Employers are not “stuck” with a broken healthcare system because it’s too complicated. They are choosing to hand over control of something that hurts their workers and wastes money. The answer isn’t more wellness programs or better deals with insurance companies. The real answer is to treat employee healthcare like what it is: a broken business system that needs to be fixed, just like any other supply chain problem.

In this episode, Dr. Eric Bricker challenges common myths about employer healthcare. He explains why healthcare apps can’t work as easily as booking a vacation online and how powerful companies and complex rules keep the system from changing. He shares how one company kept its healthcare costs steady for five years by taking ownership and focusing on what really matters: putting employees first.

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“ That's why creative destruction is so important in healthcare because new entities need to come in and rejuvenate the space. The amount of creative destruction in healthcare is abysmally low. All of the existing institutions in healthcare have been there for decades, if not centuries. You look at industries where the customer actually is doing really well, those industries are defined by creative destruction. Whenever you have these healthcare discussions, you're like, Well, we have to look out for the interests of all stakeholders. No, that's a bunch of malarkey. You need to look out for one stakeholder, and that stakeholder is the patient.” – Dr. Eric Bricker

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Episode Timestamps:

*(00:44): What motivated Dr. Bricker to pull back the curtain on healthcare issues

*(03:04): The two broken incentives destroying healthcare

*(06:12): Why healthcare navigation requires human conversation

*(16:26): Creative destruction and the death of regulatory capture

*(23:54): Practical steps for employers to take control

*(33:24): AI’s role in healthcare (beyond the hype)

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Links:

Connect with Dr. Eric Bricker on LinkedIn

Check Out AHealthcareZ

Connect with Kirk McConnell on LinkedIn

Learn more about Collective Health

Learn more about Caspian Studios

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If you’re enjoying The Benefits Playbook, we’d love your support. Take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you’re listening — it really helps others discover us and join the conversation on the future of employee benefits. And while you’re there, don’t forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you know a colleague or friend who’d enjoy the conversation, share it with them too. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s 2026, but the healthcare system still feels like it’s stuck in the past. Costs are soaring, benefits are confusing, and employees are left navigating a system built on pieces that don’t fit together. Employers are exhausted trying to manage it all, while employees struggle to get the care they need. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Smart employers and their consultants are flipping the script: cutting costs, simplifying the experience, and creating benefits their people actually love. On The Benefits Playbook, we uncover the bold strategies that are rewriting the rules of self-funded health benefits.

In Season 4, host Kirk McConnell speaks with industry leaders about bringing transparency to a system built on confusion, using the right financial levers to deliver real value and impact, and designing benefits that truly work for employees. We’ll talk about better data. Better tools. Better insights. Smarter decisions. And benefits strategy that finally makes sense.

This is The Benefits Playbook, Season 4. Brought to you by Collective Health.

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Links

Connect with Kirk McConnell on LinkedIn

Learn more about Collective Health

Learn more about Caspian Studios

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features an interview with Christian Moreno, Executive Vice President of Lockton. With more than 20 years of experience, Christian specializes in designing health plans that are fully integrated with wellness solutions, helping employers manage the demand side of healthcare.

In this episode, Kirk and Christian discuss strategies to manage healthcare cost volatility, the efficacy of wellness programs versus high-cost medications, and the potential shift towards narrower networks to contain costs while maintaining quality care.

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“ I don't know that you can make this just an employee decision at the end of the day. It's going to have to happen further upstream if we want to have a seismic or substantial impact on cost. If we're just talking about physician A versus physician B, but I can still choose to go within any hospital system at any time with total freedom.  If we are going to leave it up to employees and just make it a broad PPO network, I don't know that they have the information just yet to make those decisions. It's going to have to have come from intelligent data tools in their hand. It's going to have to have assistance from the TPA and it's going to have to have assistance from the ecosystem around the member making those decisions.” – Christian Moreno

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Episode Timestamps:

*(00:51): Christian’s career journey

*(02:31): Volatility in healthcare costs

*(10:12): Wellness programs and GLP-1s

*(20:28): Network design and future strategies

*(27:49): Driving employees to high quality providers

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Links:

Connect with Christian on LinkedIn

Contact Christian

Connect with Kirk on LinkedIn

Learn more about Collective Health

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If you’re enjoying The Benefits Playbook, we’d love your support. Take a moment to rate and review the show wherever you’re listening — it really helps others discover us and join the conversation on the future of employee benefits. And while you’re there, don’t forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you know a colleague or friend who’d enjoy the conversation, share it with them too. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you next time.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.