In just three and a half years in the industry, Rachel Miner is making her mark. The Employee Benefit Strategist at EB Advisors of the Carolinas is rapidly rising through major organizations such as the Carolinas’ chapter of the National Association of Health Underwriters as well as the Society for Human Resource Management. Her continuing drive to utilize technology within the benefits industry to improve transparency of cost, reduce healthcare spend and boosting benefit communications to employees will only serve to further enhance her position, colleagues say.
At 32 years old with an annual recurring book of business of $200,000 per year, Miner is one of EBA’s
“Rachel is a winner and go-getter,” says Suzy Johnson, president and owner of EB Advisors of the Carolinas. “She is committed to provide expert advice and guidance to businesses to help them attract and retain good employees through innovative plan design and technology solutions.”
Miner says one of her passions is making cost and quality metrics transparent for healthcare consumers. Partnerships with vendors that educate employees on how to be smarter consumers of healthcare is one of the ways Miner seeks to drive her transparency goals forward.
“I really believe the cost of health insurance is closely related to claims. The only way to impact claims is to help employees know when, where and how to access healthcare,” Miner says.
New approach
Miner is also unbundling services. For example, she is carving out pharmaceutical benefit management and pairing employees with chronic illnesses with the right specialists for their conditions.
“We are looking at frequency versus severity in claims, while also trying to figure out how we can impact each one,” she says. “There are definitely challenges, especially when you work with a very diverse workforce.”
To overcome these challenges, Miner is not afraid to partner with competitors to get the job done. She has worked with brokers such as a David Contorno, president at Lake Norman Benefits, and Mick Rodgers, principal and managing partner of Axial Benefits Group, to find the best strategies to deliver to her clients.
“There are a lot of people that I collaborate with because I think as all of us in the broker industry get better, it encourages other people to help healthcare issues,” she says.
Chris Ross, vice president of client service and retention, says the value of bringing Miner on board is her limited experience in the benefits industry can be an asset. She brings a new perspective to the business that other brokers who have been in the field for many years might be overlooking.
“There is nothing perceived that will hold Rachel back from solving a problem for the client or the prospect,” Ross says. “I think that fresh approach is important to have in all aspects of selling or consulting.”
