Podcasts about quizzify

First of all, let me thank those of you who have left a podcast review in 2022. There was one from Best Healthcare Podcast Around on Apple Podcasts the other day that thanked Relentless Health Value for being singularly responsible for providing a 400-level education in so many complex areas of healthcare, which I personally really appreciated because we aspire to be a master class in healthcare industry strategy, such that those looking to do right by patients understand the dynamics well enough to succeed. This also echoed a review from February of this year that said that Relentless Health Value distills complex healthcare issues into a highly intuitive and highly accessible narrative that helped the reviewer's Fortune 500 company get everybody in the C-suite the understanding needed to confidently make some pretty key healthcare-related decisions. Thanks so much to those of you who left a review for taking the time. As I have said on earlier shows, we really have a Relentless Tribe here working hard to make the healthcare industry in this country much more accountable to the patients that we serve. And you leaving a rating and a review might be the best thing that you can do if you're into helping us achieve our mission, because the ratings are so entwined with helping others find the show. If you consider yourself a listener who has gained value from this show and you haven't yet left a review or a rating, could I ask that you do me a favor and do so? If you don't know how to do that, there are instructions here for how to do so. *** In this healthcare podcast, I am talking with Al Lewis. Al has been on the show before. One thing I did not realize about Al is that he went to Harvard Law School. Today we are discussing using the Quizzify Consent Form in the emergency room. This Quizzify Consent Form quite simply gives patients convenient ways to remember the exact and specific words they need to write on any financial forms they are presented with and told to sign in the emergency room. These words negate a hospital system or ER staffing firm's claims that the patient agreed in a blanket statement to pay whatever they are charged. In the past (ie, before the surprise billing legislation that went into effect at the beginning of 2022), this Quizzify Consent Form helped prevent the old $11,000 COVID test somebody got in the emergency room or the million-dollar heart attack. For more on the legislation itself, listen to the show with Loren Adler (EP307). While it is far from perfect in a few respects, on the whole, the No Surprises Act is good for patients. It's been terribly bad news, however, for certain private equity–backed ER staffing organizations who used surprise billing as a business model, meaning specifically—and maybe there's others, but Team Health and Envision are certainly the big dogs here. This wasn't any sort of cloaked-in-the-shadows secret, by the way, as far as business models for these two entities. I recall one of them saying without equivocation that the No Surprises Act would be very detrimental to their business. And it turns out, they were right. Here's from Fierce Healthcare, quoting Moody's: “Envision ‘faces significant social risk' due to ‘significant negative publicity relating to the patients … receiving surprise medical bills' and will remain financially challenged by the No Surprises Act.” Moody's downgraded Envision's corporate debt, suggesting that they are at risk of going bankrupt over the next 12-18 months. To further attenuate my sympathies, both of these companies, Team Health and Envision, cut doctors' pay during the first COVID-19 wave while simultaneously spending millions on political ads to protect surprise billing practices. Anyway, sad … not sad. Getting back on track here, the good news in all of this is that patients don't have to worry about surprise bills either by private equity–backed entities or just your run-of-the-mill hospital down the street who, pre–No Surprises Act, were not opposed to a little surprise billing action of their own or not opposed enough to do anything about out-of-network docs sending these bills in a lot of cases. But the No Surprises Act doesn't make going to the ER a safe space from a financial standpoint for patients or their employers, and this is what I talk about today with Al Lewis. This whole conversation reminded me of something that David Contorno has said more than once: Every hospital bill, every physician bill is a surprise bill if the patient does not know ahead of time what the charges will be. You've listened to this podcast before and heard guest after guest talk about how payers … frankly not so good at negotiating with hospitals, most of whom have emergency rooms. (Listen to EP346 with Peter Hayes, for example.) If you're a patient and you go to the ER, you're gonna see this lack of great negotiating in all of its glory. So, for example, if a payer “negotiated” $10,000 for an emergency MRI or CT scan or some other test or service and the patient has cost sharing, yeah, that patient just got hit with a very, very big bill. Or the whole upcoding thing. This whole thing is what I talk about with Al Lewis today: post–No Surprises Act, what's happening in emergency rooms and how can we protect patients/members/employees from excessive financial toxicity that is still rampant when it comes to going to the emergency room in many cases. Al talks about how the employers can really help employees and members protect themselves from profiteering hospitals or physician staffing companies the patient doesn't even realize are gonna be sending bills. You can get and learn more about the Quizzify Consent Form as well as Quizzify's Doctor Visit PrepKits here. Another episode along these lines to listen to is EP328 with Marshall Allen. You can get the free version of the card by emailing al@quizzify.com. You can also connect with Al by emailing al@quizzify.com, visiting the Web site at quizzify.com, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.   Al Lewis wears multiple hats, both professionally and also to cover his bald spot. Hat #1: Employee Health Literacy. He is the founder and “quizmeister-in-chief” of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize health care services appropriately, using a format best described as “Jeopardy meets Choosing Wisely meets Comedy Central.” Quizzify is the only vendor authorized to display the Harvard Medical School “Veritas” shield and has received excellent reviews from users. Quizzify is also well known for its ER Sticker Shock Prevent Consent, which has been endorsed by Dr. Marty Makary and Dave Chase, among others. It can be taped to an insurance card, used as a stand-alone card, or downloaded into your Apple or Google Wallet and will “pop up” when you enter an ER. It limits ER bills (both in- and out-of-network) to 2x Medicare, which is less than half of most “negotiated” rates. His quiz-specific background includes authorship of the best-selling Newsweek Presents the Ultimate Trivia Game, which Games magazine lauded as having the best questions of any trivia game; hosting two quiz shows on Boston network affiliates; and appearing on Jeopardy. Hat #2: Outcomes Measurement. As an author, his critically acclaimed category best-selling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named digital health book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs, written in conjunction with Walmart alum Tom Emerick, was also a trade best seller. He was the cofounder of the World Health Care Congress's Validation Institute. His expertise in outcomes measurement got him named one of the unsung heroes changing healthcare forever. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from Harvard, where he taught economics as well. He also graduated from Harvard Law School, albeit with no honors that time—other than winning their annual trivia contest, of course. 06:34 What is the evolving problem around surprise bills? 07:08 What are the two issues with the No Surprises Act? 9:13 Why are ER bills in network still so high? 17:27 How does the Quizzify Consent Form work for patients with insurance who unexpectedly visit the hospital? 20:50 “They're basically saying, ‘We don't abide by federal law.' Good luck with that.” 22:20 “The better question is, why aren't other vendors copying it?” 23:56 How would Quizzify affect the hospital bottom line if employers start utilizing it as part of their employee healthcare? 27:35 Is there any potential downside to Quizzify? You can get the free version of the card by emailing al@quizzify.com. You can also connect with Al by emailing al@quizzify.com, visiting the Web site at quizzify.com, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev. @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast What is the evolving problem around surprise bills? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast What are the two issues with the No Surprises Act? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast Why are ER bills in network still so high? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast How does the Quizzify Consent Form work for patients with insurance who unexpectedly visit the hospital? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast “They're basically saying, ‘We don't abide by federal law.' Good luck with that.” @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast “The better question is, why aren't other vendors copying it?” @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast How would Quizzify affect the hospital bottom line if employers start utilizing it as part of their employee healthcare? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast Is there any potential downside to Quizzify? @whynobodybeliev of @Quizzify discusses #erbilling and the #nosurprisesact on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Dan Mendelson, Wendell Potter, Brian Klepper (Encore! EP335), Dr Aaron Mitchell (EP382), Karen Root, Mark Miller, AJ Loiacono, Josh LaRosa, Stacey Richter (INBW35), Rebecca Etz (Encore! EP295), Olivia Webb (Encore! EP337), Mike Baldzicki, Lisa Bari, Betsy Seals (EP375), Dave Chase, Cora Opsahl (EP373), Cora Opsahl (EP372), Dr Mark Fendrick (Encore! EP308), Erik Davis and Autumn Yongchu (EP371), Erik Davis and Autumn Yongchu (EP370), Keith Hartman, Dr Aaron Mitchell (Encore! EP282), Stacey Richter (INBW34), Ashleigh Gunter, Doug Hetherington, Dr Kevin Schulman, Scott Haas    

When we're at the doctor's office, a lot of information is sometimes thrown at us in a short time. We may have questions but hesitate to ask for various reasons. But asking questions can save you some money. Al Lewis shared so many great tips we just kept recording and the listeners win. Al talks about a product through preTRM.com and about managing ER bills. You can learn more about Quizzify at www.quizzify.com/about

Have you ever considered Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) as an alternative to crowns or fillings? There may be a silver lining to Silver Diamine. Listen in to learn about a treatment option to ask your dentist about. Al Lewis of Quizzify joins Sara and Jolene to talk teeth. Visit www.quizzify.com to learn more about Quizzify.

In this episode of For Your Benefits, SentryHealth Vice President Ed Dillabough, and Al Lewis, CEO of Quizzify, discuss how benefits advisors and employers can help employees find the best medical specialists using comprehensive data and clinical expertise.

Al Lewis is the CEO of Quizzify, a prolific writer, and graduate of Harvard Law School. He authored Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, which was named Healthcare Book of the year by Forbes. Al is a member of the Strategic Planning Committes of Board of Directors for Atrius Health and co-founder of the Validation Institute, where he helps organizations measure their own outcomes and the validity of their vendors. His personal website, www.theysaidwhat.net, exposes vendors that have fabricated their outcomes, usually in a hilarious way.   “Anybody can challenge data. My specialty is taking data that is published and showing that it in fact proved the exact opposite of what they intended it to prove. In wellness you don't have to challenge the data to discredit it. You merely have to read the data and it will discredit itself.” – Al Lewis   Today on the Kaleidoscope Podcast: Why nobody believes in numbers Bending the healthcare cost curb Quizzify and health illiteracy Becoming a wiser consumer Key Takeaways: Surprise medical bills can be a huge financial detriment. Its important to understand and be aware of the consent forms you sign. The prevent consent, created by Al Lewis and his team, is available to be added to your apple wallet and has helped save users over 95.3% of their medical bills. Currently, the prevent consent form has a 100% success rate. When we talk about consumerism, education is needed. Think about why questions are being asked, how bills are being tabulated, and what you will be responsible for. We must be wise consumers and even wiser patients.   Connect with today's guest Al Lewis Connect with Kaleidoscope co-host Frank Pennachio Connect with Kaleidoscope co-host Susan Toussaint   This episode was brought to you by…… ReSource Pro's Growth Solutions practice, a consulting and training organizations for insurance industry professionals. Our business objective is to provide agencies and carriers with the necessary technical and sales insights to elevate sales conversations, compete more effectively, and grow organically.   Connect, Learn, Share Thank you for joining us on this week's episode of Kaleidoscope. For more resources, visit the Growth Solutions website, or reach out to Susan Toussaint at susan@resourcepro.com. Subscribe on your preferred podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Love what you're learning? Review the Kaleidoscope Podcast and share your favorite episodes with friends and colleagues!

My guest in this health care podcast, Al Lewis, was telling me before we hit record that employer customers are vastly worse at evaluating wellness and point-solution vendors today than they ever have been in the past. Let's break this down. One aspect leading up to the “worse than ever” is the proliferation of point-solutions lately and all the PE (private equity) dollars flowing into the health care space. You pick up any rock and you'll find 25 health care startups underneath it. A second aspect is this: and this is not going to be a newsflash for many, but employers really trust their brokers and their EBCs (employee benefit consultants) to put together a good benefit package on their behalf. If an EBC says, “buy it,” employers click their heels and buy it a lot of times. And with that great power comes great... opportunity. We see an uptick in brokers and employee benefit consultants, enjoying themselves a little arbitrage-ish money grab by taking money from these startups/vendors under a variety of umbrellas while at the same time they call the employers their customers. This is especially profitable and also slimy when done under the cover of darkness because, as with so many aspects of health care, these backroom deals often happen without the employer customer knowing that there's a vig involved in the recommendation process. Al Lewis says he works in the “Integrity Segment” of the market. He is well known for outing vendors for basically lies they tell in their marketing. The thing is though, if a vendor comes to Al and asks questions about how to do it right, Al is always happy to help. He has said that he wants people to learn and if you're asking questions, it means you're interested in learning. Al has been on the show before, actually multiple times, but one full episode was episode 245, and we dig into wellness that's done “to” employees, not “for” them in that episode. So, check that out after you listen to this one, if you want more Al. Al also founded the Validation Institute and he's also CEO over at Quizzify. On the show in this health care podcast, Al explains the six major logical fallacies, computational flaws, tricks, if you will, that wellness vendors or point-solution vendors may deploy to inflate their “proven cost savings.” The six “watch outs” I'd guess I say for employers are: Regression to the mean Participants vs nonparticipants or matched controls or propensity scoring The trend inflation trick Plausibility testing Actuaries and validation Overstating engagement These six things are all of the different logical fallacies some vendors employ in order to overstate their results or outcomes. The Validation Institute has a PDF write up of each of these flaws which you can find in the show notes. Bottom line? Buyer Beware. And, also, get a broker or an EBC who you know for a fact they're working for you if you're an employer because they've committed in writing to not taking payola from the vendors that they're recommending to you. One footnote is that if you haven't listened to episode 329 with Joe Connolly you might want to go back and do so. Joe gets into the trend of some services who could, potentially, start taking on risk. Said another way, if services like these create their own bundles of point solutions and take on the risk of offering said bundle to employers, that could be nice. You can learn more at the Validation Institute. You can connect with Al by emailing al@quizzify.com, visiting the website at quizzify.com, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.  Al Lewis wears multiple hats, both professionally and also to cover his bald spot. Hat #1: Employee Health Literacy. He is the founder and “quizmeister-in-chief” of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize health care services appropriately, using a format best described as “Jeopardy meets Choosing Wisely meets Comedy Central.” Quizzify is the only vendor authorized to display the Harvard Medical School “Veritas” shield and has received excellent reviews from users. Quizzify is also well known for its surprise billing “Prevent Consent” solution, which was recently featured in the New York Times. It can be taped to an insurance card, used as a stand-alone card, or downloaded into your Apple Wallet. Starting in 2022, use of this language prevents forced arbitration under the Surprise Billing Act and instead allows payment of 2x Medicare for non-elective care.  His quiz-specific background includes authorship of the best-selling Newsweek Presents the Ultimate Trivia Game, which Games magazine lauded as having the best questions of any trivia game; hosting two quiz shows on Boston network affiliates; and appearing on Jeopardy. Hat #2: Outcomes Measurement. As an author, his critically acclaimed category best-selling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named digital health book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs, written in conjunction with Walmart alum Tom Emerick, was also a trade best seller. He was the cofounder of the World Health Care Congress's Validation Institute. His expertise in outcomes measurement got him named one of the unsung heroes changing health care forever.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from Harvard, where he taught economics as well. He also graduated from Harvard Law School, albeit with no honors that time—other than winning their annual trivia contest, of course. 04:49 Are brokers going to have to become more transparent about where their money is coming from? 07:33 Are carriers transparent? 08:09 What's the goal of the Validation Institute? 08:55 “You either get a true statement put up or learn what you have to do in order to get a true statement put up.” 11:18 How is Regression to the Mean (RTM) used in a flawed way? 16:32 “If you do wellness for employees instead of to employees, the people who want the wellness will be able to access it.” 21:13 What is plausibility testing? 23:17 What about actuaries and validation? 23:40 “That's one of the reasons the Validation Institute exists, is because actuaries are easily corrupted.” 25:18 What is a prime example of population health economics? 26:20 What does it mean to overstate engagement? 27:15 “How often did you use this and was it useful?” 28:55 “Are you validated by the Validation Institute, and if not, why not?” You can learn more at the Validation Institute. You can connect with Al by emailing al@quizzify.com, visiting the website at quizzify.com, on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.  @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth Are brokers going to have to become more transparent about where their money is coming from? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth Are carriers transparent? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth What's the goal of the Validation Institute? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth “You either get a true statement put up or learn what you have to do in order to get a true statement put up.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth How is Regression to the Mean (RTM) used in a flawed way? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth “If you do wellness for employees instead of to employees, the people who want the wellness will be able to access it.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth What is plausibility testing? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth What about actuaries and validation? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth “That's one of the reasons the Validation Institute exists, is because actuaries are easily corrupted.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth What is a prime example of population health economics? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth “How often did you use this and was it useful?” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth “Are you validated by the Validation Institute, and if not, why not?” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses #wellnessvendors and #pointsolutionvendors on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #employerhealthcare #digitalhealth

Cristy Gupton and Doug Aldeen have a great discussion about fiduciary duty and how the new transparency law is going to make it easier for those charged with that task to honor their duty.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction02:20 Doug Aldeen's background03:28 So, what is the price?04:30 If you're uninsured or underinsured you need to be asking for your hospital's Financial Assistance Policy05:50 Quizzify's emergency consent is a gift to all people who might need emergent care...thank you, Al Lewis!07:14 If you're being asked to sign something in the ER you must advocate for yourself or there's no turning back08:00 No judge in the country would disagree with paying a fair price for ER services09:11 Mark Watson of Union County, NC--a true fiduciary. Go back and listen to this episode https://www.custombenefits.work/news/2019/3/28-episode-6-t955b-362c710:18 Leon Wisniewski of Health Cost Labs, he's publishing hospital pricing online.10:50 Information seeing the light of day means fiduciaries can't sit on their hands much longer11:33 ERISA--the 2 faced law of convenience for health plan fiduciaries13:00 Hey fiduciary! Start today!13:46 "Turbocharging"...what's that?14:55 Coming out of COVID, self-preservation efforts should lead CFOs to start looking at their health plans as ground zero15:30 The transparency bill...should we get excited or roll our eyes?16:10 The fine is no biggie, that's why eye-rolling might commence16:40 But if hospitals really thumb their nose at it, will it jeopardize their Medicare status?17:50 In light of value-based payments from Medicare, why do hospitals work so hard to get better payments from Medicare if it doesn't cover the costs?18:43 So, does Medicare actually cover the costs or not? 7-9% margin in the aggregate.19:30 Medicare Payment to Cost Report21:21 Can't we all just get along? Willing buyers and willing sellers in mutually beneficial exchange. I could get behind that.22:05 Employers come to the table...that's what starts the conversation.22:30 Having some market intelligence when you come to the table at least gets the conversation started.23:10 DPC rose from the underground during COVID, see also this video from Custom Benefits Solutions23:55 First patients in the door are usually uninsured24:23 Referrals are going to need to happen at some point24:47 Never say "what do you charge"25:08 Instead say "what would you accept if I pay cash"25:55 A quasi-contract seed was planted right then26:31 Employers can benefit from this arrangement without having to do all the work26:52 The contracts are pretty straight forward especially when there are 2 willing partners27:30 This is why being an independent doctor is so important28:21 The ACA gave hospitals the license to steal28:40 DPC is the smartest cost-containment strategy and if you start with it first it leads to many other innovations29:00 Thank you! #letsfixhealthcare, www.custombenefits.work.

In this health care podcast, I’m talking to Al Lewis from Quizzify. This episode also guest stars Rachel Miner from Thrive Benefits, David Contorno from E Powered Benefits, and Doug Aldeen, a health care attorney in Texas. This episode started out being about surprise billing in the emergency room (ER) and a potential defense strategy that patients and employees can use to protect themselves from egregious billing practices. Surprise bills are when a patient gets “balance billed” for a sum above what their insurance carrier will pay. Usually this transpires when an out-of-network provider somehow or another gets involved in their care. Usually the patient has no idea this happens until after the bill comes—the big bill, in many cases, thus the surprise. But here’s where surprise billing and COVID-19 connect. You might not have thought of this because you might know that patients who present in the ER with COVID-19 and then test positive are protected from surprise bills, for the most part, by the CARES Act. But there’s a couple of wrinkles. What if the patient does not actually have COVID-19? Then whatever treatment they wind up getting in the notoriously expensive ER is business as usual. Here’s another wrinkle: The cost of treatment for COVID-19 is not like it’s capped. So even if an employee doesn’t get a surprise bill, the self-insured employer or health plan might. And the CARES Act explicitly states that the employer or plan is on the hook to pay for it. And one last wrinkle: Dealing with this pandemic among other things leaves about 0.0 chance that the national surprise billing legislation is gonna happen this year. But it’s not like kids have stopped running into the side of the pull-out couch and needing stitches, or drug overdoses or heart attacks have suddenly vanished. There was a news article just the other day about a private equity–run ER in the Midwest continuing to dish out nasty surprise bills to their community of taxpayers at the exact same time that they were lobbying to get a piece of the federal bailout paid by taxpayers. Al Lewis and his team over at Quizzify created this handy wallet card that patients or employees can use when they have the unfortunate experience of going to the ER themselves or with a loved one. It protects them from egregious surprise bills, thus its moniker, the surprise billing defense strategy. But nothing for nothing, this wallet card, this surprise billing defense strategy, also protects employers and health plans from these large bills in the age of COVID-19.  Al Lewis and I start our conversation talking about a New York Times article (also available here for those who don’t subscribe to the New York Times) that came out recently featuring Al as well as myself and chronicles my visit to an emergency room wherein I deployed the surprise billing defense strategy/wallet card.  You can learn more at quizzify.com or connect with Al on LinkedIn. You can also connect with Al on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.   You can also connect with Rachel and David on LinkedIn and with Doug on Twitter at @AldeenDoug and on LinkedIn.  Al Lewis wears multiple hats, both professionally and also to cover his bald spot. Hat #1: Employee Health Literacy. He is the founder and “quizmeister-in-chief” of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize health care services appropriately, using a format best described as “Jeopardy meets health benefit education meets Comedy Central.” Quizzify is the only vendor authorized to display the Harvard Medical School “Veritas” shield and has received excellent reviews from users.  Quizzify is best known today for its employee coronaquizzes (now exceeding 100,000 plays!) and its surprise billing “Prevent Consent” solution, which was recently featured in the New York Times. It can be taped to an insurance card, used as a stand-alone card, or downloaded into your Apple Wallet.  His quiz-specific background includes authorship of the best-selling Newsweek Presents the Ultimate Trivia Game, which Games magazine lauded as having the best questions of any trivia game; hosting two quiz shows on Boston network affiliates; and appearing on Jeopardy. Hat #2: Outcomes Measurement. As an author, his critically acclaimed category best-selling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named digital health book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs, written in conjunction with Walmart alum Tom Emerick, was also a trade best seller. Surviving Workplace Wellness has also received great accolades, and excerpts appeared in Harvard Business Review and elsewhere.  He was the cofounder of the World Health Care Congress’s Validation Institute.  His expertise in outcomes measurement got him named one of the unsung heroes changing health care forever.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from Harvard, where he taught economics as well. He also graduated from Harvard Law School, albeit with no honors that time—other than winning their annual trivia contest, of course. David Contorno is founder of E Powered Benefits. As a native of New York, David began his career in the insurance industry at the age of 14 and has since become a leading expert in the realm of employee benefits over the last 22 years. Most recently, David was Benefits Selling magazine’s 2015 Broker of the Year; and in March 2016, Forbes deemed him “One of America’s Most Innovative Benefits Leaders.” David is a member of the board of directors for both the Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters and HealthReach Community Clinic. He served on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participated in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the market reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is a longtime member of the Lake Norman and South Iredell Chambers of Commerce as well as the National, North Carolina, New York, and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. David contributes to numerous publications, including Forbes, Benefits Selling magazine, Business Leader magazine, and Insurance Thought Leadership. David is committed to giving back to his community and actively participates in the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and supporting The Dove House Child Advocacy Center. When he is not working, he enjoys boating, traveling, and being with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Hannah and Ethan. Rachel Miner became engaged with the health care system seven years ago as her son, Jackson, was consistently ill. Her frustration with the complexity of the health care system and expensive bills made her think about how helpless employees must feel. So, she set out to find a benefits firm that helped employees understand how to be educated consumers of health care year-round—and she didn’t find one. Thus, Thrive Benefits was born. Her mission is twofold: to help employers and employees. Rachel understands that companies need to have good benefits to attract and retain employees and makes it her mission to help employers save money so they can offer good benefits year over year. In addition, she helps employees to navigate the health care system so that they can have the highest quality of care at the lowest possible cost. Rachel says that her true passion is helping people and her purpose is to challenge the mindset of others so that they can overcome adversity, take risks, and achieve their goals. Health care is confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. For organizations to thrive, employees must thrive, too. Doug Aldeen is an Austin, Texas–based health care and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) attorney who recently served as ERISA counsel on behalf of the Berkeley Research Group in New York City to the $7.7 billion May 2016 acquisition of Multiplan and its medical bill repricing product Data iSight by the private equity firm Hellman and Friedman. Since 1997, he has represented reference base pricing organizations, a bundled payment software platform, PPO networks, medium to small self-funded plans, third-party administrators, and provider-sponsored health maintenance organizations in various capacities, including Herdrich v. Pegram, which was argued before the US Supreme Court in 2001. Moreover, he serves as a resource to national news organizations regarding issues on health care and as a consultant with the Governmental Relations Committee at the Self-Insurance Institute of America in Washington, DC, and as an adviser to RIP Medical Debt, which has abolished over $1.2 billion in medical debt. Doug received his JD from the University of Illinois. 04:26 What is the likelihood of a surprise bill in the time of coronavirus? 07:41 What the surprise billing wallet card looks like and what it does when you use it.09:55 Rachel Miner’s experience with the Quizzify surprise billing wallet card. 14:42 EP249 with Dale Folwell.15:33 Should employers be advocating for the use of the Quizzify wallet card? 16:22 How an employer should get the wallet card out to their employees. 17:29 David Contorno explains the inspiration behind the Quizzify wallet card. 19:29 “Because of that federal law, you do not need to sign that financial consent.”—David 19:42 “Don’t obligate yourself financially to some unknown amount.”—David 19:56 The legal standard: a battlefield consent. 21:18 Negotiating vs not negotiating. 22:38 Why employers should care about surprise billing. 22:58 Best practices for employers educating employees on why this wallet card is important. 24:19 “This is not something your employer is doing to you; this is something your employer is doing for you.”—David 24:25 EP186 with David Contorno.27:19 Doug Aldeen on what happens after using the wallet card and then gets the balance bill. 30:47 What happens after you sign the financial contract after editing. 32:01 Asking for the director of revenue cycle management after getting your surprise bill. 36:36 “It’s not as daunting as people think.”—Doug 36:56 “The general rule … is that the more you do in advance, the better.”—Al 37:49 Why 2x Medicare is the sweet spot for reasonable price. 38:38 What employers should be doing right now to distribute these Quizzify wallet cards. You can learn more at quizzify.com or connect with Al on LinkedIn. You can also connect with Al on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.   You can also connect with Rachel and David on LinkedIn and with Doug on Twitter at @AldeenDoug and on LinkedIn. Check out our #healthcarepodcast with @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify and featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What is the likelihood of a #surprisebill in the time of #coronavirus? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What does the #surprisebill #walletcard look like and what does it do? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling Should #employers be advocating for the use of the Quizzify wallet card? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling How should an #employer distribute the wallet card to his/her #employees? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What was the inspiration behind the Quizzify wallet card? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling “Because of that federal law, you do not need to sign that financial consent.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling “Don’t obligate yourself financially to some unknown amount.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What is battlefield consent? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling Negotiating vs not negotiating surprise bills. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling Why should employers care about surprise bills? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling “This is not something your employer is doing to you; this is something your employer is doing for you.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What happens when you use the Quizzify wallet card? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling “It’s not as daunting as people think.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling “The general rule … is that the more you do in advance, the better.” @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling Why is 2x the Medicare rate the sweet spot for reasonable price? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling What employers should be doing right now. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discusses on our #healthcarepodcast featuring Rachel Miner of @BenefitsThrive, @dcontorno, and @AldeenDoug. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #covid19 #surprisebilling

On Friday, March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act—otherwise known as CARES. This CARES Act covers the whole $2 trillion megillah stimulus package, but in this health care podcast episode, we’re talking quickly about a provision in that Act. I speak first with Doug Aldeen, an attorney specializing in helping employers settle hospital bills. Doug works with clients across the country. And then at the end of the episode, you will also hear from Al Lewis, who is a founder over at Quizzify. Al Lewis, as many of you may or may not know—but if you don’t know, you should—created a “surprise billing wallet card” that is actually super relevant to this discussion as you will see. There’s actually going to be a whole surprise billing episode coming up soon where we discuss this wallet card, so you can consider Al’s short commentary today as kind of a coming attraction. The provision that we’re going to talk about in this episode is the No Cost Sharing for COVID-19 Testing and Vaccines provision. This is where insurers are required to cover testing for COVID-19 without cost sharing to their enrollees, and they must pay for the tests based on contracts or the posted pricing of labs. So, the thing is, hospitals and diagnostic testing companies can essentially basically name their price on COVID-19 tests; and employers and insurers will be required to pay for it. This is in Section 3202, the Price of Diagnostic Testing, in that CARES Act. The plot thickens this week as health insurers—including Aetna, Cigna, and Humana—are now waiving patient cost sharing on all treatment for coronavirus, not just the testing, including hospitalizations and ambulance transfers. And they’re doing this for their insured members and employer plans at their in-network health systems—emphasis intended on the “in-network” part. So, you might be thinking, “Great … no costs to anybody!” But I did emphasize that last part for a reason. If you think for a minute about this, just because patients are not paying co-pays for COVID treatments first of all doesn’t mean that while they’re in the hospital that their diabetes won’t flare up … or their MS or their RA. COVID-19 is just one thing, and the US has a patient population that has, let’s just say, no shortage of chronic conditions—otherwise known as underlying conditions, otherwise known as the people most likely to be in the ICU. My concern is that there’s nothing to say that co-pays and coinsurance for treatment of other things while being treated for COVID are going to suddenly vanish, too, even if it’s an in-network health system. Furthermore, there is that problem of a patient going to a hospital that’s not contracted with the employer plan or the patient’s insurance carrier. At that point, I’m not seeing anything that would suggest that patients with COVID-19 are going to get any different treatment billing-wise than patients with anything else. We’ve seen COVID-19 bills that are, for uninsured patients, $34,000 and $73,000 in the press. What if the patient doesn’t have out-of-network coverage, for example? What if the patient’s out-of-network deductible is tens of thousands of dollars like some of them are? I don’t see anything in this bill to suggest that those are suddenly going to go away. And, oh, by the way, exactly as the bill pretty much states explicitly, regardless of what the patient pays, the employer’s on the hook to pay for whatever the hospital chooses to charge—at least as far as testing goes. You can connect with Doug on Twitter at @AldeenDoug and on LinkedIn.  You can learn more at quizzify.com or connect with Al on LinkedIn. You can also connect with Al on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.   Doug Aldeen is an Austin, Texas–based health care and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) attorney who recently served as ERISA counsel on behalf of the Berkeley Research Group in New York City to the $7.7 billion May 2016 acquisition of Multiplan and its medical bill repricing product Data iSight by the private equity firm Hellman and Friedman. Since 1997, he has represented reference base pricing organizations, a bundled payment software platform, PPO networks, medium to small self-funded plans, third-party administrators, and provider-sponsored health maintenance organizations in various capacities, including Herdrich v. Pegram, which was argued before the US Supreme Court in 2001. Moreover, he serves as a resource to national news organizations regarding issues on health care and as a consultant with the Governmental Relations Committee at the Self-Insurance Institute of America in Washington, DC, and as an adviser to RIP Medical Debt, which has abolished over $1.2 billion in medical debt. Doug received his JD from the University of Illinois. Al Lewis wears multiple hats, both professionally and also to cover his bald spot. Hat #1: Employee Health Literacy. He is the founder and “quizmeister-in-chief” of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize healthcare services appropriately, using a format best described as “Jeopardy meets health benefit education meets Comedy Central.” Quizzify is the only vendor authorized to display the Harvard Medical School “Veritas” shield and has received excellent reviews from users.  Quizzify is best known today for its employee coronaquizzes (now exceeding 100,000 plays!) and its surprise billing “Prevent Consent” solution, which was recently featured in the New York Times. It can be taped to an insurance card, used as a stand-alone card, or downloaded into your Apple Wallet. His quiz-specific background includes authorship of the best-selling Newsweek Presents the Ultimate Trivia Game, which Games magazine lauded as having the best questions of any trivia game; hosting two quiz shows on Boston network affiliates; and appearing on Jeopardy. Hat #2: Outcomes Measurement. As an author, his critically acclaimed category best-selling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named digital health book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs, written in conjunction with Walmart alum Tom Emerick, was also a trade best seller. Surviving Workplace Wellness has also received great accolades, and excerpts appeared in Harvard Business Review and elsewhere.  He was the cofounder of the World Health Care Congress’s Validation Institute.  His expertise in outcomes measurement got him named one of the unsung heroes changing health care forever.  He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from Harvard, where he taught economics as well. He also graduated from Harvard Law School, albeit with no honors that time—other than winning their annual trivia contest, of course. 04:12 Hospital billing as it relates to COVID-19. 05:45 Who is “on the hook” for paying these COVID-19 bills. 08:17 “Reasonable payment” in the case of COVID-19. 08:45 Is COVID-19 different than every other billing situation? 10:12 What’s going to come out of the out-of-network COVID-19 costs? 11:29 What employers should be doing right now. 12:50 The takeaway for everyone “bankrolling” COVID-19. 13:26 “This whole thing is tilting towards, ‘Who’s going to pay for all this stuff?’” 13:53 Connecting the dots with COVID-19 billing. 15:25 Using the Quizzify wallet card, and how this can help avoid COVID-19 surprise billing. 16:17 Download the wallet card at quizzify.com.  You can connect with Doug on Twitter at @AldeenDoug and on LinkedIn.  You can learn more at quizzify.com or connect with Al on LinkedIn. You can also connect with Al on Twitter at @quizzify and @whynobodybeliev.   Check out our newest #AnExpertExplains #healthcarepodcast with @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify as they discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling Who is on the hook for #coronavirus billing? @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast What is #reasonablepayment in the age of #coronavirus? @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast Is billing for #coronavirus different than all other billing? @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast What’s going to come out of the out-of-network COVID-19 costs? @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast “This whole thing is tilting towards, ‘Who’s going to pay for all this stuff?’” @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast Connecting the dots with #covid19billing. @AldeenDoug and @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify discuss #hospitalbilling in the age of #covid19. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #billing #healthcarebilling #healthcarepodcast

How many added sugars are there in a Quaker quinoa granola bar? Not many, right? Quaker's a healthy company, and you can't get more nutritious than quinoa, after all. In fact, there's 10 different kinds of sugars sprinkled in. That's just one example of how what we think we know about health may not be accurate. On today's episode of Healthcare Simplified, Al Lewis, CEO at Quizzify, joins us to discuss healthcare literacy  — what don't we know about our health and how is that affecting us? 

How many added sugars are there in a Quaker quinoa granola bar? Not many, right? Quaker's a healthy company, and you can't get more nutritious than quinoa, after all. In fact, there's 10 different kinds of sugars sprinkled in. That's just one example of how what we think we know about health may not be accurate. On today's episode of Healthcare Simplified, Al Lewis, CEO at Quizzify, joins us to discuss healthcare literacy  — what don't we know about our health and how is that affecting us? 

Amy Guth is in for the rained out White Sox on this Saturday afternoon. Have you cut the cord on cable? Amy talks to listeners and producer Curtis Koch about cutting the cable and how listeners are getting their TV. Later Amy chats with Al Lewis from Quizzify to talk about some important information regarding […]

Podcast Show Notes Our podcast discussion today between Michael Andrade and  Al Lewis, CEO of Quizzify.   Some of you may have listened to the podcast interview of Quizzify and remember that his company seeks to improve health literacy through an interactive and fun quiz that’s delivered directly to [...]

  The fear of cannibalizing sales of existing products is often cited as a reason why established firms delay the introduction of [better approaches]. ―Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail   I want to talk about the wellness industry today. In the parlance of the famous (or infamous, depending on where your revenue is coming from) Al Lewis, traditional “to employee” types of wellness programs are health care done to employees, not for employees. They’re like forced health care. Generally, these programs tout cost savings to the employer. And also generally, these programs aren’t optional; they may include sticks as well as carrots and sometimes sticks that are dressed up as carrots but are actually still sticks. The wellness industry is big business—like, regulated by the SEC big in some cases. That’s why this Clay Christensen quote is so apropos. Despite the fact that your average wellness program is often, let’s just say, heartily suboptimal from a cost, quality, and satisfaction standpoint, most employers continue to basically force employees into them. Many brokers continue to offer these ineffective programs as well. I mean, why wouldn’t they? Everybody in the supply chain is making money. Besides, it’s time consuming and maybe even risky to try to re-educate an employer organization who might not know any better. It’s one of those great examples where doing the right thing isn’t as profitable or safe as exploiting outdated thinking as long as the market will bear. Employers are getting wise to a lot of things right now. I’d suggest a fast follow-on is going to be their view of these wellness programs. It will be interesting to see if current vendors are able to compete with the newer solutions that actually work and which employees actually appreciate. It will also be interesting to see if there’s any backlash against the supply chain that continues to offer up these solutions, especially given some of the lawsuits that are currently under way and all the research which is eminently available. After about ten people wrote in looking to hear an interview with him, in this health care podcast I’m honored and pleased to speak with the one and only Al Lewis. Al is basically synonymous with wellness programs’ analysis and evaluation. One of my favorite things about Al is that he is as controversial as he is respected. He’s been called both “the founding father” of disease management, and he’s also been called the “troublemaker-in-chief” of the wellness industry. Regardless of your opinion of Al’s views, his integrity and commitment and rigorous analytical approach is open and shut. Al is the author of two books, which you can find in the show notes. He’s also the CEO of Quizzify. Quizzify is a company and an approach that teaches employees how to get the care they need while avoiding the “care” they don’t. Quizzify’s claims have been validated, by the way, by the Validation Institute.   You can learn more at quizzify.com.   Al Lewis wears multiple professional hats. As an author, his critically acclaimed category-best-selling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named 2012 health care book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs: How to Cut Your Company’s Health Costs and Provide Employees Better Care, released in 2013, was also a trade bestseller. His 2014 book Surviving Workplace Wellness has also received great accolades, and excerpts appeared in Harvard Business Review and elsewhere. As a consultant, he is widely acclaimed for his expertise in population health and wellness outcomes and strategy. In 2013 he was named one of the unsung heroes changing health care forever. As a validator of outcomes, he has been able to obtain Gold Standard certification for many of his clients and Quizzify from Intel’s Validation Institute. He is also one of the population health field’s most acclaimed speakers, as well as a prolific author and interviewee on outcomes economics. In recent years, Al cofounded Quizzify, an online education program that delivers health literacy information to participants in a fun, game show contest format. Its mission is to create health-literate employees. Quizzify is a solution; to create a culture of health and wellness, organizations must promote health and health care education. It delivers engaging, educational content developed and reviewed by industry professionals and gives managers administrative tools to customize quizzes and effectively measure employees’ learning. Quizzify uses humorous, trivia-style quizzes (reviewed by doctors at Harvard Medical School) to simplify complex topics and help employees stay engaged. Its mission is to help employees, without putting them at risk. Al was also the founder of the Population Health Alliance (formerly DMAA). Over 80% of his clients have won national awards for their wellness/disease management programs. Before entering the population health field, he was a partner at Bain & Company. He holds two degrees from Harvard, where he also taught economics; and his economic policy book was made into a show on the Washington, DC, NPR affiliate. 03:40 Examples of things that are done for employees that have no issues. 04:58 Looking at the fact that medical care isn’t harmless. 06:00 The Yale program as an example of doing health care “to” employees. 08:55 The downside of just coaching. 10:05 Zeev Neuwirth’s book and the difference between being a patient and consumer.11:58 Why employers still offer forced wellness programs to their employees. 16:50 Making the clinical aspect of wellness programs voluntary with Quizzify. 17:38 The need to reduce screenings from every year to every few years. 20:25 Population health management. 21:04 Employers vs insurers—wellness vendors vs population health vendors. 22:33 Diagnosis, overdiagnosis, and hyper-diagnosis. 28:23 The difference between a screen and a test/overdiagnosis and hyper-diagnosis. 31:40 “If you have heartburn and you’re taking a proton pump inhibitor … and you play our quiz … you’ll learn that these pills … are not supposed to be taken for the long term. … Now that you know that, you switch to [Pepcid] or Tums; it’s that simple.” You can learn more at quizzify.com. Check out our newest #healthcarepodcast with @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram What programs do #employers offer that really do positively impact #employees? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #Medical care isn’t harmless. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram Doing health care “to” #employees—the bad example set by Yale. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram What’s the downside to #wellness coaching? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram The difference between being a #patient and #consumer in #wellness. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram Why do #employers still force #wellnessprograms on their #employees? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram Making #clinical #wellness voluntary again. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram How reducing screenings from every year to every few years can actually be positively beneficial. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #populationhealthmanagement. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #pophealth #employers vs #insurers. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #Wellness vendors vs #populationhealth vendors. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #pophealth #diagnosis, #overdiagnosis, and #hyperdiagnosis. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #overdiagnosis vs #hyperdiagnosis. What’s the difference? @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram #healthscreens vs #medicaltests. @whynobodybeliev of @quizzify explains on our #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram “If you have heartburn and you’re taking a proton pump inhibitor … and you play our quiz … you’ll learn that these pills … are not supposed to be taken for the long term. … Now that you know that, you switch to [Pepcid] or Tums; it’s that simple.”—@whynobodybeliev on the simple ways in which @quizzify can drastically improve #healthcareoutcomes. #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #podcast #digitalhealth #healthwellness #employerhealth #employeehealth #wellnessprograms #employerwellnessprogram

Topics: Healthcare Literacy  Wellness Gamification Content Tool Employee Engagement Behavior Change   In this episode, Michael introduces you to Al Lewis, the CEO of Quizzify. Join us as we learn about Quizzify, a health literacy content tool that leverages gamification and comedy to educate individuals and drive savings and well being through increased awareness. Here’s a glance at what we discuss in this episode: How Al Lewis’s diverse experience in consulting, leadership and authorship lead him to launch Quizzify  The employer’s key role in the quality of care and cost containment of healthcare expenses  How Quizzify works and is different from every other wellness program out there The definition of health literacy and the economic impact of low health literacy  The differences between health literacy and traditional wellness How Quizzify aligns incentives with clients by offering an engagement guarantee  Quizzify is the only vendor that partners with Harvard Health and Medical School which provides integrity in the content published by Quizzify How Quizzify partners with clients to strategize on participant engagement, communication, and incentive structure 10% of an employee population will engage each month with no incentive, however, implementing a small incentive will increase participation to approx. 50% a month Quizzify’s robust standardization of reporting allows employers to drill down into their data How the employer has the ability to customize their own questions based on their benefits information and Quizzify will write them on their behalf How Quizzify provides guaranteed savings for employers with access to their claims experience What wellness vendors mean when they provide messaging about return on investment versus the value of an investment The difference of efficacy between a mandatory wellness program compared to a “nice” wellness program  Who Quizzify is a good fit for and their fee structure  Obstacles that Quizzify has faced implementing their program with employers  How Quizzify has reconfigured its program into a health risk assessment that exceeds the traditional health risk assessment standards To learn more, contact Al Lewis at Quizzify.com (http://www.quizzify.com)

Our special guest on Validation Institute's series Valid Points is Al Lewis, the CEO of Quizzify.com. Quizzify teaches client company employees how to get the care they need while avoiding the "care"? they don't...and does it all in a user-friendly fashion.  Imagine Jeopardy-meets-health benefit education-meets-Comedy Central. Listen in as a thoughtful and evidence based practitioner shares his insights in the health benefits space and beyond. For more information or to subscribe to the podcast or 'Valid Points' newsletter, visit Validation Institute. ==##== 

Our guest on this episode of Validation Matters is Al Lewis, the CEO of Quizzify. Quizzify teaches client company employees how to get the care they need while avoiding the "care"? they don't...and does it all in a user-friendly fashion.  Imagine Jeopardy-meets-health benefit education-meets-Comedy Central.  Validation Matters is a podcast series sponsored by Validation Institute.      

Welcome to the Solving Healthcare Podcast. In this episode we interview Al Lewis, CEO of Quizzify.  Al is a Harvard Educated, former economics professor, former Bain Capital consultant, Author, Wellness Antagonist, consumate quizmaster, turned CEO.   Quizzify aims to improve health literacy for individuals and employers.  You might be wondering [...]

ITL Editor in Chief Paul Carroll talks about challenging widely held assumptions about the effectiveness of health wellness programs at lowering cots with Al Lewis, widely credited with having invented disease management, and co-founder and CEO of Quizzify, the leading employee health literacy vendor.

If you don’t already know Al Lewis, then I’m not sure where you’ve been hiding. He is quite an antagonizer in the wellness world but we’re not talking about wellness today. Al is the founder of Quizzify, whose mission is to help companies teach their employees to utilize healthcare services appropriately. Al and I talk about why health info (benefits, procedures, Rx) is so hard to understand, where employers are missing the mark in terms of benefit design and why they aren’t teaching their employees to become better healthcare consumers. He also tells us the #1 question/recommendation employers and employees push back on. Finally, he provides advice on what employers can do to increase literacy and what wellness pros can do to stay in the know. Vote me in to next year’s WELCOA Summit Intensive session! Until November 30th, you can vote for the Intensive sessions you want to see at WELCOA’s 2019 Summit. My session is titled “Next Generation Wellness: From Theory to Practice” can be found HERE. For links mentioned in today's episode visit https://redesigningwellness.com/ To join the Redesigning Wellness Community, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/rdwellnesscommunity/

Al Lewis is the CEO of Quizzify, the country's leading employee health literacy company. You can learn more about Al here: www.quizzify.com This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at http://authorsunite.com/. Thank you for listening to The Business Blast Podcast! Tyler --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/authorsunite/support

Al Lewis may be one of the most controversial, and respected, figures in the employee health & wellness industry.  His insight and candor have earned him various labels and epithets including, “the ...

Al Lewis may be one of the most controversial, and respected, figures in the employee health & wellness industry.  His insight and candor have earned him various labels and epithets including, “the founding father” of disease management and alternatively, the “troublemaker-in-chief” of the wellness industry. Whether you like him or not, I doubt that anyone can challenge his integrity, or the rigorous intellectual approach he takes in analyzing the efficacy of employer-based wellness and care management programs.By way of introduction - Al Lewis attended Harvard College, where he studied and then taught Economics.  He graduated from Harvard Law School, and eventually became a partner at Bain & Company; prior to becoming a nationally recognized expert and consultant in the fields of employee health & care management.  Al has authored a number of critically acclaimed books on employee health & care management, including 'Why Nobody Believes The Numbers', which was named '2012 healthcare book of the year' in Forbes.In this interview Al Lewis - true to form - dispels numerous myths and radically reorients our thinking on the critically important issue of employee health & wellness. According to Mr. Lewis, the most significant healthcare cost & health outcomes opportunity for employers is NOT getting employees to “take more steps or eat more broccoli;” but instead to prevent them from having unnecessary screenings, tests and treatments - what he terms “hyper-diagnosis.” He has, over many years, repeatedly documented and demonstrated that healthcare over-utilization wastes tremendous money and adversely impacts employee health. He also argues that current Health Risk Assessments (HRA’s) are misguided, wasteful and potentially harmful. What you’ll discover in this interview includes:1. Why, according to Al Lewis, employee health wellness programs are a waste of money and, more importantly, are potentially harmful to employee's health & wellness. If you’re interested in his online documented expose on the "mis-statements" of the wellness industry, you can learn more on www.theysaidwhat.net.2. Mr. Lewis’ online program ‘Quizzify’ (available to employers at www.quizzify.com) - which uses games, quizzes and assessments to educate employees on how to better manage their health, healthcare, and healthcare expenditures - and whose basic purpose is to create a culture of healthcare literacy.3. How employers can provide services that enhance employee health & wellness - what Mr. Lewis terms “wellness done for employees” instead of “wellness done to employees”.  4. Al’s forecast for the future of the wellness industry - an industry which he predicts is going to change dramatically in nine months, as a result of major court rulings.Mr. Lewis certainly puts his money where his mouth is. If you don’t agree with him, he’s offering a $3 million reward to anyone who can demonstrate that wellness programs actually save money, or if he can’t prove that they don’t save money! It is refreshing, enlightening and encouraging to have a conscientious industry watchdog with the intellectual rigor, acumen and experience that Al Lewis possesses.  For the purpose of this podcast series, it’s not his critique that is most important.  What's important is what Al Lewis is creating, and how he is contributing to Creating a New (and better) Healthcare.  Again, I did warn you all that he is a controversial and respected authority.  If you have any difference in opinion, Al is ready to listen and respond. As always I hope you get as much out of this interview as I have!Zeev Neuwirth, MD

Al Lewis, our guest on this episode of The ShiftShapers Podcast, is a serial entrepreneur, author, renaissance man, and the CEO of Quizzify. Quizzify is a healthcare education app that uses fun and games to teach employees how to buy and use healthcare. The service makes for smarter consumers and saves their companies a lot of money in healthcare costs. In this interview Al shares his interesting journey, beginning with his time at Harvard Law School and culminating in the creation of Quizzify. We discuss current healthcare literacy issues, how to get employees excited about learning, and Al's unique approach to solving these problems. We also cover how Quizzify integrates with a company's wellness program and what employer conversations about healthcare and education look like. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2u4C9a0

On the Wednesday, May 25th 2016 broadcast our special guest is Al Lewis, CEO of Quizzify.  Al "wears multiple hats, both professionally and also to cover his bald spot. As an author, his critically acclaimed category-bestselling book on outcomes measurement, Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, chronicling and exposing the innumeracy of the health management field, was named 2012 healthcare book of the year in Forbes. Cracking Health Costs: How to Cut Your Company’s Health Costs and Provide Employees Better Care, released in 2013, was also a trade bestseller. His 2014 Surviving Workplace Wellness, co-authored with Vik Khanna, has also received great accolades and excerpts have appeared in Harvard Business Review and elsewhere."  As a consultant, he is widely acclaimed for his expertise in population health outcomes and strategy, and in 2013 was named one of the "unsung heroes changing health care forever". As a validator of outcomes, he has been able to obtain Gold Standard certification for many of his clients, and Quizzify, from the Intel Care Innovations Validation Institute.

Al joins us to share his interesting journey that started at Harvard Law School and led him to creating Quizzify. In this interesting and engaging conversation, we discuss the current health care literacy issues and Al's unique approach to solving those problems. We cover how Quizzify integrates with companies' wellness programs and what those employer conversations look like. Get full show notes and more information here: http://bit.ly/1KeRrfn