Risk & Business Magazine California Fall 2017 | Page 26

PURCHASING COALITIONS Healthcare Purchasing Coalitions: AN INTERVIEW WITH MICK ROGERS W hen Mick Rodgers launched the first- ever Healthcare Purchasing Coalition (HPC) in 2009, his biggest challenge was convincing business leaders it wasn’t too good to be true. Now, eight years later, with four successful coalitions and growing, unused premium returns in excess of $3.2 million in 2016, an Employee Benefit Adviser Magazine 2017 Adviser of the Year award, and per employee healthcare 26 benefit costs that are more than 40 percent lower than the national average, the numbers speak for themselves. But what exactly is an HPC? And, how does an organization participate? Rudy Garcia, president of Qandun Insurance, sat down with Mick to learn more about HPCs, why they have become so popular, and how organizations can get involved. Garcia: Mick, I should start by congratulating you on your recent award and by saying that seeing you in Boca recently addressing the Employee Benefit Adviser Magazine Annual Conference as their 2017 Adviser of the Year, speaking to over 400 other benefits advisers from all over the country, was exciting. Why do you think your Healthcare Purchasing Coalitions are getting all this attention? Rodgers: Thanks Rudy. That was a great honor and thrill. The answer is easy—it’s the results we are delivering with the coalitions. I certainly never would have