The Dallas Health Plan, Part 1: 99% Accurate – – But 99% of What? (Ep. 57 – Part 1 of 3)
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The City of Dallas is facing rising healthcare costs and the possibility of higher costs or reduced benefits for employees. But before making those decisions, there’s a more fundamental question: Can the people paying the bills actually see and verify what they’re paying for? In Part 1 of this special three-part series of The Benefit Whisperer, Ralph Weber is joined by Mark Cuban, Chris Deacon, and Marilyn Bartlett to examine the City of Dallas health plan through the lens of claims visibility, audit rights, contract accountability, and active health-plan management. The conversation explores: • What does a “99% claims accuracy rate” actually measure? • Why claim-count accuracy and claim-dollar accuracy are very different • What Mark Cuban found after obtaining and reviewing the Dallas health-plan contract • Whether limiting an audit to a small number of claims gives a plan meaningful oversight • Why employers need access to their underlying claims data • How Marilyn Bartlett approached claims, banking, and large-case management in Montana • Why Chris Deacon believes employers must look beyond headline administrative fees and examine the actual contract terms • Why Mark argues healthcare needs to be managed like any other major business expense One of the central questions in this episode is simple: Before asking employees to pay more, shouldn’t the organization funding the health plan know exactly where the money is going? This is Part 1 of 3. Part 1: What Dallas Can’t See - and Why That Matters Part 2: What’s Buried in the Contract and Incentives Part 3: How Dallas - and Other Employers - Take Back Control Subscribe for Parts 2 and 3: Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and watch the video podcast! Guests: Mark Cuban - Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Chris Deacon - Healthcare attorney and former Director of the New Jersey Division of Pensions & Benefits Marilyn Bartlett, CPA - Nationally recognized healthcare cost-containment leader and former administrator of the Montana Employee Health Plan Host: Ralph Weber | The Benefit Whisperer | Route Three