I've spent 38 years inside the employee benefits industry — not selling insurance, but tearing apart the machinery that makes it so expensive. Here's what your broker won't tell you and what you can do about it.
Patrick and Maureen possess a rare combination of deep medical plan expertise and a sophisticated understanding of school-based regulations and compliance. They were instrumental in our transition to a self-insured school district, the launch of a district primary care office, and have helped us through multiple union contract healthcare negotiations. In my years of district leadership, I have encountered few professionals who possess such a high level of professionalism and care. I truly do not know what I would do without them.
— Kelly Kessling, Benefits Manager, Central Bucks School DistrictThis isn't a broken system. It works exactly the way it was designed to work — just not for you.
Hospitals set fictitious list prices, then "discount" them to 300–500% of Medicare. Your carrier celebrates the savings. You still get hosed. A bag of saline that costs the hospital $1 gets billed at $137. That's not a negotiation. That's theater.
Your Pharmacy Benefit Manager makes money three ways you never see: spread pricing, rebate retention, and formulary manipulation. You're paying more for medications so a middleman can make a margin.
High premiums AND high deductibles. Employees skip care because they can't afford it. They delay until it becomes an ER visit. That $45,000 claim drives next year's renewal even higher. The cycle repeats.
Fully-insured plan from a name-brand carrier
PPO paying 300–500% of Medicare rates
PBM with spread pricing and hidden rebates
Employees who avoid the doctor
12–20% annual increases
Self-funded plan — own the data, control the spend
Reference-based pricing at Medicare Plus 125–200%
Pass-through PBM — every dollar visible, you keep the rebates
Unlimited DPC — $0 copays, same-day access
30–50% total plan savings. Year one.
I don't sell insurance. I design benefit strategies that put employers back in control and employees back in the doctor's office.
Stop renting your health plan from a carrier. Own the risk, own the data, control where the money goes. Stop-loss protects you from catastrophic risk. I build the structure, place the stop-loss, and manage it alongside you.
Pay hospitals at Medicare Plus 125–200% instead of the 300–500%+ they demand through PPO contracts. Same hospital. Same surgeon. Rational price. This single move can cut facility claims by 40% or more.
I helped build what I believe is the most advanced DPC model on the market — primary care, labs, imaging, behavioral health, and pharmacy under one roof. Unlimited visits, same-day access, zero copays, real doctors who know your employees by name.
No spread pricing, no hidden rebates disappearing into someone else's pocket, no formulary games. You see every dollar — and you keep the rebates that belong to you. Already live in Pennsylvania school districts and expanding fast.
Patrick helped us cut $1.2 million in healthcare spend without hurting our employees. He showed us what our broker wouldn't.
— Superintendent, PA School DistrictHe speaks truth. Brokers and employers need to hear this. The book should be required reading for every HR director in the country.
— Broker Agency OwnerFounder & Principal
I run Impact Employee Benefit Strategies out of Youngstown, New York, alongside my partner Maureen Frucella at Preferred Benefit Specialists. I operate the Preferred Healthcare Systems PPO network.
I co-founded PeopleOne Health — now backed by Google Ventures with 25,000+ members and growing. I helped create what I believe is the most advanced Direct Primary Care model on the market. I've designed benefit strategies for school districts, manufacturers, municipalities, and mid-market employers across Pennsylvania and beyond.
I wrote The Survival Guide to the Healthcare Apocalypse because after 38 years watching this industry operate, I couldn't justify staying quiet anymore.
38 years of war stories, hard data, and uncomfortable truths. SHRM and HRCI continuing education credits approved.
No pitch. No 47-slide PowerPoint. Tell me what's going on with your health plan and I'll tell you honestly whether I can help. The conversation is free.