{"podcast":{"title":"The Business of Benefits Podcast","slug":"the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252","podcast_index_feed_id":6744252,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6053731/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast--6053731","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/3f4968159bb4676248d8c564cea163f6.jpg","author":"Hi Hello Labs Network","episode_count":84,"summary":"For decades, employers have been fed a lie: “There’s nothing you can do to control healthcare costs.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. The system is doing exactly what it was designed to do—profit off of HR, CFOs, and CEOs who believe that lie year after year.With 180 million Americans relying on employer-sponsored healthcare, it’s time to challenge the status quo. The Business of Benefits is your No BS, No Sales guide to the real solutions. No gimmicks—just the truth about how to take control, transform your benefits, and care for your most valuable asset: your people.Each episode dives deep into the data, exposing industry misalignments and inefficiencies that inflate costs while offering actionable strategies for designing financially sustainable, high-value benefits.Through eye-opening interviews with industry insiders, expert analysis, and real-world success stories, hosts Donovan and Chelsea pull back the curtain on the hidden flaws in the healthcare system. The result? An empowering roadmap for employers ready to break free from outdated models and unlock smarter, more sustainable benefits.If you’re tired of the same old sales pitch and ready to rethink benefits, re…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T22:18:04.175830+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252"},"episode":{"title":"66. Self-Funding Explained in 60 MINUTES with Spencer Smith","slug":"66-self-funding-explained-in-60-minutes-with-spencer-smith","published_at":"2025-12-04T15:48:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/66-self-funding-explained-in-60-minutes-with-spencer-smith","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/66-self-funding-explained-in-60-minutes-with-spencer-smith--68549292","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68549292/episode_66_spencer_smith_full_episode.mp3","summary":"In this episode, Donovan Ryckis, CEO of Ethos Benefits, sits down with Spencer Smith (SVP of Sales at Pareto Health and host of Self-Funded with Spencer) to unpack captives, stop-loss, PBMs, and the steps plan sponsors can take to finally regain control of healthcare spend. Spencer shares how short, educational content helped bring self-funding concepts downstream, why captives act like “bumpers” against catastrophic renewals, and where employers should start: data access, pharmacy, and a long-term strategy. They cover real-world examples—NICU and oncology claims, lasers, biosimilars, international sourcing—and discuss why employee contributions keep rising when nothing seems to change. You’ll walk away with a framework to move from guaranteed cost to variable cost with discipline, reduce claims costs without cutting benefits, and ask your broker the questions that matter. What You’ll Learn: Self-funded fundamentals and the role of stop-loss How group captives improve predictability across renewals The first lever to pull: pharmacy strategy and data access Why “reduce claims” means smarter pricing and site-of-care, not less care Three questions every plan sponsor should ask at renewal: Why these solutions, specifically? How are you paid, where, and how often? What’s the long-term strategy beyond this 12-month cycle? POSIWID: the outcomes your system delivers define its true purpose Time Stamps: 00:00 – Welcome & Guest Introduction 02:10 – Spencer’s Journey into Self-Funding 06:20 – Breaking Down Stop-Loss & Captives 10:45 – Fully Insured vs Self-Funded Explained 15:12 – The 401(k) Analogy for Health Plans 19:20 – Why Short-Form Education Works in Benefits 24:05 – Pharmacy Costs & Where to Start Saving 28:48 – Broker Incentives and Transparency 34:32 – Data…","meta_description":"In this episode, Donovan Ryckis, CEO of Ethos Benefits, sits down with Spencer Smith (SVP of Sales at Pareto Health and host of Self-Funded with Spencer)…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2721,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/episodes/66-self-funding-explained-in-60-minutes-with-spencer-smith/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/66-self-funding-explained-in-60-minutes-with-spencer-smith.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}