Latest / Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast / Nicholas Stefanizzi, CEO of Northwell Direct

Transcript

Nicholas Stefanizzi, CEO of Northwell Direct · Becker’s Healthcare - Clinical Leadership Podcast

• 0:01
  CEOs,
• 0:02
  CFOs and executives from top hospitals and health systems are gathering at this
• 0:06
  exclusive world-class event.
• 0:08
  To address the most pressing issues in healthcare today,
• 0:11
  Becker's 11th annual c e o and CFO Round Table is taking place in Chicago
• 0:16
  this November and will feature more than 400 elite provider speakers and
• 0:21
  over a thousand hospital and health systems,
• 0:23
  C-suite and VP attendees and good news healthcare providers have a chance
• 0:28
  at receiving complimentary registration as a reviewer. If you're interested,
• 0:32
  you can apply at the website in the description.
• 0:36
  This is Laura Dedo with the Becker's Healthcare Podcast.
• 0:39
  I'm thrilled today to be joined by Nick Stefan,
• 0:42
  who's the Chief Executive Officer of Northwell Direct. Nick,
• 0:45
  it's a pleasure to have you on the podcast today.
• 0:48
  Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.
• 0:52
  Now, I know we have a lot to talk about.
• 0:53
  There's so much happening in healthcare and things are moving very quickly,
• 0:57
  evolving rapidly, um, which is great to see.
• 0:59
  But before we dive into my questions,
• 1:01
  can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, your background,
• 1:04
  as well as Northwell Direct?
• 1:06
  Sure thing. Um, so I have spent my entire career, uh,
• 1:11
  working in the healthcare industry, uh, both on the,
• 1:16
  uh, not-for-profit and for-profit sides of the industry. Uh,
• 1:20
  I've spent the last 14 years, uh, with Northwell Health,
• 1:25
  the first half of which was spent within the not-for-profit delivery system
• 1:29
  in roles across technology operations,
• 1:33
  and human resources leadership.
• 1:36
  And then over the second phase of my time with Northwell,
• 1:39
  I've transitioned into more of their, uh, commercial ventures.
• 1:43
  And I've had the privilege over the last three years of serving as the CEO of
• 1:48
  Northwell Direct. And Northwell Direct is Northwell Health,
• 1:53
  fully owned subsidiary that is focused on partnering with employers to help them
• 1:58
  find access to high quality healthcare for their team members at a lower price
• 2:03
  point. And we do that through a variety of ways. On the one hand,
• 2:07
  we have a high performing narrow network,
• 2:10
  all alternative to the traditional insurance carriers that can be leveraged for
• 2:14
  an organization's team member benefits that we see on average can save
• 2:19
  an employer about 20% on their employee benefit costs.
• 2:23
  And then on the other hand,
• 2:24
  we have a range of clinical solutions that we can deploy in the office or
• 2:29
  virtually, uh,
• 2:30
  to support all of the healthcare needs of an organization's team members.
• 2:34
  And so, uh,
• 2:35
  we've been really lucky over the last three years since we launched to work with
• 2:40
  over 140 employers, uh, that are, uh,
• 2:45
  local, regional, and national, uh, in their scale and scope,
• 2:48
  depending on which organization we're talking about.
• 2:51
  It includes the likes of Bank of America, the United States State Department,
• 2:56
  uh, the New York Police Department, as well as a variety of other, uh, local,
• 3:01
  regional, and national employers. And so, uh, we're really excited,
• 3:05
  really encouraged about the work we've been doing, uh, with employers.
• 3:08
  And I think there's a real opportunity for us here to have an impact on not only
• 3:13
  the health and wellbeing of their team members, but also on the way we organize,
• 3:17
  deliver, and pay for healthcare in this country by working with employers.
• 3:23
  I love that. I think that's so important and such an innovative way to develop,
• 3:28
  um, that relationship between the health system and employers and working with
• 3:32
  insurance companies and, and members and patients. It just,
• 3:35
  it seems like to make so much sense, but I, I know, um, you know,
• 3:38
  something that Northwell is very much on the forefront of this trend.
• 3:42
  So from your perspective, what are some of the big issues that you're, um,
• 3:46
  really focusing on today in healthcare?
• 3:50
  I think the one that comes to mind most clearly, uh,
• 3:54
  and it it really has to do with why we're seeing so much interest from
• 3:59
  employers, uh, in the work that we're doing,
• 4:02
  is just a level of frustration that exists, uh,
• 4:07
  among the employer community around the continued
• 4:12
  rising costs to provide, uh,
• 4:15
  health and wellness benefits to their team members. You know,
• 4:19
  that that annual dilemma that the head of HR and the CFO
• 4:24
  face when, uh, they receive an increase, uh,
• 4:28
  in their benefit costs from the traditional insurance carriers and their forced
• 4:32
  to go through the exercise of figuring out how much of that increase is gonna be
• 4:37
  absorbed to the business and how much of that increase is gonna have to be
• 4:40
  passed on to their team members. And certainly over the last year, two years,
• 4:45
  that conversation's become even more difficult, uh,
• 4:49
  in the context of inflationary pressures,
• 4:53
  recessionary pressures, um, and,
• 4:57
  and the recruitment and retention challenges that many organizations have faced.
• 5:02
  So, you know, we see employers at a point of frustration. You know,
• 5:06
  if you think about, uh, the costs for employee benefits, uh,
• 5:11
  over the last decade, uh, they've increased over 20%. In 2023,
• 5:16
  we saw an increase on average of 10%.
• 5:19
  So the trend lines have been moving in the wrong direction for a long time.
• 5:24
  And I think employers are finally starting to say,
• 5:27
  we need to think about our team member healthcare benefits as
• 5:32
  a business and a strategic issue,
• 5:34
  and we need to start to look at alternative solutions and strategies.
• 5:40
  And, uh, to me,
• 5:42
  that's created a great opportunity for provider organizations like Northwell,
• 5:47
  like Northwell Direct, uh, to step in and say there is a different way.
• 5:52
  And we can do something that will not only, uh,
• 5:57
  help you to control the rate of increase, save money, but will also,
• 6:01
  in our view, provide a better experience and likely better outcomes,
• 6:06
  um, has become something that employers are finding, uh, incredibly attractive.
• 6:10
  So, um, you know, that's one of the big trends, uh, that we're,
• 6:15
  we've been keeping an eye on, and frankly, why I think, uh,
• 6:19
  we've had the opportunity that we've had to work with as many employers over the
• 6:23
  last three years.
• 6:26
  That, that's fascinating to hear and definitely interesting, um,
• 6:30
  from the employer side, them being so willing and eager, uh,
• 6:33
  to try something different and try something new and, and work with you on that.
• 6:37
  Um, as you're connecting with, and especially thinking through, you know,
• 6:39
  those who were, um, early to work with you on these types of models and then,
• 6:44
  you know, now, um, additional organizations that you're working with,
• 6:49
  um, where do you see as being, like,
• 6:51
  what lessons have you learned over the past few years to really make that
• 6:55
  relationship effective? Um, and, uh, you know,
• 7:00
  being able to work closely with employers and understand their needs and then
• 7:03
  apply that to your overall strategy?
• 7:07
  I think the most important thing that we try to keep in mind in any interaction
• 7:11
  we have with an employer is that each employer,
• 7:16
  each organization and their team members are different.
• 7:20
  And cookie cutter solutions are not the answer.
• 7:26
  Uh, the approach that we take is we really try to understand an organization,
• 7:31
  what their priorities and focus areas are,
• 7:35
  what their culture is and what their people need.
• 7:38
  And rather than delivering, you know, a cookie cutter solution, uh,
• 7:43
  and trying to put a square peg in a round hole,
• 7:45
  we work with those employers to customize the approach so that we can
• 7:50
  ensure our solutions will actually have the intended results,
• 7:54
  will actually meet the needs of their individual, uh, employees.
• 7:59
  And so, what do I mean by that? How does it come to life? I'll,
• 8:03
  I'll just give you a couple of examples. You know, number one, as I mentioned,
• 8:08
  we have a high performing narrow network that we offer as an alternative to the
• 8:12
  traditional insurance carriers. Um, we work with employers,
• 8:18
  some of whom are comfortable and willing to say, yes,
• 8:22
  we are going to make a wholesale full replacement of our,
• 8:26
  uh, existing insurance plan, uh,
• 8:29
  and bring in Northwell Direct as an option for our employees. Uh,
• 8:34
  that's great. We love when they do,
• 8:36
  but we also have some employers who are a little bit
• 8:41
  more cautious when it comes to, uh,
• 8:43
  making a change like that and like to take more of an incremental
• 8:48
  approach and perhaps introduce Northwell Direct as an additional
• 8:53
  alternative, as a choice offering versus a full replacement,
• 8:56
  what we call a sliced offering. We're totally comfortable with that.
• 9:00
  Our view is let's meet the employer where they are, where their culture is,
• 9:05
  and where their people are to make sure that it'll be effective.
• 9:08
  So it's just one example there of,
• 9:11
  of how we work to make sure we're tailoring our approach
• 9:16
  to the specific needs of an employer because we believe, uh,
• 9:20
  you've gotta be respectful and,
• 9:23
  and considerate of the unique characteristics of each organization and their
• 9:28
  people. I.
• 9:31
  Love that. I think that's so important in just, you know, what great, uh,
• 9:34
  insight into building a program like this Now.
• 9:37
  What are you most excited about today? What makes you nervous?
• 9:43
  You know, one of the things I'm, I'm, you know,
• 9:46
  frankly excited about is, um,
• 9:50
  we're also seeing that there seems to be a level of,
• 9:56
  uh, fatigue that is setting in around
• 10:01
  what I,
• 10:02
  I sometimes refer as point solution palooza point solution
• 10:07
  mania, right? If you think about, uh, the,
• 10:10
  the individual that's leading HR in, uh,
• 10:14
  organizations around the country,
• 10:17
  they are faced day in and day out with all kinds of different vendors
• 10:22
  that are, um, you know, offering solutions around x, y,
• 10:26
  or Z clinical issue, right? You can have, uh,
• 10:29
  one vendor in today that's gonna talk to you about, uh, their digital,
• 10:35
  uh, orthopedic and PT product.
• 10:38
  You can have somebody in tomorrow, uh,
• 10:41
  that's gonna talk to you about a point solution around fertility.
• 10:45
  You can keep going down the list of all of these clinical point
• 10:50
  solution organizations that have been deployed into the market, uh,
• 10:54
  in many instances with funding from private equity that have created just this
• 11:00
  deluge, uh,
• 11:01
  that has become next to impossible for the leaders of HR
• 11:06
  to manage through and to create a cohesive,
• 11:10
  integrated experience for their team members. And I think there's a,
• 11:14
  a level of fatigue setting in with that.
• 11:16
  And I think there's a realization that it also
• 11:21
  further fragments care,
• 11:23
  and we're seeing employers express a desire for
• 11:28
  solutions that are more integrated, uh,
• 11:31
  so that we can look at their team members holistically as people
• 11:36
  and put solutions in place to provide whole person care.
• 11:41
  And that's where I think we really differentiate and why
• 11:45
  we're really optimistic about the opportunity for provider organizations like
• 11:51
  Northwell to provide employers with a breadth of
• 11:55
  solutions that can be integrated and made really easy to navigate
• 12:00
  for their team members as a way to move away from what has been
• 12:05
  an influx of point solution.
• 12:08
  So really encouraged to see that sort of sea change taking
• 12:13
  place. You asked me what I'm nervous about. Um,
• 12:18
  you know, if you look at, uh, the continued, uh,
• 12:22
  acquisition of physician practices and
• 12:26
  employment of providers, uh,
• 12:29
  by large insurance companies who are pushing into the care delivery space,
• 12:34
  uh, I get concerned, uh, about that trend line.
• 12:38
  We're keeping a careful eye on it. We're also looking at, uh,
• 12:42
  some of the new entrants, uh, into the provider space and what that will mean,
• 12:47
  uh, to the overall care delivery ecosystem. But I would su suggest to you that,
• 12:53
  uh, despite having, uh, particularly on the, on the insurer side, some level of,
• 12:58
  of weariness about that activity, uh,
• 13:01
  we feel pretty bullish about our ability to differentiate
• 13:06
  the values and the philosophy and the approach that we bring, uh,
• 13:11
  not only to care delivery,
• 13:13
  but also to delivering innovative solutions to populations like
• 13:18
  employers and their team members. So, I don't know if nervous is the right word,
• 13:21
  or it's more a trend to keep an eye on, uh,
• 13:24
  but we're very confident and we're very bullish about our ability to
• 13:28
  differentiate, uh, in the face of that trend.
• 13:33
  Absolutely. That makes sense. And definitely, you know, it is, uh,
• 13:37
  great to hear from you in terms of how you're responding to some of the
• 13:40
  different, um, trends and, and factors driving healthcare forward and,
• 13:45
  uh, you know, what that could look like over the next few years. And,
• 13:48
  and speaking,
• 13:49
  what do you think most healthcare leaders will need in order to be effective and
• 13:53
  successful in the next two to three years? As we've talked about,
• 13:56
  the healthcare landscape is changing quite rapidly and preferences are changing,
• 13:59
  there's new opportunities available and, and partnerships happening. So,
• 14:04
  you know, in your view, where do you think that, um,
• 14:07
  healthcare leaders will need to grow and develop, um,
• 14:10
  as time goes on to be effective in the future?
• 14:15
  You know, I think it's, it's clear that, you know,
• 14:20
  our industry is experiencing,
• 14:25
  uh, and undergoing, uh, a period of, uh,
• 14:30
  challenging economic conditions of transformation,
• 14:35
  uh, and on increased competition,
• 14:38
  including competition with non-traditional stakeholders.
• 14:42
  And, uh,
• 14:44
  and I think that's been exacerbated as we think about kind of coming
• 14:49
  out of the peak of the Covid pandemic and trying to reestablish
• 14:55
  whatever our go forward new normal looks like. Um,
• 15:02
  but, and so given that, I think more than anything,
• 15:05
  what healthcare organizations will need to do, uh,
• 15:10
  is number one, foster a culture of innovation, uh,
• 15:15
  that unlocks the potential of your people, uh,
• 15:19
  to surface new ideas, to surface new solutions,
• 15:23
  to surface creative ways to thinking about how to
• 15:28
  navigate this new normal and how to carry your organization forward.
• 15:32
  And I think the organizations that lean into innovation
• 15:37
  will, uh, really be positioned well. I think secondary to that,
• 15:42
  um,
• 15:43
  thinking about opportunities to create alternative revenue streams,
• 15:49
  uh,
• 15:49
  thinking about the diversification of revenue and
• 15:54
  positioning our, our healthcare organization differently as we go forward, uh,
• 15:59
  will be advantageous. And then lastly,
• 16:02
  I would just say a sense of optimism,
• 16:06
  because it could be very easy to look at all of the challenging
• 16:11
  circumstances that we deal with on a daily basis to look at
• 16:16
  all of that competition, uh, for, uh,
• 16:19
  success as we go forward and think, my gosh,
• 16:23
  it's easy to be pessimistic. I think we've gotta remember particularly,
• 16:28
  uh,
• 16:29
  for those of us that have the privilege of working for provider organizations,
• 16:34
  I think we have to remember, um, that, um,
• 16:39
  we can solve this, uh,
• 16:41
  that we can be the ones to drive change, to drive transformation,
• 16:46
  and to look at the road ahead as an opportunity to chart the course
• 16:51
  forward, uh, for our industry.
• 16:53
  And so I think a sense of optimism and a sense of hope about the
• 16:58
  opportunity that we have is really, really important.
• 17:03
  And I think if you can do that, uh, at the same time,
• 17:07
  if you can create that at the same time as you think about
• 17:11
  diversification of your, uh, revenue sources,
• 17:15
  positioning your organizations differently and unlocking a culture of
• 17:19
  innovation,
• 17:20
  I think the organizations that get that combination right will be positioned
• 17:24
  incredibly well for success.
• 17:27
  Absolutely. Such a great point. Thank you so much for joining us.
• 17:31
  This has fun discussion and look forward to connect you again soon.
• 17:36
  I really appreciate the time and opportunity. Thank you so much.
• 17:43
  It is so important for leaders at the top of organizations to keep learning,
• 17:47
  stay sharp, grow their networks,
• 17:49
  help our audience better do this in a more simplified, personalized,
• 17:52
  and meaningful way. Becker's Healthcare has launched my bhc,
• 17:56
  it's your trusted Becker's healthcare experience and more with content,
• 18:00
  connections, events and learning opportunities.
• 18:02
  Join the community free of charge@www.my dot becker's
• 18:07
  hospital review.com and we'll see you there.