Okay … This clip, you could call it a reel, I guess, because kids these days; but I think it is a really important four or five minutes or whatever, because it’s my guest on the pod this week, Jonathan Baran, and next week, actually.
For a full transcript of this episode, click here.
If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter to be a member of the Relentless Tribe.
And Jonathan Baran makes a very important point, and this also comes up, by the way, in the show with John Lee, MD (EP438) from a couple of weeks ago: large consolidated health systems, large vertically integrated carriers, and their PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) and their GPOs (group purchasing organizations) in Switzerland or Ireland or whatever, and some of these large benefit consulting firms. The hundreds of thousands of folks who work in these places, some of them, for sure, are on board for the ride who don’t really care about their ultimate impact that they are having on patients, members, or the non-healthcare economy in the United States. That’s probably true.
It’s also probably true that the majority don’t actually understand what’s going on and the impact of their actions. But there definitely is a cohort—there’s a gang in there, and many of this gang listen to the show—and these folks are trying desperately against every personal incentive against lashback, against all odds, they’re trying to figure out how to get their organization to do a little bit better for patients or members or plan sponsors, actually, if we’re talking about anybody who works at some of these large benefit consulting firms.
We are not one with the stakeholder that we work with, and if the object is to do better by members and patients, it’s really incumbent on us to understand what is going on in our very own neck of the woods. We can’t improve if we don’t really understand what the problem is.
So, the conversation that follows is Jonathan Baran offering up a plea, really, on behalf of these folks (our “knights,” if you will) to please not generalize the intentions and values of everyone who works somewhere and assume that when a C-suite embarks on some margin-focused endeavor, that everybody who works at that place is in full agreement with that path.
That’s kind of like throwing babies out with bath water territory, and ultimately, we need as many on our side as we can get. I actually did a whole show on this called “The Narcissism of Small Differences” (INBW39). If you’re so inclined, please do go back and listen to it. Also, listen to the show with Larry Bauer, MSW, MEd. It was a Summer Short from a couple of years ago called “Knights, Knaves, and Pawns.”
My guest for this short segment is Jonathan Baran. He has always been a healthcare entrepreneur. Today he is co-founder and CEO of Self Fund Health, which is committed to challenging the expensive healthcare system in Wisconsin.
This episode is sponsored by Self Fund Health.
Also mentioned in this episode are Self Fund Health; John Lee, MD; Larry Bauer, MSW, MEd; and Tom Nash.
You can learn more at Self Fund Health and follow Jonathan on LinkedIn.
Jonathan Baran is a serial healthcare IT entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of Self Fund Health, a fast-growing health plan redefining how employers buy and manage healthcare. With a mission to eliminate waste and realign incentives in the healthcare system, Self Fund Health empowers employers to take control of rising costs by giving employees access to high-value providers at no cost, while replacing traditional insurance with real-time technology, dedicated nurses, and an aligned ecosystem of care.
Prior to founding Self Fund Health, Jonathan was the co-founder and CEO of Healthfinch, one of the pioneering companies to build apps on top of electronic medical records. Healthfinch automated routine workflows for physicians using clinical data, significantly improving efficiency and patient care. Under Jonathan’s leadership, Healthfinch raised over $15 million in venture capital and scaled to more than 50 employees. The company received national recognition, including being named a “Cool Vendor” by Gartner, a “Top Emerging Vendor” by KLAS, and one of Modern Healthcare’s “Best Places to Work.” In 2020, Healthfinch was acquired by HealthCatalyst.
Jonathan holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and continues to push the boundaries of innovation in employer-sponsored healthcare.
03:11 A brief background on Jonathan and Self Fund Health.
04:24 Why is it imperative that individuals stop identifying wholly with the organization that they work with?
05:48 Why is it important to be direct and call out the behavior without calling out the individual?
07:14 EP483 (Part 1) with Jonathan Baran.
Recent past interviews:
Click a guest’s name for their latest RHV episode!
Dr Stan Schwartz (Summer Shorts), Preston Alexander, Dr Tom X Lee (Take Two: EP445), Dr Tom X Lee (Bonus Episode), Dr Benjamin Schwartz, Dr John Lee (Take Two: EP438), Kimberly Carleson, Ann Lewandowski (Summer Shorts), Andreas Mang and Jon Camire (EP479), Justin Leader (Take Two: EP433), Andreas Mang and Jon Camire (EP478)