Over 80% of primary care providers in the U.S. are now employed by hospitals and large corporate entities, creating referral patterns that may not serve the best interests of members or the employers footing the bill. For self-funded employers trying to steer their workforce toward higher-value, independent care, the challenge has been logistical — how do you contract with thousands of clinics across dozens of geographies without tearing apart your existing plan?

In this episode, Patrick Nelli, CEO and co-founder of Aligned Marketplace, joins host David Stewart to unpack how a national overlay marketplace is making independent advanced and direct primary care accessible to geographically dispersed employers through a single contract. Drawing on a career that spans drug discovery research, investment banking, and healthcare startups, Patrick explains why fee-for-service reimbursement and hospital consolidation have broken primary care, how advanced primary care models deliver longer appointments and smaller patient panels at roughly equivalent cost, and why getting members into the right primary care relationship is the foundation for any strong-performing health plan.
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“ When we think about engagement, one of the frameworks we have is the three Cs of engagement: cost, communication, and convenience. By cost, we mean what is it going to cost the member to receive care? Zero dollars is best, but at least if it's a low cost, make it a predictable amount, a known quantity. That drives more engagement, zero dollar cost or known low cost. On the communication, we have found that different members have different communication patterns. Some members are easier to reach in email, some on text, some with mailers, some on onsite events. It's important to have multi-channel, multi-touch communications that can meet members where they are. On the convenience, it isn't just about communicating with a member as often as possible. It's about making it easier for them.” – Patrick Nelli

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Episode Timestamps:

*(0:48): Patrick's career path: from drug discovery to investing to healthcare startups

*(8:08): Aligned Marketplace: connecting members to free care from doctors they love

*(9:26): Why primary care is broken: misaligned incentives, fee-for-service, and hospital consolidation

*(21:14): The overlay approach: direct contracting without disrupting the network

*(26:38): The Three Cs of engagement: cost, communication, and convenience

*(34:42): What's next for Aligned Marketplace and who's the right fit

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Links:

Learn more about Aligned Marketplace

Connect with Patrick Nelli on LinkedIn

Connect with David Stewart 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.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Collective Health, its affiliates, sponsors, employees, or customers. This podcast is not intended as legal, medical, or financial advice. If you have any questions or concerns in these areas, please consult with a qualified professional.

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

When the benefits budget lands on the CFO's desk, the conversation usually starts with "what can we cut?" But at Daikin, a $8 billion HVAC manufacturer in Houston, HR and Finance have spent 16 years rewriting that script together.

In this episode, host Dane Thorwaldson sits down with Andor Molnar, Vice President of Human Resources, and Billy Shipley, Chief Financial Officer at Daikin, to unpack what happens when the people who control the budget and the people who need it stop negotiating and start partnering. With over four decades in HR and two decades in finance respectively, Andor and Billy describe the plant shutdown that cemented their working relationship, why fixed benefit ceilings push leaders toward padding instead of honesty, and how an informal, open-door culture replaced 26-page memos and autocratic budget mandates.

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“When it comes down to what we can have and what we can't have, it is a mutual discussion. And then, at the end, going in fully armed with what we can have. So it's never a surprise when it comes up to the higher corporate that we have to go for this and without that, I'd be shot. Because I'd be sitting here thinking, "I've got a $200 million budget," and, "Sorry, Billy, that's what I spent." We're fully armed knowing what we're doing and predicting of what we're spending in that.” – Andor Molnar

“After our lieutenants and me and Andor get aligned, we go into the office arm in arm, like we are there arm in arm. It's the right thing to do. But in order to do that, obviously, we negotiate and we push and pull and so on and so forth and say, "What's the best way to communicate this?" I haven't had one bad budget review on the HR side. I have others that are a challenge, but not on the HR benefits side. Those go very well because we're aligned.” – Billy Shipley

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Episode Timestamps:

*(01:29): Andor's 43-year career in HR and benefits

*(02:37): Billy's finance journey and why benefits are personal to him

*(04:43): The default CFO mindset on benefits budgets and where it breaks down

*(06:43): The challenge of operating under a fixed budget ceiling

*(15:00): Turning the relationship on its head: trust over adversarial negotiation

*(22:03): Investing in prevention: flu shots, physicals, GLP-1s, and Hello Heart

*(38:13): Advice for HR leaders on building trust with finance + the "blank page" exercise

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Links:

Connect with Andor Molnar on LinkedIn

Connect with Billy Shipley on LinkedIn

Connect with Dane Thorwaldson 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.

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The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Collective Health, its affiliates, sponsors, employees, or customers. This podcast is not intended as legal, medical, or financial advice. If you have any questions or concerns in these areas, please consult with a qualified professional.

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

77% of employees report burnout, but for benefits professionals, it's a silent crisis. They spend every day taking care of everyone else while quietly running on empty themselves.

In this episode, Jennifer Weinstein, Vice President of Benefits at Albertsons Companies and author of the new book Benefits Burnout: How to Fall (Back) in Love with Your Employee Benefits Career, joins host Dane Thorwaldson to unpack why the benefits profession has become a perfect storm for exhaustion. With over two decades in the field, Jennifer shares what led her to write publicly about a topic most people only discuss behind closed doors, why "multiple hat syndrome" and healthcare headwinds are pushing benefits professionals to their limits, and practical ways leaders and individuals can reconnect with their purpose, set boundaries, and find their way back to loving the work.

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“ For people who are really struggling right now in this industry, in this career, if on those days you can think back to what your true purpose is, which is helping others,  if you can remember what your overall purpose is, those conversations that are frustrating, they're going to be forgotten in a week. But how you go about helping people, you have a purpose of being here and the impact that you have on others, I think most benefits people may not even realize.” – Jennifer Weinstein

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Episode Timestamps:

*(1:11): Jennifer's career path: how she fell into the world of benefits

*(7:16): What benefits burnout actually looks like

*(20:12): Early warning signs of burnout to watch for

*(27:09): Falling back in love with the work: pathways and mindset shifts

*(42:38): How to tell a rough patch from real burnout

*(48:39): What Jennifer hopes readers take away from the book

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Links:

Connect with Jennifer Weinstein on LinkedIn

Benefits Burnout: How to fall (back) in love with your employee benefits career

Connect with Dane Thorwaldson 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.

-------

The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Collective Health, its affiliates, sponsors, employees, or customers. This podcast is not intended as legal, medical, or financial advice. If you have any questions or concerns in these areas, please consult with a qualified professional.

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