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Monthly Archives: March 2019

“Keep blaming the dog” — latest podcast on health literacy

Video link here

From Matt Jeffs:

In his third and final at-bat in this series, author / humorist / CEO provocateur Al Lewis hits one out of the park with the bases loaded. The Co-Founder and CEO of Quizzify, Al returns to remind us that employee health literacy can be delivered in delightfully humorous, trivia-style quizzes to simplify complex topics and help employees stay engaged in – and committed to – their own health and well-being.

This time, we cover:

  1. Why is health literacy so vitally important to employees?
  2. How reliable are some online health sources?
  3. What’s a good rule-of-thumb for health check-up frequency?
  4. Why is humor so crucial to retaining health information?
  5. Why is trivia so engaging when delivering health information?
  6. How is all this beneficial to employers?

Tune in here https://lnkd.in/e-pusGw to learn even more from this funny, distinguished and principled healthcare thought-leader. You’ll find it engaging and inspirational. Listen. Learn more at https://www.quizzify.com/.

Enjoy. Subscribe. Click for notifications. Share with colleagues, friends and associates. And learn more about learning more at https://thebackschool.net/ .


PS Worth tuning in just to see where the title comes from. Believe it or not, an important health literacy topic.

You can sue me, but I won’t be settling.

Ok, I don’t usually use this blog to write about myself because other folks make much better copy. However, this is a great interview. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did doing it.


When you present at a conference exposing the inadequacies of “Disease Management” and then the industry begins to crumble, you might be a person whose opinion should be heard. Such is the perceived power of Al Lewis, who formerly taught economics at Harvard and ran Peer Review Analysis, a NASDAQ health care company, a man widely credited with inventing disease management, although he’s quick to say he didn’t. A more accurate description these days might be “Bouncer,” standing guard at the gate to discourage bad behavior.

Al has made a reputation for himself, especially on LinkedIn, promoting corporate wellness vendors whose methods have been validated, and calling out those who do not measure up to the standard. If you are on his naughty list, be warned. “I call out those who are lying through their teeth,” Al says.

Indeed, even the most cursory review of Al’s LinkedIn activity reveals his fearless cross-examination of people and companies who regurgitate bad data or make wellness promises they can’t keep. And he often does it by name, tagging the companies he is calling out.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting sued?” I asked him.

“Make my day,” he says. “Sue me, but I won’t be settling. And I’ll be blogging about it the whole time.”


You can read the rest of the interview here.

Your TPA may be snookering you…and putting you at risk

Last week saw a dramatic win for the Good Guys, as the Sixth Circuit found the plaintiff’s TPA, part of Blue Cross of Michigan, was totally snookering them.

This decision puts every dishonest TPA at risk, along with the well-meaning benefits administrators who hired them and the consultants who recommended them.  The Consolidated Appropriations Act holds private-sector employers responsible for the misdeeds of your vendors, even if you don’t know about them.

Further, this decision increases exposure for your own P&C insurance carrier, which will certainly increase your rates for your Errors & Omissions and Directors & Officers coverage…

…unless you attend our webinar on Thursday.

Four industry experts will show you how to turn this potential lemon into lemonade.  Either as an employer, a buyer or an advisor…in just a few simple steps.