Episode #548: Inside Solo Health Collective-Making Healthcare Accessible for Independent Business Owners

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I am super excited to announce that we now have a formal partnership

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with the prospect wizard. And when I say wizard, I

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mean wizard. Obviously, you have a website. This

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allows you to convert website traffic visitors

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directly into leads. It's not just another chatbot, and it's not

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AI, but it allows a visitor to call, text, or leave a

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voice mail. Immediately goes to you, your sales team, or anyone else in the

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club. Instantly. MIT shows a study that if you contact the

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lead within ten minutes, chance of them converting goes up nine

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times that of the average. We got the Atlanta clubs

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on it, Vida Fitness, Gold's Gym, Mountainside,

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City Fitness Philly, College Park. Become one

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of the next halo companies to deploy the wizard. It's

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easy to use. Go to the prospectwizard.com. Get

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a free thirty day trial. Talk to my boy, Dave Gallon. He will get you

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all set up and let the leads flow based on the

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wizard. Go get them.

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This is Pete Moore on Halo Talks NYC. I have the pleasure of bringing

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on a fellow New Yorker hailing from Sag Harbor

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while we're in New York City, Kyle Morrissey. We're gonna talk about

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the health insurance paradigm for self employed professionals.

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Obviously, we have a lot of those in our audience right here listening to this.

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So we're gonna make you think differently and understand what your options are.

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And, obviously, insuring yourself is one of the most

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important things that you could do, for your business. You basically

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are the key man or key woman in your business, and,

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you know, being available as much as possible is, is your lifeline.

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So, Tom, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Pete. So I

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know you've dedicated your life to this. We're gonna talk about, you know, some

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of the, some of the trials and tribulations of of health insurance

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and how that whole ecosystem works that that you guys facilitate.

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So you wanna just give a little background for our audience here on how you

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got involved here in the first place and, why you've dedicated your life to,

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to helping other people. Sure. Well, I started my

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career, Pete, with Cigna Healthcare back in '85. I

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spent twenty five years with them, just under twenty five years. Don't

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hold that against me. But great training ground. I

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sold in the middle market in New York. I was responsible

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for, employer coverages from anywhere from

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300 eligible lives. My my segment was 300 to

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5,000 lives, but I did a lot of national accounts work as well.

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And, that's when a broker or consultant

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was, owned an owned an account that was in the national

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account space, but I was I had the relationship. So got a lot

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of exposure there. After spending so much time with

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them, I had one foot out the door there for a couple years thinking about

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doing something different. And the different was we started a

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Healthy Business Group, fourteen years ago to

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really play into the small to middle market firms.

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I learned at Cigna that these firms were underserved.

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None of the, you know, health improvement solutions,

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none of the cost saving solutions that the national accounts were getting

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exposed to were being given those opportunities down

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market. Created a deal with Cigna. We wrote, like, 300 plus

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accounts. That ended up getting morphed into Cigna, so Cigna ended

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up doing it themselves after a while. So then what we did was

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we we learned quickly that we needed to pivot,

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and we looked at the solopreneur space. We

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saw the growth. You know, it depends on who you listen to,

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but estimates are that there'll be 90,000,000

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solo business, owners by 2028. I wanna say

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there's about 60,000,000 now. These are the guys these are the biz the business

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owners, guys and gals that own these businesses, I think, especially when

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they're young and healthy, are the ones that get screwed sorry. Pardon the expression,

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but screwed the most in health care. You know? All they really have access

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to is ACA plans. Most of those, especially

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here in New York, are, you know, limited networks.

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They're commercial networks where the businesses that buy them that are larger

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buy the same health plans have a full health plan, but, you know, they water

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them down. They they tend to have, like, 60% of the doctors that

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they that they provide to the larger employers. So we decided to go

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out and and, especially since a lot of the solopreneurs cannot

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afford to be locked into locked in HMOs where they can only get

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care in New York or Ohio or wherever. We wanted to

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we're we wanted to create a health plan specifically for these folks that was

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based on a PPO instead of an HMO model. Could you

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explain to us the difference between a PPO and HMO?

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Well, HMO Health Maintenance Organization, it's more

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of a it's a group model. It's a it's a lock in model. It's

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it's usually confined by the market they're in. So if you think about

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New York, again, all the ACA plans except for maybe a

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couple with Oxford PPO are all HMOs. They

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are closed panels. They're,

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generally speaking, discounted more. The doctors are

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discounting their fees and services more than they do in a PPO. You know, PPO

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is wide open. The PPO we operate is all states

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across the country. And then and then what's the rationale

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for when when you were doing your 300 person and

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over company? Was this, you know, like, an

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eighty twenty rule, if you will, of, like, you know, go get the bigger

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deals, and we don't wanna really, you know, have to

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support, you know, opportunities that or,

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you know, or a lot of clients, but but less revenue per client. Was that

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kind of the the threshold? That that was pretty much it. I mean, Cigna

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has, three three major segments. So they did have a down

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market under three hundred life segment, which is the one that when I

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exited Cigna that I, ran it. And we

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did really well with with the small to midsize

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employers, say, 50 to 300. But under 50, that gets into

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ACA. They didn't have a lot of opportunity there. And do

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they cut the are they cutting down the network because they're

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basically trying to, you know, have the lowest cost suppliers

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there so your aggregate exposure on

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usage is lower and they're basically taking some of the

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higher cost potential claims, you know, out of the mix?

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You're exactly right. It's only you're only keeping they thin these networks

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down deliberately because they really only wanna keep the

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the the docs that are gonna allow for lower fee schedules.

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It's a it's a money saving technique. The carriers are making,

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you know, enormous amounts of money on the exchanges,

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and that's in part why. And and what you've

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seen in the in the health and fitness category, do

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you delineate between industry groups? Are you basically saying,

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look, there's 60,000,000 people that are, you know, running their own LLC

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or s corp Mhmm. And and any any of those

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people are, you know, part of our market opportunity?

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Or do you see anything in the health and fitness industry that says, hey.

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Historically, the claims or the, you know, insurance

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cost is lower because of what these people do, and maybe they, on average, take

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better care of themselves? Well, sure. I mean, you're looking at preferred risk. When you're

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looking at I mean, just imagine if you put up, let's call

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it a hundred attorneys versus a hundred,

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physical physical trainers, the health

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quotient of the physical trainers is highly likely to be better

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than, you know, a comparative group of attorneys, just as an

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example. By the way, we do business with all of them. You know, we've

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got quite a few attorneys on our plan, you know,

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doctors, attorneys, all sorts of professionals, but we do

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quite a quite a bit of, work in the in the health and wellness

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space. And then would you take a look at, you have a

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relationship with Aetna as of now? We don't.

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Oh, okay. That was was that prior? We we had, yeah, we had

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a once we sunset Cigna, we we worked with Aetna for a

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bit, but we realized pretty quickly that this is where we

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wanna be. The opportunity is immense. We've got a very unique

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I wanna say the only organization doing it quite the way we

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are as ourselves. And, you know, part part of

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the, program is that the differentiator of of

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Solo Health Collective is that this it's

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sometimes it's easier for me to talk about what it's not. So we are not

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an ACA individual health insurance plan. We're not on the

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ACA. We're not off market because there's plenty of carriers

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that are working off market for the same audience,

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but we are not that. It's not like you're buying individual health

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insurance. The key distinction is that with Solar Health Collective,

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your business, it's a form of business insurance. Your business, you must have an

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EIN number. If you don't have one, we can help you get one. But and

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it's free, obviously. But the key differentiator

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is that you need to have an EIN. Your business is joining. You're a

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business owner without any employees, and you're joining our health plan

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with your you and your family if you have one. And the other

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distinction is that you go through a short form medical

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underwriting. Takes about probably three to

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five minutes to go through. We'll give you your quote with five quick

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questions, date of birth, gender, home ZIP

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code. You know, do you need, spousal coverage or,

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partner coverage, and do you need your children on the plan? Then we're gonna give

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you, what our quote would be for three different plan

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designs, only varying by their deductible. Plans are exactly

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the same, but there's three versions. We have a $2,500 deductible,

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a $5,000 deductible, and then a $10,000 deductible.

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And then another key part of the program is once you pass the

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medical underwriting and you get the plan, there is no coinsurance. So

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your deductible is your maximum out of pocket. So put

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simply, we've got about, let's say,

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45% of our population in each of the

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2,505,000 deductibles, then about 10% of the

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population's in 10,000. But that's your maximum out of pocket. So for the

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person who buys a $2,500 deductible for their family,

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as soon as the individual reaches 2,500, the plan pays a % of

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covered expenses. And then on a family with a

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$2,500 deductible, your maximum deductible is

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5,000, and that is also your maximum out of pocket. So once you hit that

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deductible, it's all a %. And I should mention,

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all preventive care is covered in full. So we follow the

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ACA guidelines of in preventive care measures that are recommended.

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So it's exactly the same. We follow the same protocols that,

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for covering preventive care in full, no deductible.

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This is Pete Moore. I wanna let you in on a little secret. There's this

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company called Promotion Vault, and what they do is they give out rewards

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from retailers that allow you to incentivize your

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members without having to do zero down and one month

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free or giving away shakes or giving away t shirts. What

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you wanna do is build a rewards program that lasts, that

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people value, and that doesn't discount your own products and services.

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So here's the deal. There's something called rewards vault. The rewards

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vault is going to allow a member to set up their own profile.

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They are going to answer questions. You are gonna get those answers. You're gonna be

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able to target those members, and you're gonna reward them inside your

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club, inside your spa, and outside of the club, and

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outside of the spa to get them to become loyal, to get them

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to pay their monthly dues, and to be rewarded

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properly for the actions. A lot of companies are cutting back on rewards.

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You shouldn't be. Promotion Vault's your answer. Trust me. This is

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real.

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Obviously, a lot of people are are taking their their

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health as more of a self care type of plan. If I look at, like,

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your $10,000 deductible, and I kind of view it as, like,

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catastrophe insurance, and not necessarily you know, a lot of

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people go to the doctor all the time. Like, I I I don't go unless

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there's a serious issue. So when you say preventative care

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is covered, what is what is preventative

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care, you know, encompassed now? And what are some of the

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material changes, you know, over time, whether that's fitness

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classes, massage, acupuncture? Give us a list of

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what what people have access to. It's really your it's really it's not

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your acupuncture and all that stuff. It it should be, but it's not. And

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it you know, one day, in terms of plan design flexibility, we

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will get there. We're a relatively new health plan. I'll talk about that a little

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bit later. But the for preventive care guidelines, it's really your

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age and gender appropriate screenings. So it's your colonoscopy at a certain age,

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it's your routine physical physical exam. We are going to pester

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you on Solar Health Collective to make sure you're getting your all your

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routine preventive care done so that we can spot

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anything that might be coming up and take care of it before it happens. And

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that doesn't go against your deductible? Correct.

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Gotcha. And then what, what are some of the

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success stories or, you know, savings that you've seen,

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that you kinda, you know, latch onto and say, hey. This is the the

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here's the, you know, cash, you know,

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differential, not only you know, and also just the quality of care.

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Well, because because the member is setting up, it's not a fully

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insured plan. It's technically, it's a self insured business plan.

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So we can underwrite very specific to age and gender.

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We've got there's about a million rates that

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for the variances on ZIP codes, gender, and and age.

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So we have plans that are 2,500 and and

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$5,000 deductibles. We've got a couple plans. People,

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younger, males are, generally speaking, paying less

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because of the pregnancy age factor. So male we've got some males

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that are spending less than $300, sometimes less than $200

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for a $5,000 deductible plan. And that's based on, like you

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said, you're you you the three of us are older, but

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the that young guy that's 26 years old that's not on his

235
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parents' plan is, you know, really only gonna have

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routine physical care. And then to your point, it's really sleep insurance. It's for

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the catastrophic care. So, you know, we never

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really highly recommend a a $10,000 deductible.

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And that's not just because the person's young and doesn't have any claims,

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but it it doesn't allow the individual to set up a health savings

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account. So we prefer to have you go to the 2,500 or

242
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5,000 so that you can this is a long term decision.

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You see, it's a long term buy that you're making, and you can start

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putting dollars away in a health savings account for when you're no longer

245
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26, 20 seven, and you're 35, 40. And, you know, claims

246
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might be coming. You might be an athlete. You might, you know, need a

247
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you have a knee injury, whatever the case may be. You could have enough money

248
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socked away in your HSA to cover your deductible for two and three

249
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years once you're five, six years into the plan. So what's the

250
00:15:33,870 --> 00:15:37,630
what's the maximum that you can put into an HSA? And can

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you talk about how did this change in

252
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the IRS, code? Or it seems like there's

253
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been a loophole that's been opened where people can use their HSA,

254
00:15:49,125 --> 00:15:52,485
FSA, you know, even, like, Duane Reade. I'll see it on, like, a

255
00:15:52,485 --> 00:15:56,310
DoorDash checkout. You know, use your HSA, FSA card, or,

256
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we work with a company called HigherDose. You can buy an infrared sauna blanket

257
00:16:00,530 --> 00:16:03,910
Sure. With that. So has that materially

258
00:16:04,050 --> 00:16:07,330
changed usage? Because I I understand it's, like, a hundred and

259
00:16:07,330 --> 00:16:10,985
$50,000,000,000 that's kinda, like, accrued in these plans that are

260
00:16:10,985 --> 00:16:14,824
not really being accessed accordingly. Yeah. You do know the difference

261
00:16:14,824 --> 00:16:18,365
between FSA and HSA. Right? So FSA really

262
00:16:18,824 --> 00:16:22,584
very different than HSA. FSA is you use it or lose

263
00:16:22,584 --> 00:16:26,150
it. So you gotta spend those dollars in the year you're in. We

264
00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:29,990
we recommend HSAs because we're running high deductible health plans. They're the way

265
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to go. But you're right. They have opened up,

266
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and and there's, you know, given the,

267
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Internet and all the apps that are out there, give you an example.

268
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I I I'm a big SoulCycle aficionado, if you will. Way,

269
00:16:45,014 --> 00:16:48,860
man. I do a lot of SoulCycle. And bike right there. There you

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00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:52,220
go. Do you have the SoulCycle? Okay. Yeah, I do. I'm not bragging. I'm just

271
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glad you're staying Well, hey, you're staying part of the cult. You're staying in good

272
00:16:55,740 --> 00:16:59,199
health. Yeah. It is a bit of a cult, isn't it? But listen, I,

273
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I found through the app on my phone that I could

274
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work with SoulCycle to have, my SoulCycle classes

275
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go through my h HSA. So when I buy, you know,

276
00:17:11,794 --> 00:17:15,234
800 or $900 worth of classes, they're they're I'm paying for those

277
00:17:15,234 --> 00:17:18,990
pretax. Yep. Yep. It's pretty wild the what's going on

278
00:17:18,990 --> 00:17:22,349
in terms of, you know, what's legal to go against an

279
00:17:22,349 --> 00:17:26,030
HSI. Yeah. These companies that are out there, you

280
00:17:26,030 --> 00:17:29,789
know, one called, TrueMed that we've worked with, or

281
00:17:29,789 --> 00:17:33,284
spoken to, one's called doctor b, which I think does the

282
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HSA Yeah. Processing for SoulCycle,

283
00:17:37,605 --> 00:17:41,445
and they give these letters of of medical necessity. Is there any

284
00:17:41,445 --> 00:17:45,044
risk to that program, or is that, you know, pretty

285
00:17:45,044 --> 00:17:48,820
much mainstream now? I think it's mainstream. I mean, I

286
00:17:48,820 --> 00:17:52,500
did it. I I to be honest, I was kind of surprised, and you're

287
00:17:52,500 --> 00:17:56,260
right about the organization, that does do it. But I

288
00:17:56,260 --> 00:17:59,160
think they're legit. You know? It it could it be,

289
00:17:59,945 --> 00:18:03,405
looked at as, like, you know, a loophole and maybe they they,

290
00:18:04,025 --> 00:18:06,605
stop allowing it? But I don't think you're at any risk,

291
00:18:07,705 --> 00:18:10,905
doing it in the year you're doing it. I think if anything, it would be

292
00:18:10,905 --> 00:18:14,750
curtailed by regulation. They'd have to stipulate

293
00:18:14,890 --> 00:18:18,650
that that type of, the classes like that

294
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aren't covered. But, you know, in the spirit of keeping

295
00:18:22,330 --> 00:18:26,115
people healthy so they don't hit the catastrophic side of health care, we're

296
00:18:26,115 --> 00:18:29,495
all for it. Let's keep it going. It's it's wise use of money.

297
00:18:29,635 --> 00:18:33,395
Yeah. So just explain to us, if I become

298
00:18:33,395 --> 00:18:37,075
a member of of Solo, or if I become a member

299
00:18:37,075 --> 00:18:39,955
of, you know, talk about Cigna or Aetna or Humana,

300
00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:44,820
Is there any risk that I'm taking as a

301
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,120
patient or or a member, being part of one of

302
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:52,960
those larger brand networks, versus being part of

303
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,575
a, somewhat newer plan? Like, is there

304
00:18:56,575 --> 00:19:00,015
any balance sheet risk or is there anything that would be a

305
00:19:00,015 --> 00:19:03,855
differentiator or it's really just, hey. Look. We provide this plan. The money that

306
00:19:03,855 --> 00:19:07,615
you pay in goes into effectively an escrow account, or you've got a a

307
00:19:07,615 --> 00:19:11,210
back office provider that that's bonded in that? Just

308
00:19:11,210 --> 00:19:14,970
explain to us. Well, the the key is that, it's all about the

309
00:19:14,970 --> 00:19:18,669
reinsurance. So Solo, specifically,

310
00:19:19,530 --> 00:19:22,990
we have partnered with a captive insurance company called Vault.

311
00:19:23,475 --> 00:19:26,535
They Vault created this back in 02/2017,

312
00:19:27,235 --> 00:19:30,835
working with the North Carolina insurance department's captive division. They got it

313
00:19:30,835 --> 00:19:34,674
approved, allowing for solo business owners and

314
00:19:34,674 --> 00:19:38,460
their families to take this form of business insurance. And

315
00:19:38,460 --> 00:19:42,060
the way it's set up is it's not fully insured. You're you're setting yourself up

316
00:19:42,060 --> 00:19:45,840
with what is deemed a self insured plan.

317
00:19:46,700 --> 00:19:50,460
Don't wanna make sure we don't scare anybody off with that because it's that's

318
00:19:50,460 --> 00:19:54,065
a technicality. It's self insured. It's called level funding.

319
00:19:54,365 --> 00:19:58,125
So your entire rate is known as a level funded rate where if

320
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you're paying, let's say, $500 a month for a single at the age

321
00:20:01,805 --> 00:20:05,645
40, 40 five maybe, a portion of

322
00:20:05,645 --> 00:20:09,140
that, call it 20%, I'm making these numbers up, but would go

323
00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:12,820
towards administrative expenses, and the rest of it would go to

324
00:20:12,820 --> 00:20:16,420
setting reserves and and going to the claim liability. And

325
00:20:16,420 --> 00:20:19,895
so your that the dollars that are meant for claim

326
00:20:19,895 --> 00:20:23,595
liability, you as a solo owner or as a solo member

327
00:20:23,655 --> 00:20:27,275
are actually a pro rata owner in the captive. Okay.

328
00:20:27,815 --> 00:20:31,115
So we're required through Vault and they

329
00:20:31,575 --> 00:20:35,390
they they go through this every year where it's more than likely

330
00:20:35,450 --> 00:20:38,929
in the history of Vault, they have always had a surplus at the end of

331
00:20:38,929 --> 00:20:42,690
the year because they're underwriting it such that you're

332
00:20:42,809 --> 00:20:46,110
the rates that go for the certain ages and genders

333
00:20:46,649 --> 00:20:50,475
are created to cover expected claims plus

334
00:20:50,475 --> 00:20:54,235
a corridor or a surplus liability, sort of

335
00:20:54,235 --> 00:20:58,075
a safety net. And the idea is that every year, that would need to be

336
00:20:58,075 --> 00:21:01,515
returned to the customer. Now it's not returned in terms of cash

337
00:21:01,515 --> 00:21:05,350
dividends. Some of the larger employers, like back in the day at Cigna, wrote a

338
00:21:05,350 --> 00:21:09,110
lot of level funded business where the surplus was returned in

339
00:21:09,110 --> 00:21:12,650
part. Cigna would keep two thirds. The employer will get a third back.

340
00:21:12,870 --> 00:21:16,644
This is a % returned, but it's a returned in the way

341
00:21:16,644 --> 00:21:20,184
of rate increase mitigation or plan design enhancements.

342
00:21:20,565 --> 00:21:23,684
It's not it's not dealt with in cash. But getting back to your original question

343
00:21:23,684 --> 00:21:27,044
about risk, the the other important piece of this is

344
00:21:27,044 --> 00:21:30,630
that the under the bulk captive, Odyssey Reinsurance

345
00:21:30,769 --> 00:21:34,289
company out of Stamford, Connecticut, they're a plus rated on

346
00:21:34,289 --> 00:21:37,909
Standard and Poor's and AM Best. They have the

347
00:21:38,370 --> 00:21:41,889
risk for every dollar over the complete

348
00:21:41,889 --> 00:21:45,725
exposure of the captive set at the rates that I just mentioned individually.

349
00:21:46,025 --> 00:21:49,865
So we've never had we've never had an aggregate stop loss claim,

350
00:21:49,865 --> 00:21:53,705
meaning the in the entire pool exceed

351
00:21:53,865 --> 00:21:57,419
the claims exceeded the entire pool. That's never happened. There's been some

352
00:21:57,419 --> 00:22:01,260
specific stop loss claim issues where a large claim, call it a

353
00:22:01,260 --> 00:22:04,799
2 or $300,000 claim, that would pierce the individual

354
00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:08,700
stop loss level, and then Odysee re kicks in and pays everything

355
00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:12,140
over, in this case, a hundred and $50,000 of the claim. So if you have

356
00:22:12,140 --> 00:22:15,975
a $250,000 claim, Vault pays $1.50,

357
00:22:15,975 --> 00:22:19,335
Odyssey Reed picks up the other hundred. Gotcha. So,

358
00:22:20,295 --> 00:22:23,895
hearken back to, SoulCycle for a minute. A lot of the

359
00:22:23,895 --> 00:22:27,570
instructors there who, you know, I, used to follow them

360
00:22:27,570 --> 00:22:31,410
around, pre COVID, wherever studio they were, they were at

361
00:22:31,410 --> 00:22:35,010
Mantis was, was my go to. He

362
00:22:35,010 --> 00:22:38,765
he he stipulated to me that, look, one of the reasons why, you know, I

363
00:22:38,765 --> 00:22:41,664
stayed as a SoulCycle instructor and I signed that exclusivity,

364
00:22:42,605 --> 00:22:45,985
was because they gave me benefits, and there's nowhere else I can get insurance

365
00:22:46,044 --> 00:22:49,644
benefits. So from a from a standpoint of of a

366
00:22:49,644 --> 00:22:52,865
group like SoulCycle, is that a target

367
00:22:53,389 --> 00:22:56,750
for Solo? And then could they just add on to their

368
00:22:56,750 --> 00:23:00,269
account, these instructors, or they basically

369
00:23:00,269 --> 00:23:03,950
promote that we've got a relationship with Solo? We'll

370
00:23:03,950 --> 00:23:07,570
pay your deductible, and you're basically like a direct

371
00:23:07,630 --> 00:23:11,455
member, Or or how does that work? I wish that could work. But, no,

372
00:23:11,455 --> 00:23:15,135
the the individual, like, all these instructors, more more than

373
00:23:15,135 --> 00:23:18,735
likely, I I know a lot of them are doing sidebar stuff.

374
00:23:18,735 --> 00:23:22,575
Right? They're physical they're trainers plus they're doing SoulCycle. So if they're

375
00:23:22,575 --> 00:23:26,070
getting benefits through SoulCycle, SoulCycle is more or less going

376
00:23:26,070 --> 00:23:29,910
out like an employer would in getting securing coverage

377
00:23:29,910 --> 00:23:33,670
for eligible participants. They're probably funding some of the rules

378
00:23:33,670 --> 00:23:37,270
where you have to fund at least 70% of the cost. Ours is the

379
00:23:37,270 --> 00:23:40,935
business owner, that sole cycle instructor that maybe maybe they're in their

380
00:23:40,935 --> 00:23:44,775
waiting period or maybe they're just not eligible based on hours. That

381
00:23:44,775 --> 00:23:48,455
sole cycle instructor could set up a solo plan

382
00:23:48,455 --> 00:23:52,110
using their EIN and their the business that they're running. X

383
00:23:52,110 --> 00:23:55,810
y z. Got it. And you you did a deal recently with the Freelancers

384
00:23:56,030 --> 00:23:59,250
Union. Is that correct? Yes. That's been tremendous.

385
00:24:00,350 --> 00:24:04,110
Freelancers Union, we're really impressed with them. It took a good year.

386
00:24:04,110 --> 00:24:07,745
We started Solo, late two thousand twenty four. So we

387
00:24:07,745 --> 00:24:11,345
missed the January 1, big enrollment push

388
00:24:11,345 --> 00:24:15,025
because we really didn't have our stuff together, if you will, until,

389
00:24:15,025 --> 00:24:18,480
like, October, November '20 of '20 '3. So for

390
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,920
01/01/2024, we didn't write a ton of business, but we started talking to

391
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,440
organizations like Freelancers Union. We've got 600,000

392
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:29,059
members, all right in our wheelhouse. They're all independents.

393
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,300
Rafael Espinat, the director of Freelancers Union,

394
00:24:33,975 --> 00:24:37,735
great guy. They they they do a phenomenal job with their

395
00:24:37,735 --> 00:24:41,415
benefits package. They they're offering ACA plans. They

396
00:24:41,415 --> 00:24:44,934
offer us, and they offer a company called Opolis, all three of which are kind

397
00:24:44,934 --> 00:24:48,660
of worth exploring. But as an organization, they've

398
00:24:48,660 --> 00:24:52,500
been an incredible, and I think it's an endorsement for us because they took a

399
00:24:52,500 --> 00:24:56,340
little while to end up partnering with us after kicking the tires

400
00:24:56,340 --> 00:24:59,960
pretty hard. You know, one of the things that we are up against is

401
00:25:00,255 --> 00:25:04,015
brand. We don't you know, we're creating a brand from scratch, so that

402
00:25:04,015 --> 00:25:07,535
takes a while. So we're gonna be relying on the, you know, 500 plus

403
00:25:07,535 --> 00:25:11,215
businesses we wrote for January 1 to refer us to their friends and

404
00:25:11,215 --> 00:25:15,010
families, business owners. We'll be relying on the freelancers

405
00:25:15,070 --> 00:25:18,690
union to push us out further based on reputation. So

406
00:25:18,830 --> 00:25:21,890
that all helps. But that's been a great partnership so far.

407
00:25:24,765 --> 00:25:28,385
This is Pete Moore. Here's the last tip for you of the podcast.

408
00:25:28,845 --> 00:25:32,685
We are partnered up with a company called Higher Dose. Higher Dose

409
00:25:32,685 --> 00:25:36,065
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410
00:25:36,125 --> 00:25:39,809
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411
00:25:39,809 --> 00:25:43,409
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412
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products such as PMF mats and sauna blankets.

413
00:25:47,570 --> 00:25:51,090
If you have not gotten on the workout recovery train

414
00:25:51,090 --> 00:25:54,784
yet, your time and your stop is now. You

415
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gotta get these products in there before these workout recovery and spas

416
00:25:58,465 --> 00:26:02,304
end up saturating your market, having your members walk out of the club

417
00:26:02,304 --> 00:26:05,904
and going into one of their locations for $200 per

418
00:26:05,904 --> 00:26:09,370
month where they're paying 39 to you. Let's become an

419
00:26:09,370 --> 00:26:13,050
expert in workout recovery if we are already the authority in

420
00:26:13,050 --> 00:26:16,810
workouts. Higher dose, check it out. There's a

421
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wholesale code, and we look forward to helping

422
00:26:20,330 --> 00:26:24,174
you augment your products and services to meet the demands of your

423
00:26:24,174 --> 00:26:27,794
members. And, hey, let's get people happy, healthy,

424
00:26:27,855 --> 00:26:31,634
and sweaty, and the recovery should be just as good as the workout.

425
00:26:35,549 --> 00:26:39,149
So so when you look at our, you know, halo sector, health active lifestyle

426
00:26:39,149 --> 00:26:42,590
outdoors, you take a look at, you know, massage

427
00:26:42,590 --> 00:26:45,890
therapists, acupuncturists, you know, personal trainers,

428
00:26:46,750 --> 00:26:49,855
you know, all these, like, wellness coaches that are out there now that are are

429
00:26:49,855 --> 00:26:53,215
that are basically, you know, independent operators. What are some of the

430
00:26:53,215 --> 00:26:56,975
targets that we should be thinking about or someone listening to

431
00:26:56,975 --> 00:27:00,755
this podcast saying, like, this is a vital part of

432
00:27:01,134 --> 00:27:04,815
a cooperative or a union or a, you know,

433
00:27:04,815 --> 00:27:08,250
collective that we have that that we need to provide

434
00:27:09,030 --> 00:27:12,730
solo because this is one of the things that, you know, a lot of our

435
00:27:12,870 --> 00:27:16,630
members, you know, that's probably one of their biggest stress points. Sure.

436
00:27:16,630 --> 00:27:20,385
No doubt. Listen, I I I don't often get a chance

437
00:27:20,385 --> 00:27:23,985
to talk about the long term play of solo. Usually, we're talking to

438
00:27:23,985 --> 00:27:27,825
business owners in the year they're in. We're talking about the savings we're generating

439
00:27:27,825 --> 00:27:31,445
for them on rates and premium and and design.

440
00:27:31,585 --> 00:27:35,010
Design being important because that PPO, no boundaries

441
00:27:35,390 --> 00:27:38,910
across the country internationally, no lifetime benefit

442
00:27:38,910 --> 00:27:42,350
maximum, no annual maximum, and you're talking a full on plan.

443
00:27:42,350 --> 00:27:45,710
But I think the biggest value proposition of what we're doing

444
00:27:45,710 --> 00:27:49,535
today is the long term sustainable approach.

445
00:27:49,995 --> 00:27:53,595
It's that we expect, and this was evidenced by what

446
00:27:53,595 --> 00:27:57,295
Vault did for 01/01/2025 in terms of renewals.

447
00:27:57,915 --> 00:28:01,590
The renewal indexes were far below what the industry averages

448
00:28:01,970 --> 00:28:05,350
were both for larger employer paid stuff and ACA

449
00:28:05,970 --> 00:28:09,649
plans. So what you're doing is you're buying in you're getting in,

450
00:28:09,649 --> 00:28:13,495
you're filling out a health questionnaire. You're healthy today. You're passing. You don't have

451
00:28:13,495 --> 00:28:17,115
any heart issues, organ issues, you're not on,

452
00:28:17,655 --> 00:28:21,415
any of these ridiculously expensive drugs. So you're able to self

453
00:28:21,415 --> 00:28:25,115
insure your plan, but then you're joining this collective.

454
00:28:25,679 --> 00:28:29,039
And together, we're managing a risk of healthier

455
00:28:29,039 --> 00:28:32,879
people that over time is going to index if at

456
00:28:32,879 --> 00:28:36,639
in at inflation rates that are less than those that

457
00:28:36,639 --> 00:28:39,779
aren't in the same boat, the the more catastrophic claimants.

458
00:28:40,235 --> 00:28:44,075
Got it. So, so in in closing here, being an

459
00:28:44,075 --> 00:28:47,615
entrepreneur, you know, being like, you know, a little over a year end,

460
00:28:48,155 --> 00:28:51,995
knowing pretty soundly and cold the fact that this is somewhat of a

461
00:28:51,995 --> 00:28:55,799
no brainer, decision. How do you manage your

462
00:28:55,799 --> 00:28:59,640
own progress and and and and know that this is you're playing the

463
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,480
long game and that there's an education process that you're kinda

464
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,240
fighting through every day? It's a great question, and we are

465
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:10,514
learning. So, you know, we're a we're a eight person

466
00:29:10,815 --> 00:29:14,654
organization right now with the intention certainly to grow

467
00:29:14,654 --> 00:29:18,095
as we grow, but we've got a phenomenal team of people.

468
00:29:18,495 --> 00:29:22,174
David had, mentioned it earlier. Service crew

469
00:29:22,174 --> 00:29:25,680
is fantastic. And they are we did

470
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:29,520
600 plus consults with three or four people doing

471
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:33,200
all that work. We all pitched in in the December crunch time,

472
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,044
but, you know, getting the job done. And then what we've gotta get really

473
00:29:37,044 --> 00:29:40,565
good at and we haven't even really started yet is getting to our

474
00:29:40,565 --> 00:29:44,024
existing memberships to spread the word and to keep it going.

475
00:29:44,164 --> 00:29:47,845
Because anybody that share any existing solo

476
00:29:47,845 --> 00:29:51,650
member that shares that solo with somebody else, first of all, there'll be a

477
00:29:51,650 --> 00:29:54,710
referral program. And secondly, they're helping

478
00:29:55,410 --> 00:29:58,850
us scale, which again is gonna cut cost out of the equation for

479
00:29:58,850 --> 00:30:02,550
them. Right. Well, we'll have all the info on real quick.

480
00:30:03,215 --> 00:30:06,895
Pete, real quick. I just have to add, Thomas. For people listening to

481
00:30:06,895 --> 00:30:09,875
this, I came across your company on Instagram.

482
00:30:10,495 --> 00:30:14,175
Not normally something I would would, you know, put my own

483
00:30:14,175 --> 00:30:17,570
health insurance into. And after speaking to Michael and

484
00:30:17,570 --> 00:30:21,330
Christine and doing a good deal of research, it was, okay.

485
00:30:21,330 --> 00:30:24,370
What's the catch? This is too good to be true. What's the catch? What's the

486
00:30:24,529 --> 00:30:28,264
and and there was none. Right? So I I signed

487
00:30:28,264 --> 00:30:31,605
on as as a business owner at EIN, and

488
00:30:31,904 --> 00:30:35,505
it's potentially game changer for the trainers, the massage therapist,

489
00:30:35,505 --> 00:30:39,105
etcetera, listening to this. And I I I I wanna do

490
00:30:39,105 --> 00:30:42,790
everything we can to help you get the word out for sure. Listen.

491
00:30:42,790 --> 00:30:46,250
That's very much appreciated. So, we'll do it together.

492
00:30:46,710 --> 00:30:50,550
Absolutely. Alright, man. Well, welcome officially to the Halo sector. Thanks for doing

493
00:30:50,550 --> 00:30:54,285
what you're doing, and, we'll try and bring this on, to our,

494
00:30:54,525 --> 00:30:57,885
entire network in The US and, look forward to doing a,

495
00:30:58,125 --> 00:31:01,745
update check with you guys, a year from now. Fantastic,

496
00:31:01,805 --> 00:31:05,505
Pete. Thanks, David. Thanks, man. Much appreciated. Bye bye, guys. Go halo.