TPA University 2015
Inaugural Broker Summit

 

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Speakers

 

Opening Keynote - Michael Hoffman

Being #1 on Purpose - How To Be a Catalyst on the Winds of Opportunity

Michael Hoffman is President of Igniting Performance. A Dallas based company that specializes in the skills of sales, customer loyalty and leader-ship. Over the last 20 years, Michael has delivered professional speaking engagements and customized training to organizations across this country and abroad.
With a highly interactive style, Michael's unique delivery cements his ex-pertise in the minds of his attendees to ignite the tactics and techniques necessary to approach their jobs "on purpose" with an attitude of owner-ship and professionalism. Michael uses his rich background to drive home his message that business is and will always be about "people". "How we approach our customers both internal and external will set us apart from all our competition."
Effective training combines the right informational tools with the right amount of motivation. Motivation alone is fleeting, but the right tools with-out motivation are lifeless... He provides both - therefore, getting results that matter. His highly contagious passion for business has earned him the loyalty of many repeat customers such as Bank of Montreal, Aflac, ALLTEL, Knight Ridder, KRLD Radio, Erricson, SYSCO Foods, Dryers Grand Ice Cream, VHA, Novation, Comcast, California Press Association, and many, many more.

Session - Nancy Young of INETICO and Grace Saenz of Benefit Management Administrators

Self-Funded Program Fundamentals - Basics of Self-Funding

The seminar session will have two speakers (both members of the HCAA Board of Directors), Grace Saenz and Nancy Young.

Grace Saenz is the V.P. - Director of Sales and Service for Benefit Management Administrators, Inc.  BMA, a San Antonio, Texas based third-party administrator focused on the design and management of employer health plans. She oversees the marketing, sales and implementation efforts for the company and customers. Grace has over 15 years of experience in serving the self-funded employer community. She is a member of a number of industry organizations and serves on both the HCAA Board of Directors as well as its Education Committee.

Nancy Young, CSFS is the Vice President Sales & Account Management, for INETICO, Inc. 
Nancy has spent the last 20 years developing deep experience in the self-funded program sectors and has held senior business development positions delivering medical management solutions, stop loss/reinsurance coverage and TPA administration. Nancy joined HCAA in 1997, serving as Membership Chair and later as a Board Director since 1998. She has been instrumental in HCAA’s growth and the development of new services and programs, such as the Certified Self Funding Specialist designation.

 

Keynote - Nancy Friedman of Telephone Doctor Customer Service

How to Excel in the Winds of Change

Nancy Friedman is the Telephone Doctor, and one of America’s most sought after experts on sales, customer service and communication skills. She has appeared on programs with Colin Powell, Lou Holtz, Bill Walsh, Pete Rose, Bobby Knight, Tom Peters and Ken Blanchard, among many other prominent speakers. Her message reaches across all industries and touches all job titles.
She has been published in the Wall Street Journal with her article, “Don’t Strike Out With Your Customers,” and has been named one of the 25 Most Influential Business Women in St. Louis.

Nancy has been a featured guest on Oprah, the Today Show, Fox News, CNN, CBS This Morning, and hundreds of other radio and TV programs worldwide.
The author of eight books on customer service, and the spokesperson in the popular Telephone Doctor customer service training library, Nancy’s following is large and loyal.

Her energy and theatrical background promise an entertaining and engaging program, as she shares how The Telephone Doctor came to be, and a wealth of ideas, skills, tips and techniques you’ll be able to use immediately and forever.

 

Session - Brian Hutchens, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Self Funded Program Creation - TPA Vetting and Vendor Selection

As Area Senior Vice President, Brian is ultimately responsible for a client’s relationship with Gallagher.  He ensures that the provided strategies, team structure, and resource platforms are aligned to meet a client’s needs and expectations.   
Since joining Gallagher as a summer intern in 2006, Brian has served the organization in a variety of capacities.  A majority of his experience has been in the Public Entity marketplace, where he works with both bargained and non-bargained employers to improve their employee value equation.  Brian has worked with groups ranging from 100 to 30,000 employees across the spectrum of Public Entity organizations.  The financial and structural recommendations that he has provided to clients has allowed for employers to strengthen their financial position, and employees to benefit from greater choice and value in their benefit and compensation structure. 
Brian is an expert on Healthcare Reform; funding mechanisms for small, large, and cooperatively purchased employee benefit programs; private exchange strategies and their underlying structures; compensation and benefit alignment strategies; group captives; and long-term methods for gaining benefit and compensation alignment in a bargained environment.  Brian has been invited to speak at local, state, and national conferences on topics ranging from Healthcare Reform to Total Rewards.
 
He received his B.S. in Sales Management from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  He enjoys cycling, golfing, and cooking.  He currently resides on the north side of Chicago with his wife, Jamie.

 

Session - Josh Sears, JD of Freestone Corporate Law

Bulldoggin' Beats Bull Ridin': Wrestling with ERISA's Legal Challenges and the Plans it Protects

Josh Sears is founder of Freestone Corporate Law, Chtd., based in Boise, Idaho.  Josh’s expertise includes ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This expertise, and his enthusiasm for making the law accessible, has afforded Josh the opportunity to be a regular speaker for clients, industry and government groups, and community organizations on a variety of employee benefit and human resource topics.  Josh is licensed to practice in Idaho and Oregon.
  
Trina Rich, a Senior Manager with HTMS, has over twenty (20) years’ experience in the healthcare industry.  She is a results-oriented professional with proven skills in project management, system implementations, quality assurance, change control, training, and business process alignment.  Ms. Rich has served as a Program Manager over multiple core system replacement implementations and as a Project Manager over various scales of projects.  She is a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.

Session - Steve Walter, Professional Benefit Administrators

Self Funded Program Implementation

Steve began his insurance career in 1986 working for State Mutual Life Insurance as a Financial Planner.  With the increased interest in self-funding medical benefit solutions and the growing needs of the family business, in 1987 he joined Professional Benefit Administrators (PBA).  Steve currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Sales and holds a position on the PBA Board of Directors.
His background and experience has evolved with the growth of the self-funded employer sponsored marketplace over the past 28 years.  Steve has focused on mentoring brokers with viable self-funding solutions for their clients. He is also knowledgeable in plan design trends, effective cost containment measures, innovative medical reimbursement strategies, and plan cost analytics.

In addition to his business leadership qualities, Steve has been involved with numerous youth programs through his children’s school and his family’s place of worship.

 

Executive Summit Sessions with Strategic Stakeholders from Self Funded Plan Administration - Brian McDermott & Gerry Sexton of Growthworks

Gerry’s background is in aeronautics – and medicine. He earned an aeronautical degree and a commercial pilot’s license from the University of North Dakota. Then he earned his second degree – his Doctorate of Medicine – at the University of Texas in San Antonio. Before GrowthWorks, he spent
five years at the Calhoun Beach Club, where he first ran the health fitness center and later was the General Manager for the entire facility, leading a team or more than 200 employees.

Brian’s background is in journalism. He has worked for newspapers, magazines, in
corporate communications, and for one of the leading U.S. publishers in the training,
human resources and management areas. He also co-authored Time Out for Leaders:
Daily inspiration for Maximum Impact and was the lead writer on the books Versatile
Selling: Adapting Your Style So Customers Say ‘Yes,” and The Social Styles Handbook:
Find Your Comfort Zone and Make People Feel Comfortable with You.