Voices of Self Funding: Beyond the Rate: A Smarter Approach to Level Funding

National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for Lung Cancer & Managed Care On this episode host Steve Kheloussi, PharmD, principal consultant with Kheloussi Consulting and a managed care pharmacist, is joined by Tianyi Wang, consultant at Omnicom Health Market Access, and Irvin Molina, PharmD, BCOP, director of clinical pharmacy at IPD Analytics and a board-certified oncology pharmacist, to explore how National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines influence payer policy and patient access in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

S2E2: What Your Voice Reveals Before You Do, with Henry O'Connell, CEO and Co-Founder of Canary Speech On this episode, host Dr. Heather Bassett welcomes Henry O'Connell, CEO and Co-Founder of Canary Speech, to make the case that the human voice carries more diagnostic information than almost any other data source we're not yet using at scale. Henry traces Canary Speech's origin back to a six-hour conversation in a Provo bagel shop with his co-founder Jeff Adams, and to a more personal starting point — noticing that his own daughter's tone and cadence told him more about her state of mind than her actual words did. That observation became the basis for a technology built to measure something clinicians and parents already sense intuitively. He walks through how Canary Speech evolved from analyzing structured, scripted speech to conversational speech, and eventually away from words altogether — down to 2,590 features of speech measured every 10 milliseconds, generating 15.5 million data points per minute, all aimed at capturing how speech is produced rather than what it says. Henry and Dr. Bassett dig into what it takes to earn trust for a diagnostic AI tool in mental health and neurology specifically, from co-developing the technology with physicians and running multi-country clinical trials, to holding to HIPAA and ISO standards and keeping current applications research-only rather than rushing to market. They also cover how Canary Speech integrates directly into existing clinical workflows through platforms like Dragon Copilot and Zoom, avoiding the adoption friction that sinks so many well-intentioned health tech tools. Throughout, Henry's vision points outward, toward wearables and other ubiquitous devices as the next step in making this kind of screening available to far more people, in far more places, than a clinical visit alone ever could. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Tom Stein, CEO of American Trust Administrators and author of The Noble Agent’s Guide to Level Funding, joins Voices of Self-Funding to discuss how brokers and TPAs can help smaller employers make the move to level funding. He explores cost-containment strategies, plan design and why a more consultative approach can help brokers move beyond simply selling a lower rate to deliver greater long-term value. For more information on level-funded health plans and other self-funding topics, visit www.hcaa.org. This episode is sponsored by Zakipoint Health. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

The Data Foundation to Move to Preventive Health Halima Ahmadi-Montecalvo, VP Research and Evaluation at UniteUs, dives deep on the data connectivity that’s required for health systems that truly plan to move from sick care to prevention. All that, plus we give a Shout Out to previous guest Dr. Erica Armstrong, who recently announced that HealthX Ventures has invested in her functional medicine company, Root. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen/

On this episode host Dr. Craig Joseph sits down with thought leadership expert and author Bill Sherman to explore why some ideas gain traction while others never move beyond a conference presentation or journal article. Drawing from his new book, The Thought Leadership Handbook, Bill shares practical frameworks for helping ideas travel farther, resonate with the right audiences, and ultimately drive impact. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

News In Two: Week of 9/20/2026 by Healthcare NOW Radio and Podcast Network - Radio and Podcasts for the Healthcare Industry

Ep 142 - From the Archive: Rebuilding Your Pipeline Strategy for How Healthcare Buyers Actually Buy Another special episode from the vault. Instead of Adam Turinas hosting, you’ll hear his colleague Mark Erwich, Chief Strategy Officer at Health Launchpad, and Adam as guests on the Sway Health Podcast, in conversation with Colin Hung. They recorded this about a year ago, but if anything, the topic feels more relevant today than it did then. They get into the real mechanics of the healthcare buyer journey. Sales cycles are running past a year. Buying groups keep growing. And there’s a stat that still stops people in their tracks: most buyers say they end up choosing the first company they call, which means their minds are largely made up before they ever pick up the phone. AI is only making this harder, since it gives buyers even more ways to research before they talk to a vendor at all.

On this episode host Raj Sundar continues their Roots of Care series by challenging the notion of clinicians as mere “fixers” and exploring what it truly means to provide healing in contexts where much of a patient's health lies outside the exam room. Drawing on polyvagal theory, somatic practices, and indigenous wisdom, they examine the importance of creating containers of safety, fostering genuine presence, and supporting patient autonomy and choice. They reflect on the pressures created by a profit-driven healthcare system, the impact of clinician self-regulation, and the value of compassion, friendship, and honoring their own needs alongside those of their patients. Through practical tools and honest discussion, they seek ways to reimagine care, cultivate resilience, and find meaning and humanity in the clinician-patient relationship. Find all of our network podcasts on your favorite podcast platforms and be sure to subscribe and like us. Learn more at www.healthcarenowradio.com/listen

Healthcare organizations are under increasing pressure to improve access while balancing patient expectations, provider capacity, and operational complexity. On this episode host Daniel Marino is joined by healthcare access leaders Jon Fullerton and Jenny Hart to discuss what it takes to create a more coordinated and sustainable access strategy. The discussion highlights real-world barriers that often prevent organizations from achieving meaningful improvement, including fragmented workflows, underused tools, inconsistent processes, and limited alignment across clinical and administrative teams. Healthcare leaders will gain a practical perspective on how providers can evaluate current access challenges, engage stakeholders, and begin moving toward a more connected model that supports both care delivery and the patient experience.

S1E10: The Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating AI into Health Systems On the episode host Shahid Shah addresses the difference between organizations that effectively implement AI and those that only create plans. The key to success is not the AI technology itself, but the organization's ability to identify and amplify its unique strengths, or "native alpha.". Shahid argues that health systems should focus on specific, measurable outcomes and use AI to enhance existing advantages rather than seeking generic AI strategies. To stream our Station live 24/7 visit www.HealthcareNOWRadio.com or ask your Smart Device to “….Play Healthcare NOW Radio”.