In this inaugural member spotlight episode, Dr. John Pagan sits down with Dr. Wirths of DuBois, Pennsylvania - a physician whose path to independent practice is unlike any other in the network. From escaping war-torn Vietnam as a teenager to building a thriving family medicine practice rooted in two lifelong passions, Dr. Wirths offers a deeply personal perspective on medicine, independence, and what it means to truly advocate for your patients.

Key Highlights

An Extraordinary Journey to Pennsylvania Dr. Wirths' story begins far from DuBois. In 1981, he escaped Vietnam after the Communist takeover, spending a year in refugee camps in Malaysia and the Philippines before being sponsored to the U.S. by Catholic Charities and placed in a foster home in New Jersey - separated from his parents and most of his family, with only a brother nearby. That experience of survival and resilience shapes how he approaches medicine and his relationship with patients to this day.

How He Ended Up in DuBois Toward the end of his residency in Allentown, Dr. Wirths was recruited by what is now Penn Highlands - a hospital and community he had never heard of. A visit changed his mind, and he has been there ever since.

The Practice Name: A Double Meaning When Dr. Wirths went independent seven years ago, he named his practice Fore Your Health Family Medicine - a nod to his two great passions: medicine and golf. "Fore," as any golfer knows, is the warning called when a wayward shot heads toward another player. It's a name that captures both his love of the game and his commitment to looking out for his patients.

Why Stay Independent? Independence was always the goal for Dr. Wirths - he just took longer to get there than he had planned, having spent years employed by the local hospital. His philosophy: observe what most people do, and consider doing the opposite. When large systems and corporations became the norm for physician employment, he went out on his own.

What He Values Most in Practice Dr. Wirths keeps his focus simple: hire the right people, let them do their jobs, and concentrate his own energy on delivering the best possible care to patients. He sees PACN as an extension of that philosophy - handling the bigger-picture advocacy and negotiation work that individual physicians simply don't have time for.

Why He Joined PACN After going independent, Dr. Wirths was actively searching for representation at scale - someone to negotiate with insurance companies and fight for physicians' best interests in Harrisburg and beyond. What sealed it for him: PACN is physician-led. "Run by physicians representing physicians - to me, that's perfect."

Serving on the Funds Flow Committee Dr. Wirths is an active member of PACN's Funds Flow Committee, which works to fairly distribute quality-based payments earned by network physicians for the care they deliver every day. He credits the committee experience with deepening his connections to colleagues across the state and accelerating his learning about what works - and what doesn't - in independent practice.

His Message to Independent Physicians Don't go it alone. Whether it's PACN or another organization, independent physicians need someone representing them at a higher level - someone who understands the ever-changing requirements of insurance companies, can come to your office, and helps ensure you're fairly compensated for the care you provide.

Key Takeaways

• Independent physicians need organized representation to effectively navigate insurer requirements and advocacy - no one can do it alone.
• PACN's physician-led governance structure - from the Funds Flow Committee to Quality and Contracting committees - is what distinguishes it from top-down organizations.
• Dr. Wirths' story is a powerful reminder of the resilience and dedication that drives many in independent medicine.
• Calling PACN first when you have a challenge is exactly what the network is designed for.

In this follow-up episode, Dr. John Pagan welcomes back Dr. Michael Fang for a deeper dive into the PACN–Ryze Health partnership. Building on Part 1's introduction to the insurance problem facing independent physicians, this conversation covers Ryze's long-term stability, coverage for entire practice teams, estimated cost savings, and an exciting additional opportunity for physicians to join the Ryze provider network, earning better reimbursement while caring for fellow physicians and their families.

Haven't heard Part 1? Start here - it covers how the Ryze insurance model works and how to get a quote through the PACN website.

Key Highlights

Quick Recap: Why Ryze Exists Independent physicians are small business owners stuck in expensive, fully insured marketplace plans, pooled with higher-risk populations despite their own lower health risk. Ryze separates physicians and their teams into their own pool, leveraging collective size to negotiate better rates — or, for larger groups, enabling a fully self-funded plan where unused funds stay with the practice.

Is Ryze Here to Stay? Dr. Fang addressed a key question many physicians have: can they trust a newer company for something as critical as health insurance? His answer: Ryze was built deliberately over three-plus years before launch, is not backed by large private equity, and is not under pressure to exit or deliver short-term shareholder returns. Notably, 90% of Ryze's investors are independent physicians themselves — bought into the mission, not just the margins.

Coverage for Your Whole Team Ryze coverage isn't limited to the physician-owner. The plan can extend to nurses, PAs, NPs, office managers, front desk staff, and their families — as long as they are part of a physician-owned medical practice. Employers have full flexibility to decide how much of the coverage cost to subsidize, giving practices a powerful recruitment and retention tool that was previously only available to large hospital systems.

How Much Can You Save? On average, Ryze plans come in at least 15% lower in cost than comparable marketplace plans — factoring in premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and copays together. This applies across plan types including PPO, HSA, and HMO plans.

A Two-Way Opportunity: Join the Ryze Provider Network Beyond insurance, Ryze invites independent physicians to join as providers in its network — caring for Ryze members (who are fellow physicians, their staff, and families). Key benefits of joining the provider network include higher reimbursement than standard rates, typically 10–20% above reference-based pricing, with no CMS or federal funding constraints. As Dr. Fang put it: physicians can be the "rider or the driver" — getting insurance, seeing Ryze patients, or both.

The Bigger Picture: Reclaiming Independent Practice Both Dr. Fang and Dr. Pagan reflected on the broader movement at play. After years of consolidation, the pendulum is swinging back — younger physicians are choosing independence earlier, and many who sold practices to hospitals or private equity are returning as soon as they can. Research consistently shows that small, independent practices deliver better outcomes at lower cost. PACN and Ryze see themselves as partners in sustaining that choice for physicians and patients alike.

Key Takeaways

• Ryze is physician-founded, physician-invested, and built for the long term — not driven by private equity timelines.
• Coverage extends to the entire practice team and their families, with employer flexibility on subsidy levels.
• Ryze plans average at least 15% lower in cost than traditional fully insured marketplace plans.
• Physicians can join the Ryze provider network to earn better reimbursement caring for fellow physicians and their families — independently of whether they use Ryze for their own coverage.
• PACN members can access both opportunities through the PACN website.

In this episode, Dr. John Pagan sits down with Dr. Michael Fang, a geriatrician turned health tech entrepreneur, to discuss one of the most overlooked challenges facing independent physicians: accessing affordable health insurance for themselves and their staff. Dr. Fang introduces Ryze Health, PACN's newest partner, and explains how the company is bringing tried-and-true insurance strategies from other industries directly to independent medical practices.

Key Highlights

Dr. Fang's Background Dr. Fang knew he wanted to be a physician by age 8 and a geriatrician by age 12. After completing his training and entering practice, he became acutely aware of how broken the healthcare system is from the inside — leading him to pursue health informatics and, eventually, build software solutions focused on clinical decision support, population analytics, and social determinants of health.

The Problem: Independent Doctors Lack Good Health Plans Coming out of the pandemic, Dr. Fang reached out to colleagues and discovered a shared pain point: independent physicians — who are technically small business owners — are largely stuck with expensive "fully insured" products from the open marketplace. Doctors can pay $2,000–$5,000/month in premiums, yet still face ~$30,000 in out-of-pocket costs before coverage meaningfully kicks in. Meanwhile, physicians as a group represent a lower health risk than the general population, yet are pooled with everyone else, effectively subsidizing others' care.

The Bigger Picture Over 400,000 independent practices remain in the U.S., yet unlike manufacturers, trucking companies, and other industries that have moved to self-funded insurance models, independent doctors have had no comparable alternative — until now.

What Makes Ryze Health Unique Ryze designs insurance solutions specifically around the physician risk profile and career path — accounting for the fact that physicians are less likely to have undetected cancers or untreated cardiovascular disease, and that many work across state lines, in telehealth, concierge care, or as 1099 contractors. Ryze also leverages technology and automation to reduce overhead, keeping costs lower than traditional insurers.

Two Core Solutions

• PEO (Professional Employer Organization): Best suited for solo practitioners to practices of ~15–20 employees. Ryze acts as an HR partner, aggregating smaller practices into a pool of ~30,000, enabling negotiation of large-group rates with major payers like Cigna or Blue Cross. Includes additional HR support — payroll, hiring, compliance, and more.
• Self-Funded Plan: Designed for larger medical groups (100+ employees). Ryze helps build a custom health plan where, if employees have a healthy year and funds remain, the practice keeps the surplus — unlike traditional insurance where unused premiums are never returned. This model is how many other industries have kept costs from rising year over year.

How to Get a Quote PACN members can visit the PACN website, where Ryze Health information and FAQs have been integrated. From there, a simple 15–25 minute questionnaire initiates the quoting process. Ryze's underwriting team will follow up with customized plan options.