Building Community-Owned Health Plans to Save Independent Hospitals

Welcome back to Relocalizing Health, the podcast where we shine a light on the communities taking healthcare back from corporate control and making it serve people, rather than profit. In today’s episode, host Dave Chase sits down with Christina King, a benefit advisor from Columbus, Ohio, who’s breaking the mold on how we think about hospitals and employer health plans. Instead of waiting for Washington to fix a “terminally broken” system, Christina King has been rolling up her sleeves and partnering with regional hospitals to create community-owned health plans, even as much of Ohio’s healthcare landscape is collapsing around her. She unpacks how these grassroots efforts are not only keeping care in the community, but transforming hospital relationships, employer incentives and even employee recruitment by building something better from within. We’ll dig into the unique financial models, the critical role of direct primary care and independent pharmacies, and why employers are finally able to use health benefits as a genuine tool to attract their workforce. Plus, Christina King shares how these local successes are fueling statewide excitement and connecting an ever-growing network of visionary leaders ready to take healthcare transformation on the road. Get ready for an inspiring conversation that offers practical insights and real hope for reclaiming the American dream, one community at a time. Timestamps: 00:00 Reclaiming Healthcare, Serving Communities 04:33 Networking to Reach Hospital Executives 08:41 Healthcare Innovation Around Metro Areas 12:45 Replicating Community Health Plans 15:42 Community-Focused Healthcare Collaboration 18:05 "Health Plans Driving Employee Attraction" 23:20 "Employer Community Health Revolution" 25:00 Community Celebration After Denver Trip 28:25 "Employers Discussing Healthcare Challenges" 31:33 Hospital Competition and Cost Reform 36:12 "Live in Anticipation of Connections" 37:45 Reclaiming Healthcare, Building Community Learn More: RosettaFest 2025 - https://rosettafest.org/ Health Rosetta - http://healthrosetta.org/ Nautilus - https://www.nautilushealth.org/ Kynexions - https://kynexions.com/ Dave Chase - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedave/ Podcast Website - https://relocalizinghealth.com/