Inside the Payer Files: How Third Horizon Is Exposing What Insurance Companies Really Pay with Greg Williams

What if the biggest lever for fixing addiction treatment reimbursement wasn't a new law, but a file most people are too afraid to open? This episode, recorded at NAATP Nationals 2026, features Greg Williams of Third Horizon, a health policy consultant, data strategist, and person in long-term recovery whose own insurance denial as a teenager set him on a career-long mission to fix how behavioral health is paid for. Greg joins hosts Mark Scrivner and Jeff Skillen to unpack how payer machine-readable files are exposing massive reimbursement gaps between mental health and physical health providers, why patient steerage and the No Surprises Act are reshaping the in-network conversation, and how value-based care is finally moving from theory to practice in addiction treatment. Behavioral health leaders will walk away with a clearer picture of where reimbursement is headed, and how to position their organizations before the market gets there first.

Key Moments
03:17 – Greg's personal recovery story and the insurance denial that shaped his career
06:28 – The origin of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act
09:32 – What payer machine-readable files are and why most providers have never opened one
21:52 – Greg's "Kayak for healthcare" vision — shopping for treatment based on value
27:04 – Breaking down the four tiers of value-based care in behavioral health
30:41 – Launching the National Mental Health Parity Index with the Kennedy Forum, AMA, and APA
38:57 – How the No Surprises Act and good faith estimates are shifting patient behavior
41:50 – Why the future of treatment means following patients for 5+ years, not 28 days

Learn More & Connect
Show Notes + Resources: https://snapshotinteractive.com/mastermined 
Connect with Greg Williams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-d-williams/  | https://thirdhorizon.com/ 
Connect with Mark Scrivner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markscrivner  | https://snapshot.agency/health 
Connect with Jeff Skillen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-skillen-199507/  |  https://www.skillsetenterprises.com 

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