For the second straight year, The Principal hits the road with marketer education on healthcare trends
Consumer driven healthcare has gone mainstream, with employer momentum shifting from interest to action. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) -- arguably the most swiftly accepted consumer-driven health insurance product -- have reached a crescendo in the marketplace with more than one million HSAs opened through the first quarter 2005.
The groundswell of interest in consumer driven healthcare may leave some brokers with more questions than answers -- enter the Principal Financial Group national health-care tour.
Following last year's seminar tour of standing-room-only conference centers, leaders of the Principal Financial Group Health Division are stopping in 10 cities this summer to educate America's top brokers about the state of consumer driven healthcare, the changing sales model and how to best present solutions to clients.
"Employers see consumer driven healthcare - including HSAs - as a way to offer healthcare benefits to employees at a reasonable price. But these types of plans can seem overwhelming, and ongoing legislative changes continue to change the environment. With our aggressive outreach, we're giving the sales force what they need to provide valuable education and consultation to clients," noted Jerry Patterson, vice president of marketing for the Principal Financial Group and co-presenter of the seminar. "We're not stepping into a room and promoting our products and services. We're comprehensively providing specific information about consumer driven healthcare plans, including all of its complexities and the sales opportunities they provide."
A large part of the seminar is focused on providing researched and tested sales strategies, presented in a manner that encourages questions from the audience. "We want brokers to learn from this session. We want them to ask questions and get comfortable with consumer driven healthcare," noted Patterson. "Americans are simultaneously over and under insured - over insured for first dollar benefits, but underinsured for catastrophic loss. The only thing that's going to address this issue is education, and the broker is the first point of contact. If the broker understands the issues and opportunities, then he or she can provide more valuable counsel to clients."
The Principal Financial Group tour is planned to take place June 23 - Aug. 9. Patterson will be presenting the seminar with Jerry Ripperger, director of consumer health for the Principal Financial Group and national expert on consumer driven healthcare products.
To learn more about consumer driven healthcare solutions offered by The Principal, brokers should contact their Principal Financial Group representative or visit www.principal.com.
