I have decided to write a blog series on the people in the the medical free market trenches, some of the people I most admire. The positions and stances taken by this group of principled individuals have simultaneously alienated them from certain industry circles while endearing them to their clients to an even greater extent.
It is fitting, I think, that the first person I recognize is my friend Jay Kempton, President and CEO of The Kempton Group. Indeed, a tribute to Jay from me is long overdue, as almost any connection I have with the self-funded world can be traced back to Jay and his willingness to share and promote the story of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, sharing our story even with his competitors. Rather than seek exclusivity from me, he has instead worked tirelessly to widely promote the idea and achievability of free market health care to anyone who would listen.
A client of Jay’s who is a close friend of mine introduced us and we have worked together closely ever since. The latest press release for Jay’s “Advantage Health Plans Trust” announced a 4 million dollar savings (over a three year period), a result of the launch of Jay’s medical price transparency initiative, and the manifestation of his client-focused, non-conflicted work ethic.
Congratulations to Jay and his staff for their success in bringing health care price transparency to the self-funded world and for his tireless dedication to the principles of the free and competitive market. Jay has an uncanny ability to present the business side of health care in the most understandable fashion and so rather than continue with my thoughts, here is a link to an article Jay wrote himself, his thoughts on the new price transparency in health care and what it means.
G. Keith Smith, M.D.
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