“Each acquisition has its own fingerprints. You kind of think, oh, it's an acquisition. No, it's all different.” - Diane Dooley

Diane Dooley, a CHRO and consultant, joined me this week to discuss what HR’s role in mergers & acquisitions is, and why HR is so key to that process. We talked about doing the right due diligence before an acquisition, how to merge cultures, and how to navigate the different reactions that employees inevitably have.

Diane and I also dove into the psychology of both the buyer and the seller in an M&A transaction, and why the reasons to buy are often not the same as those to sell. Founders often have much more emotions surrounding the transaction, which have to be taken into account to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for them and their employees.

Join me this week on Self-Funded with Spencer to find out what HR’s role is in the M&A process!

Chapters:

00:00:00 HR’s Role In M&A: Due Diligence, Culture, and Integration | with Diane Dooley
00:08:08 Assessing Cultural Fit in M&A
00:15:49 Thorough Due Diligence When Acquiring
00:20:52 Impact of Company Culture in Mergers
00:25:26 Navigating Integration With Change Management
00:39:17 Leadership Continuity
00:41:54 The Importance of Employee Incentives
00:46:37 Avoiding Hiring Mistakes
01:06:51 Being Proactive In HR

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

HR, Mergers And Acquisitions, M and A, Mergers, Acquisitons, CHRO, Due Diligence, Culture, Integration, Change Management, Succession, Recruitment, Diane Dooley, spencer smith, podcast, healthcare, health insurance, self funded, self funding, self funded health insurance, self funded insurance

#HR #MergersAndAcquisitions #MandA #Mergers #Acquisitons #CHRO #DueDiligence #Culture #Integration #ChangeManagement #Succession #Recruitment #dianedooley #spencersmith #podcast #healthcare #healthinsurance #selffunded #selffunding #selffundedhealthinsurance #selffundedinsurance

"If you're an employer, if someone comes up and knocks on your door, take a second, breathe, and listen to what they have to say." - Christopher Cordon

Christopher Cordon joined me this week to talk about something that may initially seem contradictory to what I typically preach: level-funding. Chris shares why worksite benefits sales for employers with under 50 employees led him to level-funding as a solution, and why he’s so passionate about serving that under-served market.

Chris has a background as an actor, and we also discussed how that has helped him in sales and in the entrepreneurial world, as well as in his recent LinkedIn content.

Chris is a passionate guy who genuinely wants to make insurance affordable and easy for small employers, and I hope you’ll tune in to hear just how he does that.

Chapters:

00:00:00 Health Insurance Benefits With Less Than 50 Employees | with Christopher Cordon
00:08:37 Chris’s Career Path
00:23:56 Learning How To Navigate Sales
00:33:45 Why Large Employers Are Almost All Self-Funded
00:44:33 The Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness of Direct Primary Care
00:48:21 Why Chris Has Embraced Level-Funding
00:52:59 Simplifying Self-Insurance
01:01:51 How Do We Make Healthcare Sustainable?
01:10:27 AI's Impact on Healthcare Costs

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

Direct Primary Care, DPC, Level Funded, Level Funding, Employer Solutions, Healthcare Consulting, Insurance Business, AI in Healthcare, entrepreneurship, christopher cordon, spencer smith, podcast, healthcare, health insurance, self funded, self funding, self funded health insurance, self funded insurance

#DirectPrimaryCare #DPC #LevelFunded #LevelFunding #EmployerSolutions #HealthcareConsulting #InsuranceBusiness #AIinHealthcare #entrepreneurship #christophercordon #spencersmith #podcast #healthcare #healthinsurance #selffunded #selffunding #selffundedhealthinsurance #selffundedinsurance

"If you know how a PBM gets paid, that's the best transparency you can ask for.” - Julie Wasserman

Julie Wasserman, VP of Sales for VerusRx, joined me this week to discuss the PBM industry in 2025. If you’re a PBM, how do you gain trust with employers and build plans that work for them? We talk about what every PBM should be doing for their employers, what true transparency looks like, how to reach employees directly through software, and how GLP1s are changing the industry.

If you’re a PBM or work with them, or are just curious about one of the biggest industries in healthcare, make sure to tune in this week to Self-Funded with Spencer to hear from Julie on what the best practices need to look like.

Chapters:

00:00:00 What The PBM Industry Should Focus On In 2025 | with Julie Wasserman
00:15:07 Increasing Employee Engagement
00:20:16 Complexity in the PBM Industry
00:25:03 Data-Driven Health Savings for Employers
00:31:27 What Does True Transparency Look Like
00:49:36 Global Drug Price Discrepancies
00:56:38 Incentivizing Cost-Effective Healthcare Decisions in PBMs
01:01:11 Financial Risks of Covering GLP1s for Weight Loss

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/

Key Words:

VerusRx, PBM, PBMs, Rebate, Rebates, Pharmacy Rebates, Transparency, PBMIndustry, GLP1, GLP1s, Ozempic, Wegovy, pharma, Reference Based Pricing, RBP, Healthcare Costs, julie wasserman, spencer smith, podcast, healthcare, health insurance, self funded, self funding, self funded health insurance, self funded insurance

#VerusRx #PBM #PBMs #Rebate #Rebates #PharmacyRebates #Transparency #PBMIndustry #GLP1 #GLP1s #Ozempic #Wegovy #pharma #ReferenceBasedPricing #RBP #HealthcareCosts #juliewasserman #spencersmith #podcast #healthcare #healthinsurance #selffunded #selffunding #selffundedhealthinsurance #selffundedinsurance