Lantern's Dickon Waterfield on rising healthcare costs and how Medicaid cuts will impact businesses

In this episode of the Second Opinion, Christina Farr interviews Dickon Waterfield, president of Lantern to discuss the intricacies of U.S. healthcare costs, particularly the disparity between Medicare and commercial prices. They cover the unsustainable burden on employers to provide healthcare, the evolving nature of digital health solutions, and the market's reaction to recent IPOs in the sector.

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LINKS:
Lantern: https://lanterncare.com/ 

Christina Farr's Second Opinion Newsletter: https://secondopinion.media/ 

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FOLLOW:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dickonwaterfield 
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:
• The company was previously under the radar despite its size because it lacked traditional digital health investors and operated in the emerging "sensitive excellence" space
• Lantern works by securing lower rates from select providers in exchange for steering patient volume to them, rather than contracting with all providers like traditional insurers
• Commercial insurance pays dramatically more than Medicare for the same procedures - for example, a total knee replacement costs around $45,000 commercially versus $17,000 for Medicare
• About 90% of surgical costs go to the facility, with only 10% split between surgeon and anesthesia fees
• The company built scale over 14 years by starting with local networks and school districts before expanding to national employers
• They typically contract with only one or two providers per market, offering them incremental volume and market share gains
• By waiving patient cost-sharing (like $5,000 out-of-pocket maximums), they incentivize patients to travel to preferred providers
• Proposed Medicaid cuts could affect 10% of Medicaid recipients, forcing more healthcare costs onto employers
• When Medicaid funding decreases, hospitals typically increase commercial rates to compensate for uninsured patients
• Employers are increasingly frustrated with being responsible for 60-70% of Americans' healthcare coverage
• The current system originated post-WWII as a talent competition tool and became normalized as part of total compensation packages
• Only a major economic downturn with high unemployment could potentially break this cycle, as tight labor markets force employers to maintain competitive benefits
• Employers will likely narrow their coverage, offering less rich benefits and more selective networks and formularies
• Cell and gene therapies costing $1-5 million per treatment pose existential threats to employer-sponsored health plans
• There's a reckoning coming for point solutions that don't deliver measurable ROI, with increased scrutiny on clinical evidence and cost reduction
• Digital health companies are held to higher standards than pharmaceuticals, which don't face the same outcome-based payment requirements
• Forward-thinking employers are moving beyond simple cost savings to evaluate programs on multiple parameters including talent retention and clinical outcomes
• A new generation of digital health companies is becoming in-network providers rather than selling directly to employers
• This approach eliminates long sales cycles and complex billing arrangements that characterized earlier digital health companies
• Successful healthcare sales requires understanding buyers' needs and solving their problems rather than just selling solutions
• Founder-led sales remains crucial in early stages because founders can listen more acutely to feedback and pivot quickly