Self-Funded With Spencer

Have you ever wondered what it is like to MC (host) a big conference?   In this episode of "Self-Funded with Spencer" on the road in St Louis at the True Captive Symposium, I discussed this topic with the host of the event - Kiera Hanselman.  Kiera started to MC events during the pandemic at virtual conferences, and did such a good job that she kept getting asked to do it again.   She talks about how her theater training helped her prepare to be on stage, but it really comes down to understanding the conference dynamics, getting to know the organization putting the event on, as well as identifying what topics will resonate with that specific audience.   Kiera did an incredible job at the event, and I am sure you will see her on stage hosting an Employee Benefits conference near you soon.

How Fasting Can Change Your Life.   What is Fasting?  What are the benefits of Fasting?  How does a beginner get started Fasting?  What is the difference in Fasting and Intermittent Fasting?  What is Autophagy?  What is a Water Fast?  What is a Fasting Mimicking Diet?.   Mark Testa is an expert at Fasting, as well as an expert in Stem Cells.  Mark has personally gone through multiple 5-day fasts, and is a regular intermittent faster like myself.   Personally, Intermittent Fasting has helped stabilize my energy levels, provided mental clarity, helped with weight management as I approach 40, made "Dieting" simpler, and has been the single best tool I have applied to optimize my life.  I hope this episode helps you start your fasting or intermittent fasting journey.

The "PBM Princess" joins me again on Self-Funded with Spencer on the road, this time in St. Louis at the most recent True Captive Summit, held at Busch Stadium. In this mini-episode, Rachel highlights the convoluted supply chain in Pharmacy Benefit Management.  So many different entities have a hand in the Rx supply chain, from payers, wholesalers, contracts with PBM's, marketing firms, insurance companies, etc, which makes it very difficult to uncover why prescription drug trends continue to increase at a rapid rate. This had led to further scrutiny of PBMs, especially with the question "How does my PBM get paid"? Thank you again to David Voorhees of True Captive for inviting me to this industry-leading event to deliver my podcast on the road.

Your own Stem Cells can be extracted from your bone marrow, concentrated, and then later injected into certain areas to potentially eliminate the need for surgery.  Many people just refer to it as "stem cells", but bone marrow concentrate which contains stem cells is the most accurate way to describe what Regenexx does.   Regenexx can help self-funded employers who have employees which knee injuries, shoulder injuries, back injuries etc. as a possible intermediate step before the last hope is surgery.   Mark is a chiropractor by trade, and became aware of how this concentrate containing stem cells could help with many musculoskeletal injuries that normally would require surgery in traditional Western medical practice.   They have a very high success rate with certain MSK ailments, and some of the latest research even shows how bone marrow concentrate which contains stem cells can help regrow an ACL if torn less than 1 cm apart!   There are limits to its abilities to resolve certain injuries, with the hip joint being one of the least likely locations of the body to positively respond to this bone marrow concentrate.   Make sure to check out part 2 where Mark and I discuss all of the benefits of Fasting!   To learn more check out https://regenexx.com/

What is it like to be a Serial Entrepreneur?  When you hear Mark's story it becomes clear that it takes someone with a combination of drive, intelligence, will, luck, faith, and a sense of humor!  Mark Combs started his career in financial planning, moved into the employee benefits broker world, helped grow an agency into a successful acquisition, and after experiencing nothing but success in his work life thus far, that is when he said, "everything STOPPED working"!  He talks about having to re-invent himself, work through those early challenges, and really struggle until he found the right business model.   Mark is also a genius marketer, so if you are interested in watching his insurance reporting commercial that has over 330k views and was referenced in my intro, watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om0YjZGVBEI

Private Equity Explained  What is it?   How does it work?  How do you get a job in private equity?  When do you use equity vs debt?   What types of firms should go public rather than stay private?   What are the stages of growth that impact capital requirements?   All of these questions and more are answered in Episode 44 of "Self-Funded with Spencer", featuring Kyle Coots, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Miramar Equity Partners.   Kyle and I have known each other for almost 30 years, and we reconnected after he was vetting an investment opportunity for his Private Equity firm in the self-funded space.  As you can see from this episode, he is an absolutely wealth of knowledge in this space, and even breaks it down at a level that a beginner can understand.

Life Rewards Effort.  Randy & I discussed Leadership, Faith, Family, Personal Growth, Managing Career Success, Being a Star Hurdler in High School, Moving from CA to TX, Advice for Young Salespeople, and the roles both of our Wives have played in making us the men we are today.  From a random meeting at a children's play-place called "Cheeky Monkey" two years ago during the pandemic, to having Randy sit down this week for the podcast, it has been an interesting two years for both of us.

“Never Pay the First Bill”  This is the title of Marshall Allen’s extraordinary book, which empowers working Americans to fight back against unfair medical billing practices and WIN.   Marshall came on Self-Funded with Spencer to discuss:   ✍️ His investigative journalism career  📚 His Substack newsletter  📽 His upcoming video series  👨‍⚖️ How to win in small claims court  🏥 His son’s recent ER visit  ⛪️ His faith and time in ministry  🏛 His new job in the federal gov  📕 and of course, the book!   “Never Pay the First Bill” is a must for the tens of millions of Americans struggling to figure out why their medical care costs so much.   It’s not just healthcare #inflation. There’s also rampant fraud, waste, abuse, up-coding, and even billing for services NOT rendered.   Marshall is educating David on how to fight Goliath, and WIN.  It’s time for us to pick that fight!

Allergy season, muscle cars, space shuttle launches...and Dependent Eligibility Audits?     Keith Bird, VP of Sales for AmWINS came on the Self-Funded with Spencer Podcast to discuss the fiduciary responsibility that Self-Funded Employers have to ensure the dependents enrolled on their health plan are eligible to be there.     Unless you have a good way of validating the eligibility of enrollees manually (you probably don't) then you likely have dependents on your plan today that are not supposed to be there.   Keith estimates that about 3% of dependents on average on any given plan are not eligible.  Whether it is a person enrolled as a spouse when they actually aren't married, or an enrolled child on the plan that turns out to be a cousin, the cost of healthcare is so great that many people find the need to defraud their employers for coverage.

Captives, keynote speaking, employee education, client testimonials, problem-solving, and having skin in the game with your customers, were a few of the many topics Robert Gelb, David Voorhees and I discussed during the final installment of the Self-Funded w/Spencer podcast on the road at the True Captive conference.  Here is the registration link for the next Future of Benefits in Business conference in St. Louis, MO at Busch Stadium on 4/12/22.  https://truecaptive.com/st-louis-registration/ https://truecaptive.com/ https://www.valenzhealth.com/