About Dennis Fowler: As a partner and practice leader at The Baldwin Group, Dennis helps employers achieve their culture and goals through innovative and tailored benefit strategies. He has over 14 years of experience in the insurance and human capital ecosystem, and he is passionate about disrupting the expensive and unsustainable healthcare system. 

In this episode, Eric and Dennis Fowler discuss:

• The role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (“PBMs”)
• How the size of a company affects its options 
• The challenge of managing PBMs
• The advantage of having a raw data warehouse 

Key Takeaways:

• The role of Benefit Managers becomes critical in understanding the financial flows of healthcare, from both cost and fiduciary perspectives. Whether you're dealing with a traditional, pass-through, or hybrid PBM, there is an imperative need for transparency.
• The size of a company affects its healthcare options, especially in terms of self-funding and engaging with PBMs. For companies with over 500 employees, the options for self-funding and working with PBMs increase significantly, adding to the complexity of the choices to be made.
• The challenge of managing company pharmacy plans isn't just about the financial aspects; it also revolves around balancing cost, accessibility, and employee culture. 
• The ultimate weapon in a benefit manager’s arsenal is data. Having a raw data warehouse presents a clear upper hand. 

“You want to be able to pull the data in its raw format, which means you collected it in its raw format. And that's what a data warehouse allows you to do.” - Dennis Fowler

Connect with Dennis Fowler:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-fowler-b105a6b/ 

Connect with Eric Dyson: 

Website: https://90northllc.com/

Phone: 940-248-4800

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/401kguy/ 

The information contained herein is general in nature and is provided solely for educational and informational purposes.

It is not intended to provide a specific recommendation of any type of product or service discussed in this presentation or to provide any warranties, financial advice or legal advice.

The specific facts and circumstance of all qualified plans can vary and the information contained in this podcast may or may not apply to your individual circumstances or to your plan or client plan specific circumstances.