I have been flying at 35,000 feet on employee benefits and came crashing to earth last week.
I was getting my hair cut, and the new barber asked what I did. I gave my standard shrug and vague answer, "Eh, I'm a consultant." I assume people really don't care, and am of an age where I have the wisdom to not be overly self-important. The barber didn't give up that easily, and in a few minutes uncovered that I work in employee benefits and that I have read every line of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Over the years I have found that sharing that I am expert in benefits is a buzz-kill for any conversation except for a few specific conferences of HR or CFO types. Most benefits meetings have always felt like a gathering of the tribes, where we finally have an audience of fellow benefits wonks that actually enjoy the topic. Or, more accurately, the meetings have the feel of a 12-step support group for people who enjoy discussing the fine points of HSA vs. HRA policy. "Hi, I'm Karl. I enjoy discussing self-funding options." "Welcome, Karl!"
Recommended For You
This time, reaction to my profession was significantly different. The barber put the scissors down, sat on a stool and made eye contact. "Can I ask you a question? What is Obamacare, and how big will my penalty be if I don't sign up?"
Work in the next chair stopped, and both that barber and his customer gave me their full attention.
Barber #2: "Are they really serious about this insurance thing? I've never had it, but have no idea what to do."
"Me, too," said the customer.
What followed was a powerful and concise adult learning moment for all of us. The three confused citizens appeared pleased that they could get some direct answers. The questions flew, answers led to other questions, and more questions emerged. They all had children under 15, and all had been flying without coverage and paying whenever they were ill or injured. None had significant medical history, but all were very aware that their lack of coverage meant their kids were not getting preventive care, and that they risked personal financial disaster every day they had no coverage.
I learned powerful things. I learned that any self-employed parent is slammed with multiple life crises every day, and that health insurance options are so far removed from their attention span that they don't really exist. Why were they paying attention now? The deadlines of the PPACA have the words "penalty" and "fine" imbedded in the message. That, they understand.
Personal financial pain is the driver for gaining mind-share in the life of many of the people the ACA must reach. The big takeaway is that we have to do a much more effective communication job, and it has to be able to punch through all of the distractions and noise to be understood.
Armed with some basic answers, they all wanted me to help them immediately get signed up. I jumped on my smartphone and researched the local agency that provided navigation services, and called the access number to confirm it was a good number. Bingo! A human answered! My phone was handed around the barbershop as my haircut continued, and four people set appointments to go to the agency and take the first steps toward securing coverage.
We often fly too high in these discussions, and the moments spent on the ground with real cases make a powerful impact.
As I brushed the clippings out of my collar, my barber misted up and hugged me. "I have always felt that one of my biggest failures as a parent was not having coverage for my child. I didn't care so much about myself, but I cry every night that my child has been unprotected. Thank you for a miracle today."
That was the best I have felt about my profession in a long time.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
