We know you care – deeply – about the current state of “healthcare”.
Both the lack of effective care for chronic disease and the skyrocketing costs.
We do too.
People are sicker than ever—which means conventional medicine isn’t working to address the root cause of chronic disease.
Healthcare costs are higher than ever—with 85% of healthcare costs coming from lifestyle-driven chronic disease. People can barely afford their insurance premiums, and even that coverage leaves many without the quality of care they need to get well – and stay well.
And people trust their insurance companies less than ever—only 7% of people actually trust their health insurance company, which only adds to the anxiety around coverage, cost and care.
We need a new system. The healthcare powers-that-be, insist on doing the same things over and over whilst expecting a new result.
We all know that kind of thinking and inaction will get us nowhere fast.
Which means it’s up to us, the health crusaders, the change-makers and the “healthy deviants” to create a KNEW system of Health Care. One that addresses the root cause of chronic disease, while empowering individuals to take charge of their health within a culture that directly rewards personal responsibility and self-care.
We call this KNEW system of Health Care the Knew Health Community.
We are creating an ecosystem committed to helping people stay well for the lowest possible cost.
How will we, as a community of change-makers, do that?
With the 5Cs: Culture, Community, Coaching, Care and Cost Sharing
#1: Culture
Culture is represented by the outer green ring of the 5C graphic, because creating a culture that incentivizes health creation is the least expensive way to get well and stay well.
For example, those who live in cities and towns with ample outdoor exercise space, a supportive community and access to high-quality foods tend to have healthier citizens.
Likewise, families who support one another, cook healthy food together and are active in their community and/or churches, have created their own mini-culture of health in which to thrive.
At Knew Health Community, our culture is based on inspiring and incentivizing healthy habits among our members within their respective communities.
We do this by educating and empowering individuals to create and maintain their own health. We will be offering curated health education opportunities from a rich diversity of leaders in the movement, including book club masterclasses with authors, group programs for specific wellness priorities, and access to lowest-cost labs to assess focus areas proactively.
Culture creates common language and priorities, yet one still rich with our diversity. A basis for long-term wellness, personal fulfillment, and cost-savings for all.
#2: Community
The second C, represented by the blue circle, is Community—which is slightly more expensive than culture.
Yet, many (if not most) of us weren’t fortunate to be born into a culture that incentivizes healthy behaviors. Therefore, we must get the support we need to start cultivating that culture within our communities.
A really inspiring example of this comes from Okinawa, Japan. Where life expectancy for women (90 years old) is the highest in the world
One of the contributing factors behind this success is what’s known as a “Moai”.
A Moai is a group of 5 friends who form their own support network/community, offering each other social, logistical, emotional and even financial support for a lifetime.
The Moai is a perfect living example of how a strong sense of community promotes and creates longevity and health.
Community reinforces a healthy culture, and a healthy culture is nothing without a strong community to support it.
The only costs involved in being part of a community include social expenses, like getting together for meals, helping out friends, travel, time, etc.
At Knew Health Community, we will incentivize strong community creation through batch cooking classes, fitness groups, Meetups, local events, etc.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, community, not medicine creates health.
#3: Coaching
Next in the 5Cs is Coaching, represented by the red ring—specifically Health Coaching.
A Health Coach helps you get healthy and stay healthy, by creating awareness and offering education and goal-setting around behavioral patterns which either create or degrade your well-being.
For example, Health Coaches are highly effective in helping people better manage and overcome mild, chronic lifestyle-driven ailments such as: pre-diabetes, thyroid conditions, weight-gain, sleep problems and stress (to name but a few). Our Health Coaches are trained in functional medicine science and physician-supervised.
A Health Coach costs more than Culture and Community, but their rates are a fraction of what you’d spend on managing a chronic condition through doctors’ visits and conventional care.
At Knew Health Community, our members have the option to receive support from a dedicated Health Coach, should their health (or habits) start getting off-track.
After all, we all have moments where we fall-off-the-wagon…especially if we’re not yet surrounded by a strong culture and community of health-conscious friends.
These are the perfect times to call on a Health Coach for some strategy, education and support.
#4: Care
If you have a more severe chronic disease, or if/when something serious comes up, this is the time to seek Care from a functional medicine doctor (Care is represented by the yellow ring).
This is one of the more expensive of the 5Cs. But when utilized properly, it will wind up saving you bundles of cash.
Why? Because functional medicine doctors specialize in root-cause resolution of chronic disease and “mystery” illnesses.
In other words: they’ll find out what’s causing your symptoms (which is never a lack of medication) and devise a program to address them once and for all.
These doctors aren’t in the business of “disease-management”—though they can help you with that while you get to the bottom of things; rather, their goal is to help your body heal itself so you can go backwards in this cost-savings cycle from Care to Coaching to Community to Culture.
Knew Health Community has an extensive network of highly-trained functional medicine doctors we can refer members to if a need arises.
#5: Cost Sharing
At the center of the 5Cs is Cost Sharing, which is at the core of our offering here at Knew Health Community.
All 5Cs are built into this cost sharing model:
- A Culture which supports healthy behaviors
- A Community which drives and reinforces that cultural standard
- Coaching through our functional Health Coaches, for those times you need a little extra health and wellness support
- Care through our network of functional medicine doctors who specialize in root-cause resolution
All this adds up to a Cost sharing experience that keeps members healthy, and helps them regain their health and share those expenses should an acute or chronic issue come up.
This last point is key, because nearly everyone will have unexpected (or expected in terms of a birth) medical expenses come up in life.
That’s where Cost-sharing rounds out and completes the 5Cs: it’s an affordable alternative to health insurance in which we share each other’s unexpected medical expenses as they arise.
So, as a member of Knew Health Community you’re not in this alone—you’re part of a vast “Moai”, who will have your back as healthcare needs evolve and change.
Similar to the long-standing, Christian-based cost-sharing ministries you may have heard of, but with greater transparency, fewer restrictions, and the common faith in the power of wellness as lifestyle. These programs have been proven to work for decades to save members money whilst incentivizing personal and community responsibility in Health Care.
THIS is how we change the trajectory of healthcare from a sick-care-incentivized system, to a Health Care system powered by the 5Cs.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in being a part of, click here to learn more about founding membership in Knew Health Community (program launch January, 2019).
And to learn more about the history and nuts and bolts of cost sharing, check out our previous articles:
