The average American family spends over $24,000 a year on healthcare, and costs continue to rise faster than inflation. Why can't we create a healthcare system that delivers more value for less money?

In this conversation with Ann Somers Hogg, Director of Healthcare Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute, we explore the concept of "Zero Inflation Healthcare" and uncover why traditional health insurance models continue to drive costs up. Ann breaks down why many InsureTech startups initially struggled to disrupt incumbents and how a new approach to business model innovation could finally tame runaway healthcare costs.

We cover:

🌟 The "optimal care business model" that could help transform healthcare

📊 Why InsureTechs like Oscar and Clover struggled initially against incumbents

🧰 If and how insurance companies can fix their reputations

💰 Why health insurance companies' "spend more to make more" profit formula fails to incentivize the desired outcome

🔄 How regulations create barriers to disruptive innovation in health insurance

🛑 Why Haven (the Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan venture) failed despite its resources

💡 How the "Jobs to Be Done" theory applies to healthcare choices

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About our guest:

Ann Somers is the director of health care research at the Clayton Christensen Institute where her research focuses on the structural pathways to improve health. This includes business model design, leadership approaches, customer orientation, and innovation strategy. Prior to joining the Institute, Ann Somers worked for Atrium Health (now Advocate Health), where she served as the AVP of Strategy and Transformation. She started her career in consulting at Oliver Wyman, working to develop value-based care strategies for large payers. Ann Somers holds an MSPH in Health Policy and Management from UNC-Chapel Hill and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and two children.

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🙏 Thanks to Flexpa for sponsoring this episode. Flexpa is refactoring healthcare. Connect to 300+ health plans through a single, secure integration to access patient-consented, identified claims data instantly.

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Show notes:

Read the full paper here: christenseninstitute.org/publication/health-insurance-innovation

If you’d like to learn more about the Institute’s broader work, feel free to explore: www.christenseninstitute.org

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