Category: Local Chapter Meeting

Recap: Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

5/5/2023

Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

We, the San Antonio chapter of the Free Market Medical Association, hosted our meeting "Empower Your Healthcare Decisions" with the goal of discussing and finding solutions to the overwhelming cost of healthcare in the US. Our event brought together a panel of experts including Dr. Wes Clements from TailoredMD, Dr. Henry Higgins from Family Hospital Systems, Dan Hobson from Rise Recovery, and Allison De Paoli from Altiqe Consulting.

Our meeting was made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Direct Med Clinic, Shankx Healthcare Marketing, Eagle Care Health Solutions, Family Hospital Systems, and Altiqe Consulting. The evening was also graciously hosted by the co-leaders of our San Antonio chapter, Dr. Roger Moczygemba and Shankar Poncelet. You can watch our recording of the meeting below.

We began the meeting with an introduction to the Free Market Medical Association's mission to promote price transparency and affordable healthcare. Our guest speakers then shared their experiences and ideas for creating healthcare plans that challenge the traditional insurance model.

Dr. Wes Clements spoke about the broken US healthcare system and the benefits of direct primary care clinics. He encouraged patients and employers to explore options outside of traditional insurance, emphasizing the importance of taking control of healthcare decisions.

Dan Hobson, who has personal experience with addiction, discussed his frustration with the traditional treatment industry. Together with Dr. Henry Higgins, they developed a non-narcotic medical intervention to help patients detox from addictive substances without withdrawal symptoms.

Dr. Higgins, founder of Family Hospital Systems, shared his experience as a trauma doctor and emphasized the importance of accountability and quality care for patients. He and his colleagues worked with direct primary care physicians to create affordable healthcare options and with specialty surgeons to eliminate waste in the insurance system. Their company is focused on quality and results and is even becoming an employee-owned company.

Allison De Paoli discussed the challenges of navigating insurance and the need for transparency in healthcare costs. She encouraged employers to understand their risk and control the frequency and severity of large claims, pairing the right solutions such as direct primary care and urgent care.

Overall, our meeting highlighted the need for change in the US healthcare system and offered hope for alternative solutions. Our guest speakers offered practical solutions by exploring alternate funding levels, self-funding environments, and cost-saving measures. The event provided a platform for discussing the challenges of the healthcare system and offered a path for change.

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Recap: An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare

12/21/2022

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An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare

On November 18, 2022, at The Club at Sonterra, we had an exciting evening of exploration and learning at, "An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare." The San Antonio Free Market Medical Association guests heard from keynote speaker David Balat, Executive Director of Free2Care, and a panel of leading industry experts including Bill Cox, President of Cox Manufacturing Co., Janice Martinez, Head of HR at Texas Disposal Systems, and Dr. Cliff Porter, a pioneer of Direct Primary Care.

Hosted by San Antonio Free Market Medical Association Chapter co-leaders, Dr. Roger Moczygemba and Shankar Poncelet, the event was generously sponsored by Direct Med Clinic, Shankx Healthcare Marketing, Eagle Care Health Solutions, Family Hospital Systems, Altiqe Consulting, and EZaccessMD.

This was an opportunity we hope you didn’t miss, as it was a night of valuable insights and information on the journey towards affordable healthcare. However, if you did, you can read our recap blog or watch the meeting in full below:

David Balat kicked off the night with a keynote speech, in which he recognized the "change makers," including:

Specialists
Laboratory providers
Imaging providers
Telemedicine
Surgery centers
Emergency departments
Hospitals
Third party organizations
Brokers
Employers
Nurses
Medical professionals
Patients

David topped off his powerful speech with a quote from Isaac Newton that reads, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” He dedicated this quote to the appointed change makers, crediting them with being the giants upon which the Free Market movement will thrive off of.

Pictured: David Balat giving the keynote speech at the FMMA meeting

Following the brief introductions of the guest speakers, Dr. Roger kickstarted the main theme of the evening with questions aimed at the panelists; The first question being why employers should care about providing their employees with affordable care. Janice Martinez and Dr. Cliff Porter recounted the moment they stumbled upon each other and the way their collaboration came about.

Pictured: Dr. Roger Moczygemba moderating the evening

Pictured: Shankar Poncelet hosting the evening

The attendees listened with rapt attention as Dr. Porter, Martinez, and Cox shared their thoughts about the importance of Direct Primary Care. One of the most riveting points raised by Dr. Porter included that of Direct Primary Care’s spanning all over the country with about 2,000 clinics actively utilizing the concept. Dr. Porter shared that this large range can actually allow the clinics to form affiliations with each other which in turn facilitates access for patients who find themselves away from their normal clinic. This would also enable patients to seek care at the Direct Primary Care clinic nearest to them.

Pictured: The attendees at the meeting listening intently

After Janice shared why she decided to adopt the DPC model for the employees at Texas Disposal Systems, Dr. Roger queried what she found most attractive about Direct Primary Care and what were the hurdles she had to overcome in order to implement this concept in her company’s health plan. Janice responded, “The demographics in our organization are very diverse… we have individuals that are non English speakers, we have individuals who are illiterate (English or Spanish) … some of the challenges that we had were effective communication.” Despite the employees being wary of the program at first, they now describe it as “old fashioned medicine.” Similarly, Bill shared his own struggles with needing to communicate information effectively and motivate employees to make a change in their lives.

Pictured: (From left to right) Panelists Dr. Cliff Porter, Janice Brewster Martinez, and Bill Cox

Lastly, to conclude the speaking portion of the night, Janice shared a strong testimonial in which she praised the effectiveness of Direct Primary Care and boasted about the amount of faith she has in the concept to be able to entrust it with the most valuable things in her life: her family.

“An Employer’s Journey to Affordable Health” finished out by opening up the floor to the audience and inviting them to ask the employers questions.

Interested in learning more about the better ways for employers to offer healthcare? Join us to learn the ways of The Force: Medical Liberty and Patient Autonomy at the national annual conference for the Free Market Medical Association on May 3-5th, 2023.

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San Antonio FMMA Discusses Creating a Free Market Surgery Center

11/2/2021

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After the Free Market Medical Association's 2021 Annual Conference in Plano, Texas, the local chapter leaders of the San Antonio FMMA were inspired to hold their next quarterly meeting Creating a Free Market Surgery Center in San Antonio, Texas. On October 27, 2021, the chapter gathered together to discuss how to promote affordable, competitive prices for elective surgeries in exchange for a hybrid structure or cash pay from willing consumers. The solution was found in bridging a hybrid surgery center and other cash facilities together with Benefits Advisors or “brokers who get it.”

With about 50 attendees, San Antonio FMMA members (buyers, sellers, vendors, and now facilities with cash pay) came together to hear about facilities that are or aim to operate under a free market model. Chapter Leaders Dr. Roger Moczygemba of Direct Med Clinic and Shankar Poncelet, CEO of Shankx Web Development, introduced the keynote speakers of the evening. Dr. Aamir Ehsan from CorePath Laboratories (accompanied by Executive VP of Business Operations, Curtis Loos), Randy Reynolds and Michelle Patino representing HealthCrest Surgical Partners introduced the new Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center, and Health Benefits Advisor, Allison De Paoli from Altiqe Consulting helped to tie it all together.

Takeaways From FMMA

Using reference labs for low-cost pathology (e.g., sampling tissue, bone marrow, urine, blood for diagnosis) is vital to bringing down the cost of healthcare. After all, 80% of Clinical Decisions Are Made On Pathology Findings (Lab Results). As a "one-stop-shop," CorePath is saving surgeons/specialists thousands of dollars, which allows them to offer more affordable rates to their patients.
Bundled pricing for elective surgeries and procedures may not be the status quo, but it is saving lives. Most Americans are deferring their care for fear of the cost of screenings and surgeries. Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center is not only charging fair and transparent prices, they cover a full spectrum of 10 different specialties, are in-network for all major payers, and they are proving that a hybrid model can work.
Knowledgeable Benefits Advisors and brokers or consultants who participate in the free market can change the way we shop for healthcare. Allison De Paoli is a broker, consultant and CEO of Altiqe who offers full control of the price chain by plans that bundle goods and services such as medication, hospital visits, etc. Benefits Advisors who help to promote transparency and cost control align with the FMMA. This ultimately helps employers and people to save money.

Price Transparency and Spearheading a Movement

,San Antonio Free Market Medical Association chapter leaders, Dr. Roger Moczygemba and Shankar Poncelet shared opening remarks before the speakers. Poncelet began by reflecting on how at one point, transparent pricing seemed only theoretical. However, this movement has gained momentum, and it seems more tangible than it did at the beginning. CEO of Shankx Web Development LLC, Poncelet and his marketing team helped make this event possible.

Shankar Poncelet explains the Pillars of the Free Market Medical Association and the practical use of specialists and surgery centers that operate under the free market model of healthcare.

CEO of Shankx Web Development, Poncelet said,"We don't want to destroy medicine. We want to bring back what it originally meant to be. Which is doctors, physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and anyone else I am forgetting. Give them the chance again to really offer healthcare at an affordable rate and in accessible ways. That is something we can absolutely achieve through American ingenuity, which is truly what FMMA is in my opinion. My role is to get to know all of you and simplify the message a little bit so that the general public can benefit from all this valuable information."

Dr. Roger Moczygemba of Direct Med Clinic - San Antonio introducing the speakers of Creating a Free Market Surgery Center at Club at Sonterra.

As a very passionate consumer advocate, Dr. Roger Moczygemba is eager to partner with specialists who can help keep consumer costs low while maintaining quality. In 2020, his company saved a single employer over $1.7 million dollars in avoided workers’ compensations claims. By contracting directly with the employer, his clinic was able to cut down unnecessary costs and eliminate the waste by offering direct access to healthcare.

CEO of Direct Med Clinic, Dr. Moczygemba said,"The whole purpose of what we’re doing here is to try to create affordable and accessible healthcare. Which is kind of hard to find these days. But you know when you step back and break it down into individual components...It gets really expensive when we get too many third parties involved. Especially if they get a little too greedy. So if we break it down to the basics that’s what we’re doing here. So we just want to take that to the new level now from doctor, patient, company, clinic to getting more specialists involved...we want this to work and we have some key players here in this room tonight and all of these meetings to make this work."

CorePath Laboratories: Clinical Pathology for Testing, Clinics, and Consultation

Dr. Aamir Ehsan of CorePath Laboratories facing projector.

Founder, CEO and Medical Director of CorePath, Dr. Ehsan shared insights about pathology labs and their role in the free market system of healthcare. As one of the few laboratories in the world offering cancer cytogenetics (i.e., testing samples of tissue, bone marrow, etc.), molecular genetics, and multicolor flow cytometry (e.g., imaging) in one place, CorePath is unique. The Bone Marrow Clinic, for example, by CorePath Laboratories, not only supplies providers with the kits, equipment, and technicians, but the consultation of their highly-trained, board-certified hematopathologists. This means providers are able to partner with subject matter experts in delivering care to consumers. Understanding that cancer involves time-sensitive reporting, follow-up is critical, and because CorePath provides in-house labs, they are able to deliver results that are timely and accurate. Providing in-house labs is also a key component to maintaining low-costs, passing the savings on to the end consumer without sacrificing quality of care. The lower costs of preferred specialists is due to using a reference lab.

CorePath seeks to discover physicians and providers that are entrepreneurs. They wish to collaborate with universities and the FMMA. Lastly, they are challenging the status quo by saving people thousands of dollars on pathology.

Surgical Procedures With Transparent Pricing: Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center

Senior VP of HealthCrest surgical partners, Randy Reynolds shared his presentation virtually via Zoom. Reynolds works with the Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center in San Antonio at an easy to access location. Their surgical facilities have been open since July of 2019 with affordable care and cash pay options for medical bills.

For many consumers, the quality of care begins with accessibility. The larger medical expenses for most Americans are typically a result of hospitalizations, surgeries, emergency room visits, and MRIs. However, Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center is an outpatient facility that provides elective procedures similar to traditional hospitals but without the high costs and fake prices where cash rates differ drastically from insurance. The facility charges individual patients with competitive, all-inclusive prices with a hybrid form of payment. This means that both private insurance and cash payments are acceptable forms for the health care services rendered.

Surgical facilities do not typically have a price list with affordable prices at an all-inclusive price, but Huebner Surgery Center bundles procedures and prices. Not only are they accessible because of the cost of healthcare, but also because of the location. Working with insurance companies, the surgical center makes sure that transparent pricing is still at the core of their surgical procedures.

Their providers have extensive experience and they have 4 fully equipped operating rooms. Their patients have the ability to stay overnight. They offer a scope of services and cover a full spectrum of 10 different specialties.

Reyolds said,”San Antonio is a large [top 10] city in the country..so there’s a lot of opportunities for cases to be done at a low-cost provider...I think opportunities are endless. We do have an advantage over some of the other surgery centers because we are independent...our contracts aren’t as rich and I think you would find our pricing reasonable. We would work with you to take care of your patients.”

How are you more cost effective and compare to others?

Reynolds said,"We get paid about a third what the hospital systems do on commercial. We get paid 52 cents on the dollar for Medicare. I would say probably any ASC that's hospital affiliated is leveraging their contracts so they're probably getting close to twice as much as we are. As Michelle [Patino] said, we are still making money but we have to run very efficiently and Michelle does a great job with that...we got a staff that loves to work at Huebner ASC and they love to take care of the patients. We have very high patient satisfaction scores. We are very focused on quality. Just because we are the low-cost provider, that doesn't mean that the patient is going to get less quality or care because that's not how we do business."

Raising the Bar: Building a Better Health Plan

Allison De Paoli stands in front of projector.

Allison De Paoli is a health insurance advisor, health insurance broker, consultant, founder and CEO at Altiqe. As a veteran of the insurance industry, her expertise and knowledge show through being able to help employers budget effectively to save money while also ensuring their employees have access to the care they need. However, just because she’s a veteran of the industry doesn’t mean that she sticks to the status quo. She breaks the mold with her strong focus on transparency and through the way she’s changing the insurance game.

At this meeting, De Paoli discussed how to build a better health plan as an employer and her answer to tackling the modern problems faced by employers and employees alike. One of the biggest problems that she brought up was “The Moral Imperative”, a fitting name for the unnecessary waste and fraud found in our current healthcare system that is benefitting everyone but who it needs to benefit: the everyday consumer. However, De Paoli has the creativity and wisdom to create the solutions necessary to fix these problems. An example of one of her solutions was through utilizing an alternative sourcing partner for your specialty and brand-name medications, which, as De Paoli phrased it, “puts real dollars back in the pockets of your employees”, since these medications come at zero out-of-pocket cost. Read more about Allison here.

De Paoli said,”If we are going to survive, we need to all evolve and adapt. The US healthcare system is coming apart in pieces...so what I do is one thing. I unbundle and rebuild health plans. What we try to do, and sometimes, we build the bridge as we go: Provide solutions that are completely transparent and allow an employer complete control.”

Special Guests Attend Free Market Medical Association Meeting

group of special guests smiling in photobooth Shankar Poncelet, Susan Kaars-Sypesteyn, Allison De Paoli, Bexar County Constable Precinct 4 Katherine Brown, Honorable Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark, Antrea Ferguson, Tim Kaufeldt Laso Health

Some San Antonio FMMA members pose for a group photo. From left to right: Shankar Poncelet, Susan Kaars-Sypesteyn of Nola's Brunch & Beignets, Allison De Paoli of Altiqe Consulting, Constable Kat Brown of Bexar County Precinct #4, Honorable Bexar County Clerk Lucy-Adame Clark, Antréa Ferguson of Shankx Web Development, and Tim Kaufeldt of Laso Health.

Change isn't possible without the assistance of healthcare providers and policy makers. The San Antonio FMMA is building a bridge to policy makers. The special guests who joined the meeting included Constable Katherine Brown of Bexar County Precinct #4 and Honorable Bexar County Clerk Lucy Adame-Clark.

Constable Brown shared that she fought ovarian and breast cancer and how informative the meeting was. She understands very well how costs for cancer treatment can quickly escalate for those who do not have ease of access to healthcare or are not in a single-payer system like the military.

Constable Brown said,"This information that you guys shared with me tonight is very helpful. It’s going to be a contributing factor in terms of the people that I speak to and correspond with.”

Sponsorship

San Antonio FMMA in-person meetings and online events were not possible without sponsors. The sponsors include Altiqe Consulting, CorePath Laboratories, Shankx Web Development, and Direct Med Clinic. For more information about sponsoring future events or inquiries, email Shankar Poncelet from Shankx Web Development at sanantonio@fmma.org.

From left to right: Constable Katherine Brown, Antréa Ferguson, Dr. Altamirano of Casa Salud Family Medicine Clinic, Michael Davies, Shankar Poncelet, Susan Kaars-Sepesteyn, Allison de Paoli, Honorable Lucy-Adame Clark, Bexar County Clerk, Tim Kaufeldt, Ansley Partosa, Teresa "Tess" Vardeman, Dr. Aamir Ehsan, Dusadee "Pink" Martin, Sherri Gary-Johnson, Kellie Pickett,

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Recap: Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

Recap: An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare

An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare

San Antonio FMMA Discusses Creating a Free Market Surgery Center

Takeaways From FMMA

Price Transparency and Spearheading a Movement

CorePath Laboratories: Clinical Pathology for Testing, Clinics, and Consultation

Surgical Procedures With Transparent Pricing: Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center

How are you more cost effective and compare to others?

Raising the Bar: Building a Better Health Plan

Special Guests Attend Free Market Medical Association Meeting

Sponsorship

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BLOG

Recap: Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

​Empower Your Healthcare Decisions​​

Recap: An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare

An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare​

San Antonio FMMA Discusses Creating a Free Market Surgery Center

Takeaways From FMMA

Price Transparency and Spearheading a Movement

CorePath Laboratories: Clinical Pathology for Testing, Clinics, and Consultation

Surgical Procedures With Transparent Pricing: Huebner Ambulatory Surgery Center

How are you more cost effective and compare to others?

Raising the Bar: Building a Better Health Plan

Special Guests Attend Free Market Medical Association Meeting

Sponsorship

Archives

Categories

Website brought to you by

Empower Your Healthcare Decisions

An Employer's Journey to Affordable Healthcare