Ep #193: “Bend The Healthcare Trend” – with Mark Gaunya and Jennifer Borislow – Part 1

Nine years ago, Mark Gaunya and Jennifer Borislow wrote “Bend The Healthcare Trend” to explore how healthcare consumers could counteract the damaging effect of a system with misaligned incentives, opaque pricing schemes, and unnecessary complexity. They are about to release the 2nd edition of their definitive book and ShiftShapers talks to them about how much has changed; and how little has changed!The authors believe that what has not changed is that consumerism and transparency are still the answer to an industry that remains unnecessarily confusing, even for many folks within the industry. The average layman stands no chance in a system created by the rule makers, for the rule makers.Our guests lay out how the government, Big Pharma, hospital systems, and health insurance companies are incentivized to stop price deflation and maintain complexity.The second edition is peppered with actual examples of how they have used the principles in the book with their clients – and the success those clients have enjoyed in gaining control over their plans while delivering a climate of health and well-being for their employees.Mark and Jennifer also outline what has changed since the first time they wrote about consumer-driven healthcare in 2009. The lack of transparency in the market is still an issue, but organizations are starting to deliver tools that aid consumers in making choices.What You’ll Learn From this Episode:What prompted the first edition back in 2009What has changed since then and why update now amid the unsettled environmentHave we made progress in consumerism since 2009What will it take to de-isolate consumers from the cost of careCost is the third rail. Why won’t politicians deal with itThe three principles: Transparency, Responsibility and OpportunityWhat is the difference between wellness and well-beingDo we need to create a higher level member experienceWhy the uptick in interest about self-insured plansHow can small and mid-size firms self fund and how does an advisor begin that conversation