Technology - Harvard Business School Review The UnMerger - Forbes Your business model can be your biggest enemy: How did Kodak fall? - Capacitor/Partners How Kodak Failed - Forbes

I met Dr. Darren Sush at the Autism Law Summit in 2022 (Oklahoma City) and I couldn't wait for this conversation given the recently announced partnership between Cigna/Evernorth and the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence on outcomes and value-based care. I'm a HUGE fan of accreditation ... a HUGE fan of the BHCOE ... a HUGE fan of quantified outcomes (as a pre-cursor to value-based care) ... so this was as homerun before I even hit the recording studio. And Darren doesn't disappoint: do you want the keys-to-the-kingdom on how and why payers operate? Go no further, Darren is the real deal. Case-in-point: what happened on day 1 of Darren's autism services career: he got punched in the face ... and the rest is history :) Enjoy, kind listener!ResourcesGet in touch with Darren ...By email: darren.sush@evernorth.comOn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdarrensush/Via his website: http://drdarrensush.com/Building Better Businesses in ABA is edited and produced by KJ Herodirt Productions Intro/outro Music Credit: song "Tailor Made" by Yari and bensound.com Give us a rating at Apple Music, Spotify or your favorite podcast channel: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/building-better-businesses-in-aba/id1603909082 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0H5LzHYPKq5Qnmsue9HTwn Check out Element RCM to learn more about billing & insurance support for Applied Behavior Analysis providers Web: https://elementrcm.ai/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/element-rcm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elementrcm/ Follow the Pod: Web: https://elementrcm.ai/building-better-businesses-in-aba/ LinkedIn: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbetterbusinessesaba/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbetterbusinessesa...

Senior leaders from Cigna, Independent Health, Regence, and Socially Determined join Eric to discuss how minimizing social risk helps plans garner higher quality and performance scores. Learn successful strategies for identifying, engaging, and addressing members with elevated social risks to drive gap closure and member retention. The session is full of bright spots you can implement in your organization! Panel:  Kathleen Faulk, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Government Programs, Regence; Angela Kloepfer-Shapiro, MD, MBA, Regional Medical Executive, Northeast and West Regions, Cigna Medicare Advantage;Dawn Odzywolski, Vice President, Medicare Programs, Independent Health; Ashley Perry, MPH, Chief Strategy & Solutions Officer, Socially Determined Bios:  https://www.sharedpurposeconnect.com/events/mitigating-social-risk-to-achieve-higher-star-ratings/   Summit Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/469644799237   This episode is sponsored by Socially Determined Socially Determined is leading the transformation of healthcare delivery and payment through social risk analytics and solutions. Our SocialScapeⓇ SaaS platform, data and industry-leading expertise empower health systems, plans and other risk-bearing organizations to manage risk better, improve outcomes and advance equity at scale. Recently named by Fierce Healthcare as one of the 15 most promising healthcare companies, Socially Determined is headquartered in Washington, DC. Visit the website at www.sociallydetermined.com.

In this week's episode, we talk talent, recruiting, and, retention. Lisa Alvarez-Calderón is the founder of Shine Consulting, dedicated to advising leaders on people strategy, global organization effectiveness, leadership development and building high performing, inclusive cultures. Lisa is an executive coach who helps people connect, share and accomplish big things so we can thrive and shine. Lisa is a dynamic leader with extensive global human resources experience working across diverse sectors and geographies. Lisa was Chief Human Resources Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, where she worked closely with the foundation's executive leadership team through the COVID-19 pandemic. Lisa lived in Chile serving as HRVP for BHP in the mining sector and Academic Director for the University of Chile ́s Center for Organizational Engineering. She developed her career in the pharmaceutical sector as HRVP for Johnson & Johnson in the United States and Asia, including living in Singapore and leading HR across 14 countries; and with Bristol-Myers Squibb as HRVP for Research & Development, and HR and talent roles in Latin America and US commercial operations. Lisa began her career as a leadership trainee with CIGNA and spent the first decade of her career as an HR business partner and talent management specialist in the insurance industry. Lisa serves on the Board of Trustees of Trinity College and on several Advisory Boards including Enspira, a strategic human resources consulting firm; Untapped Potential, a social enterprise dedicated to attracting professionally trained women caregivers (i.e., Moms) back into the workforce; and The Company of Dads, a community platform for Lead Dads and an advocate for more open and productive work environments for parents. Lisa is an active member of the International Women's Forum, a global network of accomplished women dedicated to advancing women's leadership and championing equality worldwide. Lisa is known for building trust and connecting with people to help them perform, learn and grow. She brings passion, courage, authenticity, integrity, asense of adventure and joy to all she does. Lisa knows that If it's not energizing, it is probably not worth doing. Lisa received an MBA with Distinction from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Lisa and her husband have raised two grown sons and divide their time between Seattle, Washington and Chincoteague, Virginia. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/devdebrief/support

Super STEM Saturday is a free science festival held on March 11, 2023, at California State University San Marcos. Daren Wade is the Director of General Atomics' Aeronautical Systems Integration Group (EIG) and has been involved with the event since 2010. Daren shares how the event engages young engineers and students curious about learning more about how the world works. General Atomics is an event sponsor along with ViaSat, Thermo Fisher Scientific, County of San Diego, Hologic, Encodia, Tri-City Medical Center, Nordson, CalSense, Cox Communications, The Difference Card, Erickson-Hall Construction, Kaiser Permanente, Pacific Western Bank, RBC Capital Markets, Stradling, Young, Minney & Corr, LLP, Cigna, North Island Credit Union, and HME. This free, rain-or-shine event is from 10:00 am-4:00 pm. Learn more here.View the event flyer here

In this last episode of Season 6, Dr. Kristin Driscoll tells about her path since graduation and her current role in Competitive Intelligence for Cigna. 

This episode features Jakob Emerson, Insurance Editor at Becker's Healthcare. Here, he discusses Cigna rebranding to The Cigna Group & launching two brands under the new corporate umbrella, how this move mirrors the way other major payers have branded themselves in recent years to reflect their insurance and healthcare services, and the 20% Medicare cut for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients that will happen when the public emergency ends in May.

  The Friday Five for February 17, 2023: Google Bard vs. Microsoft Bing, CVS & Oak Street Health Deal, Cigna Rebrands, Spotify Social Ambitions, and 2023 Ambies Nominees.   Register for your FREE RitterIM.com account   There's still time to register for Ritter's State of the Senior Market: https://www.ritterim.com/sotsm   Follow Us on Social!   Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim Twitter, https://twitter.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ and Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/   Recently:   Project Management Apps: https://agentsurvivalguide.podbean.com/e/agent-apps-project-management-apps/ Major Compliance Changes Are Coming to Medicare Advantage & Part D for 2024: https://www.ritterim.com/blog/major-compliance-changes-are-coming-to-medicare-advantage-part-d-for-2024/ Phytonutrients: What Plant Color Says About Nutrition: https://living.medicareful.com/phytonutrients-what-plant-color-says-about-nutrition   References:   2023 Ambies Nominees (Podcast Recommendation Megalist): https://www.ambies.com/2023-nominees-1 CVS digs into primary care with $9.5 bln Oak Street Health deal: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/cvs-health-buy-oak-street-health-95-bln-2023-02-08/ CVS finally makes primary care play, scooping up Oak Street Health in $10.6B deal: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/cvs-finally-makes-primary-care-play-scooping-oak-street-health-106b CVS to buy Medicare-focused primary care operator Oak Street Health for $10.6 billion: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/02/08/cvs-buys-oak-street-health/11210327002/ Cigna Evolves Brands to Reflect Growing Portfolio: https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/cigna-evolves-brands-to-reflect-growing-portfolio Cigna launches rebrand as it continues to build out portfolio: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payers/cigna-launches-rebrand-it-continues-build-out-portfolio Everything Coming to Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max & Other Major Streaming Services in February 2023: https://comicbook.com/movies/news/streaming-new-movies-tv-february-2023-netflix-disney-plus-hbo-max/#28 Father of internet warns: Don't rush investments into A.I. just because ChatGPT is ‘really cool': https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/father-of-the-internet-warns-dont-rush-investments-into-chat-ai.html Google Vice President Warns That AI Chatbots Are Hallucinating: https://www.iflscience.com/google-vice-president-warns-that-ai-chatbots-are-hallucinating-67534 How Oak Street Health's Value-Based Care Structure is Bolstering Health Equity in Underserved Communities: https://www.oakstreethealth.com/osh-value-based-care-751584 How the Spotify layoffs impact its podcasting business: https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/24/23569956/spotify-layoff-podcast-ostroff-rogan Microsoft's Bing A.I. made several factual errors in last week's launch demo: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/14/microsoft-bing-ai-made-several-errors-in-launch-demo-last-week-.html Spotify's new activist investor is keeping a close eye on podcast spending: https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/14/23599864/spotify-investor-podcast-valueact-youtube-rihanna-super-bowl Spotify's test of a Friends tab on mobile hints at expanded social ambitions: https://techcrunch.com/2023/01/31/spotifys-test-of-a-friends-tab-on-mobile-hints-at-expanded-social-ambitions/ The AI photo app trend has already fizzled, new data shows: https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/13/the-ai-photo-app-trend-has-already-fizzled-new-data-shows

Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal is the Founder and Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) of Resilience Leadership Institute (RLI), she is recognized #1 international expert on resilience, mental health, and wellbeing in both leadership and life, whose mission is to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people, by enhancing hope, healing, and health as well as enhanced consciousness through the practices of resilience.  By conducting two decades of original research on resilience, Dr. Taryn Marie developed the empirically based framework, The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People and believes that resilience is the key to individual, teams, and organizational growth and acceleration across the globe. Prior to founding RLI, she served as the Head of Executive Leadership Development & Talent Strategy at Nike, as well as Head of Global Leadership Development at Cigna. Dr. Taryn Marie earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland and completed pre- and postdoctoral fellowships in neuropsychology at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.  Her book entitled The Five Practices of Highly Resilient People: Why some flourish when others fold, and her online course, Flourish are available now!  Resilience Leadership Institute (RLI) WebsiteIG: @drtarynmarieFB: Dr. Taryn Marie StejskalBuzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showRebel HR is a podcast for HR professionals and leaders of people who are ready to make some disruption in the world of work. Please connect to continue the conversation! https://twitter.com/rebelhrguyhttps://www.facebook.com/rebelhrpodcasthttp://www.kyleroed.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-roed/

On this episode of Bama Means Business, Rashmee Sharif sits down for the second part of the podcast as she shares how she went from Tuscaloosa to working abroad, and eventually ended up at Cigna. During the episode, Rashmee discusses what her journey looked like growing up to becoming a Manderson alum. Including some of the most memorable moments, she looks back upon.For more information about the Culverhouse College of Business visit our website https://culverhouse.ua.edu.Stay up to date with the collegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/culverhouseuaTwitter: https://twitter.com/culverhouseuaInstagram: https://instagram.com/culverhouseuaLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/school/culverhouse-college-of-business

On this episode of the Sales Gravy podcast, Jeb Blount (People Follow You) sits down with Leigh Cantrell and Rob Matura who are Regional Vice Presidents at Cigna to discuss the keys to leading multi-generational sales teams. It's a fascinating conversation in which you'll learn about the challenges and rewards of building sales teams from diverse age groups. Challenges With Leading Multi-Generational Sales Team Leading a multi-generational sales team can be challenging. The differences in values, work styles, communication preferences, and technological competencies will stretch you as a leader. These challenges include: Different work values: Different generations may have varying work ethics and priorities, making it difficult to align everyone towards common goals. Communication differences: Younger generations may prefer digital communication, while older generations may prefer face-to-face or phone conversations. Technological competency: Younger generations may be more familiar with technology and digital tools, while older generations may require additional training and support. Different learning styles: Different generations may have different preferences for how they learn and receive information, making it challenging to provide training and development opportunities that accommodate everyone. Resistance to change: Some team members may resist new technologies, processes, or ways of working that are introduced to the team. To effectively lead a multi-generational sales team, you must adapt to these differences and foster collaboration, communication, and teamwork across generations. The Strengths of Multi-Generational Sales Teams The good news is that multi-generational sales teams bring a diverse range of skills, perspectives, and experiences to the table. This  leads to numerous strengths over teams that lack this level of diversity. Diversity of ideas: Team members from different generations can bring unique perspectives, experiences, and creative approaches to problem-solving and decision-making. Range of skills: Different generations bring different skill sets and competencies to the table, such as expertise in different technologies or a deep understanding of traditional sales techniques. Mentorship: Older team members can provide mentorship to younger team members, while younger team members can bring help their older team members embrace new ideas and tech. Flexibility: A multi-generational sales team can be more flexible and adaptable to changing market conditions, customer needs, and technological innovations. Increased customer understanding: Team members from different generations can help the team better understand and connect with customers from different age groups and backgrounds. By leveraging the strengths of multi-generational sales teams, you will quickly increase sales and deliver better numbers. Seven Keys to Leading and Coaching Multi-Generational Sales Teams Leading a multi-generational sales team requires understanding and accommodating the differences and unique strengths of each generation. It can be rewarding, but it's not easy. Here are a few tips to effectively lead a multi-generational sales team: Communicate effectively: Use clear, concise, and consistent communication to ensure everyone understands their role, goals, and expectations. Provide opportunities for development: Offer ongoing training and professional development opportunities to help your team grow and meet their career aspirations. Foster a positive work environment: Encourage collaboration, teamwork, and open communication, and celebrate the successes of your team. Flexibility in work styles: Recognize and accommodate different work styles, preferences, and technological needs of each generation. Embrace diversity: Recognize and respect the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of each team member.

Today's guest experienced a “trifecta of trauma” when three experiences of death and illness affected her family within just 10 months. These experiences led her to a revelation and the discovery of her life's purpose. Join us as Lisa Honig Buksbaum, the author of “SOARING Into Strength,” shares her personal story as well as thoughts on how trauma can actually foster resilience. To learn more --or read the transcript -- please visit the episode page. Guest Bio Lisa Honig Buksbaum, MAPP, MBA, is an author, social entrepreneur, and Positive Psychology thought leader. Lisa is a passionary: a visionary driven by great passion and action. An intuitive healer, well-loved inspirational speaker, and expert workshop leader and facilitator, Lisa has shared her wisdom with thousands of people throughout the world. Three experiences with death and illness in her family during a 10-month period motivated her to launch Soaringwords, a nonprofit organization devoted to inspiring children, families, adults, seniors, and healthcare professionals to take active roles in self-healing to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being. She is the author of “SOARING into Strength: Love Transcends Pain,” her debut memoir. Lisa graduated with honors from The University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA in Marketing from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from The University of Pennsylvania. She has a certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and a certificate from the American Institute for Mental Imagery. Lisa is President-Elect of the International Positive Psychology Association's (IPPA) Health and Wellbeing Division, is on the Advisory Board of the Global Positive Health Initiative, and serves on the Board of the Coincidence Project. She's been featured as an expert on ABC News, Fortune's Small Business, USA Today, Delta Sky magazine, and CEO to Watch in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Lisa was a columnist for Inc. magazine. She was the non-celebrity winner of the Lives That Make a Difference Award from A&E Television Networks, and won a National Mothering That Works Award from Working Mother Media. She was inducted into the YMCA Academy of Women Achievers Hall of Fame. She was on the board of Advertising Women of New York, the leading organization for executive women in communications; board of directors of The New York Women's Agenda; board of the Alumnae Committee for Columbia University Graduate School of Business; and the advisory board for the Center for Business Womens' Research in Washington, D.C. She has led professional development workshops at dozens of Fortune 500 companies such as Accenture, Cigna, Cisco, Deloitte, Lilly, Meta, Google, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, New York Life, SONY, Verizon, and Viacom. Lisa lives in New York City with her husband Jacob. Her pride and joy are her two grown sons, Jonathan and Joshua, daughter-in-law Evelyn, and adorable grandbaby Charlotte. She gets her energy from swimming each day and connecting with people in fun and meaningful ways.  Inside Mental Health Podcast Host Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can't imagine life without. To book Gabe for your next event or learn more about him, please visit gabehoward.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 132: Football shaped the leader in charge of Cigna's U.S. employer group business market strategy, sales, and local community engagement initiatives. Some people view corporate success as climbing a ladder, Mike Triplett views it as crossing a bridge, and he takes special care never to cross a bridge without bringing someone along who contributed to his success. Our BONUS RESOURCE includes fill-in-the-blank notes and reflection questions for this episode Click here to download the bonus resource. +You can now bring host Don Yaeger's inspiration and tools for culture transformation to your team! Connect with us here: http://maxwellleadership.com/don Special thanks to Kory Gehring and Brett Rutherford for making this episode possible.

On this episode of Bama Means Business, Rashmee Sharif sits down on the podcast as she shares how she went from Tuscaloosa to working abroad, and eventually ended up at Cigna. During the episode, Rashmee discusses what her journey looked like growing up to becoming an Manderson alum. Including how the connections she made will keep her involved and giving back to the school that gave so many opportunities.   For more information about the Culverhouse College of Business visit our website https://culverhouse.ua.edu.Stay up to date with the collegeFacebook: https://facebook.com/culverhouseuaTwitter: https://twitter.com/culverhouseuaInstagram: https://instagram.com/culverhouseuaLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/school/culverhouse-college-of-businessNew boost

US stocks finished lower Friday. Plus, Tesla slashes prices and China sales surge, Gamestop's Chairman invests in Nordstrom, and Cigna surpasses profit expectations.

US stocks finished lower Friday. Plus, Tesla slashes prices and China sales surge, Gamestop's Chairman invests in Nordstrom, and Cigna surpasses profit expectations.

‍In this episode, Dr. Ben Burkitt, from We Care Dental Care, shares his experience in dropping PPOs and when to do it! Like many of us, Dr. Burkitt started off with what he calls "too many" PPOs. While being in network with insurances can be a great place to start, gradually switching to other forms of marketing can offer a large boost in profitability for your practice! Ben shows us that high volume does not mean high profitability, and even though you may lose some patients dropping PPOs, it may be worth it. He states when dropping PPOs, being transparent with patients is especially important, communicating that you are dropping their insurance in able to maintain high quality care. It is also important to keep track of your highest production procedures and whether or not the insurance is direct, leased, or under an umbrella plan. These all contribute to making the right choice for your practice.Learn more about when and how to best drop PPOs to maximize your profitability in this week's episode!‍You can reach out to Ben Burkitt here:Raising Dental Income WebsiteEmail: ben@raisingdentalincome.com‍Mentions and Links:HumanaDelta DentalCignaGEHAUnited ConcordiaYellow PagesEaglesoftDentrixOpen Dental‍‍If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Marketing, ask me on these platforms:My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041‍Our Sponsors & Their Exclusive Deals:CARESTACK | Cloud-Based Dental SoftwareSCHEDULE A FREE DEMO TODAY!Click the link below and get 1 MONTH FOR FREE + 10% OFF your Annual Subscription + 50% OFF Your Set-up Fee!Check out CARESTACK now: https://lp.carestack.org/thedentalmarketer‍‍‍Dandy | The Fully Digital, US-based Dental Lab‍For a completely FREE 3Shape Trios 3 scanner & $250 in lab credit click here: meetdandy.com/tdm !‍‍Mango Voice | The best VoIP phones for small business with top software integrations & in-house customer support.Click here for Mango Voice's completely FREE startup package!ORClick here to get 2 FREE MONTHS with Mango Voice‍Thank you for supporting the podcast by checking out our sponsors!‍

Early in the pandemic there was a lot of talk about how the initial lockdown and stay-at-home orders would affect people's mental health, including risk for suicide and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). In this episode, Dr. Ruth Tatnell answers questions about the pandemic's effects on rates of self-injury: Did the initial lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic increase self-injury urges and behaviors like many people thought would happen? And do we know if self-harm has increased, decreased, or stayed the same since the first lockdown of the pandemic?Learn more about Dr. Tatnell and her work at Deakin University here, and connect with her on LinkedIn here. Below is her publication discussed in this month's episode as well as additional articles referenced in our interview:Tatnell, R., Terhaag, S., & Melvin, G. (2023). Covid-19 lockdown and non-suicidal self-injury: A Mixed methods analysis of NSSI during Australia's national lockdown. Archives of Suicide Research. Online ahead of print.Tanaka, T., & Okamoto, S. (2021). Increase in suicide following an initial decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(2), 229–238.Read about the Harvard Happiness Study published in The Atlantic here. Read about the Cigna loneliness study here and their tips for addressing loneliness here.Follow Dr. Westers on Instagram and Twitter (@DocWesters). To join ISSS, visit itriples.org and follow ISSS on Facebook and Twitter (@ITripleS).The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast has been rated #5 by Feedspot in their "Best 20 Clinical Psychology Podcasts" and by Welp Magazine in their "20 Best Injury Podcasts."