Welcome to another episode of Patients Win, the podcast where we flip the script on healthcare and shine a light on strategies that put power back in the patient’s hands. In today’s episode, Troy and Dr. Bushman are joined by Lee Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer of the Healthcare Transformation Alliance, to tackle the "perfect storm" facing American healthcare, from skyrocketing costs and disruptive therapies to the loss of trust in the doctor-patient relationship.
Lee Lewis offers a front-line perspective shaped by his work with Fortune 200 employers, highlighting how employers, both large and small, can reclaim control by building trusted, accessible relationships between patients and providers. We'll discuss why fee-for-service medicine is failing both patients and doctors, practical strategies for managing health plan costs, and why now, more than ever, employers should rethink the healthcare supply chain.
If you’re looking for hope and actionable insights amid healthcare’s chaos, this episode is for you. Join us for a conversation that challenges old assumptions, champions innovative ideas, and uncovers how everyone, CEOs, HR, brokers, and patients, can start winning in healthcare.
Timestamps:
00:00 Healthcare at a tipping point
06:06 Reframing healthcare priorities
10:10 Innovation levels among Fortune 100 companies
10:47 Adopting new supply chain innovations
16:02 Problems with fee-for-service healthcare
20:40 Streamlining healthcare billing systems
21:59 Debating direct primary care model
27:04 Challenges of large-scale communication
30:38 Thoughts on upcoming healthcare changes
33:13 Navigating healthcare supply chains
36:41 Optimizing healthcare costs for employees
38:22 Lowering employee stress with healthcare
Building Trust, Not Just Transactions: Key Podcast Takeaways on Fixing Healthcare
Healthcare is at a breaking point, but there is hope. In the latest episode of Patients Win, industry leaders Lee Lewis, Troy Reichert, and Dr. Jonathan Bushman dive deep into why putting trust back at the center of patient-provider relationships is the foundation for real, lasting change. If you care about how employers and patients can actually win in healthcare, these insights are packed with strategies, actionable advice, and a dose of optimism.
The Cost Crisis: What’s Driving Employers to Rethink Healthcare
As discussed by Lee Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer at Healthcare Transformation Alliance, today’s healthcare landscape is the result of compounding pressures. Hospitals are still carrying price hikes from the COVID era. At the same time, new treatments like cell and gene therapies, plus high-profile drugs such as GLP1s, are driving costs higher for everyone. That spike means employers, especially Fortune 200 companies, are looking for strategies that don’t just shift costs, but bend the trend.
Employers aren’t just waiting for legislation to save them. According to Lee Lewis, they are actively working with experts, rethinking benefit design, and forming new supply chain relationships to take control over rising healthcare expenses.
From Transactional Medicine to Trust-Based Relationships
The podcast captured a key point: for generations, healthcare relied on the healing power of trust. Lee Lewis warns that we've become the first generation to prioritize transactional medicine, where doctors are forced by fee-for-service models to prioritize billable visits over genuine doctor-patient relationships. This shift has resulted in unnecessary visits, hospitalizations, and even readmissions, all avoidable if each household had trusted access to an affordable doctor.
Both Dr. Bushman and Troy echo this sentiment. When care starts with trust, outcomes improve for both patients and providers. Dr. Bushman described how even a simple reassuring text from a trusted physician can prevent unnecessary visits and offer real peace of mind.
Getting Practical about Employer Strategies
One of the most actionable parts of the discussion involves what employers, large and small, can do to regain control and provide meaningful care.
Rethink your supply chain: Stop thinking of insurance carriers as your suppliers. Your real suppliers are the hospitals, doctors, and clinics providing hands-on care. Lee Lewis suggests building relationships directly with these providers.
Negotiate smart, not just hard: Take both your consultants and carriers out to Request for Proposal (RFP) every few years. Focus on flexibility and rights, not just the biggest discounts, as sticking to “legacy” systems often closes more doors than it opens.
Rethink benefit plan design: Move away from simply raising co-pays and deductibles. Instead, introduce benefit caps in categories where it makes sense and set rules on site of care to avoid unnecessary facility fees.
For smaller employers, agility is a key advantage. With fewer employees, you can communicate changes quickly, educate your team, and implement solutions faster than large corporations who must deal with corporate bureaucracy and massive communication hurdles.
Why the Future is Hopeful
Despite the daunting challenges, Lee Lewis stresses that there is real hope for employers willing to innovate. While large-scale regulatory changes may happen in the future, the strategies that work today, building trusted care relationships, optimizing supply chains, and innovating plan designs, will continue to deliver value. Employers who embrace this shift now will have a competitive edge in attracting and retaining the best talent through affordable, high-quality healthcare.
Action Steps for Employers and Plan Sponsors
Educate yourself and your employees about value-based primary care and direct relationships with providers.
Forge relationships with local doctors and clinics to improve access and trust.
Prioritize rights and flexibility in every benefit negotiation and vendor partnership.
Give your HR and benefits teams both the vision and the permission to innovate beyond the status quo.
The message from this episode of Patients Win is clear. By shifting back to trust and thinking beyond transactional models, employers of any size can bend the healthcare cost curve and genuinely improve the lives of their employees.
Ready to start winning? Listen to the full episode for even more insights and real-world strategies from Lee Lewis, Troy, and Dr. Bushman.
Show Website - https://thepatientswin.com/
Primed Healthcare - https://primedhealthcare.com/
Troy Reichert - Show Host - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-reichert-67606b5/
Dr. Jonathan Bushman - Show Host - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-bushman-do-106821191
Media Partner - TopHealth - https://tophealth.care/
“Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.”