The Granite List Live

Long-term care, skilled nursing, and health and human service employers are facing a serious crisis at this current moment. These employers have been faced with significant challenges such as:

• A war for talent
• Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement levels
• The continuous increase in healthcare costs and premiums

On the heels of their recent white paper addressing this crisis, Andy McMillan, Executive Vice President, National Head of Sales & Marketing for Homestead, joins the show this week to dive into the crisis and how Homestead's reference-based pricing approach can serve as a potential solution for employers! 

Benefits leaders are tasked with providing solutions to the needs of their employees. Joining us this week with years of benefits administration experience, Jenny Spring, Employee Benefits Manager for US Radiology Specialists, discusses the innovative solutions she's brought to her employees at US Radiology. Additionally, with the importance benefits play during times of need, Jenny displays the benefits that high-touch solutions with a human element provide employees.

A staggering 45% of American employees reports stuggling with their well-being. Employee Assistance Programs strive to be a resource for these employees, but have missed the mark.

This week, we are joined by Will Busch III, Founder of Soteria Life, a well-being analytics program aimed at providing an innovative solution to employee benefits to address the struggles faced by American workers. We dive into Soteria's focus on family preservation, how they utilize technology and AI, and what makes Soteria Life different from other EAPs.

Jake Steepleton, Product Lead at Wellnecity, and Lauren Roberson, Head of Nurse Advocacy for Connect Healthcare Collaboration, join this week's show to discuss how their collaboration results in the improved efficiency of solutions and health outcomes through the use of data.

For individuals, the start of the new year often brings resolutions revolving around health. Additionally, their deductible amounts start over. 

To kick off 2025, Al Lewis, Quizmeister-in-Chief at Quizzify, joins the show to discuss how Quizzify's education platform teaches and engages members in health literacy, healthcare literacy, and health benefits literacy through their curated trivia quizzes. Beyond education, Al also displays how Quizzify and the other tools they have built help members be better, wiser, stewards of both their own and the plan's money. 

Be sure to attend Quizzify's webinar on January 25, where they will dive into The 10 "Greatest Hacks" of Employee Health Literacy: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jKP27PXNRa-9JYtms6CZ_A#/registration

For self-insured employers, the rising costs of care are one of their biggest management challenges. Often, these costs result from members starting in the wrong place on their care journey due to the design of the benefit package. This week, Michael Riley Jr., CEO of Sustainable Health Index (SHI), and Jennifer Gamboa, Managing Partner for SHI, join the show to discuss how SHI uses data to determine root causes of healthcare costs and strategies to reduce costs while improving health outcomes for members.

For many households, childcare is their second highest expense. Additionally, access to child care can be severely limited in specific industries and areas of the country. Jennifer Frantom, a working mother herself and Director of Business Development for Learning Care Group, joins this week's show to discuss how Learning Care Group provides various innovative, customized childcare solutions for any organization!

Work Right is focused on the industrial athlete and keeping them safe. Through their partnership with Longitude6, WorkRight has been able to bring wearable technologies to meet the specific needs of each individual worksite. In this week's episode, we are joined by Nic Patee, President of WorkRight, and Mark Heaysman, CEO of Longitude6, as we dive into the partnership and its impact on the working athlete.

Continuing to come to you on the heels of Health Benefits Nation, Cal Beyer, Senior Director of SAFE Workplaces for SAFE Project, joins the show to discuss their mission and strategy for mitigating the risk of opioid addiction and overdose.

To learn more about the risk opioids present and prevention methods, check out these additional resources:

• Safe Surgery for Those in Recovery: https://www.forconstructionpros.com/business/business-services/coaching-consulting/article/22913133/goldfinch-health-avoiding-opioids-and-heal-prior-to-and-after-surgery-for-those-in-recovery
• Optimizing Outcomes and Containing the Costs of Surgery: https://blog.ifebp.org/optimizing-outcomes-and-containing-the-costs-of-surgery/
• SAFE Project 5-Minute Opioid Overdose Reversal Training Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shwlqCWM4qM
• SAFE Project 30-Minute Opioid Overdose Reversal Training Video: https://safeproject-s-school-262f.thinkific.com/courses/naloxone-training
• Reversing Opioid Overdoses in Construction: A Jobsite Imperative: https://www.cfmabponline.net/cfmabp/09102024/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=2014391&temp=5b4a2f4d-b8ed-4bd8-8b5d-c4f998423983#articleId2014391

We're coming to you live from the Validation Institute's Health Benefits Nation! In this week's episode, Stephanie Koch, Director of Human Resources for Hendry Marine Industries, joins the show fresh off being named one of the Top 25 Benefits Leaders in the Country to discuss the work she's done as an HR leader to assess the needs of those on the plan and provide them with a solution that works for them!