Wes Pass, Chief Strategy Officer, CarePayment
What led you to join LHC?
I was recruited by Benson Sloan, an active member. He is a friend who was getting a great deal of value from the organization and its people, making it easy to be an advocate for others to join.
What has been the most rewarding part about being a member of LHC?
The personal relationships. I initially joined for the educational events. Event participation quickly led to valued professional connections by just being in attendance and meeting people. It took me by surprise when, after a few years of engagement, I looked back on my time with the organization and realized how many people in my local friend circle came from LHC. When I spoke with other board members about this they all had the same experience. It is really quite amazing.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received
Don’t sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff. Somebody recently noticed that I have been able to keep grey hair at bay despite getting older. While genetics may play a part, I think taking the flow of life head on and not letting it get the best of me is a big part of it as well. If I can impact the outcome of something I don’t worry about it (have control). If I cannot, I don’t worry about it (not in my control).
What’s your favorite Nashville restaurant or favorite thing about Nashville?
Favorite restaurant is Arnold’s. I always grab two trays worth of food. You cannot beat a good southern veggie plate. My favorite thing about Nashville is the culture of rewarding people who are strong in character and have a powerful work ethic. This town wants people to be successful. It is about making the whole pie bigger, not anyone’s individual slice. For people new to town, I would suggest they adopt the culture with open arms.
As you think about the future of the health care industry, what is most motivating to you?
Consumerism without a doubt. I think the power of transparency, choice, and a capitalistic alignment of the patient’s personal dollars to their health outcomes will be the biggest driver to lower costs and improve quality. It corrects the broken payer-patient-provider triangle and aligns natural incentives. I see the payer moving further into the catastrophic care market, acting more akin to how we view auto insurance as a safety net. If we were to compare auto insurance to health insurance today, customers would expect a free car wash every time a bird left a mark on their windshield.
What famous business person do you admire most and why?
That is a tough question. Locally Joey Jacobs really impresses me by always maintaining a high ethical standard in a very complicated and emotional sector. He has directly impacted peoples’ thinking of the brain like a treatable organ in the body. Nationally, Fred Smith has a special place in my heart. He is a Marine, which is awesome, but a true innovator that is willing to break paradigms and revolutionize an extremely complicated problem.
What else would you like members to know about you? Personally or professionally?
I want them to know they are part of a special organization in a special city. This is a very rare place where you will absolutely get increased personal value the more you do for others. That is an impossible culture to actually build but we have it. It only survives and thrives if people recognize it and are willing to invest time and effort to put it into practice. Mentoring, volunteering, driving connections, are all necessary. I finish every conversation with “what can I do for you”.