Spark Health Advisors Presents: Spotlight Series

Spark Health Advisors
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Spark Health Advisors takes a practical look at how innovative health and benefits companies gain traction with employers. Host Lindsey Kratzer, CEO of Spark Health Advisors, talks with founders, operators, and industry experts in the employer and payer markets about what they’ve learned along the way. Each episode shares honest perspectives and market insight to help digital health teams better understand employer needs and build for scale.

  1. Jun 26

    Optimizing Your Healthcare Workforce: Strategy, Communication, and Employer Impact

    Enterprise employers are hitting a wall with fragmented workforce data. HR and finance leaders are moving past isolated metrics, shifting instead toward unified, predictive labor modeling to find real bottom-line relief.In this episode of Spark Spotlight, Wendy Smith, Partner at Mercer, breaks down how organizations are deploying data science to simulate workforce capacity, neutralize talent shortages, and insulate budgets from the 9.5% benefit cost spikes arriving in 2026.In this conversation, we discuss:- Digital Twinning in HR: Unlocking up to 40% hidden capacity in existing headcounts, skipping the friction of a six-month pilot.- The Stop-Loss Standoff: Why complex claims are breaking the risk market—and causing 90% of carriers to decline to quote.- The Math of Reference-Based Pricing: Navigating the massive spread between commercial hospital contracts and structured percentages of Medicare.- The Engagement Gap: Why point-solution fatigue is driving vendor aggregation, and why tactile, "old-school" communication is making a comeback.One line that stuck with me:"We run all these simulations... get to the answer and not even have to waste another six months of piloting this stuff... because let's face it, that's where you're spending the money. You're spending the money in labor and you're spending the money in benefits."If you are redesigning your labor and total rewards blueprint for the 2026 cycle, this session is essential listening.

  2. May 15

    Inside The Payer Playbook, Part 2: Crafting the Financial Value Story for Employers and Payers

    Most founders lead their pitches with clinical outcomes, but the most sophisticated buyers, CFOs and actuaries, are looking for a verifiable link to utilization and cost reduction — and a way to pressure test whether those ROI assumptions actually hold up in practice. In this episode of Spark Spotlight, we’re joined by Mandy Geyer, an actuary who has evaluated hundreds of vendor pitches from the consultant, employer, and payer perspectives. Mandy shares the specific "pressure tests" finance teams use to determine if a vendor's ROI claims actually hold water, and how those assumptions get evaluated across different stakeholders. In this conversation, we discuss: How different buyers evaluate value: Payer rigor vs. employer practicality.The shift to Year-One ROI: Why near-term results are winning over long-term investment cycles.Why engagement drives the model: The link between engagement, operational execution, and financial impact.The evolution of pricing: The move toward outcomes-based fixed fees and putting fees at risk.The "Trust but Verify" mindset: How to navigate third-party validation and actuarial reviews.A key takeaway: "The biggest thing is just to be transparent and collaborative. Be willing to be as transparent as you can with your assumptions and methodology and how your solution is generating savings and just be willing to collaborate... because at the end of the day, you're both on the same side." If you are a commercial leader looking to sharpen your financial value story, this episode offers a practical foundation for working with the financial gatekeepers in the room.

  3. Mar 20

    Inside the Payer Playbook, Part I: Health Plan Selling

    Many founders assume that selling to health plans is simply employer sales at a larger scale.In reality, it’s more complex, more layered, and requires a significantly higher bar for proof.In this episode of Spark Spotlight, we sit down with Craig Ginnan (Field Access Manager at Medexus Pharmaceuticals) to explore what it actually takes to succeed in payer sales—from building early traction with regional plans to navigating national organizations like UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, and Aetna.In this conversation, we discuss:• Why regional plans can be a strategic starting point• The realities of pilots and client-specific networks (CSNs)• Why vendor hubs don’t necessarily translate to adoption• The operational complexity many companies underestimateA key takeaway:“Be patient. This space is complex. Start with regional plans so that when you engage national plans, you are fully prepared.”If you are building or refining a payer strategy, this episode offers a practical foundation.

  4. Feb 28

    Bidding to Win: How to Stand Out and Win More Deals Through RFPs

    We’re entering the 2026 RFP season — and most early- to mid-stage companies aren’t prepared for what that actually means. If enterprise employers are part of your 2026 growth plan, this is when seats at the table are decided. After participating in more RFPs than I can count over the years, one thing is clear: It’s not just about having a strong solution. It’s about navigating a competitive, multi-stakeholder process — aligning to CFO and HR priorities, positioning within the employer’s broader strategy, and proving value without overcommitting on pricing or performance guarantees. What we consistently see? Many growth-stage companies don’t actually have a defined RFP strategy. They respond to the document — but they’re not running a coordinated plan to win. In this episode, I sat down with Abinue Fortingo of Brown & Brown to unpack what the RFP process really looks like for jumbo and large employers. We cover: Why RFPs are heating upHow CFOs and HR leaders influence decisionsWhere vendors miss the mark by leading with featuresHow to position around the employer’s strategyMaking pricing and performance guarantees work for both sidesHow to nail finalist presentations and build credibilityFavorite moment: “Capabilities alone won’t make the decision. It’s the right team, the right strategy, and showing you can grow with the employer that ultimately wins.” If you want a seat at the table in 2026, this conversation is worth your time.

  5. Jan 21

    From Founder-led to Mature Sales Organization: Exploring Growth, Talent, & Culture in B2B Healthcare

    Founder-led sales can carry a company a long way, but it often becomes harder to sustain as the business grows. For many healthcare founders, the challenge becomes figuring out how to build a sales org that works beyond their own relationships and involvement.In this episode, we talk with Nikki Ahlgren of Hilo Talent Partners about what that transition looks like in practice for B2B healthcare companies. Nikki shares what she sees most often as teams move from founder-led selling to hiring sales leadership, building teams, and shaping culture along the way.We cover how to know when it’s time to make the shift, what to look for in early sales hires, and common missteps that slow growth. Key takeaways: The state of the B2B healthcare sales job marketMoving out of founder-led sales as you scaleHow to evaluate and hire first sales leaders or repsHow fractional sales leaders can fill gaps as you growMotivating and retaining top sales talentFavorite moment: "There does come a point where that superpower of the founder led sales starts to become a hindrance to scale. So what is that point? Maybe around $1 -3 million if sales start to slow down, that relationship ecosystem has started to dwindle, and it is time to bring in that next level support."

  6. Jan 11

    Building Better Benefits: Inside the Employee–Broker Relationship

    Employers are facing steep health plan cost increases. As we head into 2026, it's more important than ever to partner with a broker who brings strategic guidance, not just transactional support. In this episode, we sit down with Nick Bellanca, Vice President of Lockton Companies, to talk about how to navigate this increasingly challenging system and bend the cost curve. Nick is a health benefits leader with experience across the ecosystem, having worked on the carrier side, vendor side, and now as a broker and consultant for middle-market and large self-funded employers.Key takeaways: How to build a strategic employer-broker relationshipHow to bend the cost curve in 2026What employers and brokers should to keep in mind asQ4 planning wrapsMarket trends for 2026Favorite moment:"Where some employers have felt burned, is if they have a of a broker who's pushing product... I think many employers are becoming more aware of the misaligned incentives that their broker consultant may have.”

  7. Jan 11

    Shedding Light on Workplace Addiction: The Hidden Costs and a New Path Forward

    Addiction impacts every level of the workforce, with untreated Alcohol Use Disorder and Substance Use Disorder driving double, or even quadruple standard medical costs for employers.In this episode of Spark Spotlight, Lindsey Kratzer, CEO of Spark Health Advisors, sits down with Amanda Wilson, CEO & Co-Founder of Northstar Care, to talk about unrecognized problem of alcohol and substance use disorder with employers.Amanda is a board-certified addiction physician and nationally recognized leader in addiction medicine. She launched Northstar Care in 2021 to reimagine how alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD) are treated, and is passionate about breaking down stigma, modernizing treatment models, and supporting employers in building healthier workplaces.For employers who care about workplace well-being, this episode shares real ways to make a difference.Key takeaways: Why Alcohol Use Disorder and Substance Use Disorder often go unrecognized in employee populationsWhat's broken in traditional treatment modelsHow Northstar addresses treatment differently, reaching an 86% success rate How employers can proactively address Alcohol Use Disorder and Substance Use DisordersFavorite moment: “[Every employer] I’ve spoken to talks about absenteeism as a major issue... what I’ll say to them is that you have an alcohol use disorder problem. Because... 1 in 5 employees are affected by alcohol use disorder, the workforce is literally soaking in it.”

  8. Jan 11

    Reference Based Pricing and the New Playbook for Employer Health Plans

    As healthcare costs rise, more employers are getting serious about bold cost-containment strategies—and reference-based pricing (RBP) is quickly becoming a hot topic.In this episode of Spark Spotlight, I sit down with Rick Elliott, Executive Vice President and Partner at Lockton Companies, to talk about how some employers are breaking the mold.Rick has spent over 40 years in healthcare and employee benefits—and today, he advises employers who are ready to think differently. From reference-based pricing to transparent PBMs and cash-pay models, Rick shares what’s actually gaining traction among leadership teams who can no longer afford the status quo.If you’re working in benefits strategy or selling into the employer market, this episode offers a front-row seat to where buying behavior is headed.Key takeaways: Why employers are now welcoming reference-based pricing when traditional plans fall shortWhat most organizations get wrong about “disruption”—and how to reframe itHow transparent PBMs are building momentum with CFOs and CHROsWhy educating employees is the make-or-break moment for any new planWhat progressive CEOs are doing differently to make benefits a true business leverFavorite moment: “One client saved over $10 million by adopting reference-based pricing—and 80% of employees enrolled because the plan was explained clearly and made their lives easier.”If you’re selling value in this space, you need to understand what forward-thinking brokers and buyers are actually responding to. Rick makes it clear: it’s not just innovation that wins—it’s execution.

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Spark Health Advisors takes a practical look at how innovative health and benefits companies gain traction with employers. Host Lindsey Kratzer, CEO of Spark Health Advisors, talks with founders, operators, and industry experts in the employer and payer markets about what they’ve learned along the way. Each episode shares honest perspectives and market insight to help digital health teams better understand employer needs and build for scale.

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