# Encore! EP450: When Your Health Plan Is $9 Million in the Hole, Who Are You Going to Call? A CPA. And Tell Them to Bring Their Spreadsheets, With Marilyn Bartlett, CPA, CMA, CFM, CGMA Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/relentless-health-value-872220/encore-ep450-when-your-health-plan-is-9-million-in-the-hole-who-are-you-going-to-call-a-cpa-and-tell-them-to-bring-their-spreadsheets-with-marilyn-bartlett-cpa-cma-cfm-cgma Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/relentless-health-value-872220/encore-ep450-when-your-health-plan-is-9-million-in-the-hole-who-are-you-going-to-call-a-cpa-and-tell-them-to-bring-their-spreadsheets-with-marilyn-bartlett-cpa-cma-cfm-cgma.md Podcast: [Relentless Health Value](https://stenobird.com/podcast/relentless-health-value-872220) Published: 2025-12-18T11:30:00+00:00 Episode link: https://cc-lnk.com/EncoreEP450 Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/healthvalue/RHV_EP450_Encore_Marilyn_Bartlett.mp3?dest-id=197686 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/relentless-health-value-872220/episodes/encore-ep450-when-your-health-plan-is-9-million-in-the-hole-who-are-you-going-to-call-a-cpa-and-tell-them-to-bring-their-spreadsheets-with-marilyn-bartlett-cpa-cma-cfm-cgma Duration seconds: 2104 ## Resource In this encore episode of 'Relentlessly Seeking Value,' host Stacey Richter revisits an inspiring conversation with Marilyn Bartlett, a CPA who transformed the State of Montana's employee health plan from a $9 million deficit to a $112 million surplus within three years. Known for her fiscal discipline and patient-first approach, Marilyn shares her strategic steps, from identifying waste in the system and securing quick wins to negotiating better deals with hospitals and ensuring long-term success. She emphasizes the importance of assembling a strong team, maintaining transparency, and staying focused on the ultimate goal of creating real health value. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to drive meaningful change in the healthcare industry. === LINKS === πŸ”— Show Notes with all mentioned links: https://cc-lnk.com/EncoreEP450 βœ‰οΈ Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter: https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/join-the-relentless-tribe πŸ«™ Support the podcast with a small donation to the Tip Jar: https://relentlesshealthvalue.com/join-the-relentless-tribe 🎀 Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feed/id892082003?ls=1 🎀 Listen on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6UjgzI7bScDrWvZEk2f46b πŸ“Ί Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@RelentlessHealthValue === CONNECT WITH THE RHV TEAM === ✭ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/relentless-health-value/ ✭ Threads https://www.threads.net/@relentlesshealthvalue/ ✭ Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/relentleshealth.bsky.social ✭ X https://twitter.com/relentleshealth/ 07:09 What gave Marilyn the confidence to fix Montana's state health plan? 08:35 Why Marilyn knew she would have enough power to make the changes needed in Montana's state health plan. 09:35 What Mar… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/relentless-health-value-872220/episodes/encore-ep450-when-your-health-plan-is-9-million-in-the-hole-who-are-you-going-to-call-a-cpa-and-tell-them-to-bring-their-spreadsheets-with-marilyn-bartlett-cpa-cma-cfm-cgma/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/relentless-health-value-872220/encore-ep450-when-your-health-plan-is-9-million-in-the-hole-who-are-you-going-to-call-a-cpa-and-tell-them-to-bring-their-spreadsheets-with-marilyn-bartlett-cpa-cma-cfm-cgma.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.