What Can Be Done About Healthcare? w/ Ethos

In this unique episode of the HVAC School podcast, Bryan interviews Donovan Ryckis, CEO of Ethos Benefits, diving deep into the complex world of healthcare financing and employee benefits. Ryckis shares his journey from financial advising to becoming a healthcare benefits consultant, driven by a mission to expose and transform the inherently problematic healthcare system.

The conversation reveals the stark inefficiencies in traditional healthcare models, where insurance companies and healthcare providers often prioritize profit over patient care. Ryckis explains how most employers have been led to believe they cannot control healthcare costs, accepting annual increases as inevitable. By applying a fiduciary approach—similar to financial advising—Ethos Benefits helps companies like Kalos dramatically reduce healthcare expenses while maintaining or improving employee care.

A key highlight of the discussion is the innovative strategies Ethos implements, such as negotiating directly with healthcare providers, exposing pharmacy benefit manager markup, and implementing direct primary care. These approaches not only reduce costs but also provide employees with better, more personalized healthcare experiences. The podcast demonstrates that by taking a transparent, data-driven approach, companies can create win-win healthcare solutions that benefit both the organization and its employees.

Key Topics Covered:

Healthcare financing vs. traditional insurance models
Pharmacy benefit manager markup and hidden costs
Negotiating medical claims and reducing excessive billing
Direct primary care and its benefits
Strategies for controlling healthcare expenses
Importance of transparency in healthcare pricing
The documentary “It's Not Personal, It's Just Healthcare”
Challenges in the current healthcare system
Empowering employees through better healthcare options

Learn more about Ethos Benefits at https://ethosbenefits.com/ and the Ethos Effect Podcast at https://www.ethoseffectpodcast.com/.

Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool.

Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 6th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium.

Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.

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#benefits #health #healthcare #hvac business #hvac company

Author:

Bryan Orr

Company: HVAC School

Position: Founder

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HVAC School – For Techs, By Techs

Real training for HVAC ( Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) Technicians. Including recorded tech training, interviews, diagnostics and general conversations about the trade.

In today’s podcast, Bryan talks with legendary Hydronics author and trainer Dan Holohan about the history of steam heating and some practical applications of old ideas. Recently, Dan has been working on more novels, having published two of them over the past few months.

Steam heating is a “lost art” nowadays; it has become increasingly uncommon and has been disappearing since the Vietnam War. Many people who understood steam heating either retired or died after the Vietnam War. Many elements of steam heating are difficult to understand or surprising. (For example, steam pressure has a surprising relationship with velocity: low-pressure steam moves through piping much more quickly than high-pressure steam.) So, Dan Holohan is on a mission to revive that knowledge and teach the newer generations about the lost art.

There are many older steam heating systems still operating today, especially in the older large buildings in New York. Dan learned a lot about steam heating when working on these old systems and optimizing them. Most of the time, he optimized those systems by removing unnecessary accessories, not by adding components like steam traps.

Many old boilers used coal as a heat source. Nowadays, many old boilers have been fitted with conversion oil burners with thermostats, but they are still piped for coal. Some systems now have multiple risers or massive vents on the main riser to prevent the thermostats from getting too hot too early and satisfying the thermostat too early. We call that master venting, which reduces pressure and allows steam to move very quickly and efficiently.

Dan also discusses:

The 2-PSI standard
Transportation metaphors for BTUs in steam
Harmful renovations for old boilers
Replacement vs. restoration mindsets
Gaps in steam boiler education
Monopolizing the market if you HAVE the education
Boiler piping and venting
Two-pipe vs one-pipe steam

Find out more about Dan and hydronic heating at HeatingHelp.com.

Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool.

Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 6th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.