The Crichton Group was started in 1979 and has grown to become one of Tennessee's largest independent insurance agencies. They acquired E.S. Brugh Co., an agency with a proud heritage dating back to 1902, back in the 1980s and merged with two other operations in the 90s. Today, The Crichton Group surpasses $2 billion in high net-worth client coverage and continues to grow. I had a chance to sit down with Austin Madison, Senior Vice President of The Crichton Group, and talk about the industry, the future and his unique perspective.

Rick Ramos: Hey Austin, tell me a little about yourself and how you started in the industry.

Austin Madison: I started in the employee benefits industry with Unum, calling on brokers for life and disability insurance. I was working with Crichton as a client when they asked me to come work for them. I was attracted to the idea of working for a privately held company, and the potential to be creative in looking for solutions to help employers with the growing cost of health insurance.

RR: Has it been a smooth road since you started with Crichton? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

AM: The biggest challenge in our world is differentiating yourself in an industry where much of the world views what we do as a commodity. So we are continually working on how we articulate our value, and how we show that value. One of the biggest challenges is navigating a very fragmented landscape of health care – working to push for transparency in cost and data, and cutting through the bureaucracy of insurance companies and large health care provider organizations. Ultimately, all parties are trying to provide quality care, but the consumer and employer often get lost in the shuffle. While this a considerable challenge, it is what makes my job fun, rewarding and it builds our value with clients.

RR: Where do you see the health care and benefits industry going over the next five to 10 years? Any significant shifts, changes, or trends?

AM: Data and transparency continue to be at the forefront of our industry. The data is there, but the transparency and ability to access the data and find actionable/measurable opportunities is still lagging. Rx cost has now become the biggest challenge in managing costs, and we continue to see a massive migration to self-funding health insurance in the mid-market employer space. Reference-based pricing, although controversial, and made up of several different techniques and administrators (some good and some bad), has gotten the attention of all parties: health care providers, health insurance carriers, employers and brokers. I believe this has become a catalyst that has sped up the discussion of discounts, fee for service, transparency and waste. Ultimately, I see all parties mentioned above still playing a crucial part in the employer health care space, but all parties having to meet in the middle to provide transparency, quality care and protection for the consumer.

RR: What are your thoughts on employee health care guidance platforms?

AM: Of all the things going on in the employer health care landscape, health care guidance is something that excites me tremendously. There are many levers an employer can pull to manage health care expense, but if their employees do not understand how to access the many amazing resources available to them from their employer, providers, or insurance company, all of the money and time invested by those parties is wasted.

RR: What should a company look for in a good benefits advisor?

AM: First and foremost, a company should be able to trust that their benefits advisor is looking out for the client and their employees' best interest. The advisor's job is not to work for the insurance company, but to be an advocate for their client. Second, a company should look for an advisor that is willing to question the status quo and roll up his/her sleeves to find the best solution to balance the pendulum of managing risk/cost and providing quality benefits for their employees.

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Rick Ramos is CMO of HealthJoy; an artificial intelligence powered healthcare guidance platform that helps employees make better decisions.