Bringing benefits to the forefront of state legislation

While the federal government remains fixated on the future of the Affordable Care Act, one broker in Mississippi is bringing the average employee’s benefit pain points to the attention of state leaders with the intention they’ll act sooner to improve the healthcare experience.

Pamela Anne Files, senior vice president of Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, has served on the Governor’s Health Exchange Committee as well as the Mississippi Department of Insurance to keep the local government in the loop on the scope and placement of benefits for the common worker.

Pamela-Anne-Files
Pamela Anne Files

“[Files] has served the industry with passion and put forth the effort to bring benefits to the forefront of discussions with the legislature and the public,” says Angela White, account executive at Bottrell Insurance.

For her leadership role in advancing improving healthcare and insurance at the government level, EBA chose Files as one of our 2017 Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising.

To select this year’s honorees, EBA editors asked readers to submit the names of thought leaders who are making their mark on the benefit business through their unique approaches to client relations, benefits technology and/or mentoring other women. From the dozens of submissions received, the editors chose 30 benefit advisers to recognize for their outstanding achievements.

On top of being a driver for benefit legislation on the state level, Files is considered to be a strong role model for female benefit advisers whose voices may not receive the same amount of value as their male counterparts.

“Her being a leader in this field has opened up opportunities for other women,” White says. “It has also allowed employers the satisfaction of being proud about their investment in their employees. The difficulty exists in the arena of core competency and ability for a knowledgeable and respected female.”

Also see: 7 up-and-coming trends in HR tech.”

Mark Miranda, director of employee benefits at Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance, has worked alongside Files for years and says she is one of the reasons he came to Fisher Brown Bottrell in the first place.

“Though I have only been working for the agency for a year, I have worked with Fisher Brown Bottrell and Pam for the past 18 years on the carrier side,” Miranda says. “Pam has always been a true professional and friend in the industry.”

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Files has been instrumental in helping educate other woman within the firm. White says Files personally helped her in the employee benefits field with learning all facets of the product portfolio. “She is always working to help coworkers and other producers share best practices,” White says. “Her leadership in the Health Underwriters Association has allowed other women to strive to be on the board or work through the leadership chairs to become president and gain the most coveted position of Past President.”

Miranda adds that one of Files’ passions is to work on difficult cases and turn them into successes. “She differentiates herself in the industry by selling solutions, her experienced team and stay out front of educating her clients on new technology and analytics,” he says. “Keeping clients happy and informed has allowed her to have high persistency of clients.”

One of the best practices Files has managed to set in motion is the affordability of well-rounded benefit packages for lower income workers. “Workers have a feeling that they and their family members are covered for insurance and do not feel they have been taken advantage of financially,” White says. “Employers are satisfied with knowing there is no high pressure sales tactics in their workplace.”

Miranda says Files is a leader, a creative thinker and a committed insurance professional. “We at Fisher Brown Bottrell are proud of Pam’s accomplishments and her commitment to the industry we serve,” he says.

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