Apr 5, 2022 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary
As you might guess from the title and subtitle of Dave Chase’s popular book Relocalizing Health: The Future of Health Care is Local, Open and Independent, the emphasis on “local” is a key building block for his vision of a more cost-effective health care system. While I support many of the concepts discussed in the book, I remain skeptical when it comes to the localization premise ꟷ at least as it applies to large employers with distributed operations. (more…)
Feb 24, 2022 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary
A friend of mine is the CEO of a structural engineering company that specializes in maintenance, construction, modifications, inspections, and emergency services within the broadcast industry. Pretty mundane stuff, right? Far from it.
What I failed to mention is that the company’s niche is working on the highest communications towers in the country ― towers that rise as high as 2,000 feet in the air. (more…)
Jan 19, 2022 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary
Most companies and their functional areas tend to passionately pursue best-in-class performance, but do executives send a different signal to their employee benefits teams? (more…)
Sep 27, 2021 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary
I recently saw this statement in big bold letters on the last page of a report issued by one of our competitors. I agree, independence can be a real game-changer. But what is “independence” in this context? (more…)
Aug 31, 2021 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary
With 20 years now under our belt, I can’t help but feel so grateful for where we are as a firm, where we’ve been, and where we’re going. (more…)
Jun 3, 2020 | by Rick Chelko, Commentary, Specialty Drug Management
If recent events have taught us anything, it is to be prepared for the unexpected. While none of us could have fully predicted the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on our families, organizations, and the world economy, hindsight reveals safeguards we might have put in place to lessen the damage.
Ironically, this is a subject I had been wrestling with well before the coronavirus was receiving any attention from the international media. Those of you who follow our firm’s work know we have long been concerned about the growing economic threat posed by rising specialty drug costs to employer-funded health plans and their members. It actually dates back to 2005, when I first learned about a $125,000 oncology drug that didn’t save lives. On average, it only extended life by less than two months of sub-optimal living. (more…)
