Making Healthcare Sustainable

Lantern
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Medicine

Employee healthcare is at a tipping point. The costs are unsustainable. The system is overwhelming. And benefits leaders are being asked to do more — with less — for the people who count on them most. Making Healthcare Sustainable is a media experience from Lantern, spotlighting the bold thinkers, advisors, and changemakers transforming high-cost problems into life-changing outcomes. Through interviews, insights, and storytelling, we explore what it takes to deliver better care while optimizing the system and budget. This is where benefit design meets business impact. Because when healthcare works better, everyone wins.

  1. 3d ago

    How to Advertise Your Benefits Like a Retailer, with Kaitlin Quinn

    Is promoting a healthcare benefit the same as advertising jeans? Not really—and at the same time,  yes. It all comes down to reaching people at the exact moment they need something. And not once they’ve already gotten a procedure done or finished up their shopping for the season.  Kaitlin Quinn, Head of Enterprise Data and Analytics at Lantern, shares how her team uses marketing testing, targeted outreach, and data-driven experimentation to improve benefits engagement, build trust, and connect members with care when it matters most. In this episode, you'll learn: How targeted benefits communications can significantly increase employee engagement by reaching people when they are most likely to need careStrategies for using simple marketing experiments to improve benefits awareness without requiring a large analytics teamWhy balancing broad awareness campaigns with personalized outreach builds trust and encourages greater benefits utilization Highlights:(00:00) Why "just send another benefits email" doesn't work anymore (00:46) The test Lantern ran to prove targeted marketing works (02:03) What it costs to build a real marketing test (03:56) Lantern's targeted marketing test drove a 20% lift in engagement (05:55) The jeans example that explains healthcare marketing (06:49) Why word of mouth beats every other marketing channel (07:46) The exclusion logic behind every message Lantern sends (10:08) How sacrificing revenue for one test won over skeptical clients (10:51) Envelope colors, subject lines, and other tests any team can run (11:27) Awareness marketing vs conversion marketing, explained (13:21) Why one coworker's story outperforms a company-wide email (14:20) Testing subject lines to see what actually gets opened (15:56) How to tell if your test worked or you just got lucky timing (16:55) A one click poll that tells you if people are engaged (18:05) How Lantern tracks whether word of mouth is actually working (18:30) Why Kaitlin says marketing Lantern is "good for good" (19:46) The halo effect: why even non-users benefit from awareness (20:20) What years in retail marketing taught Kaitlin about healthcare (21:26) Timing outreach around ID cards, deductibles, and open enrollment (22:19) Why you need both awareness marketing and conversion marketing Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Kaitlin Quinn’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-quinn-22514213/ Lantern’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lantern-specialty-care/about/

    How to Advertise Your Benefits Like a Retailer, with Kaitlin Quinn

  2. Jul 8

    Why Employees Ignore Great Benefits, with Adrienne Lee-Jones

    Navigating healthcare benefits can be confusing, especially when employees need specialized care. Adrienne Lee-Jones, Director of Payroll and Benefits at Loomis, shares her personal experience using Lantern, how concierge-style healthcare support can improve outcomes, and the communication strategies she uses to help employees understand and engage with complex benefits year-round. In this episode, you'll learn: How personal experience and concierge-style healthcare navigation can help employees feel more confident when making complex care decisionsStrategies for explaining specialized benefits in simple, relatable terms that drive employee understanding and engagementCreative ways to build year-round benefits awareness through testimonials, wellness initiatives, and open enrollment communicationsHighlights:(0:00) Meet Adrienne Lee-Jones(1:23) Adrienne's Lantern surgery experience(3:38) The value of compassionate care(6:16) Why dedicated support matters(7:07) Building a year-round benefits strategy(8:49) Communicating cost savings and quality(9:10) Turning employees into benefit champions(10:00) Using testimonials to drive engagement(16:56) Helping employees understand complex benefits(19:05) Real examples that make benefits click(24:49) Reaching employees beyond email(26:26) The rewards and challenges of open enrollment Resources:Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/Adrienne Lee-Jones’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/adrienne-lee-jones/Loomis’s LinkedIn: https://www.loomis.com/en/

    Why Employees Ignore Great Benefits, with Adrienne Lee-Jones

  3. Jul 1

    Coming This Summer: Your Open Enrollment Gameplan

    Open enrollment season is coming, and we're spending the summer getting ready for it. All season long, we're bringing in guests who've been in the trenches of OE to share what's actually working, what's flopped, and the creative ideas worth stealing. By the time October hits, you'll have a fresh playbook and a lot less dread. Making Healthcare Sustainable will drop new episodes all summer. Follow the show so you don't miss a single guest!

    Coming This Summer: Your Open Enrollment Gameplan

  4. Jun 24

    Are Your Benefits Solving the Right Problems? With Omair Ahmed

    Most healthcare innovations fail for the same reason: they don't address the underlying incentive misalignment baked into a fee-for-service system. Omair Ahmed, Principal at Echo Health Ventures, explains why solving that problem first is what separates the solutions that actually move the needle from the ones that just add to the vendor stack. In this episode, you'll learn: Why incentive misalignment and data opacity are the root causes behind most of healthcare's thorniest challengesHow pairing quality analytics with benefit design nudges members toward better decisions and not just better informationWhy local networks of high-quality providers outperform traditional center-of-excellence modelsWhat benefits leaders who are early adopters are doing differently to evaluate solutions before they scaleHighlights: (00:00) Meet Omair Ahmed (02:07) Centering the patient experience (04:14) Key challenges in healthcare incentives and data transparency (07:00) Distribution and integration matter more than product innovation (09:36) Lessons from public-private partnerships and Medicare innovations (11:07) Why cost, quality, and access don’t have to compete (13:00) Understanding how patients interpret cost signals (15:43) The power of surgical volume and appropriateness in decision-making (16:44) Evaluating ROI for high-cost, high-variability solutions (20:04) Learning from churn and variation across clients (22:38) Network of Excellence vs. legacy Center of Excellence models (25:53) How local care improves adherence and outcomes (27:07) Prioritizing high-impact solutions for employers (30:29) AI, analytics, and culture driving optimism for healthcare innovation  Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Omair Ahmed’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omair-ahmed/ Echo Health Ventures’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/echo-health-ventures/

    Are Your Benefits Solving the Right Problems? With Omair Ahmed

  5. Jun 10

    Design Dictates Disruption with Lee Lewis

    Healthcare costs keep rising, but many employers are still approaching benefits the same way they did 20 years ago. And those who are taking a more radical approach might want to consider these three words: design dictates disruption. Lee Lewis, Chief Strategy Officer and GM of Medical Solutions at the Health Transformation Alliance, shares a blueprint for getting the lower costs you need while rocking the boat (or pirate ship—tune in to learn more) just the right amount.  In this episode, you'll learn: How to reduce healthcare disruption through smarter benefit designWhy simplicity helps employees make better healthcare decisionsThe ABC framework employers use to strengthen healthcare benefits Highlights: (00:00) Meet Lee Lewis (01:41) Why employers are embracing healthcare innovation (02:23) How alternative health plans simplify care (05:20) Does innovation always create disruption? (07:09) What makes a modern Center of Excellence work (12:00) Why employees just want "the good doctor" (17:10) The biggest barriers preventing change (19:55) Lee's playbook for improving benefits plans (26:27) Why behavioral health access matters (33:03) Why trust changes healthcare outcomes (35:07) Predictions for the future of employer healthcare Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Lee Lewis’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leewlewis/  Health Transformation Alliance’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/health-transformation-alliance/

    Design Dictates Disruption with Lee Lewis

  6. May 27

    Substance Use Treatment Today Isn’t What You Think with Suzette Glasner, PhD

    Substance use disorder is a growing issue in workplace healthcare, but it often remains hidden.  Dr. Suzette Glasner, Clinical Psychologist and Chief Scientific Officer at Pelago, discusses the hidden impact of addiction in your claims data, how employers are taking action,  and what might surprise you about the latest research on effective addiction treatment.  In this episode, you'll learn: The physical impact of addiction on employees and how this trickles down to healthcare costs Misconceptions about addiction treatment and Dr. Glasner’s thoughts on the headlines around psychedelics as addiction treatmentSurprising research Pelago led on the right “dose” of human support for recoveryHighlights: (00:00) Meet Dr. Suzette Glasner (02:07) The hype vs reality of psychedelic treatments for addiction (03:20) Why effective treatments are underutilized (07:13) The barriers of stigma, access, and insight (10:37) Why employers play a crucial role in addressing SUD (20:14) How harm reduction can engage people in treatment (28:49) Balancing human touch and AI in treatment approaches (32:10) What makes a recovery-ready workplace (39:44) Closing the gap with evidence-based solutions  Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Dr. Suzette Glasner’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzette-glasner-ph-d-5846804/  Pelago’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pelago-health/

    Substance Use Treatment Today Isn’t What You Think with Suzette Glasner, PhD

  7. May 13

    Fixing Healthcare Costs Without Cutting Benefits With Carl Pecoraro & Lindsay Leeder

    Healthcare costs keep rising, and most employers feel stuck. Carl Pecoraro, Chairman of the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund, and Lindsay Leeder, SVP of Labor Union and Trust at Lantern, share how one fund changed that. Carl walks through building a plan with 21-point solutions and holding inflation to 1%. Lindsay brings the provider's view on what better care looks like. In this episode, you'll learn: How to build point solutions that lower long-term healthcare costsWhy primary care access changes outcomes and spendHow better provider experience leads to better patient resultsHighlights: (00:00) How one fund beat healthcare inflation (00:28) Meet Carl Pecoraro and Lindsay Leeder (01:38) Think, feel, do on today's healthcare reality (04:11) Lindsay on primary care and better outcomes (07:05) Building a point solution strategy that works (11:25) Finding Lantern and moving to direct contracting (17:53) Driving utilization through better navigation (21:48) Who the members are and why benefits matter (24:43) Plan design: wellness incentives that actually work (28:59) Fund leaders have more power than they think (33:08) What happens when you get all your vendors in a room (34:46) What the future of healthcare could look like Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Carl Pecoraro’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-pecoraro-93ab4142/  Lindsay Leeder’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-leeder-msn-arnp-6a3740146/  Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Health & Welfare Fund: https://www.cbtfunds.com/

    Fixing Healthcare Costs Without Cutting Benefits With Carl Pecoraro & Lindsay Leeder

  8. Apr 29

    Choosing The Right Surgeon Changes Everything with Grant Zarzour, MD

    Healthcare feels impossible to navigate when it matters most. Even doctors struggle to find the right care.  In this episode of Making Healthcare Sustainable, Nancy Ryerson speaks with Grant Zarzour, MD, orthopedic surgeon and Lantern Medical Advisory Board member, on what actually drives better surgical outcomes. He shares how volume shapes results, why appropriateness comes first, and what faster recovery really looks like.  In this episode, you'll learn: Why high surgical volume leads to better outcomes and faster recoveryHow to guide members to the right procedure and avoid unnecessary surgeryWhat quality really means beyond reputation and referrals Highlights: (00:00) Meet Dr. Grant Zarzour (02:18) Navigating healthcare during a family crisis(05:01) Partial vs total knee replacement decision(08:41) Why appropriateness matters before surgery(13:13) How to define quality in surgery(14:30) What patient-reported outcomes reveal(15:22) Coaching patients through recovery(16:26) What great post-op care looks like(20:17) What is driving faster surgical recovery(23:35) GLP one drugs and the real tradeoffs(26:45) Breaking sugar habits and spikes(31:59) Why prevention still gets overlooked(36:43) Why personalized care plans matter(37:33) What the future of healthcare looks like Resources: Nancy Ryerson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyryerson/ Dr. Grant Zarzour’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantzarzour/

    Choosing The Right Surgeon Changes Everything with Grant Zarzour, MD
See All (14)

Trailer

About

Employee healthcare is at a tipping point. The costs are unsustainable. The system is overwhelming. And benefits leaders are being asked to do more — with less — for the people who count on them most. Making Healthcare Sustainable is a media experience from Lantern, spotlighting the bold thinkers, advisors, and changemakers transforming high-cost problems into life-changing outcomes. Through interviews, insights, and storytelling, we explore what it takes to deliver better care while optimizing the system and budget. This is where benefit design meets business impact. Because when healthcare works better, everyone wins.

Information