Answering the call to meet industry challenges

Recently, I had the honor of being recognized as an up and comer in health insurance and employee benefits, a recognition given to leaders who are creating meaningful change early in their careers.

It has been a humbling and inspiring experience to follow in the footsteps of change agents and individuals who have created solutions for employee engagement and opened up access to high-quality, affordable care and benefit offerings.

This process was a good reminder of my commitment to help employers and employees navigate this crazy, complex world of health insurance. As someone who works for a third party administrator, I serve as an extension of the adviser and help empower them to implement their solutions.

My purpose is now clearer than ever and my way forward is rooted in these three core principles:

1. A wholehearted commitment to understanding the challenges and opportunities that come with the current multi-generational workforce.
2. An insatiable hunger for collaboration and partnership to break down the barriers that are barring access to high-quality and affordable care.
3. A dedication to transforming health care into a high-performance asset that not only delivers cost savings, but also creates a sustainable culture of excellence for any organization.

Right now, the health care industry is at a crossroads. Many people are functionally uninsured, meaning they have insurance, but they can’t use it. If they did put their insurance to work, they’d go bankrupt. Here in the U.S., we’re an outlier in health care spending; it’s almost twice the average of other wealthy, developed countries.

The reality is the cost of health care has become a burden for families. Right now, 66.5% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are tied to medical bills. Meanwhile, the cost of health care coverage for the average American family is $20,000. The changing landscape of our current world is further exacerbating this problem.

This industry is unique because our work goes beyond just health care and health insurance. The ways we guide and educate employers play a direct role in “human capital management” (a fancy way of saying managing people), cash-flow operations, and people’s overall health. Our goal is to take something thought of as a “sunk expense” (employee benefits), and structuring it to instead deliver a return on investment.

What often runs through my head is that health care is no longer one-size-fits-all. Nowadays, organizations have a unique ability to drive sustainable and affordable options by re-engineering health care for their employees. And innovation is at the center of all of this. But, we need to have the courage to innovate.

Let’s rise to this challenge together. Consider this my commitment to you!

Francisco Oller Garcia is a marketing and operations professional who works with forward-thinking consultants, advisers, and executives to design innovative group health strategies that measurably improve health outcomes and deliver a strong ROI.