NC BENEFITS ADVISOR HONORED, STARTS PODCAST | North Carolina Benefit Advisors
Cristy Gupton, President of a leading North Carolina employee benefits consulting firm, Custom Benefits Solutions, was featured as one of America’s Top 20 Women in Benefits Advising in the October 2018 Issue of the national trade publication Employee Benefits Advisor.
A Morganton, NC resident, Gupton was selected based on her nationally-recognized seminars, publications and work to help employers combat the opioid crisis through employee education and smart design of employee health plans. A cornerstone of her presentations is her vision to simultaneously reduce both supply and demand for opioids by using the employee health plan to improve healthcare while reducing costs.
“While it’s humbling to be recognized on a national level, it also adds fuel to my fire and propels me to keep working until the problem is solved”, said Gupton, who is a member of the peer group The Health Rosetta lead by author and healthcare visionary, Dave Chase.
"The status quo health plans that most employers offer drive employees to volume-centric primary care centers designed to refer you to expensive (and often unnecessary) services that produce poor patient outcomes," says Dave Chase, author of The Opioid Crisis Wake-Up Call: Health Care is Stealing the American Dream. Here's How We Take It Back. ”Employers are paying far too much for low-quality care – a side effect of which is the opioid crisis – and transparent benefits advisors like Cristy are helping lead a health care revolution and find actionable solutions."
These and other events inspired Gupton to begin a national conversation about finding solutions to the problems plaguing our current healthcare system, she said.
“That’s when the idea of hosting a podcast came to mind,” Gupton said. “I learn a lot from podcasts and I’m always eager to hear the next one in the lineup. I don’t even need a radio in my car anymore.”
The launch of her podcast, Healthcare Solutions, will address topics like Direct Primary Care, Reference-Based Pricing, Pharmacy Benefits Management, and many other issues detailing how employers who provide healthcare to over 170 million Americans can improve care while lowering costs.
“I’m excited to bring the problem solvers to the table to talk about real solutions that make a difference,” Gupton said. “In the third episode, the case-study of an upstate SC local government who decided to abandon the status quo and try something new is captured for listeners to learn from. Hopefully, what resonates with listeners is that the solutions are here. It’s just up to us to put them in place.”
Finding the podcast and subscribing won’t be difficult. It’s easily found on Apple podcasts, Google Play, and www.custombenefits.work. Searching the hashtag “#letsfixhealthcare” should lead you right to it.
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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Cristy Guptonat828.413.3581or email cristy@custombenefits.work.
ABOUT CUSTOM BENEFITS SOLUTIONS: Custom Benefits Solutions has assisted employer organizations in crafting the best benefit packages for employees using three core beliefs: Trust, Transparency and Technology. Cristy Gupton, a third-generation insurance expert, founded Custom Benefits Solutions in 2006. She is a co-creator of the Substance Use & The Workplace Community Forum and lead of the Health Rosetta’s Opioid Component Committee.