Self-Funded With Spencer

John shares his own experience with Burnout at 41, which nearly cost him his life, and we discuss the challenges that men have in discussing their mental health with others, even with the typical EAP offerings most employers provide their employees today.    It is even harder for people like John, who had been a pastor at a church for his whole career up that point, and who was perceived as a community leader, to express feelings of fear, weakness, emotional pain, etc. because of concerns of how his peers would perceive his vulnerability.  This is one of the most important conversations I have ever had on the podcast, and I hope it helps foster meaningful discussions about mental health in men.

Jake Thompson started Compete Every Day as an inspirational apparel company, and over the course of a decade, has grown it into a vehicle for performance coaching, business consulting, and traveling the country to do public speaking.   The mindset of getting 1% better every day, while viewed on a micro scale may not seem much, but the aggregate effect over time on your life will have a massive impact.  Whether it is your health, your job, your relationships, focusing on the little things you can do every day, adds up.   Jake is highly sought after for his ability to effectively communicate this message through the lens of athletics, and apply that mindset to any business to help their personnel leverage their competitive spirit to become happier, and more productive employees.   https://www.competeeveryday.com/

Chas Fields is Senior Partner at UKG - Ultimate Kronos Group - and is also a fellow podcaster, a public speaker, a change management expert, a volunteer, and a baseball coach.  Oh yeah, he's also a really cool dude! This episode covers what Human Capital Management is, how it works, and how technology is enabling companies to better manager their Human Capital.   We cover topics like the merger of two giant organizations into an even bigger one, managing people through the pandemic, fatherhood, how to be a good person in general, and the future of HCM. Enjoy!

Insurance Captives & Innovation in Healthcare with David Voorhees, CEO of True Captive Insurance.   Insurance captives have been covered quite a bit on my podcast because: 1) They are perceived to be more complex (they're really not) 2) They are an interesting vehicle for smaller employers to successfully transition into being self-funded. David Voorhees sat down with me after the True Captive St Louis Summit, to discuss the motivations for the creation of True Captive Insurance, why they decided to take risk on every group that joins their captive, and how they are partnering with other innovative solution providers to create best-in-breed options for small to mid-sized employers.   David also talks about how fear often drives the avoidance of innovation, especially for insurance brokers who at times have the misconception that they are obligated to be experts in everything.  He argues that NOT knowing something is good, as it should stimulate curiosity and a continual quest for knowledge, and I tend to agree.   David is one of the most consistently eloquent speakers I have had the joy to sit down with, and it is an honor to be affiliated with him through these conferences, and the sponsorship of my podcast.  Enjoy!

How Jumbo Employers are Solving Healthcare.   This podcast focuses on the Health Transformation Alliance (HTA) - A Co-Op - that is fully owned by about 65 Jumbo employers, whose entire mission is to create superior outcomes for their health plan.   Their goals are to save lives, and save dollars.   These employer groups need to have about 5,000 lives on their health plan and pay $500k to join, and all own an equal equity stake in the Co-Op.  This fee can be paid over time and can come out of your health budget since it is an ERISA-approved expense.   By joining, these jumbo employers get access to the HTA teams, resources, and the opportunity to collaborate with the other members of the Co-Op   There are certain outcomes that jumbo employers can achieve in healthcare due to their scale and aggregated buying power, which Lee discusses on the podcast.   There are also things that Jumbo employers CANNOT do, that a smaller employer can, and we make sure to focus on some of those solutions as well.   Enjoy!   https://www.htahealth.com/

What is it like to work for a TPA?  Owen Paradis of JP Farley joins me on the podcast for a discussion on how he got into the insurance world after working as a Corrections Officer.    Like most of us, he didn't intend to get into insurance, but has nonetheless found a home here and embraced the learning curve with open arms.  Half of the battle is just learning the acronyms, and Owen even said he used my Stop Loss with Spencer videos to help him learn the industry lingo.  Owen talks about how much he has enjoyed the TPA space so far, and judging by the brief time I had with him, I believe he will have a tremendously successful career in Employee Benefits!

Have you ever wondered how to plan a conference?   Tonya Crawford of True Captive Insurance sits down with me to share what it takes to put together a major event.   The main thing she said is that planning a conference starts with having great partners.  Not just from a sponsorship perspective, but to provide support, as well as help market the event.   It typically would take 2-3 months to plan an event, but Tonya and True Captive were able to pull off a great event in St Louis within 6 weeks.   The event in St Louis was absolutely top notch, with outstanding presenters, great attendees, and very useful information being freely shared to better educate the market at large.  In my opinion, that is the way it should be!

Everything you need to know about Insurance Captives, featuring Stephani Manning of Innovative Captive Strategies.  We discuss the Layers of Captive, how those layers interact, and which parties are responsible for each of the three layers of the captive.  Stephani is a teacher by nature, and it really comes across in how simply she explains how captives work.

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.