“As a broker, our job is counting cards against the system. Because everything catches up 5-10 years later. Every other broker, every other consultant gets in like, oh, that's a great idea. We're always trying to find the next little thing, and then the system eventually shuts it down because it messes with somebody's money." - Taylor Orton

What does it mean to be on the bleeding edge of employee benefits? My next guest, Taylor Orton, CEBS, of Cottingham & Butler, frames the work of a top consultant as “counting cards against the system”, and trying to continuously stay ahead of the market.

Taylor broke down several of the key areas of cost containment that are often employed by brokers and gave his take, as well as what it means to be on the “bleeding edge” of benefits. He also shared with me why cost containment doesn’t just mean lowering the “unit cost” of healthcare; it also means trying to reduce the number of “units”.

Much of this conversation was on the big picture of the healthcare landscape, so if you’re a self-funded geek, this one is for you.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Why Brokers Need To Be Constantly Innovating | with Taylor Orton
(00:10:44) Optimizing Healthcare Benefits Plans
(00:16:14) Why Procurement Strategies Are So Key To Cost Management
(00:33:22) Market Forces' Impact on Healthcare Pricing
(00:46:54) Employer Transparency About Healthcare

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

“There's this ability to impact people directly through the employer in a very cost effective way, giving everyone the chance to improve their health. The more employers that we can impact, the more people we're going to impact." - Erica Armstrong

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Erica Armstrong, MD, IFMCP, the founder of Root Functional Medicine, who is on a mission to use functional medicine to find and treat the root cause of our health issues. After first connecting with Erica on LinkedIn, I was excited to have her on the show to discuss her holistic approach to healthcare.

We discussed the core pillars of functional medicine, including a nutrition-first care model, the critical importance of a healthy gut microbiome, the keys to inflammation management, and even the potential for reversing chronic conditions. We also cover how she is bringing this new, more comprehensive model to employers and their employees.

Tune in this week to learn all about functional medicine!

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Functional Medicine 101 | with Erica Armstrong
(00:05:37) The “Root Cause” Approach
(00:07:03) Holistic Approach Of Functional Medicine
(00:16:56) Nutrition-First Care
(00:25:59) The Importance Of A Healthy Gut Microbiome
(00:34:46) Chronic Condition Reversal
(00:44:10) The Key To Inflammation Management

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

If you'd like your question answered on next month's episode, call/text 469-213-6381 and leave us a voicemail/text.

Each month on Last Month In Healthcare, producer Nathaniel joins me to discuss the previous month's podcasts, headlines, and listener-submitted questions. This month, we were joined in studio by Shawn Ferguson from Acrisure!

This episode covers healthcare news from May 2025, including:

- Trump's 'most favored nation' executive order

- AI in the FDA

- FDA's plan to review chemicals in our food supply

- Prices for new drugs doubling in the last 4 years

- Hospitals outsourcing minor surgeries

- The DOJ lawsuit against Aetna, Elevance, and Humana

And we play a new game called the Macro Matchup, where Spencer and Shawn attempt to guess the calories, sugar, fat, and protein of 4 very unhealthy fast food items.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro

1:01 - Healthcare Headlines

18:21 - The Self-Funded Review

31:29 - Macro Match-up (this month's game)

38:06 - Ask Spencer Anything

Sources:

• https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/trump-most-favored-nations-drug-pricing-plan/747761/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-centers-deploy-ai-internally-immediately-2025-05-08/
• https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fda-plans-review-chemicals-us-food-supply-official-says-2025-05-15/
• https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/prices-new-us-drugs-doubled-4-years-focus-rare-disease-grows-2025-05-22/
• https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/healthcare-diversified-hospitals-are-outsourcing-minor-surgeries
• https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/us-files-false-claims-complaint-against-three-health-insurers-2025-05-01/