Get to the Root Podcast

About Get to the Root Podcast

Get to the Root is the podcast redefining what health benefits should be. Hosted by Dr. Erica Armstrong, founder and CEO of Root. Here, we explore the category we created: root cause health benefits—a smarter approach to care that uses advanced lab screening and functional medicine to reverse chronic conditions and optimize health. The result? Healthier people and lower healthcare costs for employers. In each episode, we sit down with forward-thinking employers, innovative brokers, and healthcare leaders who are driving real, measurable change. If you're ready to move beyond sick care and get to the root of what’s driving costs—and outcomes—this podcast is for you.

Publisher

Root Functional Medicine

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Dec 2024

Latest episode

22 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

26 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Sept 2026

   EP 25: The Journey to Self-Funded with Gregg Farrar

   What if employers stopped asking only how much healthcare costs and started asking whether it actually works? In this episode, Gregg Farrar, CEO of Farrar Corporation, shares how his company moved from fully insured to self-funded health plans, and why addressing root causes, not just costs, is central to that strategy. He discusses educating a blue-collar workforce through the transition, and how his own experience with Root's comprehensive testing changed how he thinks about employee benefits.

2. 

   4 Aug 2026

   EP 24: Why Real Outcomes Beat Engagement with Al Lewis

   How can employers tell whether a health care vendor’s results are real or simply based on flawed measurements? In this episode of the Get to the Root podcast, Dr. Erica Armstrong speaks with Al Lewis, Founder and Validator-in-Chief of the Validation Institute, about improving transparency and accountability in health care vendor outcomes. Al shares how flaws in traditional outcomes measurement led him to challenge inflated savings claims and establish the Validation Institute, while explaining why Root Functional Medicine's results remained valid despite using a participant-versus-nonparticipant comparison. They also discuss Root's success in helping patients with autoimmune conditions reduce their reliance on high-cost specialty medications by addressing underlying causes. Al concludes by explaining how independent validation helps employers identify effective vendors, strengthen fiduciary due diligence, and provide employees with access to better care. Tune in to learn why credible outcomes measurement matters and how independent validation can help employers make smarter health benefit decisions! Get your own Root Cause Panel to uncover root potential causes and optimize health here! About Al Lewis: Al Lewis is the Founder and Validator-in-Chief of the Validation Institute, an organization that independently evaluates health care vendor performance and outcomes. Widely recognized as an authority on vendor outcomes measurement, he is the author of Why Nobody Believes the Numbers and co-author of Cracking Health Costs. Al is also the Founder and Quizmeister-in-Chief of Quizzify, an employee health literacy platform that teaches people how to make informed health care decisions while avoiding unnecessary care. His work helps employers distinguish credible results from inflated claims and make better decisions about their health benefits. Things You’ll Learn: Many health care vendors use flawed methods that can overstate savings and program outcomes. Participant-versus-nonparticipant comparisons may be misleading because participants are often already more engaged in their health. Root’s results were validated because patients using high-cost autoimmune medications would rarely discontinue them without meaningful clinical improvement. Addressing the underlying causes of autoimmune conditions may help some patients safely reduce their reliance on specialty medications. Independent validation helps employers identify credible vendors and demonstrate stronger due diligence when managing health benefits. Creating a more transparent marketplace can help effective health care vendors earn greater visibility and reach more employees. Resources: Connect with and follow Al Lewis on LinkedIn. Learn more about the Validation Institute and follow Quizzify on LinkedIn and visit their website.

3. 

   30 Jun 2026

   Rethinking Employer Health Plans with Kristen Rivers

   What if the future of employer health care depends less on shifting costs and more on helping people get healthier earlier? In this episode of Get to the Root, Kristen Rivers, SVP at Pareto Health, joins Dr. Erica Armstrong to discuss the growing pressure employers face as health care costs continue to rise. Kristen shares why traditional models often leave employers with limited options beyond raising deductibles or passing more expenses onto employees, and how self-funded models, better data, and transparency can help them move beyond band-aid fixes to address the root causes driving claims. Tune in to hear why proactive, personalized care can change lives, improve productivity, and help employers build smarter, more sustainable health plans. About Kristen Rivers: Kristen Rivers is the Senior Vice President of Sales at ParetoHealth, where she leads sales growth and strategic initiatives across the West Region. With nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare, she has seen firsthand the systemic challenges and biases employers face when trying to offer sustainable, effective health benefits. Her work focuses on helping employers regain control of their healthcare strategy, improving outcomes, and reducing unnecessary costs. Before joining ParetoHealth, Kristen spent more than a decade at UnitedHealth Group in sales and leadership roles, where she managed teams and developed business strategies that drove meaningful results. Today, she is passionate about creating a more equitable and efficient healthcare system by advocating for fairer practices, smarter plan design, and innovative solutions that empower employers and better support their people. Things You’ll Learn: Employers are reaching a breaking point as rising medical costs and high-cost therapies make traditional health plan strategies harder to sustain. Fully insured and level-funded models often leave employers with few options beyond shifting more costs onto employees. Self-funded models can give employers more flexibility, transparency, and control over the solutions they offer their teams. Functional medicine can help address the root causes of chronic conditions by using deeper lab data, nutrition, lifestyle support, and personalized care. Proactive health benefits can improve employee productivity, reduce long-term risk, and create stronger loyalty by giving people access to care they may not otherwise afford. Resources: Connect with and follow Kristen Rivers on LinkedIn. Follow Pareto Health on LinkedIn and visit their website. Follow Root Functional Medicine on LinkedIn and visit their website. Get your own Root Cause Panel to uncover root potential causes and optimize health here!

Who has been a guest on Get to the Root Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Allen Ahner
• Emily Cordes
• Amy Masterson
• Lauren Hanson
• Stephanie Nielsen

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 27 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

33

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51