Bio
BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
I cut my teeth in benefits out of college as a retirement plan administrator for a 15k employee healthcare company. Since, I have compiled 20+ years’ experience in a variety of Benefits, Analytics and Leadership roles. My experience has mostly been as a purchaser of employee benefits and benefits consulting, the majority of which was served in a large, collectively bargained, multi-state environment. As a SHRM-SCP and active member of SHRM Greater Phoenix, I enjoys leveraging my personal network and experience as a practitioner to develop and execute relevant strategic initiatives for my clients. Prior to founding Anti-Broker Benefits, I was a benefits consultant for CBIZ, and I have experience as a sales consultant for Hodges-Mace LLC where I refined my expertise in benefit technology and communication strategy. I also co-authored three books while an employee of GE Capital, dedicated to market analysis and segmentation.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance Emphasis
SE MO State University
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
AZ Life & Health Insurance License
SHRM-SCP
Lean Six Sigma
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
SHRM of Greater Phoenix – Central Valley Area Chair
Fresh Start Women’s Foundation – Men’s Board of Directors
Phoenix Rescue Mission
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Feed My Starving Children
Overarching Approach
The approach is the same as you might expect from someone who is a part of your internal HR organization. One of the initial steps in the process is to gain an understanding of how benefits fit into the overall organizational strategy as it cascades down to total rewards. Through benchmarking, surveys, focus groups, etc., the goal is to make sure your strategy is achieving its objectives and in proper alignment with employee perceptions and expectations. All the while, different analyses will be conducted to see if there are any opportunities to improve those perceptions, enhance offerings, reduce costs, etc.
Account Management
One of the most frustrating things for any employer group is to have a lack of control over who your day-to-day account manager is with any consulting agency. Not to mention the constant turnover. As with most industries, the talent pool is diminishing and it's seemingly leading to more and more instability with that critical relationship. At Anti-Broker Benefits, I want to take a different approach. First and foremost, I'm always engaged with my employer groups and never "leave" the account. Secondly, for accounts that meet certain employee and financial thresholds, I'm willing to work with employer groups to co-source their day-to-day account manager using the most sophisticated approaches to talent acquisition and management. I've been on that side of the desk, and trust me when I say, I feel your pain and want to make sure we 100% get the account management piece right with our relationship. Please reach out if you'd like more info on what that looks like.
Health Insurance Funding
The only way you're ever going to bend the health insurance curve in terms of cost is to move as far down the funding spectrum as you can. There are four prevalent points on that spectrum that most employers fit into: fully insured, level funded, bundled ASO and unbundled ASO. To get the most flexibility and value for your healthcare spend, an unbundled ASO approach is the way to go. To the employee, the benefits look the same as you are wrapping administrative services with a traditional carrier network, and then plugging in point solutions based on your population's needs. In fact, to the employee, the perception will be that they have better benefits because of the advocacy components of many of the point solutions, as well as access to agnostic quality and cost data, i.e., the best care at the best price. In terms of how you structure the premiums, per Myth #2, there is no additional financial risk to the employer and there are modern ways to mitigate claims and renewal risk while realizing savings potential in favorable claims years. Fully insured premiums are sunk costs.
Data, Analytics & Pop Health
This is the so-called "key to the kingdom." Well, let's use the term ecosystem in this case. Your claims, as you will come to find out (and if you're not already familiar), are driven by a small percentage of the population. I see all too often employers spending their resources (personnel, financial, etc.) on initiatives that will have very little impact on their health insurance spend. Once you have gotten to a more favorable point on the funding spectrum, the biggest win is that you get access to your data, i.e., you can now start to actively manage your population health. And by this, I'm not talking about the traditional decks of data/analytics that you probably already get from your broker and/or your insurance carrier. These are purely descriptive in nature and typically fail to answer the question, "So What?" The end game is to plug into prescriptive, and even predictive, analytics platforms so that you can recognize opportunities to make a material impact on your health spend ... and then take action! The intent isn't to play the part of big brother or intrude into your employees' personal lives, it's to provide the resources your employees need to get the right care, at the right place, at the right time. The healthcare landscape is ever-evolving and there truly are amazing point solutions out there to help you control your spend while providing a better experience for your employees. Let me help you navigate both your data and the new ecosystem.
Culture & Wellbeing
This topic is certainly not last, nor is it least important. It wasn't too long ago that "wellness" programs were seen as the best approach to mitigating your claims risk using biometric screenings, health risk assessments and then plugging those results into independent or carrier disease management programs. While I'm sure there was some kind of impact, the ROI was tough to prove and it was even tougher to get employee engagement. For me, wellbeing is now associated more with a company's culture and providing resources for employees as a compassionate employer. These programs are certainly important, especially in the wake of the pandemic and amid all the headlines mental health is getting. Let's review your program(s) and see if we can reallocate spend to initiatives that might be more effective or relevant to your employees. Or better yet, let's leverage the aforementioned data and analytical tools to see how we can supercharge your culture.