Suzannah Gill is a benefits strategy consultant atEPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, where she focuses onunderstanding her clients' businesses and works with them to craftsolutions to control their health care costs, enhance their benefitoffering, and improve their ability to attract and retain top talent.

Paul Wilson: How did you get started in the benefitsindustry?

I started out as an employee benefits and ERISA attorney. Around the time that health care reform was cast, it became evidentthat there was a lot of confusion in the industry and that thingswere about to change. I wanted to be in on the ground floor when itcame to shaping that change, and I felt like I could moreeffectively do that on the consulting/brokerage side.

So, I moved to a small brokerage firm in Atlanta, and then Iwent to Mercer and worked there for a few years and learned a lot.Most recently, I've been at EPIC, which I really think of as myhome. We focus on growing middle-market clients. I think they havesuch a need for help and they're willing to be innovative and drivechange. It's an exciting group of clients to work with.

PW: In what ways has your career path shaped yourmindset as a broker?

Certainly as an attorney, I understand the importance of thecompliance piece. Because employers are managing employee dollars,I think it's really important that we take that fiduciaryresponsibility seriously.

Related: Fiduciary responsibility: Hot potato or hottopic?

During my time at Mercer, I learned the importance of actuarialcalculations, budgeting and working with Fortune 500 companies. Ialso learned a lot about self-funding and how it gives an employeraccess to data and a control that they don't have in a fullyinsured environment.

And now I'm bringing that knowledge to the mid-market, to helpthose employers become self-funded. At EPIC, I've enjoyed theentrepreneurial environment where I can craft solutions that arevery customized for each specific client's needs.

PW: Many of these strategies are becoming available tosmaller companies. Where do you see that trendheading?

I think the driver of more companies looking at self-funding washealth care reform. Moving to a self-funded platform enabled them to avoid somestate insurance fees and to have more control over their plandesign, because they weren't subject to some of the plan designrequirement of health care reform.

But now, it's the understanding that in order to have controlover your health plan, you need to understand your population andhave access to your data. Self-funding gives you a level oftransparency and control that you wouldn't otherwise have. We havedata analytics tools that were very expensive in the past and onlyaccessible to large companies, but now they're at a price pointthat makes them available for every employer. With that data, wecan decide what strategies we're going to implement.

PW: What exciting cost-saving strategies are you seeingright now?

There's no silver bullet or one-size-fits-all solution. It'simportant that we're very thoughtful and don't go in with our mindalready made up. That's what makes it challenging; I can't justsay, “I've got the answer for you.” You have to study the data andunderstand the employer's appetite for change and disruption, andtheir willingness to communicate with employees about why they'rechanging.

With that caveat, one of the best solutions I'm seeing isimplementing a health care concierge. I think we've done adisservice in our industry by saying we're going to add a HDHP andthat's going to make employees become better consumers. The healthcare system is very complicated. If you or your child gets adiagnosis, it's scary. Your first idea isn't, “I'm going to usethis transparency tool to go somewhere other than where my doctortold me to go.” But if we can provide employees with a nurse whohelps guide them through the system, makes sure they're going to acenter of excellence, that they've had a second opinion to makesure the care is appropriate, that's a win-win.

A second one I think is a no-brainer is partnering with atransparent pharmacy benefit manager. What fees are they charging?How are they sourcing to make sure they're getting the prescriptionin the most cost-effective manner for the employee and theplan?

The end goal is always figuring out how we can make the planmore robust and help it work better for employees.

PW: What challenges do you face as aninnovator?

There are a lot of great new innovations out there; more than Icould ever take advantage of for my clients. Keeping up with them,vetting them, and understanding what would be the right situationfor each client is a lot of work.

The second thing is educating employers that they have theability to gain control. For so long, we've told them that theycan't peek behind the curtain. But we're in this exciting time inour industry now where they have the opportunity to take controland have some transparency into the system, to manage their claimsspend and to start dealing with the supply chain issue. It's amatter of educating them that not only are there options out there,but other employers are already successfully implementing them.

The old model is easy. It's super expensive, and your healthcare costs are going to go up year after year, but it's reallyeasy. Doing this innovative stuff is complicated. There could besome bumps in the road. It's new, sometimes scary, and I definitelyhave more gray hair from doing this than if I was just using theold model.

That's why everyone isn't doing this stuff yet— there is riskand a learning curve and you have to have a client who's willing tojoin you on the journey.

PW: What are your favorite things about yourjob?

This is the most exciting time to be in this industry. There areso many things we can do to reduce health care costs. I'm excitedevery day to completely flip the narrative. Instead of “howterrible will this renewal be?” it's “what are we going to do tomake the benefits even better?”

I believe America is the most innovative country there is, andyet we're paying much more for our health care and getting worsecare and worse outcomes. The group with the most incentive tochange that is employers, because they're bearing the brunt ofhealth care costs. They're the test labs right now; they're theones who are out there trying this new stuff. The things I'm doingwith my clients are ultimately going to help make our health caresystem work better as a whole. I love the fact that I get to partof this testing environment, this lab where we get to come up withways to make this better for everybody.

This isn't just the “stodgy old insurance business” anymore. Iwas talking to a broker the other day and she said, “I get to bethe hero. I get to tell my clients, 'We just saved a milliondollars. What are you going to do with the savings?'” How great isthat?

PW: What is your opinion of the latest series of mergersand new entrants into the health care space?

I'm very optimistic for the Amazon, Berkshire, J.P. Morganpartnership. I think they have great incentive to change and thetechnology and power to get some good minds involved. I wish themgreat success; I think they're the right team to do it.

As far as the mergers between retail chains like Walmart or CVSand the insurance carriers, I like the idea of having access to adoctor at a convenient location. If I could have a primary carevisit at my local CVS that's three minutes from my house, I thinkthat's a great thing. If we can make care more accessible forpeople, that would be a positive.

PW: What are your favorite sources of inspiration andinnovation?

I have a lot of respect for the people who've been in thisindustry before me. When I look at the older generation, there isso much I can learn from them. I have benefited so much from thevalues and other things they've taught me. As much as the industryis changing, there are some business principles that never change.Those are things that people who've been in the business for awhile can teach us. I've really benefited from taking the time tolearn from others and not assuming I always have the best answer orthat technology is going to solve everything.

PW: Finish this sentence: The key to success in thisindustry going forward is…

Embracing innovation and change.