Wednesday, June 24th · Birmingham, Alabama
Meet the Speakers
Thought leaders and practitioners already bending the cost curve in their own organizations
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Speaker announcements are rolling in. Full lineup and session details will be updated here as we approach June 24. Register now to be notified directly.
Presenting at the Summit
Keynote Speaker
Matt Ohrt
Founder · DFTB Consulting & Self Fund Health
Over a 25-year HR career, Matt served as an executive leader for Toyota, Fortune Brands, and Badger Mining — the #1 Great Place to Work in America. As VP of HR at Merrill Steel, he led a five-year health plan transformation that saved the company and employees over M.
Matt founded the Healthcare Best Practice Group (20,000+ members), co-founded Self Fund Health — the fastest-growing employer health plan in the Midwest — and authored Save Your Company, Don’t Feed the Beast (6,500+ copies sold). In 2025, he became National Executive Director of the Free Market Medical Association.
📍 Employer Health Plan Transformation & Free Market Healthcare
Session Speaker
Patrick Moore
CEO · Pretekt
“Healthcare is a Racket — Call in the Marines”
With over 20 years of experience in the insurance and employee benefits industry, Patrick helps employers and advisors navigate the complex and evolving healthcare landscape. As CEO of Pretekt, his mission is to simplify healthcare for employers and employees alike — with a laser focus on the most consequential topic in the room: Compliance.
Pat is also a Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves, serving for 22 years before retiring in 2023. He brings that same mission-clarity to his belief that fiduciary responsibility will completely change the healthcare industry.
📍 Employer Fiduciary Responsibility & ERISA Compliance
Session Speaker
Kat Cagle
Wellness & Internal Communications Director · Phifer Incorporated
Kat Cagle is the Wellness Director and Internal Communications Director at Phifer Incorporated, where she supports both employee well-being and company-wide communication. She leads the PhiferCares Wellness Program, manages the PhiferCares Park facility, works closely with Phifer Healthcare and provider partners, and promotes engagement with onsite clinic services to help employees and their families thrive.
Kat also oversees internal communication strategies — including company-wide digital signage and the employee mobile app — to ensure timely, clear, and accessible information across the organization.
📍 Turning the Tide on Healthcare Costs: A Real-World Success Story
Session Speaker
Grant Zarzour
Founder & CEO · Sperity Health
A self-proclaimed “glorified carpenter,” Grant Zarzour is both a practicing orthopedic surgeon with Southern Orthopaedic Alliance and the visionary behind Sperity Health. Through years in traditional healthcare, he saw a system built around reacting to illness rather than proactively preventing it.
That perspective led him to build Sperity Health — using data and science to identify early risks and support proactive health, particularly around cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. Even with a demanding schedule, Grant keeps it practical: “I love going to the gym, I just don’t always have time to make it there. I can do push-ups and air squats anywhere.”
📍 Proactive Health & Employer Preventive Care Strategy
Panel Host
Kristen Rivers
SVP of Sales · ParetoHealth
Kristen Rivers brings nearly two decades of healthcare experience to the Alabama Cost Curve Summit. As SVP of Sales at ParetoHealth, she leads strategic growth across the West Region with expertise spanning self-funding, employee benefits, and pharmaceuticals.
A Juris Doctor from Chapman University, Kristen pairs legal expertise with a relentless drive to dismantle systemic biases in healthcare — empowering employers and consultants to take control of their benefits decisions.
🎤 Moderating the Panel Session
Panelist
Kimberly Carleson
CEO · US Beacon
A nationally respected healthcare executive and patient advocate with 15+ years serving self-funded health plans, state governments, and Fortune 500 companies in reimbursement integrity, regulatory compliance, and fiduciary governance.
As CEO of US Beacon, Kimberly leads one of the nation’s most established independent medical claims compliance and integrity review firms. She has served as a panelist for ERIC and the National Auditors Association, with her work referenced in federal policy discussions on healthcare oversight.
📍 Claims Integrity, Fiduciary Governance & ERISA Compliance
Panelist
Amanda Volner
VP of Sales, SFC® · Healthee
Amanda Volner, SFC®, brings over two decades of experience in sales leadership, strategic partnerships, and business development in healthcare and benefits. Before Healthee, she served as VP of Enterprise Partnerships at Medefy Health and held leadership roles at Integrated Prescription Management (now LucyRx) and PPOk, expanding specialty services and network growth across the industry.
Her expertise spans SaaS sales, pharmacy benefit management, and employee benefits. Originally from Oklahoma, she brings dynamic leadership to Healthee’s mission of simplifying healthcare benefits and empowering businesses and employees nationwide.
📍 Employee Education & Engagement and Care Navigation
Panelist
Adam Leggette
RVP of Sales, Southeast · Apta Health
Adam Leggette serves as the Regional Vice President of Sales for the Southeast at Apta Health, where he works with employers and benefits advisors to implement direct contracting and transparent pricing solutions. With deep roots in the Southeast market, Adam focuses on connecting employers with providers who operate on cash pricing and reference-based models — cutting out the middlemen and delivering measurable cost savings.
His work at Apta Health sits at the intersection of employer strategy and free market healthcare principles.
📍 Cash Pricing, Direct Contracts & Price Transparency
Panelist
Hannah Denson
Market VP of Sales · VerusRx
Hannah serves as the Market Vice President of Sales for VerusRx, a PBM formed with the mission of helping employers manage prescription drug costs while improving health outcomes for their employees. In an industry that can be difficult to navigate, she is committed to helping employers curb rapidly rising healthcare costs while guiding members through the challenging and complex maze of healthcare.
Hannah serves as the President of Ladies Executive Golf Society (LEGS) of Syracuse, empowering women to embrace golf as a tool for networking, skill development, business expansion, and most importantly having fun. When she’s not battling healthcare costs or hitting the links, you’ll find her spending time with her husband and two dogs.
📍 PBM Reform & Prescription Drug Cost Strategy
Panelist
Dr. Juliet Breeze
CEO · Next Level Medical
Dr. Juliet Breeze is a physician entrepreneur and CEO of Next Level Medical, focused on scaling cost-effective care through membership-based models. She started Next Level Prime, a direct-to-employer program now serving 150,000+ members in Texas with integrated primary, urgent, and mental health services — both virtual and in-person — at no cost to employees, delivering dramatic employer savings.
Under her leadership, the company developed Atticus Health, enabling partners like American Family Care to launch similar care models in new markets.
📍 Direct-to-Employer Care & Membership-Based Health Models
Don't Miss It
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Seating is limited to approximately 75 attendees. Reserve your spot today and join the conversation on making healthcare work better in Alabama.
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