Podcast Interview: Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson is the CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, formerly, the National Business Coalition on Health.  The National Alliance is an association of over 50 regional coalitions whose members provide healthcare coverage to over 45 Million Americans. Prior to the National Alliance, Mike was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and has played a leadership role in the destigmatization of mental and behavioral health. One of Mike's signature initiatives at the National Alliance is the Wellbeing Initiative which recognizes that if organizations are going to substantially improve their employees' health and engagement, the focus must move beyond "wellness" to "wellbeing."   Under his direction, the National Alliance has gathered a team of nationally-recognized experts to produce educational wellbeing workshops for its constituent coalitions and their members. Mike discusses this initiative in the broader context of the value of employee wellbeing. By way of example, he discusses why a "whole person" approach beyond just physical health to focus on, say, stress actually may reap greater and quicker returns both in terms of engagement and reducing coverage costs than focusing on obesity."