Lifers with Christina Farr The $1M patient keeping employers up at night w/ Lantern CEO John Zutter & Matt Harmon
Jan 18, 2025
In this engaging discussion, John Zutter, CEO of Lantern, and Matt Harmon, a benefits executive veteran, delve into the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. They explore how large employers are tackling expensive treatments like cell and gene therapies. The duo discusses the rise of centers of excellence to direct patients towards quality care, the challenges faced by small employers in covering costly therapies, and the balance between employee choice and employer strategy. Their insights reveal the complex landscape of healthcare spending today.
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Specialty Care Drives Employer Cost Surge
- Specialty care is the epicenter of runaway employer healthcare costs driven by cell, gene, oncology, and surgeries.
- Employers must dig into where dollars are allocated because trend is getting out of control.
Million-Dollar Claims Are Becoming Routine
- Million-dollar claims are now common and can include cell and gene therapies costing into the tens of millions.
- Large populations make multiple catastrophic events likely, which threatens smaller employers severely.
Spread Risk Or Build Narrow Centers Of Excellence
- Smaller employers should shift toward fully insured models or join collaboratives to spread catastrophic risk.
- Large employers should build narrow center-of-excellence networks to control quality, access, and cost.