Hinkapin Health

10/18/2026

Hinkapin Health partners with employers, brokers, TPAs, and health plans to deliver physician-led surgical navigation, second-opinion services, preoperative optimization, bundled surgical pricing, and care coordination from referral through recovery. The result is a healthcare strategy designed to improve patient outcomes, increase transparency, and help employers make better use of every healthcare dollar.
Nagaraj Kikkeri, M.D., Hinkapin Health

10/18/2026

Reducing Healthcare Costs

Healthcare costs continue to be a major financial challenge for employers, particularly those operating self-funded and level-funded health plans. Because these employers are responsible for a significant portion of employee medical claims, they have a direct opportunity to improve healthcare spending without reducing benefits or compromising the quality of care.
The most effective cost-management strategies focus on improving clinical decision-making rather than simply cutting services. By understanding where healthcare dollars are being spent, employers can identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs while improving outcomes for employees and their families.
High-cost elective procedures, especially orthopedic and spine surgeries, often present the greatest opportunity for improvement. Strategies such as second opinions, physician-led care navigation, transparent bundled pricing, preoperative risk optimization, and thoughtful site-of-care selection can help ensure patients receive appropriate treatment at a reasonable and predictable cost.
Equally important is providing employees with guidance throughout the healthcare process. Patients facing major procedures often struggle to navigate medical decisions, provider selection, insurance requirements, and recovery planning.
At Hinkapin Health, we believe sustainable healthcare savings are achieved by placing the patient at the center of every decision. Our physician-led surgical navigation model focuses on clinical appropriateness, transparent pricing, coordinated care, and informed decision-making. The objective is not simply to lower healthcare costs, but to help patients receive the right care, in the right setting, at a fair and transparent price.
For employers, the best starting point is a detailed review of healthcare claims data to identify major cost drivers and opportunities for improvement.
Hinkapin Health partners with employers, brokers, TPAs, and health plans to deliver physician-led surgical navigation, second-opinion services, preoperative optimization, bundled surgical pricing, and care coordination from referral through recovery. The result is a healthcare strategy designed to improve patient outcomes, increase transparency, and help employers make better use of every healthcare dollar.
Nagaraj Kikkeri, M.D.�Founder, Hinkapin Health

10/17/2026

Great care starts with people who keep patients at the heart of their work.

Meet Adam Hornback, Administrator at NTTC Surgery Center. Through his support of our team and daily operations, Adam helps bring our commitment to quality care and a positive patient experience into everyday practice.

10/08/2026

Preparing for surgery starts with asking the right questions.

Understanding the process, recovery, and costs can help you make informed decisions about your care.

At Hinkapin Health, we believe every patient deserves clarity, guidance, and support throughout their healthcare journey.

Here are 5 key questions to ask before moving forward with surgery.

Which question do you think is most important?

09/30/2026

The Employer Health Cost Squeeze Is Getting Harder to Ignore
For many American businesses, healthcare has become one of those expenses that keeps moving in only one direction.
Up.
Employers want to offer good health benefits. They know those benefits matter when they are trying to recruit good people, keep experienced employees, and take care of families who depend on them. But at the same time, many businesses are dealing with tighter margins, higher wages, higher operating costs, and customers who are not always willing to absorb another price increase.
Healthcare is becoming harder to fit into that equation.
The numbers are getting difficult to ignore. Marsh recently reported that employers expect the average health benefit cost per employee to increase about 8.2% in 2027, even after planned efforts to control costs. Without those efforts, employers estimated that their existing plans could rise by about 11%. Mercer
Business Group on Health found a similar picture. Employers surveyed for 2027 projected a median healthcare cost increase of 9.2% before plan changes and about 8% after changes. Business Group on Health
An 8% or 9% increase may sound like just another percentage when we talk about it nationally. For an employer spending millions of dollars a year on employee healthcare, it is very real money.
Employers are running out of easy choices
When healthcare costs rise, the money has to come from somewhere.
An employer can absorb the increase. That hurts the company's bottom line.
It can increase the employee's contribution to the premium.
It can raise the deductible.
It can increase copays or coinsurance.
Or it can reduce benefits.
None of those choices is particularly attractive.
In fact, Mercer reported that 48% of large U.S. employers expected to make medical-plan changes for 2027 that would result in higher out-of-pocket costs for employees, including changes such as higher deductibles or copays. Mercer
Employees are already feeling a significant burden. In 2025, the average annual family premium for employer-sponsored coverage reached almost $27,000, with workers contributing an average of $6,850 toward that premium. Among workers who had a general deductible, the average deductible for single coverage was $1,886. KFF
And the deductible is only the beginning.
Employees may still face specialist copays, coinsurance, prescription costs, hospital charges and other out-of-pocket expenses after meeting that deductible. For outpatient surgery, for example, many covered workers have coinsurance, with the average rate around 20% among those subject to it. KFF
This creates a difficult situation.
The employer is spending more.
The employee is spending more.
And neither side necessarily feels that healthcare has become simpler, more transparent or easier to navigate.
The answer cannot always be to shift more cost to employees

Nagaraj Kikkeri M.D.

09/23/2026

What to Expect on the Day of Surgery
Knowing What Comes Next Can Make Surgery Day Easier
By the time your surgery day arrives, you will already have met with your surgeon and discussed the procedure, including its expected benefits, risks, alternatives, and recovery.
Throughout this process, your Hinkapin Health surgical care navigator helps keep the many pieces organized—from scheduling and preoperative preparation to the day of surgery and recovery afterward.
The exact process may vary depending on your procedure, surgeon, anesthesia plan, and facility, but here is what you can generally expect.
Before Surgery Day
Your navigator will help coordinate your surgery at the facility selected for your procedure and medical needs.
Before surgery, you may also have:
Preoperative laboratory testing
Imaging or other diagnostic studies
Medical or specialty clearance when needed
A preoperative nursing interview
An anesthesia evaluation
Medication instructions
Instructions about when to stop eating and drinking
Arrival-time and transportation instructions
You will also be told which medications to continue or hold, what to wear, what to bring, and whether you need a responsible adult to accompany you and take you home.
If anything is unclear, your navigator can help you identify the right person to contact and make sure important questions are addressed before surgery day.
When You Arrive
When you arrive at the surgery center or hospital, you will check in at the front desk.
The staff may review your identification, consent documents, insurance or benefit information, and any financial responsibilities associated with the procedure.
This can sometimes be a confusing part of surgery day, particularly when patients receive unexpected questions about coverage or payment.
If you are being cared for through Hinkapin Health, your navigator can be available to help clarify the agreed surgical arrangement and work with the appropriate facility, health plan, TPA, or benefit team when questions arise.
Our goal is to reduce unnecessary confusion so you can concentrate on your care.
In the Preoperative Area
After check-in, you will be taken to the preoperative area.
There, members of your care team may include:
Preoperative nursing staff
Your surgeon
An anesthesia professional
Operating-room nursing staff
Other members of the surgical team
Your medical history, allergies, medications, procedure, and surgical site will be reviewed.
An IV is usually started, and additional medications may be given as appropriate.
If your surgical and anesthesia teams have planned a regional anesthetic or nerve block for pain control, that may also be performed before surgery.
This is also another opportunity to ask any final questions.
In the Operating Room
When the surgical team is ready, you will be taken into the operating room.
You will be connected to appropriate monitors.
When you wake up the recovery nurse will be eagerly attended to your needs.
Nagaraj Kikkeri M.D.

09/23/2026

https://youtu.be/YM-3SEh5OC4?is=dMklbPzSMCg4tJnX

What Is Hinkapin Health?When an employee is told they may need sur...

09/22/2026

Your Care Journey
One Navigator. The Entire Surgical Journey.
When surgery is recommended, patients are often left coordinating between physicians, facilities, insurance teams, schedulers, and family members.
Hinkapin Health brings those pieces together.
From the first referral through recovery, each patient is supported by a dedicated surgical navigator who helps coordinate the journey, answer questions, and make sure important details do not fall through the cracks.
Our goal is simple: make surgery easier to understand, easier to navigate, and better coordinated.
1. Referral & Intake
We begin by understanding the patient's condition, gathering relevant medical records and imaging, and identifying what has already been recommended.
A dedicated navigator becomes the patient's primary point of contact.
2. Evaluate the Options
Before moving forward, we help make sure the proposed treatment makes sense.
When appropriate, this may include:
Specialist consultation
Independent second opinion
Review of available treatment options
Determining whether surgery is necessary now
Helping the patient understand the proposed procedure
The goal is not simply to schedule surgery. It is to help the patient make an informed decision.
3. Risk Assessment & Optimization
A successful surgery begins before the day of the procedure.
We help identify medical issues that may affect surgical risk and work with the patient's physicians and surgical team to address them when appropriate.
This may include factors such as diabetes, cardiovascular risk, smoking, weight, medications, or other medical conditions.
The right surgery should also happen at the right time.
4. Surgeon, Facility & Site of Care
We help coordinate care with qualified physicians and appropriate facilities based on the procedure, the patient's medical needs, quality considerations, and location.
For some patients, an accredited ambulatory surgery center may be appropriate.
Others may require the resources of a hospital.
The patient's safety and clinical needs come first.
5. Clear Pricing & Scheduling
Once the surgical plan is established, we help coordinate scheduling and, when applicable, provide a transparent bundled price before the procedure.
The navigator helps bring together the surgeon, facility, anesthesia team, health plan or TPA, and other parties involved so the patient does not have to manage everything alone.
6. Preparing for Surgery
Before surgery, we help the patient understand what to expect.
This may include:
Appointment and surgery-day instructions
Preoperative testing
Medication instructions
Transportation and caregiver planning
Arrival and fasting instructions
Equipment or therapy needs
Questions for the surgical team
Patients and families know where to turn when questions arise.
7. Recovery & Follow-Up
Our involvement does not end when the patient leaves the operating room.

Nagaraj Kikkeri M.D.

09/21/2026

Referral-to-Recovery: One Navigator, the Entire Surgical Journey

The moment a physician says the word "surgery," a patient is handed off between specialists, schedulers, insurers, and facilities — often with no single person accountable for how it all fits together. Hinkapin Health closes that gap. Every referred case is assigned a dedicated surgical navigator who owns the episode end to end, from the first phone call to the final follow-up visit.

Schedule a ConsultationSee How Navigation Works

Patient-Centric Advocacy

For Patients & Families

Surgery is stressful enough without also managing paperwork, transportation, and three different call centers. Your navigator becomes the one person you call — coordinating every appointment, translating clinical instructions into plain language, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks between diagnosis and full recovery.

Enterprise Health Strategy

For Employers & Payors

Uncoordinated surgical care creates scheduling delays, avoidable no-shows, missed pre-op risk factors, and unpredictable claim timing. By embedding a navigator into every referred case, employers gain a documented, consistent process behind each surgical claim — instead of finding out what happened only once the bill arrives.

The Navigation Protocol

Every Stage, Owned by One Navigator

Referral-to-Recovery is built as a seven-stage pathway. The stages don't change — but the navigator assigned to a case follows it from the first stage to the last, so context is never lost in a handoff.
Referral & Intake

The moment a physician recommends surgery, our clinical intake team reviews the referral and gathers medical records and imaging. A dedicated navigator is assigned to the case and makes first contact with the patient directly.
Consultation Coordination

We schedule specialist consultations, coordinate an independent second opinion when appropriate, and prepare the patient with the right questions to ask before committing to a surgical plan.

Pre-Surgical Optimization

Your navigator works with the surgical team to address modifiable risk factors — blood sugar control, weight, smoking cessation, cardiac clearance — closing the gap between medically cleared and truly ready for surgery day.
Facility & Scheduling

We confirm the right setting for the procedure and the patient's risk profile — hospital or accredited outpatient center — and lock in transparent, bundled pricing before a surgery date is ever set.

Day-of-Surgery Support

Navigators confirm logistics in advance — arrival time, fasting instructions, what to bring, who can accompany the patient — and stay reachable throughout the procedure day for the patient's family.

Recovery & Follow-Through

After discharge, we coordinate home health, physical therapy, durable medical equipment, and medication reconciliation, and we watch for early warning signs that could turn into a complication if left unaddressed.

Nagaraj Kikkeri M.D.

09/20/2026

Risk Optimization
Reducing Surgical Risk Before the Day of Surgery

A successful surgical outcome begins before the patient enters the operating room.

Every patient brings a different level of medical risk to surgery. A relatively straightforward procedure can become complicated when underlying heart disease, lung disease, kidney problems, diabetes, anemia, medication issues, obesity, sleep apnea, or other medical conditions have not been adequately identified and addressed.

At Hinkapin Health, risk optimization means looking for those potential problems early and working with the appropriate physicians to address them before surgery whenever possible.

The goal is not to eliminate every complication. No surgical program can promise that.

The goal is to identify avoidable risk, reduce it when possible, and make sure the patient is having the right procedure in the right setting at the right time.

Why Risk Optimization Matters

An unexpected complication after surgery can change an entire episode of care.

A patient scheduled for an elective procedure may unexpectedly require:

An emergency department visit
An unplanned hospital admission
ICU care
Additional testing or procedures
A longer hospital stay
Readmission after discharge
Delayed recovery or rehabilitation

For the patient, these events can be frightening and physically difficult.

For a self-funded employer, TPA, health plan, or other payor, they can also turn what was expected to be a predictable surgical episode into a very expensive claim.

Risk optimization is an opportunity to address some of these issues before they become complications.

Looking Beyond “Medical Clearance”

Risk optimization is more than simply asking whether a patient is “cleared for surgery.”

We look at the patient's overall medical condition and the proposed procedure to determine whether there are modifiable risks that deserve attention before moving forward.

Depending on the patient, this may include evaluating issues such as:

Cardiovascular disease
High blood pressure
Lung disease or breathing problems
Kidney disease
Diabetes and blood-sugar control
Anemia
Obesity and nutritional status
Sleep apnea
Smoking or ni****ne use
Anticoagulants and other medications
Previous anesthesia or surgical complications
Other significant medical conditions

When concerns are identified, additional evaluation or optimization may be recommended before surgery.

That may mean better controlling diabetes, obtaining appropriate cardiac or pulmonary evaluation, addressing anemia, adjusting medications with the treating physician, or choosing a different surgical setting.

Sometimes the safest decision is simply to take a little more time before proceeding.

The Right Patient in the Right Facility

Risk optimization also helps determine the appropriate site of care.

A healthy patient undergoing an appropriate elective procedure may do very well in a high-quality ambulatory surgery center.

Nagaraj Kikkeri M.D.