Solidarity President and Co-Founder Chris Faddis joined The BS Show to talk about the importance of alternative healthcare options and how change can be a good thing. Read the transcript or listen to the interview below.
Bob Sansevere (00:00):
We are joined by Christopher Faddis, co-founder and president of the Nonprofit Healthcare Sharing Ministry Solidarity Health Share, which is an ethical, affordable alternative to traditional health insurance and is faithful to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. Chris, I came across a recent poll that CBS News, the headline, Healthcare Costs, Top Americans List of Financial Worries, Poll Fines. And it says that paying for healthcare has become American’s top financial worry after Congress failed last year to extend some Affordable Care Act subsidies, and that triggers premium spikes for millions. And Zoom survey is by the research firm, KFF. And among the people, two thirds of Americans say they are very or somewhat worried about affording healthcare, outranking concerns about groceries, utilities, housing costs. And among those two thirds, one third described themselves as very worried about paying for medical expenses. Now, you run Solidarity Health. Well, you’re among the people running it, and this is why you started it.
(01:00):
And are you hearing from a lot of new members that they’re relieved to find an alternative to traditional healthcare? Because that’s among the reasons why you set it up to give people an alternative. And what kind of feedback do you get from new members?
Chris Faddis (01:17):
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, first of all, going to that survey, I mean, the reality is people have been worried about that for years. I think unfortunately the media is trying to make it like it’s suddenly a new worry because of the subsidies, but the subsidies only served so many people and most people still couldn’t afford healthcare even with the subsidies. So the reality is this has been a problem ongoing for a very long time and over the last 10, 12 years has continued to get worse and worse each year. And so yeah, I mean, we hear that all the time. I mean, Bob, as you know, many people when they join us are saving anywhere from a thousand to $3,000 a month in their out- of-pocket expenses for healthcare. And so it’s obviously one of the number one reasons why people consider switching to healthcare sharing.
(02:02):
And overall, I mean, I think that the reality is that even if it’s a little different and you have to learn some things, it’s such a benefit because you have more freedom. You have more freedom from your cashflow, first of all, also more freedom to choose where you’re going, what kind of doctors you’re seeing, what kind of treatments you’re getting. And overall, I think that helps give you more peace and less worry. So it’s a big problem. I think we hear all the time how grateful people are. In fact, recently I had a guy who was talking about how much he’s saving and it was on LinkedIn and he ended up sending me a personal message about it, but was just so grateful. He’s like, “I can’t believe I’ve been doing this. ” He’s like, “I’ve heard your name for so long, and it took me five or six years to finally do something about it.
(02:45):
” And so that’s a lot of times what I hear from people is like, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
Bob Sansevere (02:49):
Well, a lot of people are not accustomed to something new or different. No. It’s not that you’re new. You’ve been around 10 years. We’re going to talk about that in a moment, but they’re just resistant. Okay, this is completely different, but I’ll give an example, DirecTV. I kept it for years because I don’t want to give that up. I’m used to it. And then my son gave me, it’s called a VC box. It’s phenomenal. And I’ve cut the tithes with DirecTV, but I was so resistant and I know this is nothing like healthcare, but I became comfortable. We don’t like change, but sometimes you got to change.
Chris Faddis (03:28):
Think about Uber. I mean, how many years did many people say, “No, no, I’ll just take a cab.”
Bob Sansevere (03:33):
Yes.
Chris Faddis (03:33):
I mean, now I take a cab and it’s the worst experience of my life. I cannot stand it. I’ve never had a good experience. I’m like, at the end of the cab right, I’m going, “Why is it taking so long to pay you with Uber?” You know how many times I’ve gotten out of the cab and just walked away and they’re like, “Hey, hey.” Because I’m so used to it just being paid automatically through my app. So it takes time to do that, to get to that comfort level, but once people do, you never look back. And look, there’s a long way to go for healthcare, including we still have to put up with the system. So unfortunately for us, it’s like we can only control one part of the experience and then we’re basically juggling to try to help you with the rest of it because you never know.
(04:12):
It’s going to be different if you go to this doctor or that doctor or this hospital or that hospital. And there’s a lot more work to do. But I think the reality is what we’re proving and others out there like us are proving is there is a better way for healthcare. There’s a way where people know what the expenses are. They know, they get to choose their doctors and it’s better. And in the end, you’re going to have more peace of mind because of it. And that’s an important thing. And look, I’m excited for … They still have work to do, but I’m excited for what we’re hearing. I mean, last week, Bobby Kennedy came out and said we’re mandating that all … You and I talked about this healthcare transparency piece all the time. All hospitals are going to be enforced that they have to publish their prices every single price that’s coming, that’s down the pike, they’re in works on it.
(04:53):
And I think that they have the wherewithal to actually hold them accountable to it. That’s going to change the game, Bob, more than anything out there, including what we do, because what we do is we enforce the price, but we’re a little guy. You know what I mean? And so there’s just going to be so much more opportunity when they start to enforce these rules and put these things in place. And I think it’s going to help a lot of Americans, more than any subsidy ever could, by the way.
Bob Sansevere (05:16):
Well, I mean, in my case, and we had a period of a year or so where there were like three surgeries in my house. My wife had, I think two and my son had one. And I mean, in Solidarity, it helped navigate it to get it taken care of. And the biggest problem is people get gouged by these companies like Allina. They’re really tough to deal with. We’re up here in Minnesota. They send a bill. I forwarded on to Solidarity. You pay what you feel should be the bill and then you have to battle with them for the difference, but you’ve got a great third party that takes care of that and it takes a lot of stress off of the … But there’s times when you have a … It’s overwhelming with the number of things you need to use healthcare for or need the help.
(05:59):
But I wanted to ask you, it has been 10 years. Where are you now? Are you behind where you wanted to be, ahead or right at? Because it’s that old thing when you get a job interview. Where do you want to be in five years? Where do you want to be in 10 years?
(06:13):
Where you initially established where you wanted to be a decade in?
Chris Faddis (06:17):
Honestly, no. I mean, have we done the good we wanted to do? Yeah, of course we have. And I think we’ve done a lot of good things. I mean, to date, we’ve discounted and shared over $500 million in medical bills. I think that’s pretty awesome.
Bob Sansevere (06:30):
Yeah, it is.
Chris Faddis (06:31):
But yeah, no, I thought we’d be much larger. I thought we’d serve a lot more people. I thought we’d have some things more streamlined than we did sooner. So there’s a long way to go. But I think the good of that is that it’s also because there’s a lot more work to do. There’s so many more people we can serve. There’s so many more ways we can improve and the game is changing. Like I said, we’re finally getting headway on some of these things that need to change across the country, not just for us. And so there’s a lot of opportunity, but no, yeah, we’ve got a long way to go. I thought by 10 years, coming up on 10 years, I thought by 10 years I’d be ready to hand it off to someone else and move on. And instead it’s like, man, I got a lot more ideas.
(07:12):
We got a lot more work to do.
Bob Sansevere (07:13):
Well, I think one of the best things you did, and you did it several years ago, was your version of telemedicine because it’s … I mean, you go to a doctor, it has saved 600 to 700 bucks now for a doctor visit. When you get a doctor on the phone, you give them your symptoms. And I mean, if they’re the right symptoms for the right type of illness you have, they’re going to prescribe the meds and there’s no cost to you if you’re a Solidarity HealthShare member. And that to me has been wonderful. Now, some things, like my son, he had a bad cough and we didn’t know what it was and we wound up going to the ER because he came home from school, it was bad. Turned out, we said, well, check him for mono. He had mono and influenza A. But fortunately, he was at, I think the tail end of the influenza, the mono’s been going on for a while because he’s been so tired, but at least that would’ve been tough to diagnose over the phone.
(08:04):
Sometimes you have to take it to the next level, but I mean, most times
Chris Faddis (08:08):
You don’t. Yeah. And they’re very good at telling you that. I mean, multiple times where I’ve been like, “No, no, no, just give my kid this. ” They’re like, “No, sir, I really think you need to take him in. Have somebody take a look.” Yes, exactly. My daughter had a ruptured appendix that
(08:20):
They said, look, and she was just having pain. Now, one of those situations where she didn’t really complain about the pain until it had already ruptured. So she was sort of being a martyr all day, not telling that’s what was going on. But they very quickly were like, “This is definitely something somebody needs to take a look at.” And they told us to get to the hospital, we got to the hospital, and sure enough, they figured it out and she was fine. She had surgery the next day and everything was good. But at the end of the day, they are very good. And that’s what a lot of people fear with telehealth is that, well, what if they misdiagnosed me, then I end up dying. No, they’re trained at triage.
Bob Sansevere (08:55):
These are doctors, yes-
Chris Faddis (08:56):
-Making sure that the doctors-
Bob Sansevere (08:57):
I have complete confidence.
Chris Faddis (08:58):
They’re also very cautious and prudent about not going … In fact, sometimes, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had them tell me to take someone to the doctor and I’ll call my personal doctor who you know, and I’ll say, “Hey, what do you think? ” And he’ll be like, “Nah, just do this. ” So I go get a less prudent opinion because I don’t want to go-
Bob Sansevere (09:14):
You get the second opinion from your chief medical officer-
Chris Faddis (09:17):
Maybe I shouldn’t tell people that.
Bob Sansevere (09:18):
That’ funny.
Chris Faddis (09:18):
That’s not good advice. Don’t follow that.
Bob Sansevere (09:20):
No, no, no, it’s fine. All right. Chris Faddis, president and co-founder of Solidarity HealthShare. Solidarityhealthshare.org. You got to check it out. If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional healthcare, we’re going to take a quick break and The BS Show will be right back