In this episode, Dr. John Pagan sits down with Dr. Michael Fang, a geriatrician turned health tech entrepreneur, to discuss one of the most overlooked challenges facing independent physicians: accessing affordable health insurance for themselves and their staff. Dr. Fang introduces Ryze Health, PACN's newest partner, and explains how the company is bringing tried-and-true insurance strategies from other industries directly to independent medical practices.

Key Highlights

Dr. Fang's Background Dr. Fang knew he wanted to be a physician by age 8 and a geriatrician by age 12. After completing his training and entering practice, he became acutely aware of how broken the healthcare system is from the inside — leading him to pursue health informatics and, eventually, build software solutions focused on clinical decision support, population analytics, and social determinants of health.

The Problem: Independent Doctors Lack Good Health Plans Coming out of the pandemic, Dr. Fang reached out to colleagues and discovered a shared pain point: independent physicians — who are technically small business owners — are largely stuck with expensive "fully insured" products from the open marketplace. Doctors can pay $2,000–$5,000/month in premiums, yet still face ~$30,000 in out-of-pocket costs before coverage meaningfully kicks in. Meanwhile, physicians as a group represent a lower health risk than the general population, yet are pooled with everyone else, effectively subsidizing others' care.

The Bigger Picture Over 400,000 independent practices remain in the U.S., yet unlike manufacturers, trucking companies, and other industries that have moved to self-funded insurance models, independent doctors have had no comparable alternative — until now.

What Makes Ryze Health Unique Ryze designs insurance solutions specifically around the physician risk profile and career path — accounting for the fact that physicians are less likely to have undetected cancers or untreated cardiovascular disease, and that many work across state lines, in telehealth, concierge care, or as 1099 contractors. Ryze also leverages technology and automation to reduce overhead, keeping costs lower than traditional insurers.

Two Core Solutions

• PEO (Professional Employer Organization): Best suited for solo practitioners to practices of ~15–20 employees. Ryze acts as an HR partner, aggregating smaller practices into a pool of ~30,000, enabling negotiation of large-group rates with major payers like Cigna or Blue Cross. Includes additional HR support — payroll, hiring, compliance, and more.
• Self-Funded Plan: Designed for larger medical groups (100+ employees). Ryze helps build a custom health plan where, if employees have a healthy year and funds remain, the practice keeps the surplus — unlike traditional insurance where unused premiums are never returned. This model is how many other industries have kept costs from rising year over year.

How to Get a Quote PACN members can visit the PACN website, where Ryze Health information and FAQs have been integrated. From there, a simple 15–25 minute questionnaire initiates the quoting process. Ryze's underwriting team will follow up with customized plan options.