Disruption Interruption podcast host and veteran communications
disruptor, Karla Jo Helms,
interviews Lauren Randall,
experienced Benefits Strategist Consultant with Marsh McLennan
Agency (MMA) — and learns emerging strategies to avoid overspending
on healthcare and empower individual employees to be advocates for
their healing.
TAMPA
BAY, Fla., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --
Roughly half (51.8%) of adults in the
United States have at least one diagnosed chronic condition
and 27.2% of U.S. adults have more than one.1 As the nation
struggles, our health insurance rates have risen by 215% over 20
years. During the same period between 2001 and 2021, the cumulative
rate of inflation was only about 57%.2 Meanwhile, as healthcare
costs soar to consume about 18% of GDP, wasteful spending accounts
for about 25%.3 Enter "stabilizing" disruptor Lauren Randall, Benefits Strategist Consultant
with MMA, who explains to Karla Jo
Helms, host of the Disruption Interruption podcast, that no
one cares about our health as much as we do, and it's essential to
be the CEO of our own healthcare. Lauren and MMA are making strides
with employers to better manage healthcare expenditures while
addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and
providing value and mission-aligned benefits to attract and keep
top talent.
At age 19, Lauren Randall was
diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Her doctor told her she would be on
medications for the rest of her life, that she might lose her hair,
and that it could be fatal. Her response was a resounding THAT'S IT
— I'M DONE WITH THE STATUS QUO, and she became CEO of her own
healthcare. Six months after extensive research and lifestyle
changes, doctors found no trace of the disease. Lauren took this
experience into her career in employee health benefits, helping
employers and employees trim unnecessary expenses as they balance
needs for comprehensive care, second opinions, and personal
responsibility.
Lauren explains:
- Outside of their salary, health insurance is the most important
thing to an employee.
- Over 50% of Americans have a chronic illness, and that figure
is up significantly.
- The whole concept of insurance is that the many will take care
of the few, but if so many of us are carrying chronic conditions,
it makes it a lot harder to make the numbers work. That is why
medical inflation increases yearly, and we struggle to maintain
healthcare costs.
- Almost 20% of America's GDP is healthcare, and that creates a
lot of inefficiencies and waste.
- In such a tight talent market, employers are hesitant to limit
health benefits or pass too much on to their employees. Health
benefits are also a conservative industry. However, there are
solutions emerging to limit waste and cut costs while maintaining a
high level of care.
- Technology can aggregate claims databases to track all of the
medical claims in an area to predict what a procedure may cost a
specific patient depending on their insurance plan — within 90%
accuracy. They can also deliver data on valued outcomes, like the
number of successful surgeries by a specific doctor. It's important
for employees to have the tools and resources to be powerful
consumers and make sure they are getting the right care from the
right providers to decrease costs and deliver desired
outcomes.
- The insurance industry is changing. Brokers used to create
policies and help employers manage them, but now employers also
face compliance and regulatory concerns. They need brokers who can
be consultants and advocates and continue to evolve with the market
and industry.
- Employers are now being called to talk about diversity, equity,
and inclusion. They need to talk about mental health employee
assistance programs, fertility benefits for employers trying to
attract women, and all of the issues visible in today's
landscape.
- Employers can also benefit from asking if their health benefits
are an extension of the mission, vision, and culture of their
organization. For any business that wants to attract and keep top
talent, they want to make sure that they have the best-in-class
resources and benefits.
- Productivity during the pandemic was higher for employers with
employees who aligned with the mission and vision of the
organization.
- The mission, vision, and culture of your organization can drive
lifestyle outcomes, maybe more than a wellness program, but they're
all tied together. Creating that culture around taking care of
people can improve productivity and decrease stress and
burnout.
Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you'll hear from
today's biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to
bring about change and how they overcome opposition to
adoption.
The show can be listened to via the Podbean app, and is
available on Apple's App Store and
Google Play.
About Disruption Interruption:
Disruption is happening on an unprecedented scale, impacting all
manner of industries — MedTech, Finance, IT, eCommerce, shipping
and logistics, and more — and COVID has moved their timelines up a
full decade or more. But WHO are these disruptors, and when did
they say, "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT!"? Time to Disrupt and Interrupt
with host Karla Jo "KJ" Helms, veteran communications disruptor. KJ
interviews bad a**es who are disrupting their industries and
altering economic networks that have become antiquated with an
establishment resistant to progress. She delves into uncovering
secrets from industry rebels and quiet revolutionaries that uncover
common traits — and not-so-common — that are changing our economic
markets… and lives. Visit the world's key pioneers that persist to
success, despite arrows in their backs at
http://www.disruptioninterruption.com.
About Karla Jo Helms:
Karla Jo Helms is the Chief
Evangelist and Anti-PR(TM) Strategist for JOTO PR
Disruptors(TM).
Karla Jo learned firsthand how
unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the
line — and how the control of public opinion often determines
whether one company is happily chosen or another is brutally
rejected. Being an alumni of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys,
private investigators, and the media to help restore companies of
goodwill back into the good graces of public opinion — Karla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it
right the first time, not relying on second chances and doing what
it takes to excel. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how
the PR industry itself has lost its way and how, in the right
hands, corporations can harness the power of Anti-PR to drive
markets and impact market perception.
About Lauren Randall:
Lauren Randall is an experienced
Benefits Strategist consulting with CFOs and CHROs on their people
and risk strategy. People are a company's most valuable asset, and
providing best-in-class health benefits is a trademark of the
investment management and tech industries. However, it can also
open up the opportunity for increased waste and abuse that does not
correlate to increased productivity and an elevated employee
experience. Abnormal market forces and an opaque business model
have contributed to this. Still, through technology, data, and
analytics available today, consultants can better ensure that every
dollar invested into human capital provides clients with a strong
return. https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenrandall1/
Lauren works CFOs and CHROs in the hedge fund and tech spaces.
When she started, she was having trouble getting her foot in the
door in a predominantly man's world. She reached out to C-suite
women in the hedge fund and financial services space and invited
them to coffee just to learn about the industry. As she met with
more C-suite women and heard their stories, she started asking if
they would like to meet other women in C-suite positions. This
became a tri-state and online networking community for women.
Currently free to join. Both emerging leaders and C-suite women
come together to mentor, nurture one another, and create business
growth. https://www.womentowomenexchange.com/. Lauren's views
expressed in this episode do not represent those of Marsh McLennan
Agency.
Sources:
1. Boersma P, Black LI, Ward BW. "Prevalence of Multiple Chronic
Conditions Among US Adults." 2018. Prev Chronic Dis.
2020;17:200130. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200130
2. Seefeldt, Becky. "A Bump In Insurance Premiums: What It Means
For 2022 And Beyond." Forbes, 4 Feb
2022,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/02/04/a-bump-in-insurance-premiums-what-it-means-for-2022-and-beyond/
3. Shrank, William H ; Rogstad, Teresa L; Parekh, Natasha. "Waste
in the US Health Care System: Estimated Costs and Potential for
Savings." JAMA. 2019 Oct 15;322(15):1501-1509. doi:
10.1001/jama.2019.13978,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31589283/
Media Contact
Karla Jo Helms, JoTo PR™,
727-777-4619, khelms@jotopr.com
Twitter
SOURCE Karla Jo Helms