Latest / Bill of Health / Her Son Broke His Femur — Did Their Health Share Actually Work? With Niki Chamberlain (Bill of Health Ep.10)

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Her Son Broke His Femur — Did Their Health Share Actually Work? With Niki Chamberlain (Bill of Health Ep.10) · Bill of Health

0:05
I wanna make a change, but I'm afraid to make a change because if I make
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a change, there will be change.
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As I continue to sit across the table from people discussing health
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insurance and the seemingly unending cycle of cost increases, bigger
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deductibles, higher out-of-pocket maximums, rising prescription drug
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costs, a myriad of policy changes, I hear a pretty common refrain, "Hey,
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Bill, I need to make a change," or, "Hey, Bill, something has to change."
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And this comes from blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, self-employed,
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all the way up to the middle management and C-suite offices alike.
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I think we can all see that the current model of healthcare and health insurance
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in this country is not sustainable.
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Yet we're so indoctrinated into the typical group health insurance model,
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the typical fee-for-service physician practices, that moving away from that
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becomes trying to become a smarter healthcare consumer in the process.
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It just seems like it's just a bridge too far.
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People are scared of making changes.
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Well, welcome back to The Bill of Health, folks.
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I'm your host, Bill Feig, the health insurance guy, and today
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I wanna spend just a little time talking to someone who was actually
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brave enough to break the cycle.
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She said, "That's it. I'm done with the hamster wheel. I'm all in on
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being a smarter healthcare consumer."
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She not only made the change, but has extremely valuable insights on
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how alternatives operate, and most importantly, she is willing to share
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I've said this before, ladies and gentlemen, I will keep saying it, I
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have been client-facing in all the work that I've done, meaning I'm across the
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table from the employer or the employee helping them make tough decisions, and
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one non-negotiable for me is that in the background, the people helping me
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bring the proposal to life, the people doing the hard work are always the
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most ethical and the most trustworthy that I can find, and I really, really
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love talking to smart people, and we absolutely have one of those today.
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Ladies and gentlemen, all the way from Amarillo, Texas, give a warm Build a
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Health welcome to Nikki Chamberlain.
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Good morning, Nikki.
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So glad to have you.
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Nikki, what I'm gonna do is give you maybe 60 seconds or so just to give
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a little introduction as to who you are, what you do, where you came from.
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Just basically give us a little bit about you and I'm sure obviously
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mention your family and anything we need to know about you.
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All right?
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Sure.
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Okay.
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Well, thanks for having me.
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I am a mom to three, and I'm a wife of 20 years, and also been employed,
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self-employed with my husband in a construction industry for 15 years.
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And that's sort of what led us down the path of looking for some
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alternative to what traditional medical coverage was out there.
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Yeah.
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
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All right.
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Very good.
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How old are the kiddos?
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We've got 16, 14, 12.
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We're busy.
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We're busy.
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Teens or pre-teens.
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Yes.
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I love it.
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I love it.
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I love it.
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Okay.
3:10
So you mentioned that you're self-employed, you
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were looking for a change.
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Obviously, health insurance for the self-employed is just sometimes not
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tenable situations, very expensive.
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You were looking for a, a choice or an alternative.
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What did you settle on?
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What did you guys decide to use?
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Well, we use Sedera Medical Cost Sharing, which is a health
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share- Mm-hmm … community.
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Prior to that, I mean, we were all over the place.
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We had tried traditional coverage.
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Our premiums were so high with a high deductible, and anytime
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we were using them- Yeah.
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Yeah … we still were battling to get things paid for that should have been
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covered, or after all the premiums plus the deductible plus our out-of-pocket,
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I mean, it just wasn't attainable.
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It wasn't reasonable.
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And I just remember telling my husband, I'm like, "There has
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to be something else out there.
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There has to be an alternative.
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I'm just not convinced this is the way." But for a long time
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we just couldn't find anything.
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So each year you're kind of pricing out, okay, well, let's see if there's
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anything new out there this year, you know, and you're getting the
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same thing, high deductible, high premium, not really doing a lot for us.
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So that's where we came to land on medical cost sharing.
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On the cost sharing.
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Okay.
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So we've had previous episodes of this pod on health sharing- And I
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would encourage anyone who wants to know the basics on health sharing to
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go back and listen to those episodes.
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We had Richard Walton from Sedera come and talk to us a
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little bit about health shares.
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They certainly are becoming a more viable option.
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They've always been a viable option, but more and more people are coming
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to know them, I guess, is what I should say, simply because the current
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healthcare model is really untenable.
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All right, so let's talk about that because, and here's why I want the
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listeners to know, I've always said this and I've said it a thousand times, I
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wanna create a community where we have resources available for people who want
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to make that change, who want to jump to something alternative like a health share.
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And one of the things I find that is the most concerning for those folks that are
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wanting to make a change is that they just don't have any familiarity with it.
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They are just unfamiliar with how the mechanics work, how the cost-sharing
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works, and so that's what I really wanted to break down with you today.
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Give us just a little bit about the health share.
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You are working on a health share.
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Do you have a direct primary care provider for the day-to-day care,
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or do you go see somebody else?
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How do you do your direct primary care?
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We do have direct primary care, and I think that is absolutely
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the best option out there.
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You're paying cash for your care.
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Mm-hmm.
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The cost is actually less, it's manageable than when we had insurance
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and you're paying, again, a copay, and now I'm still getting a bill
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for the rest of the visit later.
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But the direct primary care is easy, it's affordable.
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For my kids, too, I mean, that's what we've used, Sedera, for those unexpected
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big things, and then the direct primary care for just our day-to-day stuff.
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I mean-
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Yes
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… I have a sick kid with an ear infection, take him to urgent care, take him to
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direct primary care, pay the bill, get the script, move on, and then
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you've got medical cost-sharing for if you have something big come up.
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I love that.
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We've had previous episodes, Niki, on direct primary care as well, so
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my listeners should be pretty well familiar with that, but I also am
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a direct primary care consumer.
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I find it great.
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I've got a better relationship with my care provider than I ever had
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with my primary care going through traditional health insurance.
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There's nothing wrong with those providers.
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They're not necessarily the problem.
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It's just that relationship I have with the direct primary care has
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really been kind of eye-opening, and I've really, really enjoyed it
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Well, nobody wants to be sick.
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I don't wanna go to the doctor.
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I want a direct primary care physician who's on my side helping me, like,
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"Let's keep you healthy. Let's get you healthy. Let's take care of all
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the things beforehand, during, after." It's more relational- Yeah … and
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I appreciate that so much, so much.
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Yeah.
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And we've said it before, let's say it again, it's direct primary
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care for your everyday needs.
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It's the healthshare for that catastrophic illness or the unexpected accident,
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maternity, those kind of things, right?
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For the bigger things, it's what the healthshare does.
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Now, so you've got a direct primary care relationship, and then mechanically you
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added, just so for the steps are clear, you added a healthshare in the background.
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Okay, you're a member of a direct primary care organization.
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You are a member of a healthshare.
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You pay cash for your services there at the direct primary care.
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That direct primary care person is kind of your quarterback.
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They'll send you to get the X-ray if you need it.
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They'll send you to get the imaging if you need it or the labs, and
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almost always it's at a reduced rate than what you would pay for a
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traditional health insurance program.
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Niki, here's the big question.
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You are cash pay.
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That word cash pay, we're gonna talk about it a little bit later, but cash
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pay scares the heck out of people, because what they fear is that when
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they go into the emergency room or they go to the doctor because of
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something big, that they're gonna be held hostage come discharged to pay for
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the entire bill all the way up front.
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They're gonna get hit with all of these things that are gonna be terrible for
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them, and they have to come up with cash up front, cash up front, cash up front.
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The mechanics of this really bothers people or challenges people, and here's
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why I want to talk to you so bad.
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You're not only a member of a healthshare, you've used their services.
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You had one of those terrible days.
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And would you be willing to share with us what happened to you within
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the details you're willing to share, and what it was like navigating the
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healthcare system with that healthshare?
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I absolutely would.
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So I have a pretty active family.
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We've got these three teens and preteens, and we are out and about.
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We are a mountain family.
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We are a beach family.
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We are a hiking family.
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We are a skiing and snowboarding family.
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We are out there.
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Ah, okay.
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So, and we we have one kid who if something is gonna happen,
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it is gonna happen to him.
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He's the 12-year-old.
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So several years ago, we were on a ski trip, and he got into a really bad
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accident and ended up breaking his femur.
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It was in an area of the mountains that turns out there were no doctors.
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So I'll kind of tell you what that looked like.
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We sat in ski patrol for about three hours.
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We took a three-and-a-half-hour ambulance ride to the closest hospital.
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That was a level two trauma.
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I'd never been in any kind of accident or situation like this, and
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so it was terrifying, first of all.
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You know, they bust those doors open, and about 20 people swarm him, and we
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walk through the emergency room, and this sweet little nurse comes up to me and
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she pats me on the back and she says, "Hey, mama." She's like, "Okay." She's
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kind of pointing out all the doctors.
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Here's what they're doing.
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You know, they're cutting his shirt off.
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I mean, it's scary.
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And she says, "Can I have your driver's license and your insurance card?" And
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I said, "Well, I don't have insurance.
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I'm cash pay." And I just remember the look on her face, shock, first of all,
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and she just patted me on the back and she said, "It's gonna be okay."
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You know, my mind was racing with, like, I'm watching my kid being put on
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this table and not knowing everything that was gonna transpire with that,
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and then also in the back of my mind, like all of us do, the money, right?
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Like you- Sure … can't help but think- Sure … about how this is gonna
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play out, and we had been members of the medical cost-sharing community
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for several years, but never needed to access those funds, never needed that.
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So I thought, "Oh, my gosh. How is this gonna work?" Is it gonna
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work was really my question.
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Backing up just a little bit, in ski patrol, you know, they
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make you pay before you leave.
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So I'm like, okay, reaching in my ski pants, and I'm like, I've got my
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credit card and my driver's license.
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Swipe that card, you know, for whatever it was, 900 and something dollars,
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and off we go in the ambulance.
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So I'm like, okay, are we in-network or out-of-network?
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Those were my questions, because-
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Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching
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… we were in the middle of nowhere.
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Yeah.
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And now the hospital that we were going to is in a large city.
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I mean, this can't be a network.
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My mind really didn't fully grasp- Yeah … there is no network.
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No network.
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There's no network.
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I couldn't get it So we get to the hospital, we go through all the stuff.
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He ends up having a lot happen.
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He ends up having a surgery there, metal plate put in.
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He broke his femur in two places.
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This kid was… He was going hard.
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So there for a couple nights, and the last day that we were there, the hospital
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social worker calls, and get on the phone with her, and I mean, you just
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hear concern in her voice 'cause she's about to deliver this number of, like,
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astronomical amounts And she says, "Okay."
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She says, "Now I understand you're a cash pay customer or patient." I said, "Yes,
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ma'am." And she said, "Okay, well, your bill is…" She tells me this number,
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and I'm like, "That's not a number.
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That is- Right … insane." And she said, "But what we do for cash patients,
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we take off 40% automatically." I thought, "Well, that was easy."
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You know, like, why or how?
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And you know, I didn't really fully understand, so okay, okay.
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So we load our kid up and take him back.
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You know, we have to drive four hours to get us back to where we're at,
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get back home, and then it starts with just, I mean, physical therapy.
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He's in a wheelchair.
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We're doing all kinds of follow-up doctor's visits.
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We are racking it up everywhere we go.
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"Hey, we're cash pay, we're cash pay, we're cash pay." Okay, you know, and
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they're knocking that off, right?
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I mean, you're getting this cash pay price.
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So when I sat down and reached out to Sedera and was like, "Here's
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what happened, you know, we've had this accident." "Okay, my
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needs coordinator, talk me through what this is gonna look like."
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"Start uploading your… Open a needs case.
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Start uploading your receipts." "Got it." And I'm like, so I pull out of my
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pocket from my ski pants my $900 receipt from ski patrol, and I'm like, "Look
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what I got, you know, I've got it." Yeah.
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Upload that, and then all the other little things that we kind of
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accumulated along the way, right?
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We'd paid a few things out of pocket.
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We rented his wheelchair.
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We'd paid for a few physical therapy appointments.
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We'd already paid for kind of a follow-up doctor's appointment.
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All of those things, you just start submitting in until you've kind of reached
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that initial insurable amount that you hit before the community kicks in and pays.
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So it was… I couldn't believe it.
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I could not believe how easy it was.
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Now, I will also say, like, I like having the control.
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I never liked getting a bill from insurance that
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was confusing to me to read.
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I was like, "Hey, well you- Right … you said it was this amount,
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but you discounted this amount, but insurance paid this amount.
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Now I have to pay…" I mean, I didn't understand any of it.
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I mean, it was confusing.
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When I got the bill from that hospital, it was like, "Hey, here's the services,
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here's the discount, here's the number that you owe." I was like, "Well,
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that makes sense." It's so clear when you start getting those bills.
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Yep.
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There was nothing, you know, really hidden in there.
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It's so black and white.
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Submitting everything to Sedera was, I mean, easy.
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So we had a $2,500 initial insurable amount, so essentially that is our
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amount that we were responsible to pay- Pay first … out of pocket before
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the community would start sharing.
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To the penny bill, I paid $2,500.
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Now, ultimately, I'll tell you, that son had a second surgery, 'cause he
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had to have that metal plate taken out, which led to more physical therapy,
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more follow-up doctor's appointments.
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Every single one of those was shared because it was a true
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need, like this is what it's for
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It was a continuation of that first incident
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Yes.
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So I mean, I can't imagine ever going back to anything other than using this.
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Yeah.
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For our family, for a lot of people, this is the answer.
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It's just scary because I think that we think the word insurance equals security.
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Oh, I've got insurance.
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I've got insurance.
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I'm covered.
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I've got insurance.
14:25
No, that is not always the case.
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There are two things I wanna circle back to.
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One, when you're there at the hospital, you tell them that you're cash pay.
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The social worker gives you a call Were there two big security
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guards at the door posted up-
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not letting you leave before you paid that cash bill in full?
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No, there was not.
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I mean, it wasn't a thing at all, right?
14:49
They just are
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like- They didn't have the bill ready, right?
14:51
No.
14:51
They just told you what it was gonna be, but they didn't have
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an itemized bill ready for you probably for 15, 20, 30 days maybe?
14:57
Oh, yeah.
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It was at least that before stuff started coming in, and that was the other thing.
15:02
Yeah.
15:02
I got a bill.
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You know, with insurance, that was the other thing.
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I remember I would get a bill, and then another bill, and then another bill.
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I'm like, "Why are more bills still coming? Aren't we settled up on this?"
15:12
With this, one bill.
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Here it is.
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This is your final amount, and no, you did not have to pay before leaving.
15:19
Now, there again, the ski patrol scenario, that was a little different.
15:22
Yeah.
15:22
And I think there are some other- Right … urgent care places that maybe operate
15:25
in that way, but they're not gonna be those large amounts where they're…
15:29
There's nothing they could do really, right?
15:31
Yes.
15:32
Yes.
15:32
That's right.
15:33
I honestly feel like, and I had somebody tell me this, that the one thing I'm
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not gonna be able to do if my family's involved in an emergency is to worry about
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settling up with a bill right there in the emergency room, and I'm trying to explain
15:44
to people that that's not how it works.
15:46
Even if you didn't have health share, that's just not how it works.
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So that was great.
15:50
I appreciate you answering that.
15:50
The second thing is the nurse puts her arm around you and says,
15:54
"It's gonna be okay, mama" right?
15:55
I
15:56
mean, she looked more scared than I did.
15:57
Yes.
15:57
I'm sure she thought, "How are you gonna do this?"
16:00
But everything happened after that.
16:02
You didn't have to separately negotiate or try to talk down or negotiate down
16:07
the price of the orthopedic surgeon, or you didn't say, "Hey, how about just
16:11
one bottle of IV fluid instead of two?" You just let them take care of your son.
16:16
That's right.
16:17
Yeah, I mean you want them to get the best care, and it wasn't
16:19
like he wasn't gonna get the best of the best of the best, right?
16:22
Like- Yeah … those doctors don't know, know what they're doing in terms of,
16:26
like, who has insurance, who doesn't.
16:28
They don't care.
16:29
They don't care.
16:29
They're gonna treat every patient the same.
16:31
It was not an issue at all, at all.
16:35
I love that.
16:35
Okay.
16:36
You've mentioned $2,500 unshareable amount.
16:39
We're gonna talk about unshareable amounts here in, in just a little
16:41
bit, but $2,500 unshareable amount.
16:43
Ski patrol, you know, you had to maybe pay up front, got reimbursed maybe
16:47
for the therapy sessions or something.
16:48
So there was a little bit out of pocket.
16:51
You had control of that 'cause you chose the $2,500 amount.
16:54
You could have chosen differently.
16:55
You could have chosen more or you could have chosen less.
16:58
Yes, that's correct, and we just think we had a conversation that was like,
17:01
okay, what would be an amount, you know, the cost-sharing that we use
17:06
has anywhere between 500 and 5,000.
17:07
So what is the amount that we're comfortable writing a check for-
17:11
Yes
17:12
… easily knowing that the rest will be shared- Yeah … for a need?
17:16
So 2,500 felt like a reasonable amount while keeping our monthly contribution
17:21
at an amount which we could also
17:22
Which we could afford.
17:23
Mm-hmm.
17:23
Love it.
17:24
I love it.
17:24
So remember now, folks, she's paying for a direct primary care relationship, she's
17:28
paying for a health share membership.
17:30
Those two numbers combined are probably considerably less than what
17:34
she was paying for traditional group health insurance for the family.
17:38
I bet that number was an order of magnitude less than what she was paying.
17:43
It was half.
17:44
Oh, I mean, come on.
17:46
I've said it before, this is not a protracted sales pitch for health
17:50
shares or alternative to insurance, it's just that more people need to
17:54
understand how these things work.
17:56
More people, I think, would be willing to try them, it would be right for their
18:00
families if they had more security.
18:02
Your story's gonna go a long way to helping give people a lot more confidence.
18:07
Let me ask you this, how's your boy?
18:08
Is he doing okay?
18:09
He's great.
18:10
He's great.
18:10
He's fine?
18:11
It was a long recovery.
18:12
He is, he healed completely.
18:15
It was, it was quite the journey, but I will say navigating it with Sedera,
18:20
the way that they set it up on the back end with a needs coordinator, I had the
18:25
same person every time I call, every time there was communication about me
18:30
submitting another bill, another invoice or whatever it was, it was so easy.
18:35
I would email, I would call.
18:37
Yeah.
18:37
She would reach out to me, "Hey, I'm still waiting for some more information
18:39
from you," in opposed to times when you're going through the menu of, like,
18:44
three different, press 1, press 3- Yeah.
18:46
… press all those things- Yeah, right … and then get a different person every
18:49
time and have to re-explain everything.
18:51
It just made it so simple to turn that stuff in and get reimbursed.
18:55
And the next question I have is a delicate one, because it all depends on
18:59
how the information is submitted, when it is submitted, all of these things,
19:02
plus you've got multiple things going for reimbursement all of the time.
19:06
But on average, the other question I get a lot is, well, how long does
19:09
it take them to finalize the claim?
19:12
I call it a claim 'cause I'm still stuck in insurance language.
19:14
How long does it take them to take care of that sharing need?
19:17
Can you give us any insight as to what that looked like for your family?
19:20
Sure.
19:21
It was different throughout the process 'cause there were- Yeah … we were
19:24
being reimbursed, you know, at different times for different things 'cause it,
19:28
you know, it accumulates as you're doing different procedures or whatever.
19:32
I do remember the first time that a reimbursement hit my account, I thought,
19:35
"Oh my goodness." I checked my balance and thought, "Oh gosh, a deposit
19:38
got made to my account on accident.
19:40
The bank made an error." It was three weeks after I'd submitted my bill.
19:43
Three weeks.
19:45
And that was the large one- Okay … that I thought, "Oh
19:46
my gosh," like, "Here we go."
19:48
I wrote the check to the hospital, and then I showed Sedera, "I have a zero
19:52
dollar balance at this hospital." You wanna be a good community member, right?
19:57
Ideally, we do it all the right way, and we wanna keep our costs down.
20:00
It's better for the community, it's better for every member if
20:03
we're doing the right thing on our end and taking care of our bills.
20:07
You know, I would maybe submit some for several weeks, maybe a month
20:12
would be the max amount of time that it took for reimbursement.
20:15
I was surprised at really how quickly it came through.
20:17
Again, you're kind of stuck in this mode of how long it takes with insurance,
20:21
how long will these things take?
20:22
It just doesn't operate like that in the medical cost-sharing world.
20:25
Okay, thank you for that.
20:27
Last question I have for you, Sedera and other health share organizations
20:31
also have teams of people who are expert at bill negotiation.
20:36
Did you have a scenario where they had to look at a bill and say, "I think
20:40
this is an error," or, "I'm gonna go and go back and negotiate that down"?
20:44
Were you aware of that going on in your particular sharing need?
20:47
I do remember one of the bills that I received, they asked me
20:51
to go back and get an itemized- Yes … bill, and so I did do that.
20:56
It was so simple though.
20:57
But I don't recall any true negotiations happening to get it down.
21:01
Yeah.
21:01
Again, they just knock off so much already when you're cash.
21:04
But I do remember having to obtain an itemized bill from one of the people.
21:08
Itemized.
21:09
Yeah.
21:09
The other service that Sedera and others offer is part of that bill negotiation.
21:14
If they see an error, they're gonna try to negotiate that down or work on
21:17
your behalf, but it sounds to me like yours was thankfully so straightforward
21:21
they didn't have to do that.
21:22
That is great.
21:23
Oh, Nikki, I can't tell you how valuable this information is.
21:25
There are so many people out there who could use some help.
21:29
I'm evangelizing now, but I've sat across the table from people who are
21:32
making real decisions on whether I have healthcare or I pay the mortgage
21:35
or I get the kids in their school, and they're just unaware or maybe a little
21:39
bit hesitant to explore these other alternatives and the things that exist
21:44
for them, and I think your testimony and your story is gonna just be so valuable.
21:48
So I'm really glad that you're here.
21:50
I want you to hang tight.
21:51
We're gonna do a little business here, okay?
21:53
Okay.
21:53
Thanks, Bill.
21:54
All right.
21:55
Now's the time that we're gonna open up the Jargon Jar.
21:59
The Jargon Jar is a segment where we take a confusing topic, something intentionally
22:04
muddy, and make it as plain as we can.
22:07
And I wanted today, because of Nikki's story, to talk about cash pay.
22:12
People feel like if I'm using a health share and I walk into the emergency
22:15
room and tell them that I am a cash pay patient, that I joked about it
22:20
earlier, that before you leave that ER, that there's gonna be two guards
22:23
at the door that not let you leave until they've shaken you down for every
22:26
single dollar, and that is not the case.
22:29
Cash pay just means that you're gonna avail yourself of all of
22:32
the discounts that are there.
22:33
We've talked about this in other podcasts.
22:35
That price you see on the bill is sticker price.
22:38
You don't pay sticker at the dealer.
22:40
You would never pay sticker at the hospital either, right?
22:42
Cash pay just means that you're gonna be in line for discounts.
22:46
You have a health share in the background making sure that there's an initial
22:49
unshareable amount that is yours to pay.
22:52
The bills then get submitted and then get reimbursed.
22:55
Being a cash pay patient puts you in control.
22:58
You are in control.
23:00
You can go to your, your direct primary care provider and that person can say,
23:04
"Hey, I need you to get an X-ray."
23:05
You can say, "Do you know of anybody?" You can shop around for other places to
23:08
do it if you needed a price comparison.
23:10
If you needed a procedure like a colonoscopy, there are services out
23:14
there available to you that will show you what it should cost in your area
23:17
and maybe even help you contract with some places to do it for that rate.
23:22
You are not alone, and you are not going to be rejected at the hospital,
23:27
even if you had a terrible illness like cancer You have a single
23:31
unshareable amount that you're going to be the cash pay person for.
23:34
They're gonna start sending your bills.
23:35
You're going to get those reimbursed, and as you heard Nikki say today,
23:39
the longest she waited was a month.
23:42
And so I think being a cash pay patient should not strike the fear into anyone.
23:46
In fact, it should be something that encourages you, emboldens you.
23:50
You are in control as a cash pay patient, and that makes you a smarter
23:55
healthcare consumer, for sure.
23:58
All right, Nikki, you didn't know this was coming.
23:59
It's time for a surprise.
24:01
Oh,
24:01
no.
24:02
Yes.
24:03
It is time for Five for Fighting.
24:07
We're gonna ask you five rapid-fire questions.
24:09
Don't think, just answer.
24:11
We'd love to get your take on them, and sometimes they can be controversial.
24:14
Here we go.
24:15
Detroit-style, Chicago deep-dish, New York thin, St. Louis Provel, Nikki
24:21
Chamberlain, who has the best pizza?
24:23
New York thin, all day.
24:25
New York thin.
24:25
Okay.
24:26
Hey, that's a good answer, good answer.
24:28
Be careful how you answer this one.
24:30
Kansas City, North Carolina, Memphis, or Texas, Nikki Chamberlain, who has
24:36
the best bar- Texas … Ah, come on.
24:38
I don't even care what's gonna follow that word.
24:40
Texas, Texas- … all the way.
24:42
What was going to follow is why is the correct answer Kansas City?
24:45
Oh.
24:45
But you say it's Texas.
24:47
Okay.
24:47
All right, fine.
24:48
Nikki Chamberlain, if you're sitting across the table from an employee who has
24:52
a health plan through work, it's just too expensive to add a spouse or dependents,
24:57
maybe a self-employed person or someone who just doesn't have health insurance
25:00
at all, what's a couple of bullet points, what's a couple of things you'd
25:03
want them to know about a healthshare?
25:05
I would say a healthshare is not the scary thing that you think it is.
25:10
It gives you freedom where you think it doesn't, and I think you worded
25:15
it best when you say the control.
25:17
It gives you the control to make decisions, your provider, your timeframe.
25:22
You get to choose where you're going and when you're doing it.
25:25
It really is a great option, and it'll save you money.
25:29
It will save you money.
25:30
Right.
25:31
Thank you.
25:32
Patriots, Cowboys, 49ers, Chiefs, or Texans, Nikki Chamberlain,
25:37
who is your favorite NFL team?
25:39
The Cowboys.
25:40
Oh, my Lord.
25:42
I mean, I can't help it.
25:43
I've grown up here.
25:44
Like, it is what it is.
25:45
It's in our blood.
25:47
All right.
25:47
We're gonna go over that one.
25:48
Nikki Chamberlain, what are a couple of quick bullet points you would say to
25:51
someone who wants to break the cycle- of that traditional group health insurance
25:57
but sits on the fence, what would you say about how you made that transition
26:02
to a smarter healthcare consumer?
26:04
I mean, I explored every option out there.
26:06
Do it.
26:07
Look to see what's out there.
26:08
Go to every traditional insurance website you can find, get some quotes,
26:13
compare everything, even compare your medical cost-sharing memberships.
26:17
See which one is the best fit for you, because what's a good fit
26:20
for one person may not necessarily be the best fit for someone else.
26:24
Do your homework and look into it, because it is, at the end of the day, when you
26:28
need it, you do need it to work for you, but it's worth the work to save the money,
26:35
and then you don't have to think about it.
26:37
Very good.
26:38
I love that.
26:39
Hang tight for us.
26:40
We're gonna get out of here on that.
26:41
Special thanks to our guest today, Nikki Chamberlain.
26:43
I love, love, love talking to smart people, and Nikki has experience
26:47
and a story worth sharing.
26:49
Nikki's contact information is gonna be in the show notes.
26:51
If you have another question about health shares, she's made
26:54
it very clear that she's more than willing to answer those questions.
26:57
I'm sure that she would be happy to do so for you.
26:59
If you are a benefits coordinator at a small employer, if you are self-employed,
27:04
if you are someone that does not have health insurance and you want to
27:09
take the necessary steps to become a smarter healthcare consumer and save
27:12
you some money, be sure to follow along, TikTok, YouTube, and Insta.
27:15
It's Bill Fy, the health insurance guy.
27:17
Subscribe to the pod on Apple or Spotify.
27:19
Give us a review.
27:20
We'd love to have your thoughts.
27:22
And if I can personally help you explore your options, head on over to
27:24
my website, core360benefitsgroup.com and schedule a 30-minute consultation.
27:30
Thank you so much for listening to the Bill of Health.
27:33
Ladies and gentlemen, be smart, shop smart, protect your wealth,
27:37
and we will see you next time.
27:46
This podcast is provided for educational purposes only and
27:48
should not be considered legal, tax, investment, or insurance advice.
27:50
Individual circumstances vary, and the listener should consult qualified
27:52
professionals regarding their specific healthcare and financial situation.
27:54
Opinions expressed are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily
27:56
reflect the views of any insurance carrier or affiliated organization