Written by Breanna Courville, BA

Mitigate Partners, a consortium of 30+ employee benefit consulting and brokerage firms that focuses on risk management, cost containment, and employee benefits, recently held a conference advocating the reduction of healthcare costs for both employers and patients. They had an array of speakers who spoke on their successes thus far, as well as on how to continue to improve healthcare to keep it affordable for those in need.

Carl Schuessler Jr., Co-founder of Mitigate Partners, organized the conference and hosted it alongside his fellow Mitigate Partners. Carl brings more than 30 years of experience in benefits consulting and financial services to the field and pioneered the fiduciary approach to benefits advisory services. His passion for fixing the problem of runaway healthcare costs in this country and his desire to treat the employer’s money as his own led him through years of research, culminating in the development of his proprietary FairCo$t Health Plan. This innovative plan design seamlessly integrates 20+ cost containment solutions with a high-performance healthcare solutions platform. This combination provides first-class benefits at substantially lower costs to employers, all while realizing better clinical outcomes for plan members. Carl often rallies audiences with stories of how Mitigate Partners are challenging Wall Street (insurer-built) health plans by creating Main Street (employer-built) health plans and bending the healthcare cost curve. Many of the Mitigators are certified Rosetta Health Professionals who are assets to the communities they interact with and have a positive impact on the health industry.

One of the speakers at the conference, Marshall Allen, spoke on how patients educate themselves to better understand healthcare and strive toward improving their individual consumer experiences. During this conference, he references his best-selling book ‘Never Pay the First Bill’, which outlined how clients can protect themselves from price gouging. He provides a step-by-step game plan that helps patients identify care that may be pushing them to receive unnecessary tests and medications in order to boost the price of care.

Some featured presenters at this conference were Liz Schrock, Dr. Lee S. Gross, Dr. Eric Crall, Cynthia Fisher, Marni Jameson Carey, and Chris Yarn. Liz Schrock, Benefits Champion at The Gasparilla Inn, is responsible for the administration of The Inn’s employee benefits program. Her main focus is to assist over 215 employees in navigating the cost-saving avenues that her company has put in place.

Dr. Lee S. Gross, President of the Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation, is a nationally recognized physician leader who was instrumental in advancing the concept of Direct Primary Care. In addition to actively seeing patients, he also serves as a healthcare consultant to physician practices, medical organizations, insurance groups, hospitals, and private businesses. He is a trusted adviser to lawmakers and policy leaders on national health policy initiatives.

Dr. Eric Crall was an employed Family Practice Physician for almost 2 decades before he started his own Direct Primary Care practice in Florida. He helps other physicians start their own DPC practices and shows employers and patients how to improve their health benefits.

Along with the speakers who work in the field to assist clients, there were also employers who were able to speak about their success stories. Vince Sica was one of these speakers. He is the CEO of DeSoto Memorial Hospital, Inc. He has worked hard to help the hospital grow while still confronting the healthcare industry. Lois Hilton, whose career is also tied to DeSoto Memorial Hospital as the Director of Human Resources, has the responsibility for the function of the department. Glenn Price is responsible for the financial operations of The Gasparilla Inn & Club. He has years of experience in managing their self-funded health plan integrated with many cost containment strategies.

Mitigate Partners will join the American College of Healthcare Trustees (ACHT) for events across the United States. The ACHT is inviting local business owners and physicians to discuss making healthcare better for everyone and giving business owners options.

From sole proprietors to large companies, we are helping them all learn how to save Millions like The Gasparilla Inn and DeSoto Hospital!