Critical Point

Trucking and trucking companies are not just big tanker trucks on the highway.  With the growth of online shopping, these companies are responsible for delivering everything from clothes to kitchen gadgets straight to your door. In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman’s Christine Fleming and Nina Plail discuss trucking insurance, specifically how insurtech is transforming claims management in the industry for both companies and consumers. Over the last five to 10 years, there have been great strides in technology--innovations like photo-estimatic platforms and telematics-- that can improve efficiencies and reduce costs for companies, while making the insurance claims process easier for claimants.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.

In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman senior healthcare management consultant Susan Philip talks to host Lesley Pink about telehealth. Around for over 50 years, NASA developed the first form of telemedicine to monitor astronauts in space. Today, telehealth is being used to deliver healthcare in the U.S. to a population that might otherwise have difficulty accessing care. Susan Philip joins Critical Point to provide a primer on telehealth including its uses, regulatory landscape, efficacy, and some of the ground-breaking new devices using telehealth to deliver care.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.

In this episode of Critical Point, Milliman consultants Shea Parkes and Anders Larson provide an introductory look at blockchain for those listeners not already familiar with the technology. The first in a series of episodes on blockchain, Shea and Anders dig into blockchain basics (including what the technology actually is and how it relates to cryptocurrency) in order to set the scene for more in-depth conversations on blockchain and insurance applications. Future episodes in the series will include potential use-cases in insurance, anti-patterns, and alternatives.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.

As healthcare costs continue to increase, the industry is looking for innovative ways to reduce spending. One recent structural change is to modify the way doctors are paid. Over the past few years, payers have begun switching from a fee-for-service model, in which doctors are paid by the volume of services provided, to alternative payment models (APMs), where the emphasis is put on the quality of services provided instead of the quantity. There are many different forms of APMs, and Milliman’s Pamela Pelizzari is sitting down with Critical Point to provide a little APM 101.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.

Medicine is an imperfect science. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 30% of medical care in the U.S. is unnecessary care. Eliminating inefficient and unnecessary medical services improves overall healthcare efficiency while reducing costs. In this episode, Marcos Dachary and Dr. David Mirken of Milliman’s MedInsight Waste Calculator discuss a few areas in which we’re seeing waste in our healthcare system, and what can be done to minimize it.
You can read the episode transcript on our website.