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See you in Chicago. 24 00:01:06,239 --> 00:01:08,959 Welcome everyone to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 25 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,834 I'm Mohammed, writer and moderator with Becker's Healthcare. 26 00:01:12,215 --> 00:01:14,055 I'm thrilled to have with me today Boyd 27 00:01:14,055 --> 00:01:16,694 Faust, chief strategy officer at GoHealth Urgent Care 28 00:01:16,694 --> 00:01:18,534 and a newly elected member of the board 29 00:01:18,534 --> 00:01:21,334 of directors for the Urgent Care Association. Boyd, 30 00:01:21,334 --> 00:01:23,334 welcome to the Becker's Healthcare podcast. We're very 31 00:01:23,334 --> 00:01:25,400 excited to have to have you today. To 32 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,079 get us started, would you mind please introducing 33 00:01:27,079 --> 00:01:28,520 yourself and telling us a bit about your 34 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:29,020 background? 35 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,400 You bet. My name is Boyd Faust, and 36 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:33,900 I'm the strategy officer at GoHealth Urgent Care. 37 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,280 GoHealth is a provider of on demand care. 38 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:37,340 We operate about 39 00:01:37,805 --> 00:01:40,924 280 urgent care centers nationwide with health systems, 40 00:01:40,924 --> 00:01:42,465 and we also provide telehealth. 41 00:01:43,004 --> 00:01:45,245 We partner with major health systems to kinda 42 00:01:45,245 --> 00:01:45,745 tackle 43 00:01:46,204 --> 00:01:48,305 long standing issues in health care, especially 44 00:01:48,685 --> 00:01:50,224 access, cost, and quality. 45 00:01:51,229 --> 00:01:53,469 I've been with GoHealth for 11 years and 46 00:01:53,469 --> 00:01:56,189 actually part of the initial operating team. I've 47 00:01:56,189 --> 00:01:58,909 served in various roles there, CFO, COO, and 48 00:01:58,909 --> 00:01:59,890 compliance officer. 49 00:02:00,509 --> 00:02:03,329 And my current position focuses on working with 50 00:02:03,745 --> 00:02:05,685 health system partners to develop 51 00:02:05,984 --> 00:02:09,925 sustainable relationships with national and local payers 52 00:02:10,384 --> 00:02:12,145 that bring value and promote the use of 53 00:02:12,145 --> 00:02:15,685 urgent care for low and moderate acuity illnesses 54 00:02:15,745 --> 00:02:18,324 and injuries when and where patients need it. 55 00:02:18,650 --> 00:02:20,409 Stepping back a bit, I've I've worked in 56 00:02:20,409 --> 00:02:22,510 health care for over 35 years. 57 00:02:23,370 --> 00:02:25,710 I've been on the hospital health system side, 58 00:02:25,930 --> 00:02:27,150 freestanding ambulatory 59 00:02:27,610 --> 00:02:29,930 care side, and on the consulting side of 60 00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:31,310 health care with, 61 00:02:31,645 --> 00:02:32,625 I think, a focus 62 00:02:33,085 --> 00:02:34,944 mostly in the last half of my career 63 00:02:35,245 --> 00:02:37,965 on patient access to care settings that truly 64 00:02:37,965 --> 00:02:38,465 optimize 65 00:02:38,844 --> 00:02:40,465 affordable quality of care. 66 00:02:40,764 --> 00:02:42,764 And my first introduction to urgent care was 67 00:02:42,764 --> 00:02:44,925 actually back in the nineties helping develop and 68 00:02:44,925 --> 00:02:46,384 manage an urgent care center. 69 00:02:46,770 --> 00:02:48,743 Board of directors of the urgent care association 70 00:02:48,743 --> 00:02:49,572 where I will work with my fellow board 71 00:02:49,572 --> 00:02:49,822 members to even be more involved than I 72 00:02:49,822 --> 00:02:50,550 currently am in advocating for urgent care providers 73 00:02:50,610 --> 00:02:53,189 to the payers of health care services. 74 00:03:02,985 --> 00:03:05,405 We we want payers to recognize the differentiated 75 00:03:05,705 --> 00:03:08,104 role and value that urgent care brings to 76 00:03:08,104 --> 00:03:09,405 the health care continuum. 77 00:03:10,344 --> 00:03:12,584 Being in health care services for for all 78 00:03:12,584 --> 00:03:14,685 my career and currently in urgent care, 79 00:03:15,370 --> 00:03:17,530 I understand some of the challenges that many 80 00:03:17,530 --> 00:03:19,530 participants in health care are facing, and I'm 81 00:03:19,530 --> 00:03:21,950 putting my energy into improving the relationship 82 00:03:22,409 --> 00:03:25,210 with commercial insurance payers, which I consider to 83 00:03:25,210 --> 00:03:26,349 be the most critical 84 00:03:26,650 --> 00:03:28,030 factor in the future 85 00:03:28,375 --> 00:03:30,534 success of urgent care and the broader health 86 00:03:30,534 --> 00:03:31,914 care industry as a whole. 87 00:03:33,014 --> 00:03:35,495 Specifically, I'm working to promote and expand urgent 88 00:03:35,495 --> 00:03:39,254 care provider payer arrangements by creating value based 89 00:03:39,254 --> 00:03:39,995 care models 90 00:03:40,375 --> 00:03:42,694 that demonstrate the benefit that urgent care brings 91 00:03:42,694 --> 00:03:44,740 to health insurance plans and especially 92 00:03:45,199 --> 00:03:47,360 to to the members and employers, the ones 93 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,120 who actually pay for most of the health 94 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:50,259 care in the United States. 95 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,199 Wonderful. Thank you so much for giving us 96 00:03:53,199 --> 00:03:56,159 that overview about your background. It's definitely helpful, 97 00:03:56,159 --> 00:03:58,115 especially to know a bit more about you, 98 00:03:58,355 --> 00:04:00,435 with this conversation that we're having. So the 99 00:04:00,435 --> 00:04:02,115 next question I really wanted to ask you 100 00:04:02,115 --> 00:04:03,655 is with all your experience, 101 00:04:04,034 --> 00:04:06,115 and your busyness, I'm sure, what are some 102 00:04:06,115 --> 00:04:08,275 of the biggest issues you're following in health 103 00:04:08,275 --> 00:04:09,335 care this year, 104 00:04:10,115 --> 00:04:11,735 and head into the next year? 105 00:04:12,439 --> 00:04:15,239 You know, it's it's interesting. I think every 106 00:04:15,239 --> 00:04:17,399 time this this time of year in late 107 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:17,899 July, 108 00:04:18,439 --> 00:04:20,919 I think about the both 2 things, the 109 00:04:20,919 --> 00:04:23,240 benefit design changes that are gonna happen with 110 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:24,779 commercial health insurance plans 111 00:04:25,425 --> 00:04:28,084 and Medicare rate changes. And both those, 112 00:04:28,544 --> 00:04:30,165 you know, change and start 113 00:04:30,865 --> 00:04:32,964 new January 1st each year. 114 00:04:33,345 --> 00:04:36,384 Most of the countries commercially insured and and 115 00:04:36,384 --> 00:04:38,324 small changes to member benefits 116 00:04:38,910 --> 00:04:41,790 impact their decisions when faced with unexpected health 117 00:04:41,790 --> 00:04:42,449 care needs. 118 00:04:43,470 --> 00:04:44,290 I specifically 119 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:47,470 watch for changes in health insurance members' cost 120 00:04:47,470 --> 00:04:48,689 share responsibility 121 00:04:49,069 --> 00:04:51,550 for the benefit design. Not only just for 122 00:04:51,550 --> 00:04:53,330 urgent care benefits, but also 123 00:04:53,754 --> 00:04:57,035 urgent care urgent care's cost share relative to, 124 00:04:57,035 --> 00:04:59,855 like, emergency room and primary care settings. 125 00:05:00,475 --> 00:05:02,714 Cost share includes, of course, the normal items 126 00:05:02,714 --> 00:05:04,735 of co pays, coinsurance, and deductibles. 127 00:05:05,435 --> 00:05:08,800 And when patients make decisions about which setting 128 00:05:09,180 --> 00:05:12,079 to use for an episodic need for care, 129 00:05:12,220 --> 00:05:14,300 they make a choice between 1 or all 130 00:05:14,300 --> 00:05:15,519 all these three settings 131 00:05:15,980 --> 00:05:17,980 and thus going to their pre CP or 132 00:05:17,980 --> 00:05:21,055 the closest emergency room is a consideration that 133 00:05:21,055 --> 00:05:23,694 I watch in these design changes for benefit 134 00:05:23,694 --> 00:05:24,194 design. 135 00:05:24,574 --> 00:05:26,735 We find that this benefit design of patients' 136 00:05:26,735 --> 00:05:28,274 cost share can significantly 137 00:05:29,055 --> 00:05:31,134 make a difference in how patients choose their 138 00:05:31,134 --> 00:05:32,355 setting of health care. 139 00:05:32,709 --> 00:05:35,669 Because patients may have trouble discerning the quality 140 00:05:35,669 --> 00:05:38,329 of their care, but they have no problem 141 00:05:38,550 --> 00:05:40,709 in understanding a dollar amount assigned to a 142 00:05:40,709 --> 00:05:42,409 decision on the setting of care. 143 00:05:43,110 --> 00:05:45,430 As part of the benefit design, we look 144 00:05:45,430 --> 00:05:47,289 at also the benefit tiers, 145 00:05:47,794 --> 00:05:49,254 which have tier 1 providers 146 00:05:49,634 --> 00:05:52,055 favored with a lower cost share than, say, 147 00:05:52,274 --> 00:05:54,055 tier 2 and tier 3 providers. 148 00:05:54,595 --> 00:05:57,175 Thus, I'm looking to see at the see 149 00:05:57,235 --> 00:06:00,214 who's in tier 1 and whether we, GoHealth, 150 00:06:00,274 --> 00:06:03,014 is actually grouped in that tier whenever possible. 151 00:06:03,479 --> 00:06:04,120 And this 152 00:06:04,439 --> 00:06:07,079 these tier 1 providers are often narrower networks 153 00:06:07,079 --> 00:06:10,279 that focus on on name brand providers with 154 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,180 a reputation for quality and cost effective care. 155 00:06:13,399 --> 00:06:14,620 If you as a provider 156 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,845 are included in those preferred brands as a 157 00:06:17,845 --> 00:06:20,084 tier one provider, then great. But if you're 158 00:06:20,084 --> 00:06:22,004 not, the patient must pay more for the 159 00:06:22,004 --> 00:06:24,425 use of of a of a provider services, 160 00:06:24,485 --> 00:06:27,044 and patients often choose not to go to 161 00:06:27,044 --> 00:06:28,504 these more costly providers. 162 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,020 And when these providers are moved from, say, 163 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:34,199 tier 1 to to tier 2 or 2 164 00:06:34,199 --> 00:06:36,759 3 at the beginning of the year, those 165 00:06:36,759 --> 00:06:40,120 providers experience an overnight drop in utilization, which 166 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,020 significantly affects their bottom line. So, fortunately, 167 00:06:44,215 --> 00:06:46,375 collaborating with payers and our health system partners 168 00:06:46,375 --> 00:06:48,615 on value based care has allowed GoHealth to 169 00:06:48,615 --> 00:06:52,055 predominantly become a tier one provider and remain 170 00:06:52,055 --> 00:06:54,955 viable in that health care continuum with patients. 171 00:06:55,574 --> 00:06:57,019 Like Like I mentioned earlier, there's a there's 172 00:06:57,019 --> 00:06:58,379 a second item that I look at, which 173 00:06:58,379 --> 00:07:01,180 is Medicare rates. And and as usual, in 174 00:07:01,180 --> 00:07:03,899 July of each year, CMS publishes the the 175 00:07:03,899 --> 00:07:06,479 proposed rate changes for the next calendar year, 176 00:07:06,779 --> 00:07:09,680 including the Medicare physician fee schedule changes. 177 00:07:10,064 --> 00:07:13,824 And those impact nonfacility providers like physician practices 178 00:07:13,824 --> 00:07:15,205 and urgent care like us. 179 00:07:16,064 --> 00:07:19,504 Commercial payers watch and closely follow these these 180 00:07:19,504 --> 00:07:23,210 CMS proposals and the resulting final final decision 181 00:07:23,589 --> 00:07:26,629 because certain health insurance reimbursement for physicians and 182 00:07:26,629 --> 00:07:27,449 urgent cares 183 00:07:27,910 --> 00:07:29,689 are tied to the CMS rates. 184 00:07:30,230 --> 00:07:32,389 And even if the insurance plan reimbursement is 185 00:07:32,389 --> 00:07:34,710 not directly tied to CMS, the rest of 186 00:07:34,710 --> 00:07:37,125 the payer reimbursement arrangements at least consider them 187 00:07:37,125 --> 00:07:41,064 or recalibrate to them. With inflation running high, 188 00:07:41,524 --> 00:07:44,084 especially in health care industry, these annual rate 189 00:07:44,084 --> 00:07:45,064 changes to reimbursement 190 00:07:45,444 --> 00:07:48,404 determine whether profit margins will, you know, erode, 191 00:07:48,404 --> 00:07:50,824 stay the same, or actually improve for providers. 192 00:07:51,689 --> 00:07:54,830 And this commercial insurance ripple effect by CMS 193 00:07:55,290 --> 00:07:58,330 thus determines the financial viability or or the 194 00:07:58,330 --> 00:08:01,069 fate of urgent care centers and physician practices. 195 00:08:02,009 --> 00:08:04,250 I guess my last note of this is 196 00:08:04,250 --> 00:08:06,170 that the the payer rate changes have not 197 00:08:06,170 --> 00:08:07,595 kept pace with inflation 198 00:08:08,214 --> 00:08:11,175 so far with CMS. The annual CMS rate, 199 00:08:11,175 --> 00:08:13,894 also known as the conversion factor, has hovered 200 00:08:13,894 --> 00:08:15,574 around the same for the last few years 201 00:08:15,574 --> 00:08:16,235 and actually 202 00:08:16,535 --> 00:08:17,754 decreased in 2024. 203 00:08:18,535 --> 00:08:21,115 And then 2025 was just announced like clockwork, 204 00:08:21,910 --> 00:08:23,830 a couple weeks ago and is no exception 205 00:08:23,830 --> 00:08:25,210 to this negative trend. 206 00:08:25,589 --> 00:08:28,730 The the CMS proposed conversion factor dropped 2.8%, 207 00:08:29,670 --> 00:08:31,830 which is another challenge to the to the 208 00:08:31,830 --> 00:08:33,669 health care industry and the leaders that that 209 00:08:33,669 --> 00:08:34,649 have to run it. 210 00:08:35,644 --> 00:08:37,565 Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for sharing 211 00:08:37,565 --> 00:08:40,045 all that important information. It definitely seems like 212 00:08:40,045 --> 00:08:42,445 a lot is at stake. Is there anything 213 00:08:42,445 --> 00:08:44,445 that you are most excited about or anything 214 00:08:44,445 --> 00:08:46,524 that's making you nervous, whether it's anything you're 215 00:08:46,524 --> 00:08:49,725 dealing with, Echol Health or anything else that 216 00:08:49,725 --> 00:08:50,865 you're seeing in the news? 217 00:08:51,620 --> 00:08:54,019 You know, it's it's it's interesting. I think 218 00:08:54,019 --> 00:08:56,100 the the thing I'm most excited about is 219 00:08:56,100 --> 00:08:57,700 also the same same thing that makes me 220 00:08:57,700 --> 00:08:59,960 nervous. You know, for the first time, 221 00:09:00,659 --> 00:09:02,600 providers can actually see reimbursement 222 00:09:03,059 --> 00:09:05,779 rates paid to other providers by health insurance 223 00:09:05,779 --> 00:09:06,279 companies 224 00:09:06,684 --> 00:09:08,704 under the new transparency rules, 225 00:09:09,245 --> 00:09:11,105 which went into effect a couple years ago. 226 00:09:11,644 --> 00:09:13,745 And that makes me both excited and nervous. 227 00:09:14,044 --> 00:09:15,565 You know, even though it was mandated a 228 00:09:15,565 --> 00:09:17,424 couple years ago, this transparency 229 00:09:18,284 --> 00:09:20,909 has been pretty cloudy and blurred up until 230 00:09:20,909 --> 00:09:23,169 recently, and it still needs some improvement. 231 00:09:24,110 --> 00:09:26,350 But but it's it's it's been improved as 232 00:09:26,350 --> 00:09:29,809 payers, and and the new price transparency companies 233 00:09:30,350 --> 00:09:32,190 have gone through a process of trying to 234 00:09:32,190 --> 00:09:35,014 fix data gaps and organizing this data to 235 00:09:35,014 --> 00:09:36,715 make it a little more user friendly. 236 00:09:37,495 --> 00:09:38,934 You know, I'm excited because this is an 237 00:09:38,934 --> 00:09:41,254 opportunity to understand where our reimbursement stands in 238 00:09:41,254 --> 00:09:44,054 comparison to other providers for urgent care services 239 00:09:44,054 --> 00:09:46,075 in the various markets that we serve. 240 00:09:46,409 --> 00:09:47,549 But I'm also nervous 241 00:09:47,929 --> 00:09:49,850 to see the results and to know how 242 00:09:49,850 --> 00:09:50,509 we compare 243 00:09:50,970 --> 00:09:54,250 because understanding these results presents challenges and risks 244 00:09:54,250 --> 00:09:55,929 whether we're at the top or at the 245 00:09:55,929 --> 00:09:56,990 bottom of the range. 246 00:09:57,610 --> 00:10:00,329 Knowing that the payers and competitors also have 247 00:10:00,329 --> 00:10:01,389 access to this 248 00:10:01,690 --> 00:10:02,190 information 249 00:10:02,785 --> 00:10:05,524 creates more a more competitive rate environment, 250 00:10:05,904 --> 00:10:08,544 which impacts negotiations and discussions with payers and 251 00:10:08,544 --> 00:10:09,044 potentially 252 00:10:09,585 --> 00:10:11,445 risks a degree of commoditization 253 00:10:12,144 --> 00:10:12,884 of rate. 254 00:10:13,585 --> 00:10:16,320 The result of this transparency is causing and 255 00:10:16,399 --> 00:10:18,660 and will cause and should cause a shift 256 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,279 and an emphasis more on the value that 257 00:10:21,279 --> 00:10:23,539 health care providers actually offer. 258 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:25,759 So if if we're closer to the higher 259 00:10:25,759 --> 00:10:27,940 end of the range or desire to be, 260 00:10:28,415 --> 00:10:29,315 we must demonstrate, 261 00:10:29,695 --> 00:10:32,175 in my mind, why our services are worth 262 00:10:32,175 --> 00:10:33,154 that higher value. 263 00:10:34,014 --> 00:10:35,235 Fortunately for us, 264 00:10:35,774 --> 00:10:37,774 for the last 7 years, GoHealth's been involved 265 00:10:37,774 --> 00:10:40,254 in programs that create value for the patients 266 00:10:40,254 --> 00:10:41,315 as well as payers. 267 00:10:41,929 --> 00:10:44,009 We see this new price transparency as an 268 00:10:44,009 --> 00:10:46,809 opportunity to show payers how we're different and 269 00:10:46,809 --> 00:10:48,889 the value we and our health system partners 270 00:10:48,889 --> 00:10:49,389 bring. 271 00:10:50,169 --> 00:10:51,949 We call this value based care, 272 00:10:52,730 --> 00:10:54,809 but but these value based care programs range 273 00:10:54,809 --> 00:10:55,309 from 274 00:10:55,615 --> 00:10:59,134 proactively engaging with patients to educate them about 275 00:10:59,134 --> 00:11:00,674 more affordable and convenient 276 00:11:01,375 --> 00:11:03,235 options other than the ED 277 00:11:03,934 --> 00:11:05,955 to practicing antibiotic stewardship. 278 00:11:06,815 --> 00:11:09,054 Most of our value based care programs focus 279 00:11:09,054 --> 00:11:10,595 on shifting patient behavior 280 00:11:11,149 --> 00:11:13,570 to embrace a lower cost, high quality alternative 281 00:11:13,710 --> 00:11:15,090 offered by urgent care. 282 00:11:15,549 --> 00:11:18,289 In addition, our programs in chronic disease identification 283 00:11:18,429 --> 00:11:21,970 and monitoring in cooperation with PCPs create preventative 284 00:11:22,190 --> 00:11:24,690 health value recognized by the payers. 285 00:11:25,355 --> 00:11:27,274 The the value based care programs create not 286 00:11:27,274 --> 00:11:29,915 only immediate savings for that episode that the 287 00:11:29,915 --> 00:11:31,055 patient comes in for, 288 00:11:31,434 --> 00:11:34,555 but long term benefits for that insured member 289 00:11:34,555 --> 00:11:36,415 and their health health care payer. 290 00:11:37,274 --> 00:11:38,955 And then I think I'd be remiss to 291 00:11:38,955 --> 00:11:40,235 say that not that 292 00:11:41,059 --> 00:11:41,879 to say that everyone 293 00:11:42,820 --> 00:11:43,959 in health care leadership 294 00:11:44,339 --> 00:11:46,839 is justifiably nervous and concerned about the inflationary 295 00:11:46,899 --> 00:11:49,379 cost overall of health care. And and this 296 00:11:49,379 --> 00:11:51,220 really deals with the 2 big operating cost 297 00:11:51,220 --> 00:11:52,839 categories of payroll and supplies. 298 00:11:53,845 --> 00:11:55,524 It'll be interesting to see where this cost 299 00:11:55,524 --> 00:11:56,264 trend goes 300 00:11:56,644 --> 00:11:59,205 because I don't see any end in sight 301 00:11:59,205 --> 00:12:01,365 with the with the limited number of providers 302 00:12:01,365 --> 00:12:02,424 and clinical staff, 303 00:12:03,125 --> 00:12:05,445 in this country not able to meet patient 304 00:12:05,445 --> 00:12:06,424 demand currently, 305 00:12:06,884 --> 00:12:09,820 and the shrinking workforce as burnout continues to 306 00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:11,919 weigh on those more senior clinicians. 307 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:14,860 I'm I'm nervous about this because it impacts 308 00:12:14,860 --> 00:12:17,899 margins and profitability both in our company and 309 00:12:17,899 --> 00:12:20,299 the overall health care industry. And this puts 310 00:12:20,299 --> 00:12:23,355 a a further strain on existing providers such 311 00:12:23,355 --> 00:12:26,454 as such as, you know, such as us. 312 00:12:26,834 --> 00:12:28,995 And because if others are not able to 313 00:12:28,995 --> 00:12:29,814 stay in business, 314 00:12:30,274 --> 00:12:32,595 that that business and that access to care 315 00:12:32,595 --> 00:12:33,654 gets even tougher. 316 00:12:34,929 --> 00:12:37,490 Yeah. Yeah. That completely makes sense. And and, 317 00:12:37,490 --> 00:12:39,009 Boyd, before I let you go, the last 318 00:12:39,009 --> 00:12:40,450 thing I wanted to ask you, and you 319 00:12:40,450 --> 00:12:42,230 might have touched on in a bit already. 320 00:12:42,690 --> 00:12:44,450 But what would the most effective health care 321 00:12:44,450 --> 00:12:46,769 leaders need in order to be successful in 322 00:12:46,769 --> 00:12:48,210 the next 2 to 3 years, do you 323 00:12:48,210 --> 00:12:48,710 think? 324 00:12:49,855 --> 00:12:51,455 You know, when I think about this, I 325 00:12:51,455 --> 00:12:53,695 I think there's there's probably foundational items and 326 00:12:53,695 --> 00:12:56,575 there's, like, that are required, and then there's 327 00:12:56,575 --> 00:12:58,975 probably other items. But I think of I 328 00:12:58,975 --> 00:13:01,295 think of 3 areas. 1 is attracting and 329 00:13:01,295 --> 00:13:02,274 retaining providers. 330 00:13:02,815 --> 00:13:05,590 The other is, like I mentioned earlier, collaborating 331 00:13:05,649 --> 00:13:08,710 with payers, and then finally, attracting patients. 332 00:13:09,169 --> 00:13:10,929 And so if I hit all 3 of 333 00:13:10,929 --> 00:13:13,669 these, attracting and retaining providers, I mean, 334 00:13:14,529 --> 00:13:16,529 this is foundational because you've gotta be able 335 00:13:16,529 --> 00:13:18,850 to provide the health care service. So leaders 336 00:13:18,850 --> 00:13:20,284 must attract and 337 00:13:20,664 --> 00:13:23,304 retain retain providers and the support personnel that 338 00:13:23,304 --> 00:13:25,245 go with them. So when I say providers, 339 00:13:25,304 --> 00:13:27,625 I I mean, not only physicians, but advanced 340 00:13:27,625 --> 00:13:29,485 practitioners like PAs and NPs 341 00:13:29,865 --> 00:13:31,784 who are essential to delivering care these days. 342 00:13:31,784 --> 00:13:34,024 And without them, we would be actually in 343 00:13:34,024 --> 00:13:36,259 much worse shape as as an industry. 344 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,279 So, you know, fun fundamentally, we're in the 345 00:13:39,279 --> 00:13:41,120 service business, not the product business. So thus, 346 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:43,120 we deliver all of our services through these 347 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,580 people that we're talking about. 348 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,980 With current foreseeable few and future type pool 349 00:13:49,174 --> 00:13:52,214 type pools of providers and supporting clinicians, a 350 00:13:52,214 --> 00:13:53,975 leader must be able to show why their 351 00:13:53,975 --> 00:13:56,694 company, in my mind, is is a preferred 352 00:13:56,694 --> 00:13:58,214 place to work and why working there is 353 00:13:58,214 --> 00:14:00,634 a better experience compared to their competitors. 354 00:14:01,449 --> 00:14:02,970 And and and you have to do something 355 00:14:02,970 --> 00:14:05,049 that sets you apart from just the your 356 00:14:05,049 --> 00:14:06,970 competitors above and beyond just paying, like, an 357 00:14:06,970 --> 00:14:08,990 extra dollar or 2 in compensation 358 00:14:09,610 --> 00:14:10,669 hourly or whatever. 359 00:14:11,850 --> 00:14:14,595 So so these kind of items are are 360 00:14:14,595 --> 00:14:16,834 things like higher quality of care that your 361 00:14:16,834 --> 00:14:19,794 company provides or a better environment to work 362 00:14:19,794 --> 00:14:20,615 in or, 363 00:14:20,995 --> 00:14:23,894 say, in a more enriched experience the employee 364 00:14:23,955 --> 00:14:24,774 has through 365 00:14:25,075 --> 00:14:27,394 the technology and support tools that you give 366 00:14:27,394 --> 00:14:28,054 that person. 367 00:14:28,709 --> 00:14:30,870 But the what I see is the workforce 368 00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:32,870 is looking for meaning in their role at 369 00:14:32,870 --> 00:14:35,189 work and chooses health care companies that meet 370 00:14:35,189 --> 00:14:36,490 or exceed that standard. 371 00:14:36,870 --> 00:14:39,509 And and we found at GoHealth that that 372 00:14:39,509 --> 00:14:41,829 providing value based care is one of the 373 00:14:41,829 --> 00:14:42,329 differentiators 374 00:14:42,904 --> 00:14:45,225 since this demonstrates that our company looks beyond 375 00:14:45,225 --> 00:14:46,524 just the patient's current 376 00:14:46,904 --> 00:14:49,384 episodic care need and thinks to the whole 377 00:14:49,384 --> 00:14:51,705 patient's quality of quality of health and their 378 00:14:51,705 --> 00:14:53,245 financial stability, frankly. 379 00:14:53,785 --> 00:14:55,304 And then the the second thing I mentioned 380 00:14:55,304 --> 00:14:56,904 was collaborate with payers. I mentioned it a 381 00:14:56,904 --> 00:14:57,725 little earlier, 382 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,679 but those companies that succeed will have, like, 383 00:15:00,679 --> 00:15:03,800 savvy and creative leaders who'll develop partnerships with 384 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,220 payers that are known as value based care. 385 00:15:06,279 --> 00:15:07,899 They'll look beyond the routine 386 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,225 transactional delivery of fee schedules between the the 387 00:15:12,225 --> 00:15:14,304 the the payer and the provider each year 388 00:15:14,304 --> 00:15:17,904 and actually develop meaningful delve into and develop 389 00:15:17,904 --> 00:15:18,404 meaningful, 390 00:15:19,585 --> 00:15:22,964 drivers to increase quality and reduce unnecessary cost. 391 00:15:23,919 --> 00:15:26,399 This will allow for more meaningful collaborations with 392 00:15:26,399 --> 00:15:29,299 payers to to share in the value created 393 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,000 in order to receive better reimbursement than the 394 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,879 average provider company. And this will allow those 395 00:15:34,879 --> 00:15:36,100 collaborative providers 396 00:15:36,534 --> 00:15:38,215 to actually keep up with the challenge of 397 00:15:38,215 --> 00:15:40,695 rising payroll costs referred to earlier and still 398 00:15:40,695 --> 00:15:41,434 make a profit. 399 00:15:42,294 --> 00:15:44,294 And then finally, you know, attracting the patient, 400 00:15:44,294 --> 00:15:45,815 because if you can if you have the 401 00:15:45,815 --> 00:15:47,495 other 2 and you don't have patients, you 402 00:15:47,495 --> 00:15:48,634 really don't have a business. 403 00:15:49,254 --> 00:15:52,389 And with consumers having health insurance, most consumers 404 00:15:52,389 --> 00:15:53,370 having health insurance, 405 00:15:53,670 --> 00:15:56,410 patients have a wide variety of options when 406 00:15:56,549 --> 00:15:58,790 choosing health care providers, in our case, urgent 407 00:15:58,790 --> 00:15:59,529 care providers. 408 00:16:00,070 --> 00:16:02,389 So it's important for leaders to differentiate their 409 00:16:02,389 --> 00:16:05,045 company's service from its competitors in order to 410 00:16:05,045 --> 00:16:06,264 help attract patients 411 00:16:06,644 --> 00:16:08,245 to the point of selecting them as a 412 00:16:08,245 --> 00:16:08,745 preferred 413 00:16:09,125 --> 00:16:10,745 provider for their health care needs. 414 00:16:11,125 --> 00:16:12,805 You know, at Giddle Health, we've not only 415 00:16:12,805 --> 00:16:15,205 applied the the value based cost and quality 416 00:16:15,205 --> 00:16:17,840 programs to attract the patient that I mentioned 417 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,759 earlier, but we've also joined with our health 418 00:16:19,759 --> 00:16:22,639 system partners to invest in patient engagement tools 419 00:16:22,639 --> 00:16:24,960 that make the make the create a more 420 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,620 seamless experience for our patients to come in. 421 00:16:28,585 --> 00:16:31,164 While patients may switch payers every couple years, 422 00:16:31,625 --> 00:16:33,865 health care providers have the ability every day 423 00:16:33,865 --> 00:16:36,424 to actually create trust with patients for a 424 00:16:36,424 --> 00:16:36,924 lifetime 425 00:16:37,384 --> 00:16:39,384 relationship of caring for them and their family 426 00:16:39,384 --> 00:16:39,884 members. 427 00:16:40,659 --> 00:16:42,840 And so I I really consider all 3 428 00:16:42,980 --> 00:16:44,659 of those focus areas to be essential, not 429 00:16:44,659 --> 00:16:46,759 only to keeping them keeping the lights on, 430 00:16:46,820 --> 00:16:50,279 but to thrive profitably. And those profits 431 00:16:51,299 --> 00:16:54,600 allow leaders the funding to invest in technology 432 00:16:55,404 --> 00:16:58,764 and also serve the evolving services model that's 433 00:16:58,764 --> 00:17:00,845 surely to be demanded by the empowered patient 434 00:17:00,845 --> 00:17:01,585 in the future. 435 00:17:02,764 --> 00:17:04,365 And, overall, I just say health care is 436 00:17:04,365 --> 00:17:04,865 complex, 437 00:17:05,724 --> 00:17:07,404 but we must strive to do whatever we 438 00:17:07,404 --> 00:17:07,904 can 439 00:17:08,285 --> 00:17:10,305 in our individual parts of the continuum 440 00:17:11,049 --> 00:17:12,750 to to to make it as sustainable 441 00:17:13,049 --> 00:17:15,450 as possible and focus on these three areas 442 00:17:15,450 --> 00:17:16,269 to be successful. 443 00:17:16,890 --> 00:17:19,210 In in in my case, that part of 444 00:17:19,210 --> 00:17:21,390 the health care continuum for GoHealth is serving 445 00:17:21,769 --> 00:17:23,470 patients for on demand care. 446 00:17:24,654 --> 00:17:27,454 Wow. What amazing advice for these organizations to 447 00:17:27,454 --> 00:17:29,055 take. Thank you so much for giving us 448 00:17:29,055 --> 00:17:31,214 those final thoughts. This has definitely been an 449 00:17:31,214 --> 00:17:33,134 informative discussion for me and I'm sure the 450 00:17:33,134 --> 00:17:34,894 people that are listening. So, again, I wanna 451 00:17:34,894 --> 00:17:36,695 thank you so much for coming on Becker's 452 00:17:36,695 --> 00:17:39,015 HealthCare. We really do appreciate it. And I 453 00:17:39,015 --> 00:17:41,275 look forward to connecting, with you again soon. 454 00:17:41,575 --> 00:17:43,015 Well, thank you for having me. I really 455 00:17:43,015 --> 00:17:43,835 appreciate it.