Agent Interview: Steve Blossom, Atlas Health

An agent with 23 years experience under his belt, Steve Blossom is president of Colorado-based Atlas Health - and no stranger to selling consumer-driven health care. Recently Steve shared his advice on marketing HSA compatible plans, and the importance of partnering with "agent centric" carriers.

Norvax: Tell me about Atlas Health. What makes your agency unique?

Steve Blossom: I've been in the health insurance business since 1984. Back in the late nineties I created Atlas Health, which became a general agency for several insurance companies. We're agents who sell to the public, but more so we work with insurance agents themselves. We believe in providing one-on-one service to agents. Service comes first, and relationships count.

Norvax: You have lots of experience selling HSA compatible plans. What are some of the challenges with them?

SB: Consumers are still having a problem understanding exactly what the value of an HSA is to them. The good news is that in the last 12 – 18 months, consumers are now much more aware of the terminology. Every day people call here saying, “I want an HSA quote.” That was something that wasn't happening. The word is getting out.

The problem is consumers still don't understand the tax advantages; they don't understand that you really need to have an integrated health insurance plan and an HSA savings account, to reap the full advantages.

Norvax: How do you make a person, who has spent years on a co-pay plan and isn't used to paying out of pocket at the doctor's, see the value of an HSA?

SB: That's the challenge, trying to move people from the old school system where you paid $20 – 35 for doctor's visits. Now you're saying, here's one big lump deductible for your entire family, and anything under that you need to be funding out of your HSA savings account. Trying to convince the consumer they need to go beyond the first step, which is buying the health insurance qualified plan and actually funding the savings account, is a major challenge.

Agents play an important role in the educational process.

One of the reasons why we like to deal with Imerica is because they're a single source for both the high deductible health plans and the HSAs, and they're very consumer driven.

Norvax: So what Imerica is doing is becoming a “one stop shop” for the HSA consumer?

SB: Exactly. FirstBank is an investor in Imerica. You don't have to use FirstBank for your HSA, but if you open your account with them they waive the standard HSA monthly fees and set-up fees charged by many other banks. And that answers one of the objections people have with HSA accounts right now. People say, “Yeah, but I have to pay 4 bucks a month for my HSA account, and the set up fee is $25.” FirstBank doesn't charge Imerica policyholders those fees.

Another objection I hear is, “Well, I can't afford to fund my HSA. How can I afford a $5,000 deductible? What if little Jeannie gets hit by a truck?” FirstBank can provide qualified consumers a credit card to cover the deductible until the HSA is funded. So basically you've got first dollar coverage right away. You've got to pay that back eventually, but you've got coverage. You don't have to worry about the high deductible. That's a big thing I haven't seen anywhere else.

Norvax: Is there a certain type of person that HSA-compatible plans work best for?

SB: Definitely. It's the small business owners. They generally have a pretty good cash flow in their business — they may not be rich, but they're looking to maximize every possible tax deduction they can get.

Young people, when you think about it, could be a tremendous market. If you can get young people to open up an HSA when they're in their early twenties, and if they fund it every year, they could be millionaires by the time they retire, just on their HSA account! No one seems to be targeting that market right now.

Norvax: What are some other “consumer friendly” features to look for in HSA products?

SB: A big one is the cash-based physicians network. This is where the carrier meets with physicians and clinics and asks, “What if we pay you immediately?” Imerica will be doing this and enabling consumers to pay physicians immediately using the ImeriCard, which will function as both an HSA debit card and an insurance ID card. This is a big difference from the billing nightmare of some carriers. The physicians have said, “Look, we'll give a great discount if we can do it that way.”

You'll see physicians giving discounts of 30, 40, 50% off their services, just because they'll be paid right away. And, of course, it's great for the consumers because they don't have to deal with paperwork.

Norvax: How important is it to work with agent-centric carriers?

SB: It's very important. Take Imerica for example. They don't want to go around the agents like some carriers. I've given input on product design, administration, and the distribution network. 85% of the time they've taken my advice. They'll call or email me all the time, saying, “Hey Steve, what do you think of this?”

They're not just listening to me. They've been traveling all over this country talking to general agents. It's very refreshing to deal with a company like this that is actually paying attention to what you say.

Norvax: The landscape of the Colorado small group market has been changing lately. How does this affect agents?

SB: Many carriers are preparing to exit the small group market in Colorado right now due to adverse legislation. What's great about Imerica is they're actually entering the small group market in Colorado on August 1st, when all these other carriers are leaving. Not only are they going to have new small group products out in August, they're also introducing new individual products in July and new large group products in September.

For 20 years we've been hearing that the health insurance market is dying and it doesn't happen. And agents who leave the market lose a lot of opportunity. That's nationwide, not just here. Agents that panic about what's going on with national health care will miss the boat because there are always going to be opportunities for agents in the health insurance industry. They've just got to hook up with the right carrier.

Agents interested in getting appointed with Imerica can contact Kathy Householder at 303-706-1200, or khouseholder@imerica.com.