About this episode

Chris Deacon discusses the issues in the American healthcare system and offers insights from his new book on how to navigate these challenges.

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…

People in this episode

Hosts: Donovan, Chelsea

Guest: Chris Deacon

Topics covered

• healthcare reform
• public sector health plans
• hospital contracts
• negotiated rates
• transparency in healthcare
• CFO and HR challenges
• accountability in benefits

Keywords

• healthcare costs
• nonprofit hospitals
• self-funded plans
• claims review
• gag clauses
• CAA 2021
• fiduciary enforcement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: State of New Jersey, versanconsulting.com, LinkedIn

Books & works: The Great American Healthcare Heist: Why We’re Paying More and Getting Less

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