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Relocalizing Health with Dave Chase

While Washington argues and Wall Street profits, a quiet transformation is reshaping healthcare: one community at a time.

Relocalizing Health takes you inside this movement with Dave Chase, founder of Health Rosetta, as he talks with the people leading healthcare's ground-up transformation. Their approach? Keep care local, rebuild trust, and redirect healthcare wasted spending into something that actually serves people.

You'll hear real-world stories from employers, clinicians, and civic leaders who are designing health plans and ecosystems that work, and strengthening their local economies in the process.

Featured guests include:

- Public sector leaders who've redesigned employee health benefits to free up millions for essential services.

- Physicians who've left corporate systems to practice relationship-based care.

- Manufacturing executives using healthcare as a competitive advantage - not a cost burden.

- Civic leaders helping communities reclaim control of their healthcare destiny.

If you care about your community's future and want to see what's actually working in healthcare transformation, this show offers a clear-eyed look at proven models and how to implement them.

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Relocalizing Health with Dave Chase

How Community-Owned Health Plans Are Transforming Healthcare and Boosting Local Economies

September 02, 2025 • TopHealth Media • Season 1 • Episode 9

Welcome back to Relocalizing Health, the podcast where we delve into how communities across America are taking back control of their healthcare from corporate interests and transforming it into a force for genuine wellbeing and economic vitality. I’m your host, Dave Chase.

In today’s episode, we bring you a truly inspiring story of healthcare transformation, not spearheaded by a hospital exec, a government official, or a tech disruptor, but by an independent benefits advisor from Ohio who decided enough was enough. Bryce Heinbaugh joins us to share his journey, which began with a professional crisis of conscience after realizing how much money was being siphoned out of his community by a broken healthcare system.

Bryce opens up about his pivotal moment at a Health Rosetta conference, the challenges of being a change agent, and how he helped move Ashtabula City Schools from the brink of financial crisis to building a $7 million healthcare reserve. We’ll explore the practical steps he took to rebuild the local healthcare ecosystem, from partnering with direct primary care physicians and community pharmacists, to negotiating direct contracts with high-quality providers, even in a so-called “medical desert.”

Alongside Bryce, we’ll dig into the blueprint that empowered not just schools, but also local governments and private employers, to save millions while improving care for their people. We’ll discuss the national implications of this approach, the predictable pushback from entrenched interests, and why fostering local collaboration among advisors, clinicians, and civic leaders is crucial for lasting change.

If you’ve ever wondered how healthcare could become an economic engine rather than a drain, or what it takes to shift from Wall Street-driven models to community-owned health plans, this is the episode for you. Stick around for actionable insights, hard-earned wisdom, and a hopeful look at what’s possible when communities work together to reclaim their healthcare destiny.

Timestamps:

00:00 "Revolutionizing U.S. Healthcare Costs"

04:52 Epiphany of a Benefits Broker

07:07 Healthcare Innovation Journey

12:24 Community-Focused Healthcare Solution

17:02 "Leveraging Major Employers for Community Initiatives"

18:07 Analyzing Healthcare Spending Data

22:59 Orthopedic and Imaging Expansion Success

25:59 Healthcare Reform Sparks Local Controversy

29:52 "Decentralizing Healthcare from Wall Street"

31:49 Cut Out Middleman, Save on Prescriptions

37:16 "Zero-Cost Healthcare Impact on Communities"