Unknown [00:00:01]:
This is Business Inspires, the podcast of the Tri Village Chamber Partnership. To run a successful business, you need resources, valuable connections, and community recognition. Business Inspires will provide you with the tools, resources, and examples to inspire you to create the business you're envisioning. This episode is brought to you by the Tri Village Chamber Partnership. Our innovative and active chamber is successful because of our smart and engaged members who cultivate our strong business community. With more than sixty years as an integral part of the Grand View, Upper Arlington, and Marble Cliff communities, the Tri Village Chamber partnership is dedicated to a single purpose: the success of the business community. And Grand View Heights. Grand View Heights seamlessly combines timeless charm with a modern vision.
Unknown [00:00:59]:
Immerse yourself in the captivating blend of tradition and innovation that defines them.
Brett Johnson [00:01:07]:
Welcome to Business Inspires, where our goal is to inspire you to create the business you are envisioning. I'm Brett Johnson, Tri Village Chamber Partnership board member and the owner of Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. Thank you for following and subscribing to the podcast. With me is Katie Ellis, president and CEO of the Tri Village Chamber Partnership and cohost of the podcast. Great to be here with you again, Katie.
Katie Ellis [00:01:29]:
So good to be back, Brett. And today, we have Kelly Parton from HealthMarkets Insurance Agency. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Kelly Parton [00:01:36]:
Oh, thanks for having me on, Brett and Katie. It's, it's a pleasure. Thank you so much.
Katie Ellis [00:01:40]:
Agreed. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey in the health insurance field? What inspired you to become a local health insurance agent?
Kelly Parton [00:01:49]:
Well, my journey was a little, I think I think, unique. I was 44, and I was in the, roofing industry in sales. And I decided that I don't wanna own a roofing company. It was and it was at that point where you decide which way you're gonna go with this. I had worked for Feisal Roofing. They sold their company to another outfit. I went to a couple different companies, and it you had to make a decision. Like, what am I gonna do the rest of my life? And I didn't research the insurance industry much.
Kelly Parton [00:02:18]:
I found it on Facebook of all places. True story. A friend of mine was working with health markets, and I inquired about it and then started my career, went in the field February of twenty fifteen and didn't realize what I was getting into on the plus side. I know I wanna be self employed, but the model really worked out where, you know, most people start a business. They have to invest capital, and I had to pay $250 to get my license. Mhmm. That was it. And it has worked out beautifully.
Kelly Parton [00:02:47]:
So I'm glad I made that decision. Glad I looked on Facebook. Yeah. That's really how it happened. It wasn't like this grand scheme, but, no, that's how it happened.
Katie Ellis [00:02:55]:
And for at 44, having that question posed to yourself again, what am I gonna do for the rest of my life? It's a bit different than
Kelly Parton [00:03:03]:
It is. Anticipated. It's scary. I was not in the corporate world, hadn't been for almost twenty years. I mean, total. And I just did not wanna go back there. I would have rather have dug ditches than work for a big fortune whatever. I just I like making my own way.
Brett Johnson [00:03:20]:
Uh-huh. So So what what so what part of health insurance intrigued you? I mean, it caught your eye on Facebook. I've been kinda going off a script here a little bit, but I'm I'm intrigued by this. You are selling shingles, roofs
Kelly Parton [00:03:32]:
Mhmm.
Brett Johnson [00:03:32]:
And then the health insurance. And and and not that one can't lead to the other, but it's that what what tripped your trigger on that? Is there any regards to what what did you see going? That I could see myself doing that.
Kelly Parton [00:03:44]:
When I interviewed, I had a, I interviewed the second time with my sales leader, Don Larson. Great guy, great mentor to me, but he told me what he was making and what their process was, and nothing against Don. He's a great man. But I always think if this person can do it, I can do it. You know? If this is the format, this is how we be successful, I can definitely do this. So I had to relearn a few things. Like, when people come into this industry, they if they had experience before in sales, whatever, you you really have to shut your brain off and go, okay. I'm gonna run their playbook and just do that, and that's what I did.
Kelly Parton [00:04:22]:
I was smart enough to do that and not try and like, I have a great idea. No. You don't. They've been in business for thirty years. Nobody has a great idea. I'm just gonna do what this person did. And so I had great mentoring, great trainings, and it's worked out great.
Brett Johnson [00:04:34]:
Good. Okay. Sounds good. Yeah. So, we all know from news that, you know, the the landscape of health insurance is changing. It's it's it's somewhat at times difficult to navigate because a lot of it is you don't know the future of yourself, what what to really look for.
Kelly Parton [00:04:51]:
Mhmm.
Unknown [00:04:51]:
So what have
Brett Johnson [00:04:52]:
you seen, as some of the significant changes or trends, over the past couple years? And maybe just if if you can do the, crystal ball, what might be we'd be seeing here in the near future?
Kelly Parton [00:05:05]:
The trends, there was a big change in 2024 where we were able to have these plans called short term plans. They were for very healthy people, and they are half the rate of the Obamacare plans. You could get this plan for a year and redo it next year and the next year. Well, the last administration decided that they didn't want to keep that in place. They now made them four month plans. And if you got hurt during that four month period, you couldn't go to another company because now you got a preexisting condition. So it really changed for a lot of people who were very healthy or did not qualify for subsidies. So we scrambled to get all of our healthy people on short term plans for two years.
Kelly Parton [00:05:51]:
Hopefully, it changes with the next administration. That was the biggest change. The subsidies, increased, which I think will stay in place. Crystal ball, do I see anything massively changing? I do not. Good. Medicare has changed for some seniors where they have caps on what they're exposed to for medications. So, like, $2,000 a year is the most you'll pay for your medications.
Brett Johnson [00:06:15]:
Yeah.
Kelly Parton [00:06:16]:
Those plans changed a little bit because of how they're they're, constructed. But massive change, I really don't see anything in the future that's gonna be oh my god. Twenty twenty six is gonna be so much different. No. I don't see that. The Biden did increase the subsidies from 400% to 600% of the federal poverty level. I do not see this administration changing that because you never see a benefit taken away. Okay? You did not you rarely see that when it comes to government.
Kelly Parton [00:06:47]:
They're smart enough at least not to do that. So so I from what I hear, that's gonna stay in place. So Yeah.
Brett Johnson [00:06:55]:
That's always nice to know that you can count on some things not to change. I mean, unless it's just really bad, and you would say, oh, that would be nice to go away, but that that's good to hear too. Too. That's great. Thanks.
Kelly Parton [00:07:07]:
Yep. You know, group plans in Ohio are double the rate of what an Affordable Care Act plan is, so we're really diving into the small businesses that have a group plan. Then we do a full analysis of, oh, okay. Your person making 40,000 a year is paying 800 a month well, 400 a month, and you're paying half. Well, their base plan on the Affordable Care Act is maybe $4.50, and now they get a subsidy where they can possibly be paying around a hundred a month. So we're looking at a lot of small businesses like that or a small business has that setup. Our forte has been to jump in, take your whole system. Let's do a quick analysis and go, okay.
Kelly Parton [00:07:41]:
We recommend this and save people money.
Katie Ellis [00:07:45]:
That's fantastic. We can only use that. And
Kelly Parton [00:07:48]:
Saving money who wants to give money to a health insurance company? Nobody.
Brett Johnson [00:07:52]:
No. You're right. No. Like, yeah, yeah, and the same the same with auto insurance and any type of insurance because it's that you're you're putting money toward the future, but you, again, you don't know Mhmm. Your your health situation. You just know today, and you can only gamble on today, you know, knowing this is how I feel and this is potentially what happens in my family, doing family work.
Kelly Parton [00:08:13]:
So you're not.
Brett Johnson [00:08:14]:
Yeah. Exactly.
Kelly Parton [00:08:15]:
Yeah.
Brett Johnson [00:08:16]:
Yeah. Mhmm. Yeah.
Katie Ellis [00:08:17]:
And that usually comes as a rude awakening.
Kelly Parton [00:08:20]:
It is. When it happens, it is a rude awakening for the person because maybe their family history is longevity. Nobody has anything happen until one person gets cancer.
Brett Johnson [00:08:32]:
Yeah.
Kelly Parton [00:08:32]:
And they go, why me? You know, I have it now. That happened to my sister back in o seven. She's cancer free today. Thank god. But nobody in our family had cancer, and they died of old age. And they the old Italians used to drink and smoke, and they died of old age, but my sister gets cancer. So you're healthy until you're not. Yep.
Katie Ellis [00:08:54]:
We're glad to hear that she's doing well.
Brett Johnson [00:08:57]:
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Kelly Parton [00:08:57]:
She's fine. It's yeah. It was a scary two years, but she got through everything. So Good.
Brett Johnson [00:09:01]:
Yep. Good for her. Yeah.
Katie Ellis [00:09:02]:
Yep. So what sets your approach apart from other health insurance agencies? How do you ensure that personalized service for everyone?
Kelly Parton [00:09:12]:
So we meet face to face. That's our first, offer is face to face. I feel getting to know someone is key, not just what their health insurance needs are, but getting to know them. I think in any business, you should know 10 things about your client that's not on the fact finder or has nothing to do with business. You know, that I think that shows you care. I like it when somebody says, hey. How's your dog doing? Or, you know, they remember you. So we take that approach.
Kelly Parton [00:09:42]:
I just think it's the best way to do business. Secondly is we ask a lot of questions that people don't think about. My approach is always like, you know, Katie, we if we sat down, all the doctor's visits and the co pay for your generic, you don't need insurance for that. Why do you really want it? And I make them tell me. You know, what is their number one concern? Then we build a plan around that. Is let's cover the major things that are really on your mind. Sometimes people don't tell you that grandma had a stroke and then or whatever or you just we ask a lot of questions, and I I will tell people, you may not like my answer, but I'm gonna tell you the truth. It's kinda ripped the Band Aid off time.
Brett Johnson [00:10:28]:
So yep. Yeah. Well, it sounds as though the advice you'd give to someone who's pulled along by the process or they're, you know, trying to search out a different scenario is be as honest as you can with that agent because you don't know what you don't know to help them.
Kelly Parton [00:10:44]:
Right. Yeah. You have to, when you sit down and they ask you questions, you have to tell them as much as you can. And there has been instances where somebody's kinda holding back something, and I I do dig in, in a professional way, but we gotta get the answers and figure out, especially with some products that have underwriting. You know? Have you had a felony? Have you had a DUI?
Brett Johnson [00:11:11]:
If
Kelly Parton [00:11:11]:
they're going for life insurance, guess what? If you had a DUI in the last three years, you're not a good risk. So we have to ask those questions. And it's Yeah. Some people don't expect it, but we wanna do the right thing the first time.
Brett Johnson [00:11:25]:
Yeah. Yep.
Katie Ellis [00:11:28]:
How are you staying up to date with the developments and offerings? Sorry. Did you have a
Kelly Parton [00:11:33]:
Oh, no. No. You're fine. You're
Brett Johnson [00:11:34]:
fine. No. No.
Katie Ellis [00:11:36]:
So how are you staying up to date with developments, offerings in the health insurance market so that you can have that, you know, really expertise service?
Kelly Parton [00:11:47]:
I mean, we have constant trainings on, you know, what's out there for the current year. We always run through, like, in the late summer, we will have our Medicare meetings with all the carriers. Okay. Here's the plans for 2025. Then a month later, the 65 crowd comes in. They say, here's our plans for 2025. And we're like, that's it. Okay.
Kelly Parton [00:12:08]:
But that's how you stay up to date. You watch the news. There's carrier drama in Medicare usually every year. Somebody's not gonna have OSU or Mount Carmel. Mhmm. So our our job is to make sure our clients know what's going on, especially on the ones whose plans are affected by that. So technology is great. I can sort my book of business by carrier.
Kelly Parton [00:12:29]:
Just send out a text, an email, a phone call, and let them know. We like to touch our clients at least six to seven times a year, just to stay in touch, make sure that sometimes people forget who you are even though they've been in your office. Mhmm. Oh, oh, you're the insurance guy. Yeah. You came to my office. We sat for two hours. They forget you.
Kelly Parton [00:12:47]:
It's fine. Mhmm. But we make sure we stay in contact. We don't leave it up to them. You know? Yeah. Industry doesn't change too much after the plans come out. Sometimes there's some little bit of drama like we had this past, Anthem not being with OSU. Okay.
Kelly Parton [00:13:05]:
But we stay you know, it's it's not like it's changing every month. One time a year, we see the changes, and we communicate that.
Brett Johnson [00:13:13]:
Yeah. Well, you know, speaking of, these unexpected situations, can you share a success story you had with a client that that did not that it was tremendously difficult, but they walked away going, I am so glad that I am working with you.
Kelly Parton [00:13:31]:
It's usually after something happens. Okay. The process, they enjoy, but they really understand what they have after something catastrophic happens. Like, I had a client this past fall who's self employed, and he was working on a chimney, two stories up on a roof, and the chimney collapsed on him, and he fell off the roof. He broke his pelvis, broke his femur. So his wife calls me, and they've been clients for three years. His wife calls me and says, Kelly, Brett, fell off the roof. His name was Brett.
Kelly Parton [00:14:08]:
And he's in the hospital. He's got a broken femur. I said, oh, Jesus. She goes, what's our situation? I said, well I looked everything up. I said, your max out of pocket is $9,200. She goes, well, do we have something else? I said, yeah. You have an accident plan. I go, how long is he gonna be in the hospital for? She goes, oh my god.
Kelly Parton [00:14:26]:
They're thinking, like, two weeks. I said, well, your accident plan's gonna pay you out $35,000. She goes, what? I said, $35,000 tax free. That's our money? I go, that's your money. I go back again. What do you do with that money? She goes, we'll pay the hospital bill. I go, no. No.
Kelly Parton [00:14:43]:
No. You pay your bills at home because he's not gonna be working. Make we'll take care of the max out of pocket down the road. So we have some, you know, many stories like that, but that was my most recent of us doing the right thing, not just health insurance, but but other things to protect families, and that's what we really do. You know, health insurance is a commodity. Just like you can go get it anywhere you want. You, like, can get your auto insurance, call somebody. I want auto insurance.
Kelly Parton [00:15:10]:
I can go online and go to Obamacare by myself and figure it out. Might take me six hours, but, also, we ask the questions people don't think about. You know? It's tough putting scenarios like that in front of someone who's never had it happen. Mhmm. And but we try to have them picture life if that does happen, and we build a plan accordingly.
Brett Johnson [00:15:31]:
Yeah. I'm hoping there's a pendulum swing, and I think there is. We've always looked at this way of really working with and I'm gonna call them independent agents. Basically, somebody you're not just buying it online. And Right. And and you know that they've got your back when something happens. I think that's that's huge. We and the you you what you gave was a perfect scenario of that.
Brett Johnson [00:15:49]:
Mhmm.
Kelly Parton [00:15:50]:
Perfect scenario. Our our our our business is not, health insurance. Our business is the process. That's our product of sitting down, face to face if we can, fact finding, asking the tough questions, you know, asking who handles your life insurance? So we don't have any. Let's play a game. Mister Smith, you didn't make it home today. Missus Smith, what do you have in place? And mister Smith always wants to chime in, and I go, no, mister Smith. You're dead.
Kelly Parton [00:16:22]:
Missus Smith, what do you have in place? You know, we we do things, and so we go through the process of kind of enlightening our clients. And that, you know, everybody most people get it, but some people are just oblivious to it, and that's fine. But that's our job is to educate. We we educate and we enroll. They're gonna get something. Our our model is the process, and that's our product. Imagine going to an auto lot where you have every car in the world right there. It'd be great, wouldn't it? Well, we have every health insurance product in Ohio.
Kelly Parton [00:16:52]:
So but our process is what sets us apart. That's our product, actually.
Katie Ellis [00:16:57]:
Yep. And going just back to that story of the wife, that is something that I would think. Oh, you just take that 35 and you pay off those medical bills? Never in my mind would I have thought, no. You pay you pay for taking care of yourself, your home bills first. So and to have that to have you in that, scenario, just knowing that then you're gonna be there at the end of that to help us figure it all out. I mean, that Mhmm. That is just absolutely priceless.
Kelly Parton [00:17:30]:
It's been, you know, when that happens, we make sure, obviously, they're okay. Broken bones, okay, those are gonna heal. But he's not working for two months. You know, you can't there's no insurance. Health insurance doesn't pay the mortgage. It doesn't pay the food. It doesn't pay the premiums. So we back them up with supplemental products, which I think if people have that, they have a full package.
Kelly Parton [00:17:53]:
Cancer plans. You know, we've had client has small cell carcinoma. There's check for a hundred thousand dollars. They were able to do things with that and prepare for some things. You know, life insurance when I you know, we have a lot of clients with life insurance, but when they start calling you up saying, Bob Bob died last night. Okay. We deliver the checks face to face. You know? That's what we do.
Kelly Parton [00:18:16]:
So it's a little sad sometimes, but, I love what I do. I love helping people.
Brett Johnson [00:18:23]:
Yeah. Yeah.
Katie Ellis [00:18:25]:
Can you share if there's, some common misconceptions that people have around health insurance?
Kelly Parton [00:18:36]:
So I was just talking with one of my agents today about this. People want to have the low deductible, and, you know, my plan used to be a hundred dollars a month. Okay? That doesn't exist anymore. People don't realize before the Affordable Care Act, there was a lifetime limit on them, on their insurability. It was around $22,000,000, 2.5. And if you racked up that much in medical bills, you are no longer insurable. That's where people couldn't get insurance. All plans were underwritten.
Kelly Parton [00:19:13]:
There was never a max out of pocket on plans. People thought, oh, I have a thousand dollar deductible. Yeah. But you also had 20% you're responsible for. Okay. Now you have a cap. If somebody hasn't shopped insurance for a long time, it is eye opening. A lot of times when I have people that worked for, like OPERS or PERS, STRS, police and fire, they've had this great group plan that had maybe a $3,000 max out of pocket.
Kelly Parton [00:19:42]:
And I only have to go get their own insurance until they get to Medicare. That's eye opening. So we rip the Band Aid off, and I tell them, you may not like what I tell you, but it's the truth. But that's the landscape today. You know? I I would love to have a car that gets 45 miles of the gallon on a four speed that was a VW. Doesn't exist anymore. Mhmm. It just doesn't exist.
Kelly Parton [00:20:05]:
You know? I don't want a candy bar for a quarter. It's not there anymore. So it's a tough conversation sometimes, but you you just have to be truthful. And I tell people, I get paid the same no matter what you do, and I'm not here to make a bazillion dollars off you because my business is a lot of little things adding up. So I'll always tell you the truth. And sometimes I write plans that I don't get paid on because it's the right thing for them. I did one this morning. It's the right plan for him because he has insulin and this carrier, it's the one they should do.
Kelly Parton [00:20:36]:
So we have no problem with that.
Brett Johnson [00:20:38]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah.
Kelly Parton [00:20:40]:
Hope I answered your question, Katie. Sorry.
Katie Ellis [00:20:42]:
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Kelly Parton [00:20:44]:
Yeah. Misperception is like, well, I had a low deductible. You don't anymore. Sorry, but it's just not out there.
Brett Johnson [00:20:51]:
When I
Kelly Parton [00:20:51]:
say it like that, and they're like, really? I go, yeah.
Brett Johnson [00:20:54]:
Yeah. Mhmm. You know?
Kelly Parton [00:20:56]:
People being open minded about what their health insurance needs are, realize that what things cost, and people don't go bankrupt from medical bills. They go bankrupt because they had something happen and they can't work. Mhmm. If somebody had a stroke and they can't work for six months, their medical bills would be $9,000. Well, they might be $60 in the hole because they can't work anymore. That's what we dive into as well. So we do outside of health insurance, we do hey. I think everybody should have a critical illness plan and a and an accident plan to back up their health insurance.
Kelly Parton [00:21:39]:
And I think everybody should have life insurance because it's a one product you're guaranteed to guaranteed to use.
Brett Johnson [00:21:45]:
Absolutely.
Kelly Parton [00:21:47]:
It's the only insurance product out there you are guaranteed to use, and that's life insurance. So we talk about all that. And, you know, not everybody likes the conversation, but I did my I can say I did my job. I
Brett Johnson [00:21:59]:
did my job.
Katie Ellis [00:21:59]:
You have a likability to you, so I think you you're one to get away with it.
Kelly Parton [00:22:07]:
I do have that knack of, being able to say some things in a manner that it's truthful. It might be a little off. Like, most people can't pull it off, but I'm gonna tell them the truth. And they don't like it, that's fine. Yeah. That's fine.
Brett Johnson [00:22:24]:
Yeah.
Katie Ellis [00:22:24]:
So, Kelly, how can we get a hold of you? Where are you located, and what's the best, way to reach out?
Kelly Parton [00:22:30]:
Well, I'm at 4450 Kenny Road. Okay? So we are next to the Kenny Center or or I'm sorry. Right across the street from the Kenny Center, if you don't know where that's at. I always tell people in the area, we're across from Penzies and next door to Iaconis. Okay? The office phone number is (380) 444-5248. Call that number for an appointment. I have two assistants that work with me. I don't do everything about my own.
Kelly Parton [00:22:59]:
So Judith does the scheduling, and Katie does claims. But that's how you get a hold of me. Or if you wanna email me, [email protected]. That's the best way.
Katie Ellis [00:23:12]:
Wonderful. You've got a great team too.
Kelly Parton [00:23:13]:
Thank you. I know you've been inside you've been here. It's, we really work well together. I gotta close the door because they're always laughing out there. So we have a lot we
Brett Johnson [00:23:21]:
have a lot of fun here.
Katie Ellis [00:23:23]:
That's great. Love to hear that.
Brett Johnson [00:23:24]:
Yeah. Awesome. You bet. You bet. Okay. Listener yeah. Listeners, thank you for joining us. Don't forget to check out our podcast page on the Tri Village Chamber Partnership website.
Brett Johnson [00:23:32]:
Look for the podcast tab at the top of the homepage. Tell us what you think about this or any of our other podcast episodes at [email protected].
Unknown [00:23:42]:
Business Inspires is a production of the Tri Village Chamber Partnership and Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants.