Aug 24, 2017
Mr. Steinhart has had a distinguished career as an entrepreneur,
investor and executive in the healthcare industry. He has been
instrumental in starting or investing in many technology-based
companies, several of which have developed products that have
become the standard of care in their respective markets.
Currently Mr. Steinhart sits on the Board of Directors of Actinium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a New York-based biopharmaceutical company
developing innovative targeted therapies for patients with cancers
lacking effective treatment options.
Mr. Steinhart is also a member of the Board of Directors of Atossa
Genetics, a clinical-stage Seattle-based drug- company that is
developing novel, proprietary therapeutics and delivery methods for
breast cancer and other breast conditions.
Earlier in his career Mr. Steinhart was the Sr. Vice President and
CFO at MELA Sciences, a company that received FDA approval for and
marketed the world’s only non-invasive Melanoma detector. Prior to
MELA Sciences, he was a General Partner and CFO at CW Group, Inc.,
the country’s first venture capital firm focused solely on medical
technology and biopharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Steinhart has also had significant experience in municipal
government. He introduced the first mandatory Health Saving Account
(HSA) insurance coverage for municipal works in the state of
Connecticut. By working with union representatives and insurance
company executives, Mr. Steinhart was able to craft a program that
delivered high quality affordable healthcare benefits to union
workers, while at the same time saving his local municipality
millions of dollars in premiums. This program has been widely
emulated by many of the 169 towns and cities in Connecticut.
Mr. Steinhart currently live in Ridgefield Connecticut with his
wife and two sons. He can be reached by e-mail at
Richard.Steinhart@comcast.net
00:00 Richard’s time as an officer and member of the school
board in Richfield, Connecticut.
02:55 The healthcare benefits when Richard started working on the
school board.
04:30 Contemplating HSA insurance plans in a municipal union.
05:20 How Richard came to negotiate with the union for the school
district’s insurance plan.
08:30 “Consumerism enters into the equation.”
09:35 “It empowers people to make choices, it empowers people to
shop for their services and allows for greater transparency.”
14:40 The difficulty of exacting change.
16:00 Starting with the administrators, then expanding out.
16:50 Trading off salary dollars for healthcare dollars.
18:30 Taking the emotion out of the discussion and treating it like
an educational opportunity.
20:00 Assuaging fear of change.
23:45 The lack of incentive to know what the numbers are when it
comes to insurance.
26:00 Richard’s advice to other public entities.
27:00 “I think we have an obligation to take care of our
population, but we also have an obligation to do it cost
effectively.”
28:15 “Think of it sort-of as reinsurance.”
29:35 Understanding the “Why.”
31:15 Putting their money where their mouth was by giving
prospective raises.