Managing Risks: Curling Irons to Cancer Screenings

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This episode explores the intricate connection between risk and cost in healthcare, emphasizing how managing risks can lead to significant long-term savings. Through relatable anecdotes and thorough analysis, we highlight the impact of preventative care and the costs associated with neglecting health screenings. 

• Discusses the relationship between risk and cost in healthcare 
• Uses an analogy involving a curling iron to explain risks 
• Differentiates between controllable and uncontrollable health risks 
• Examines alarming compliance data regarding preventative screenings 
• Highlights the consequences of late cancer diagnoses 
• Analyzes the financial implications associated with stage one and stage four treatments 
• Explores the broader workforce impact of employee health 
• Stresses the importance of intentional health risk management 
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Music by Alex Lambert.

Contact Justin via text 740-525-5259 or via email [e-mail]

I welcome the opportunity to hear your feedback from this episode!

Thanks again to my musically gifted friend Alex Lambert for the music. Also thanks to Kevin Asehan for the edits.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to another Tuesday morning with Justin.
I'm Justin Futrell, benefitAdvisor at True North Companies.
Today I want to talk about riskreduction and how that
translates to cost.
Okay, I'm going to throwsomething at you here.
Risk doesn't equal cost, butyou never have cost without risk

(00:24):
.
Okay, let's dive into that.
What does that look like?
Let me help by giving you ananalogy.
I came home the other day and mywife I will love her to death
left her curling iron plugged inon the bathroom counter next to
a box of tissues.
There was a major risk and itcould have started a fire, but

(00:47):
thankfully there was no fire andno cost.
There's always the risk of afire.
It could be a controllable riskor an uncontrollable risk.
Call it weather a storm.
But if it's controllable, thenit can either be prevented my

(01:09):
wife could chop her hair off, sothere's nothing to curl or it
can be controllable.
Whether that's putting layersin place, like the Swiss cheese
model of first unplug it.
Have a fire extinguisher justin case, there's really no
difference when you think abouthealth care.

(01:33):
Now let's give an example andsee if the two dots connect.
Let's think about somethingtragic like colon cancer.
What's uncontrollable is thegenetic disposition of someone
getting colon cancer.
What is controllable isensuring that that person is

(01:56):
getting their preventativecheckups as they should be, in
compliance with per therecommendations of doctors.
Now, this example I'm bringingup because we recently reviewed
some data and it was prettygut-wrenching, if I'm being
completely honest with you, andthere were 146 adults who were

(02:21):
non-compliant with theirpreventative screenings.
What we can measure and manageis how low can we get that
number through education andincentives for people to take
care of themselves with theirpreventative screenings, like
what success looks like.
If we could cut that number inhalf, down to 75 people who are

(02:44):
non-compliant, that would beawesome.
But let's look at what actuallyhappened, and what actually
happened is, unfortunately, anemployee went well overdue and
was in stage four of coloncancer.
So, before we look into stagefour, what is stage one?
Look like stage one coloncancer probably costs around

(03:07):
$40,000 to have a surgery andwe're able to successfully
remove that part of the colon.
That is the problem.
Now, if you catch it in stagefour for the first time and it's
metastasized, then what doesthat look like?
Well, now we're talking chemo,radiation, multiple surgeries

(03:34):
and probably expensive on top ofthat, reduction of risk.
Going back to what we originallysaid, risk doesn't have a

(03:54):
direct relationship with cost,but you never have costs without
risk.
If we reduce the risk, are wereducing our cost tomorrow?
Maybe not.
Are we reducing our cost fiveyears, eight years down the road
?
Certainly, especially when youstart to think about the bigger

(04:16):
picture.
What does it look like if anemployee suddenly has
absenteeism and can't come towork because of trying to fight
cancer?
And then what are the HRrecruiting costs?
What are the training costs forthat new employee?
It's so important to be veryintentionable intentionable,

(04:38):
intentional about how we arereducing risk within a health
plan at a company.