B-Time with Beth Bierbower

I had heard from several people that the book Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey was an excellent book, yet I was hesitant to read it.  I have seen McConaughey in a few romantic comedies and his characters never won me over.  As result, I never watched any of his more serious movies including the Dallas Buyers Club for which he won an Oscar. 

I devoured this book in audio format in a single day.  I started listening while in the Salt Lake City Delta Sky Lounge early one morning and finished the book by the time I arrived in New York City.  McConaughey was the narrator, and this makes the book immensely entertaining.  His prose is both poignant and funny and captivated me from the beginning.

The point of Greenlights is to provide guiding principles by which McConaughey has lived his life.  Greenlights are those signals that tell you to take the opportunity and move full speed ahead.  Yellow and red lights slow us down and prohibit us from reaching our full potential.

McConaughey is open, honest and vulnerable in this book.  He shares stories of his past that others would repress or deny.  He was a bit of a wanderer, mostly seeking to find himself.  McConaughey readily admits that at times he lost his way and had to rediscover what was important to him.  McConaughey tells us to forgive ourselves.  We all make mistakes so move on and try to be a better person. 

I found Greenlights to be a refreshing reminder that we are all human and a little bit of curiosity and kindness go a long way.  And also, that we should always try to up our game in becoming a better person. 

Did you know that 70M people in the US suffer from chronic digestive issues?  And did you know that this is more than twice the number of people with diabetes?  Over 8M ER visits happen each year due to digestive complaints.  And the annual cost for digestive diseases is $136B which is more than the annual spend on heart disease, trauma or mental health. 

Digestive or “gut” health is getting quite a bit of attention these days as health experts are discovering more about the microbiome and its impact on our health.  With us today to discuss digestive health and its impact on our overall health and healthcare spending is CEO of Vivante Health, Bill Snyder.  Prior to joining Vivante, Bill spent time as head of sales at Virta Health and was the Chicago Market Leader for Humana.

Show notes: Book:  The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz.  Podcasts: B-Time with Beth Bierbower & TED Radio Hour

Medicare Advantage continues to be a hot market with new entrants emerging annually.  Each new player is out to make its mark and take market share from the national health plans by offering a customer centric, simplified experience.  Troy Medicare is one such player.  Looking at the Troy Medicare website, you will see their tagline prominently displayed: “Health Insurance.  No BS.”  Now that is an intriguing proposition.  Let’s see if our guest can share how Troy Medicare is delivering on this promise.

With us is Flaviu Simihaian, co-founder and CEO of Troy Medicare, a Medicare Advantage plan that entered the marketplace in 2019 and operates in the state of North Carolina with plans to continue its expansion.  Flaviu is a repeat entrepreneur who previously developed imedicare, a platform to help pharmacists manage patient care.  I am excited to learn more about how the team at Troy Medicare is changing the game for individuals on Medicare Advantage.

Show notes: Podcasts: Tradeoffs with Dan Gorenstein and The Drive Podcast with Peter Attia.  Book: Doing Justice by Preet Bharara.

Several people have shared with me how much they enjoyed The Wright Brothers book by David McCullough.  After reading it, I would encourage everyone to read this book.  Some people say it’s a book about perseverance and it surely is, but what I found most interesting was that the Wright Brothers understood that they needed to solve the challenge of a flying machine one small piece at a time.  They knew success would be a long time in coming simply because they had to deeply understand and perfect each aspect of the process.  No quick wins or “Hail Mary’s” for these brothers.  

I specifically wanted to share a few quotes and important moments from the book that left an impression on me.

For instance, when a friend told Orville that the brothers were an example of how far one could go without special advantages, Orville responded by saying that they in fact did have special advantages as they grew up in a family where there was always much encouragement to intellectual curiosity.  You have heard me speak to the importance of intellectual curiosity many times on this podcast so I was thrilled to read Orville’s statement on this topic.

In addition, several years into the process, the brothers realized that the calculations and tables that had previously been published and upon which they relied were erroneous.  They would have to start from scratch and create new metrics.  They built metal models that they tested repeatedly to get new and accurate calculations.  These new models taught them how to accurately build their flying machine.  When we think about our approach to innovation today are we building new models or amassing data through the same lens that has been untouched for ages?  What happens when we take the time to disassemble and build new models?

My favorite quote from the book builds on this previous thought.  “The best dividends on the labor invested have invariably come from seeking more knowledge rather than more power.”  This statement says it all.

The Wright Brothers book gives us a glimpse of the intellect, tenacity, patience and humility these brothers had to create a blueprint for one of the most valuable machines of our time.  It’s worth your time to read. 

Today we are going to discuss a new approach to helping people with recovery from addiction.  With us is Eric Gastfriend, CEO and co-founder of DynamiCare Health, a digital health company that helps people with recovery from addiction.  DynamiCare helps people overcome addiction to drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Centered around motivation and accountability, DynamiCare challenges and empowers individuals to change their lives for the better.  DynamiCare Health was founded in 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts by Eric Gastfriend, Harvard MBA tech executive, and his father, Dr. David Gastfriend, an international expert in addiction psychiatry.

Show notes:  Inspiring book:  Doing Good Better: How ffective Alruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work That Matters, And Make Smarter Choices About Giving Back By William MacAskill.  Podcasts: RadioLab with Jad Abumrad, Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser; Freakonomics Radio.

I don’t drive a Tesla.  I don’t have solar panels installed in my home, and I have no desire to go to Mars.  Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading the biography titled Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance.  Musk is obviously a genius and his passion for doing things that he believes to be right for the planet and mankind shine through the pages of this book.

Musk had a rough childhood.  He was physically and emotionally bullied at school as a child and the bullying went well beyond being pushed around on the playground.  Musk’s parents divorced when he was young and he lived with his father who seemed to have his own mental health issues.  Musk is a survivor.

Musk not only has a clearer long-term vision than most people, he also knows how to make his vision happen in painstaking detail.  For example, when the Russians provided him with an outlandish figure to purchase one of their rockets, Musk showed his team a detailed spreadsheet containing all the parts and associated costs with building a rocket and committed to building his own rocket in the United States at significantly lower costs.  Many of the engineers that worked with Musk said they were far more creative at SpaceX or Tesla than they would have been at other companies because Musk won’t simply take “no” for an answer.  When something failed, Musk wanted to have a plan of action as to how to fix the issue which forced people to thoroughly think through problems.  People who were not clued into Musk’s thinking were dismissed at best and at worst, bore the wrath of Musk.

Musk is a lifelong learner and it appears he has tried to improve as a leader, although he still has a long way to go.  He is an interesting character and to have a glimpse into his psyche is fascinating.  I imagine that Musk can be quite charismatic, and it’s clear that Vance, the author of the biography, is appreciative of Musk’s accomplishments, but Vance also does a good job of revealing Musk’s various shortcomings.  Overall, I thought the book was balanced.

Since the biography was originally published in 2015, it was  cool to see things that Musk promised, come to life.  It takes more than vision to fight against the status quo – especially when you must fight the government as Musk had to do with SpaceX and Tesla.  Musk is a controversial figure for sure, but then again, most people who drive significant change are, which is why Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance is worth reading.

Gaps in care exist when a member has not received care according to standard guidelines.  The most recognizable gaps in care relate to the failure to receive certain preventive screening tests such as mammograms, eye exams and more.  It’s important for Health Plans to close gaps in care to ensure the Plan is meeting regulatory requirements and achieving the highest possible STARS ratings.

The challenge is that providers are bombarded with messages from a variety of Health Plans for many different reasons and are also messaged by their own EMRs.  With all these messages, it can be difficult for a provider to sort through the noise and take the necessary time to follow through.

Our guest today, Michael Meng, CEO of Stellar Health, will explain how his company helps practicing physicians improve quality and financial performance by prompting providers and their care staff with recommended value-based actions and real-time payments at the point of care.  Show Notes: No Rules Rules: Netflix And The Culture Of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer.  The All-In Podcast with Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis.  This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis.

Most major provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect on January 1, 2014.  Two core tenants of the Affordable Care Act were to expand Medicaid and to increase the availability of health insurance for individual consumers who purchased coverage on their own.  We are now 7 years out; the ACA remains intact and several recent changes from President Biden’s administration have driven sizable growth this year. 

With us to discuss the state of the individual market is Sal Gentile, CEO of Friday Health Plans.  Friday sells to both individuals and small groups and a few months ago raised $160M in capital to fuel continued expansion. 

Show notes:  Books: Built to Last By Jim Collins, Washington: A Life By Ron Chernow.  Podcast Smartless with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes and ESPN’s 30 for 30.

West Point Woman is a book by Sara Potecha about leadership and character development that was instilled in her during her time at the United States Military Academy at West Point.  Sara was admitted to West Point in 1979 just a few years after the Academy was forced to admit women.  While resentment to this coerced integration was still high, the author does not make this tension the exclusive focus of the book.  Instead, she talks about the character-building principles she learned based on the culture of West Point. 

Sara discusses camaraderie, problem solving, ethics, encouragement, feedback and more.  She uses relatable examples from her time at the acclaimed Academy and in her career after her time at West Point ended.  West Point is a top-notch institution academically and culturally as it is designed to create leaders who will always do the right thing to protect our country. My admiration for Sara increased substantially as I learned what she physically and emotionally endured as a cadet.  After reading Sara’s experiences at West Point and beyond, you’ll catch and stop yourself when you start to whine about something that you realize is trivial.

West Point Woman is a true leadership book that shows us how we are shaped by adversity, failure, kindness and loyalty even if we don’t realize it in the moment.  This is a good book not just for those that want to be good leaders, but also for those of us who are humbled by the sacrifices of others.  I am honored to know and have worked with Sara.

Our guest today is Adam Odessky, Co-founder & CEO of Sense.ly a conversational platform that drives patient and insurance member engagement.  Sensely is unique in that it uses an avatar for interactions which proves to be more engaging than text messaging or chatbots.  We’ll hear more about this exciting technology platform from Adam in a minute.

Adam has worked for notable companies such as Motorola, Oracle and Microsoft and has expertise in telecom, speech recognition and augmented reality.  I’m excited to learn more about what Adam and the team at Sensely are up to.  Please join me in welcoming Adam Odessky to B-Time.

Show Notes:  Favorite Book:  Super Sad True Love Story: A Novel By Gary Shteyngart.  Podcasts: Dr. James Somauroo – The Healthtech Podcast.