So, we would love to have all of the independent direct primary care providers in our network.
But when you talk to them, the reason that they're now independent direct primary care
providers is they wanted to get away from the, I've got eight minutes or nine minutes
with my patient and then I have to move on.
They wanted to treat the whole person, understand that there's more questions to be asked about
why your knee hurts than you can get in eight or nine minutes before just sending someone
out for an X-ray or an MRI.
They don't want to do the paperwork, they don't want to hire coders and billers which
contribute to the overhead and kind of gets them right back into the, being in a network
arena.
I look back, I don't think, so the only answer that might have gotten cut off a little bit
was the increased interest in self-funding.
Oh, well, that's the easiest you want to talk about, some good.
So you ask about the increased interest in self-funding.
We've seen more and more consultants reach out to us to ask questions about where do
we think a good starting point is for employers to look at self-funding.
We talked about that 75 to 100 number I think is pretty good because I think more employers
are hearing in the streets from their counterparts about ways their controlling healthcare costs
and it trickles down from the three, four, 500 life groups to employers that go, well,
I could do that too.
I understand the risk that's involved, so I want to explore it.
We've probably seen that interest go up two or three fold in the last handful of years.
And do employers have a vested interest in making sure their employees are covered properly
because you have to see your employees every day in the hallway?
Right.
I think absolutely.
I think a good benefit plan is paramount to finding good employees and keeping good
employees because if they weren't, it's a lot of money and in some cases it's a lot
of time and effort that leadership has to put into putting that together if they didn't
have to, they wouldn't.
I think that's the other thing about self-funding.
It gives you the leeway to include some things that may not be covered through a fully insured
plan.
Whether it's acupuncture or red light therapy or massage therapy, you can incorporate all
of that you want to into that self-funded plan.
That's great.
That was the one question I didn't eat, so all right.