A practical guide for self-insured employers, benefits leaders, CFOs, TPAs, and brokers ready to cut waste inside their own health plans.
PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, May 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Manuscripts Press today announces the official launch of Model Optimal Care: End U.S. Healthcare Waste, One Health Plan at a Time, the new book by healthcare technology veteran Jude Odu. The book debuted at No. 1 New Release in the Health Insurance category on Amazon and is now shipping in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle formats.
Self-insured employers cover the health benefits of more than 160 million Americans, yet most plan sponsors operate without full visibility into their own claims data, vendor contracts, or pricing arrangements. Model Optimal Care gives them a structured way to identify waste, hold vendors accountable, and turn their health plans into a managed asset rather than a fixed cost they accept.
The book introduces the Model Optimal Care framework as the next evolution beyond Value Based Care. It is a care delivery model that is individualized, technology-enabled, methodical, measurable, and results-driven. The framework rests on five principles: Transparency, Accountability, Integration, Engagement, and Technology Enablement. Every strategy in the book flows from these principles.
EARLY PRAISE
Industry leaders across self-funding, clinical practice, and benefits administration already endorsed the book ahead of launch.
“This is a rare healthcare book that respects the reader’s intelligence and time. No vendor pitches. No inflated ROI claims. Just field-tested strategies backed by data and common sense. If you’re a plan sponsor and you are not reading this book, you are leaving money on the table.”
Al Lewis, CEO of Quizzify; author of Why Nobody Believes the Numbers and Surviving Workplace Wellness
“Model Optimal Care is the resource our industry needs right now. For professionals new to self-funding, it provides a clear, data-driven foundation. For those of us who have spent decades in this space, it delivers current methods, innovations, and practical arguments that sharpen how we serve the self-funded community.”
Ernie Clevenger, President and Publisher, MyHealthGuide, LLC; Retired President and Co-Founder, CareHere, LLC; Past President, Health Care Administrators Association (HCAA); Past Chairman and President, Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA)
“Self-insured employers have shouldered the full burden of rising healthcare costs while being systematically shielded from their own data. Jude Odu lays out a clear, practical pathway to reclaim that data, sharpen your negotiating position, and finally take control of what you pay for your employees’ care.”
Lawrence M. Lubbers, MD, Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon; Past President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Upper Arlington Surgery Center; Senior Founding Partner, Hand and Microsurgery Associates; Past President, Columbus Orthopaedic Society
INSIDE THE BOOK
Readers will learn how to:
• Audit medical and pharmacy claims for payment integrity issues, including duplicate billing and excessive provider charges.
• Use price transparency data to benchmark allowed amounts and strengthen vendor negotiations.
• Replace high-cost brand-name drugs with therapeutically equivalent generics.
• Redirect non-emergent ER visits to urgent care, primary care, and telemedicine.
• Build fiduciary-grade reporting that translates raw claims data into defensible plan actions under ERISA and the CAA.
• Apply AI to forecast cost, anticipate risk, and target interventions before costs escalate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jude Odu is the founder of Health Cost IQ, a healthcare analytics company that serves the self-insured industry. His career spans more than 25 years across every major sector of the U.S. healthcare system: commercial payers, acute-care hospitals, healthcare software, and academia. Earlier in his career, he founded Health Data Intelligence (acquired by TrendShift), served as a founding subject-matter expert at Health Care DataWorks (acquired by Health Catalyst), and led clinical analytics and decision support at University Hospitals Health System. Columbus Business First honored him with the 2015 BizTech Award.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Model Optimal Care: End U.S. Healthcare Waste, One Health Plan at a Time (Manuscripts Press, May 2026) is written for benefits directors, HR executives, CFOs, TPAs, ASOs, PEOs, PBMs, stop-loss carriers, brokers, consultants, policymakers, and every stakeholder in the self-insured industry. The book is available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle formats.
Order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H15QR9V7. Learn more at modeloptimalcare.com.
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