Cutting Health Care Costs for Self-Funded Employers with Kirat Kharode of HealCo

Employer health care costs have risen 70% over the last decade while wages have grown just 30%. Kirat Kharode, CEO and Founder of HealCo, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast's Fuel Accelerator health tech series to break down why self-funded employer health plans are becoming unsustainable, and how HealCo's governance layer helps route employees to lower-cost, high-quality care before costs spiral.In this episode:Why self-funded health plans are under more scrutiny than everThe site-of-entry problem driving up specialty care costsHow HealCo's governance and routing model worksWhat a real cost-savings diagnostic looks like for employersWhy Northwest Arkansas is fertile ground for this kind of infrastructureThis episode is part of our Fuel Accelerator series⏱️ Chapters: 00:18 – Welcome & the Fuel Accelerator health tech cohort00:42 – Meet Kirat Kharode, CEO & Founder of HealCo01:00 – 20 years inside hospital C-suites 01:26 – Inside the self-funded health plan landscape 02:07 – Why costs are outpacing wages 03:06 – Site of entry: where health costs really start 04:02 – Specialty care and the $15K vs. $50K cost divide 05:33 – HealCo's origin story and validation lab 06:36 – Building the governance layer and how employees benefit 09:06 – Sponsor: RISE Arkansas 09:33 – Validating the model & where self-funded care is headed 11:48 – HealCo's 5-year vision, case studies & broker demand 15:49 – Why Northwest Arkansas, plus advice for CFOs 18:50 – Connect with Kirat + episode wrap-up—Connect with Kirat & HealCo🔗https://www.healco.us/🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirat-kharode/—🎧 Follow the Startup Junkies Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, like, subscribe, and share it with a friend.The Startup Junkies Podcast is brought to you in part by RISE, helping Arkansas tech and tech-enabled startups grow with no-cost coaching, capital navigation, and expert connections. Learn more at RiseArkansas.org.