How Lean Six Sigma and Community Collaboration Are Revolutionizing Health Benefits for Manufacturers

Welcome to "Relocalizing Health"! In today’s episode, host Dave Chase sits down with Russell DuBose, Vice President of Human Resources at Phifer Incorporated, for a powerful conversation on how one manufacturer reimagined healthcare costs as a supply chain problem, and solved it using Lean Six Sigma methodologies.

Rather than accepting healthcare as an uncontrollable expense, Phifer Inc. applied continuous improvement principles to overhaul their benefits, delivering results that have stunned the industry: five years of flat healthcare costs, scholarships for employees’ dependents, zero pharmacy copays for over 2,500 individuals, and childcare bonuses for hundreds of families. But it goes beyond cost containment, Russell DuBose built the foundation so other local employers could access these benefits and help create healthier, more resilient communities.

This episode dives deep into Phifer’s journey, including how they broke away from legacy broker models, embraced Health Rosetta principles, leveraged data-driven decision-making, and established onsite primary care and pharmacy access that drastically improved outcomes, especially during the COVID pandemic. You’ll also learn how this story is inspiring other manufacturers and local employers to rethink their approach to healthcare, and what’s coming next as advanced, individualized medicine becomes a reality.

Whether you’re a business leader, HR professional, or simply passionate about transforming healthcare, this episode will change how you think about what’s possible for your company and your community.

Timestamps:

00:00 "Reclaiming Healthcare: Community Solutions"

05:51 "Solving Healthcare with Lean Six Sigma"

10:04 "Transition to Transparent PBM Model"

12:07 "Advancing Precision Healthcare Systems"

15:11 "Building a Unified Healthcare Paradigm"

18:20 "Health Rosetta's Impact Initiative"

21:07 "Primary Care: The Key Engine"

24:37 "Eliminating Barriers to Care"

30:57 Healthcare Costs and System Failure

33:59 "Advancing Employer-Focused Healthcare Solutions"

36:51 Primary Care Investment Revolution

42:22 Precision Medicine Pathway Development

45:00 "Advocating Transparency in Healthcare"

47:31 "Modernizing Manufacturing: First Steps"

51:11 Empower Teams for Transformation

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/