If you'd like your question answered on next month's episode, call/text 469-213-6381 and leave us a voicemail/text.Each month on Last Month In Healthcare, producer Nathaniel joins me to discuss the previous month's podcasts, headlines, and listener-submitted questions.This episode covers healthcare news from June to mid-July 2025.And we play a new game called the "Which Has Less Ingredients?", which is exactly like what the title suggests.Chapters: 0:00 - Intro0:22 - A proposal to ban drug ads2:48 - Pre-diabetes rates in children have tripled in 25 years5:25 - Healthcare workers leaking patient data through AI7:06 - Mark Cuban's healthcare plan10:05 - Healthcare is the top employer in most states12:49 - The Self-Funded Review19:37 - Which Has Less Ingredients? (this month's game)27:27- Ask Spencer AnythingSources: https://phys.org/news/2025-06-glass-bottles-microplastics-plastic.htmlhttps://x.com/mcuban/status/1934834421225672999https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/alarming-number-of-adolescents-have-prediabetes-new-data-from-cdc-says?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://x.com/utobian/status/1943127594960064713?t=BfpiRV8m7thZDIqTRMVo3Ahttps://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/health-care-workers-are-leaking-patient-data-through-ai-tools-cloud-appshttps://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/sanders-senators-float-ban-on-direct-to-consumer-ads-for-prescription-drugshttps://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinics-ai-tool-identifies-9-dementia-types-including-alzheimers-with-one-scan/

“That race car you got, that you studied all the components and now you're just tweaking horsepower and how much can you get out of it? That's what this feels like. You are really optimizing the horsepower of this engine, your employee benefit plan, and everybody likes it.” - Bently Durant

This week, I was joined by an all-star duo: Bently Durant, the COO of Classic Chevrolet, which is the #1 Chevy dealer in the world, and his benefits advisor, Riley Dearing of Hotchkiss Insurance.

Together, we discussed the story of how they saved $3 million while simultaneously improving care by eliminating deductibles and optimizing pharmacy spend, which is a playbook that every business owner, CFO, and consultant can learn from. Bently, Riley, and I talked about what makes this industry so unique and why self-funding is so beneficial for car dealerships.

We also dove into the truly innovative things they're doing now that their plan is so successful, like creating a "Good Decision Fund" to give bonus money back to their employees.

Tune in this week to learn how to optimize the horsepower of an employee benefits plan!

Chapters:

(00:00:00) How the World's #1 Chevy Dealer Saved $3 Million on Healthcare
(00:04:10) When Bently Decided To Go Self-Funded
(00:14:08) Tailoring Health Plans To Your Employees
(00:31:19) The Complicated World Of Pharmacy Spend
(00:58:27) Improving The Benefits Plan WHILE Saving Money

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

"If employers do not think that they are in the healthcare business, they are sadly mistaken. Every employer is in the healthcare business whether they want to or not." - Stephanie Koch

I’m super excited about this week’s episode: the Empowering Employers live panel show that we recorded in front of a live audience on June 18th. I was joined on-stage by an all-star group of guests: Rachel Strauss, Kimberly Carleson, Kristen Rivers, and Stephanie Koch.

Together, we discussed some of the biggest challenges and opportunities for employers in today’s market; the diversity of perspectives on-stage made this a super insightful podcast, and whether you’re an employer, consultant, or solution provider, there’s a lot you’ll take away.

We also had live Q&A after the main podcast, with some hard-hitting questions from Omar Arif, Elaine Davis, and more.

Tune in this week to learn how we can better empower employers!

Chapters:

(00:00:00) The Empowering Employers Live Show, with Q&A
(00:13:00) How Do We Get More Transparent Healthcare Pricing?
(00:21:25) What Is The PBM’s Role In Better Healthcare Strategies?
(00:29:00) Lowering Healthcare Costs Through Claim Review
(00:40:11) PBM Reform Through Strategic Legal Actions
(00:48:45) How Do We Pay For GLP-1s?
(01:01:22) Live Audience Q&A
(01:38:10) Final Thoughts From Each Panelist

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/