{"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 An empowering roadmap for employers ready to break free from outdated models and unlock smarter, more sustainable benefits.If you’re tired of the same old sales pitch and ready to rethink benefits,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":"68. The Great American Healthcare Heist with Guest Chris Deacon","slug":"68-the-great-american-healthcare-heist-with-guest-chris-deacon","published_at":"2025-12-18T14:00:08+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/68-the-great-american-healthcare-heist-with-guest-chris-deacon","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/68-the-great-american-healthcare-heist-with-guest-chris-deacon--69110143","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69110143/ep68_chris_deacon.mp3","summary":"In this episode, Donovan and Chelsea sit down with Chris Deacon, a nationally known healthcare reform advocate, attorney, and former director of the State of New Jersey’s massive public sector health plan. Chris pulls back the curtain on how public and private employers are getting overcharged, how procurement and politics protect the status quo, and why nonprofit hospital systems often behave like for-profit empires. They break down real examples of claims, hospital contracts, and “negotiated” rates that actually drive prices higher, not lower. You will hear Chris unpack key themes from her new book The Great American Healthcare Heist: Why We’re Paying More and Getting Less, including nonprofit hospital expansion, fully insured versus self-funded plans, the hidden incentives of carriers and PBMs, compensation conflicts in the broker/consultant world, and why most claim review processes are built to fail employers. They also dig into gag clauses, CAA 2021, weak fiduciary enforcement, and how plan sponsors can start demanding data, transparency, and true accountability from everyone at the table. If you are a CFO, HR leader, benefits advisor, or plan sponsor who suspects you are getting crushed by a broken system but are not sure what to do next, this conversation will both infuriate you and give you a playbook to start pushing back. Get more on our Guest Chris at: Website: versanconsulting.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdeaconc/ -------------------------------- Whether you're an HR professional, CFO, CEO, or just tired of rising healthcare costs, this is your call to rethink benefits strategy and finally take control. Connect with Chelsea and Donovan: Website: www.businessofbenefitspodcast.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethoseffectpodcast/ Chelsea…","meta_description":"In this episode, Donovan and Chelsea sit down with Chris Deacon, a nationally known healthcare reform advocate, attorney, and former director of the State…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3236,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/episodes/68-the-great-american-healthcare-heist-with-guest-chris-deacon/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-6744252/68-the-great-american-healthcare-heist-with-guest-chris-deacon.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}