The power list

* This article was co-authored by Denis Storey, John Sullivan and Sharon Alt

The process

Power is a funny thing. It can be as blunt as a concussion or as quiet as a tumor.

This -- our first-ever Power List, featuring 10 of our highly subjective selections -- illustrates that analogy well. We set out to find out who has the power in the benefits market. Who shapes policy? Who determines product offerings? Who sets the trends?

There are the obvious choices -- political giants pandering to constituents and heads of corporations beholden to shareholders. And there are the less apparent selections, unheralded experts in the trenches.

Diligent readers will notice a few things about the list that follows.

First of all, there are no categories per se. We didn't break out different sections in a bid to be more inclusive. We wanted to start off broad, and just gauge our readers' -- and complicit editorial board members' -- feelings about who they considered to be the power players in the business. Period.

Did we include everyone? Of course not. We didn't even try. There are only so many pages between the covers. But we felt this was an excellent starting point -- an icebreaker, if you will, to open the dialogue. We expect to delve into more specific categories in future issues.

You'll also note there are no numbers. We didn't feel it was fair, or even plausible, to rank the following members of our Power List. Except for maybe the last one, which should probably top any list of forces shaping our industry.

We also wanted to look at those who are influencing the industry today, right now. With a respectful nod to those who took a chance when they laid the foundation of today's marketplace, we felt it best to limit this list to those toiling away now.

And before you turn the page, there's one more thing you should know. There's not a single broker on this list. But that's not to say they don't deserve their share of respect, as well. No one else influences the way business is done on a day-to-day basis more than the brokers out in the field. For most customers -- both employers and employees alike -- their broker relationship will be the only contact with the industry they'll ever have. But, again, we wanted to take a broader look at the industry players. So, look for a broker-exclusive power list in a future installment.

We fully expect this list to incite its share of questions and objections. We want to hear them all. We encourage open dialogue, even debate.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Everyone here has found himself tested. It's time to hand out some grades.
-- Denis Storey

The candidates

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton

We admit we're confused by Hillary Clinton's line on health care. She's running as a centrist, or at least to the right of Barack Obama, on almost every major policy issue except health care. After the beating HillaryCare took last time around, we thought she'd chart a more moderate course. Not the case.

Her universal health care plan creates a public insurance option managed by the government. It would impose more regulations on insurance companies and institute new taxes on business. According to the Wall Street Journal, Clinton's plan would dictate that everyone have health insurance, while Obama's only would mandate coverage for children.

Her husband ran as a moderate in 1992, and took a turn to the left right after inauguration. "Don't ask, don't tell" satisfied neither the left nor the right, and the universal health care push crippled his first term.

But with skyrocketing costs and less-and-less help from employers, Clinton is betting the time is right. Her plan appeals to the hard left base, and more importantly, the growing middle that believes something must be done. Newt Gingrich, her political opposite, called her the smartest politician of her generation. We now can see why.
-- John Sullivan

[Editor's note: Just before press time, Mitt Romney suspended his campaign following his disastrous Super Tuesday showing. Nevertheless, his influence over the entire Republican race -- and what he managed to pull off as governor -- still reverberates.]

Former Gov. Mitt Romney

A Republican governor who proposes -- then successfully implements -- a universal health care plan in the bluest of blue states? Heresy. But Mitt Romney will tell you it's a fit with traditional conservative values; a decentralized plan instituted at the state level that lets local voters decide what's best. And it's not mandated that everyone sign up. If you don't, you simply pay a penalty. For the benefit of the western libertarian wing of the party, he'd argue (somewhat smoothly) that the choice is still yours.

With another nod to the Wall Street Journal, the paper reports this pay-or-be-penalized idea, the so-called individual mandate, "is now the preferred liberal health policy tool. The logic of the individual mandate is that welfare programs will be necessary to achieve truly universal coverage. Thus it is in practice less an individual, and more a government, mandate."

This should send shivers down the spine of every voter praying for a free-market alternative. It's now a distinct possibility that neither a Democrat nor Republican candidate will offer that alternative -- a surefire sign of how far we've come (or gone) in the current health care debate.
-- Sullivan

The consultant
Gil Lowerre helped set the stage for worksite marketing

When a carrier has delved anywhere in the voluntary arena at any time over the past two decades, there's a pretty great chance that they've relied on the expertise of Eastbridge Consultants.

Led by Gil Lowerre, Eastbridge has become the go-to consulting organization for carriers who want to enter worksite, expand their already existing block of voluntary business or for anyone needing in-depth information about this incredibly specialized area of the industry. Since Lowerre founded the company in 1989 -- and along with vice president Bonnie Brazzell -- he has become an almost indispensable part of the benefits world, helping shape how worksite marketing looks, acts and succeeds.

Eastbridge not only helps to guide the industry but also helps to report on it. It remains one of the only research organizations that consistently provides studies and reports in the voluntary market, providing invaluable tools for anyone needing to know where the market is and where it might be headed. Their clients include not only carriers, but banks, benefit consultants, TPAs and anyone else in the industry.

When it comes to pure name recognition, few people can compete with Lowerre. He is almost universally known -- and respected -- in all corners of the business.

Having spent 10 years at the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association and several years as a producer and a field sales manager, helped give Lowerre an understanding of all sides of the industry. He is an in-demand speaker with engagements across the country, and widely considered as one of the foremost experts on voluntary benefits.

He's in the Worksite Marketing Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed to him by the Workplace Marketing Association in 2006.

It's also worth mentioning that, although Lowerre sits on the editorial board of this magazine and is a frequent contributor, his name on the ballot for this list made him uncomfortable enough that he refused to even vote.
-- Storey

The Pioneer
Randy Horn is a low-key innovator with a proven track record

About four years ago, Randy Horn did the unthinkable. Again.

After nearly 30 years at Mutual of Omaha, he left to join Colonial. Results followed quickly. Colonial's operating results strengthened, customer service improved and sales jumped.

It makes sense: a pair of industry pioneers working together. Colonial has been in worksite since the beginning and remains one of the heavy hitters, sitting comfortably at No. 2 in annual sales -- based on LIMRA's latest voluntary sales numbers. And for the first time in the company's history last year, Colonial pulled in $1 billion of in-force premium.

"We had a solid year, broadening our distribution," Horn explained, brandishing a gift for understatement. "We had excellent product growth."

In fact, Horn added, the company boasted double-digit growth in new accounts.

And Colonial appears to be a favorite among brokers -- a group not necessarily known for its carrier love. Just glancing through the pages of this magazine shows the company dominating broker opinion in the latest Readers Choice Survey.

But Horn, and his company, refuses to sit back and bask in that glory. Kicking off the new year with a new brand launch of medical gap and limited benefit products, Colonial plans debuts of both universal and whole life offerings, as well. Brokers can expect upgrades to Colonial's laptop-based enrollment system this year, too.

Horn was executive vice president-individual financial services at Mutual of Omaha and president of Companion Life Insurance Co. from 1999 to 2003. He also once served as executive vice president of group benefit services for the same company and held leadership positions in risk management, claims and actuarial departments. Horn also has experience as an employee benefits consultant with Towers Perrin.

Not bad for a former actuary, who also happens to hold a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation.
-- Storey

The authority
Many turn to Jay Savan for his expertise on the consumer-driven market

It would be a lot easier to dismiss Jay Savan as just another industry consultant if he didn't know so much about what he covers.

Savan, a Towers Perrin principal, "leads the development of our health care consumerism initiatives, and also co-leads our health and welfare consulting practice business development efforts in the central region of the United States," according to company officials.

Before that, Savan worked out of Dallas, where he served as the southwest region health and welfare consulting practice leader for another large consulting firm.

Savan's expertise -- and his passions -- stem from more than 20 years in the field, ranging from human resource, finance and employee benefits consulting.

Savan is "a recognized authority on consumer-driven health plans and account-based health care models who serves as a key leader of Towers Perrin's activities in this area."

He's an authority others rely on, as well, based on his clips and speaking engagements -- he's been cited in more than two dozen mainstream and industry publications.

"Jay has been a force for change in the benefits industry," his nominator argued. "He was on the forefront of the movement toward consumer-driven plans long before it became mainstream. He is a voice of reason with an abundance of new ideas and approaches in the health care field. He is able to see beyond conventional wisdom to envision new and innovative solutions."

It's worth noting that Savan also sits on the client advisory board of Graphic Surgery, a privately held company "focused on patient education to ensure individuals have the right surgery at the right time with the right outcome."

Savan is also a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and a Certified Financial Planner.
-- Storey

The marketer
Daniel Amos helped turn a simple ad campaign into an icon

Forget for a minute, if you can, how you might feel about waterfowl. It's hard to argue with the power of a single talking duck.

You certainly don't have to argue with Daniel Amos, Aflac CEO and the man behind that duck. It's hard to believe that in less than a decade, a single ad campaign managed to catapult a relatively unknown supplemental insurance company into arguably the most identifiable carrier in the country.

"We have a higher than 90 percent name recognition," Amos added. That and a revenue stream almost entirely channeled through payroll deduction. It also helps to top most lists as the largest carrier in the worksite market and the largest life insurance carrier in Japan.

So it's hard to argue the point that few entities, corporate or otherwise, exert as much influence in the industry as Aflac -- and Amos.

Amos succeeded his father -- and company co-founder -- as chief executive officer, and later chairman, of Aflac in 2001. Amos earned his degree in business and risk management from the University of Georgia before joining his father at the company in 1973 as a regional sales director. He is credited with expanding the company's product line while also launching the Aflac national advertising program, featuring that frustrated duck.

As the supplemental market began to explode, Aflac was one the driving forces behind it, and few people, even rivals, dispute that Aflac's marketing campaign made the concept of marketing insurance at the workplace much more well known and accepted. There is little doubt that because of Amos, Aflac and the concept of worksite marketing received tremendous exposure.

Perhaps more importantly, however, remains the fact that many credit Amos personally with keeping Aflac in front of the growing supplemental insurance industry.

In the first four years of his tenure running the company, Aflac's income more than tripled, exploding from $2.7 billion to $9.6 billion. But Amos also managed this feat while maintaining a pleasant work environment. Aflac consistently earns accolades from Fortune, among others, as one of the country's best companies to work for.

Not bad as far as role models go.
-- Storey

The enroller
Gregory Morano embraces technology, and the change it heralds

We're not part of an industry that's exactly fond of change. And when it comes to technology, it's an industry that only recently joined the revolution.

Few know that better -- or embrace it more -- than Gregory Morano, who started Univers Workplace Benefits in the early 1990s, along with partners Lou Pantalone and Vince Cicatiello.

Since then, his company has risen to the top of the heap when it comes to benefit communications and enrollment technology. But it remains an uphill battle.

"Employers still face significant challenges in elevating their work force's benefit knowledge; and, technology will continue to play a greater role in communicating and enrolling benefits in the future," Morano said.

And it's only going to get worse.

"We're always competing with technology," he explained.

Along the way, Morano managed to stay ahead of the curve by acquiring several market leaders (Future Planning Associates, Turner P. Williams, National Benefit Partners, CBIZ Worksite and Tandem Benefits). In 2006, Morano changed the company's name to Univers Workplace Benefits to "bring brand clarity to the marketplace and provide a common name for the integrated companies to rally around."

Morano -- and his company -- also led the way in "marrying technology with human capital to elevate employee benefit knowledge and create more efficient enrollment solutions for clients."

Morano is also credited with the creation of the first full-service benefit communications and enrollment organization to deliver a complete solution to clients and employees, including in-house print communications, consulting and production, laptop enrollment option for the field, telephonic enrollment and self-service Web solutions.

Bottom line: Since 1994 Univers -- in one form or another -- communicated and enrolled more than 1,500 clients and 4 million employees.

Or, according to Jim Christenson, "Morano has established the standard that other enrollment companies must emulate. His clear vision has created opportunity for worksite in the large case market and changed the way benefits are communicated."
-- Storey

The Innovator
Mike McCallister has led a profitable consumer revolution

Consumerism is a buzzword ringing throughout the halls of the benefits industry. The clarion of the movement just might be Mike McAllister.

Taking the reigns as CEO of Humana in 2000, McAllister used his own experiences as an executive to help launch the company into the consumer-driven market. Innovation is one of the calling cards of the company and a key driver of Humana's substantial growth over the past decade. With a movement toward transparency, helping consumers make educated choices, plus creative wellness programs and civic duty, McAllister and Humana continue to be on the forefront of the consumer revolution in health insurance.

McAllister also has supervised a diversification of Humana's block of business through Medicare, and last year engineered the purchase of KMGAmerica to help shore up the company's voluntary arm.

He is known not only as an innovator, but one who does so with results for the shareholders. He's earned mention in the national business media for his success in leading Humana's stock performance.

McAllister has an extensive history with Humana, starting with the company in 1974. For the three years before taking the president's chair in February 2000, he had senior management responsibility for health plan operations throughout the company.

In September 2006, Business Week named Mike one of five S&P 500 CEOs whose stocks have posted the largest total returns in the past five years. In April 2006, Forbes ranked McAllister third among CEOs, who delivered the most value to shareholders over the previous six years.

Beyond Humana, Mike plays a leadership role in key business advocacy organizations. He is on the board of the Business Roundtable and chairman of the organization's Health and Retirement Task Force. He is also a member of the board of directors of America's Health Insurance Plans.
-- Storey

The scholar
Greg Scandlen continues to educate consumers about health care

When Benefits Selling first issued the call to submit nominations for the top 10 most influential people in the business, the first person who came to mind was Greg Scandlen.

I consider Scandlen to be not only one of the most brilliant minds in health care reform but a close and personal friend, someone that will actually pick up the phone and talk to you if you have questions. I probably have had Greg on my internet radio show as a guest nearly half a dozen times over the last couple of years. He is completely dedicated to the education of consumers about the necessity of taking personal responsibility for their own health, as well as the importance of keeping the financing of health care in the private market.

Greg Scandlen is the founder of Consumers for Health Care Choices, a non-partisan, non-profit membership organization aimed at empowering consumers in the health care system.

Scandlen is an accomplished writer, researcher and public speaker. He is considered one of the nation's experts on health care financing, insurance regulation and employee benefits. He testifies frequently before Congress, and appears on such television shows as the O'Reilly Factor, NBC Nightly News and CNN. Scandlen gives at least three dozen speeches a year to organizations representing employers and labor, hospitals and physicians, insurers and pharmaceutical companies.

He has published many papers on topics such as health care costs, insurance reform, employee benefits, individual insurance programs, HSAs and HRAs, and every aspect of consumer-driven health care.

Scandlen has worked for several Washington-based think tanks, was the president of the Health Benefits Group and the founder and executive director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance. He also spent 12 years in the Blue Cross Blue Shield system, most recently as the director of state research at the national association.
-- Sharon Alt

The uninsured

They loom larger than any single broker, carrier or regulator. Even the politicians, with all of their airtime and headlines, can't compete.

They are the uninsured.

Never mind how many of them there are. No one can agree on a figure, anyway. Over the next several months, we'll hear candidates lecture about the 47 million uninsured. Or television pundits bemoan the 46 million without care. Or the Census Bureau weigh in with reams of data about the 41 million uncovered Americans.

(For the record, as I've written in the past, the real number is closer to half that. A classic, unreported example: According to Blue Cross, the fastest-growing number of uninsured in this country make at least $75,000 a year.)

Again, it doesn't matter. The fact is, this shifting, vague mass remains -- and will remain -- a specter that haunts this industry. Without making a single co-pay, this block continues to be the biggest influence this market will ever know.
-- Storey

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