Three years ago Sam Shallenberger, CFO of RJ Young, a $100 million equipment and leasing company based in Nashville, TN was faced with a dilemma plaguing many American employers: How to provide affordable healthcare coverage to its 450 employees. When he asked his then-broker for advice he got a bad news/good news scenario: “Industry rates are going up 14 percent but yours are only going up 11 percent”. Not surprisingly, he found cold comfort in that so-called good news. “I’m a numbers guy so I began playing out the trends and expenses,” say Shallenberger. “It didn’t take long to figure out that in a matter of just a few years we’d exist only to pay medical bills. I knew there had to be a better way.” When Shallenberger approached his broker about health savings accounts (HSAs) he was met with a discouraging prediction: “It’ll never work. Your employees are too blue collar for that approach.” At that point, Shallenberger conceded that his broker was not really interested in finding solutions for RJ Young — but rather in keeping his commission. So Shallenberger made a bold move. He dropped his broker and found a new one, Alex Tolbert of Bernard Health. After some initial research into RJ Young’s specific needs, Tolbert suggested they switch to a consumer-directed health plan. The plan the company executives agreed upon was a High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account. The results were better than anyone could have imagined. “In the first year. we cut cost by 30 percent and saved over $1 million. Specifically, the company saved $823,000 and our employees saved $221,000,” says Shallenberger. The success continued the next year with healthcare costs dropping another 1percent. In year-three, the costs held steady. “Believe me, everyone was and still is pretty happy, but I can see already that we need another solution,” notes Shallenberger. “Things won’t hold flat for long.” In the course of looking around for innovative ideas Shallenberger learned about medical travel. “From all that I read, it was clear that seeking care outside the U.S. was one way to save money for both the employer and the employee,” he says. “The question now is whether or not it’s something I can — in good conscience — ask our employees to do.” While most employers try to answer this question by poring over data related to outcomes and quality, reviewing accreditations, seeking out references, etc., Shallenberger is going another route. He’s going to become an actual medical traveler. As it turns out, Shallenberger has a bum shoulder. Knowing that rotator cuff surgery is in his future, he’s decided to use that pending experience as the ultimate test of medical travel as an option for his company. Turning once again to Alex Tolbert and Bernard Health for assistance, Shallenberger will take the next several months to sort through the various options and winnow the choices to a final three or four. “When we’ve got it narrowed down to a few, I’m going to visit each option for an executive check up and to do a general sniff test,” says Shallenberger. His impressions and findings from those experiences will determine where he’ll eventually go for surgery. As for Tolbert’s effort to narrow down the field options, the work has just begun. “We actually just took our first meeting today (9/26/12),” says Tolbert. “I’m extremely excited about the opportunity as it is completely in line with Bernard Health’s mission to help individuals and employers to find innovative ways to plan and pay for both expected and unexpected healthcare expenses. I have no doubt this effort will lead to the opening of new and money-saving doors for not just R J Young, but also many other employer groups that we assist.” Editor’s Note: Medical Travel Today will be following Tolbert and Shallenberger’s efforts over the next several months and reporting on their progress, decision-making process, and ultimate choice. If you would like to reach Alex Tolbert regarding a potential option, please email him at[email protected]. Please use the subject line of “RJYoung Medical Travel.”