Running Benefits Like an Incubator (Feat: Stephen Hoelper)

Broken Benefits

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Broken Benefits!

We spend billions on benefits, yet healthcare is unaffordable and complicated. More than half of Americans don't even take their paid vacation, yet people are burning out faster than ever and remote work is scrambling company cultures. It doesn't have to be this way. Great benefits can attract and retain top talent, communicate your values, rejuvenate your productivity, move your stock price, and even save lives.

On our first episode, we welcome Stephen Hoelper, Digital Health Executive, onto the show for a deep dive into his extremely interesting career with Comcast. Stephen managed 1% trend for seven years at Comcast and credits the success to running benefits like an incubator.

Click that play button and enjoy a fantastic dialogue from one of the industries leading legends!

Timecodes:

0:22 - Welcome to Broken Benefits!

0:40 - Who is Stephen Hoelper?

1:54 - Deconstructing what is broken about healthcare from the employer's lens

4:01 - The surprises that Stephen found within analyzing data

5:48 - Tactics that Stephen's team utilized that were outside the status quo

9:11 - Benefits leaders are inundated with vendors

11:08 - Distilling feedback and working alongside the vendors

14:49 - Who should you hire when running a health plan?

18:06 - What are the tactics that benefits managers should be focusing on most?

21:00 - Take a moment and think like an actual person

25:19 - Stephen creating over $500 million in savings

34:20 - The various contradictory alignments throughout the healthcare space

38:30 - The biggest risks that Stephen took during his career

42:06 - Quantity is quality! As you do more, you find the big wins

44:21 - You have to treat benefits like a business!

46:22 - How to connect with Stephen and learn more

46:44 - Closing remarks

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