Tom Tacheny is an experienced employee benefits consultant and broker specializing in alternative healthcare delivery models. With a background in marketing and a passion for data-driven decision-making, Tom transitioned into the employee benefits field to provide innovative solutions and financial relief to employers and employees. He is committed to transparency and improving healthcare access and affordability through reference-based pricing and other BUCA (Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna) alternatives.
Nick Soman, Decent: What first drew you to employee benefits?
Tom: I had spent 15 years in marketing in corporate America and was looking to transition into something more entrepreneurial. I was also interested in learning sales. I had moved back home to Oklahoma City from Auckland, N.Z. to be around my parents and family here. My dad owned a pension consulting firm and had contacts in the insurance industry. I chose employee benefits (B2B sales) mostly to avoid hitting up friends and family for insurance.
I started selling worksite products, which led to working with brokers who encouraged me to become a broker. Since I didn’t come up through an agency system, I was figuring things out on my own and wasn’t told it was OK that nothing in healthcare made sense. So, I kept asking questions and hit a lot of dead ends along the way. That’s when I got hooked. In my former career, most decisions were data-driven. It didn’t make sense that an industry far more consequential than advertising wouldn’t have a data-driven decision-making process. That employers couldn’t get access to their own claims data was even more astounding.
Nick Soman, Decent: What guidance would you offer advisors who need to make a living but are tired of selling BUCA (Blue Cross, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Aetna)?
Tom: Understanding why BUCA doesn’t work in the employers’ interests is key to understanding how to sell BUCA alternatives. Books, podcasts, email newsletters, and LinkedIn content are valuable resources for learning about alternative healthcare delivery models. You must have a passion, not just for helping people, but also for finding the truth. It takes an incredible amount of tenacity, but it’s worth it to improve lives in your community.
Nick Soman, Decent: What are the best and worst things about your job?
Tom: The best thing currently is providing financial relief to people under tough economic conditions and alleviating the fear that an accident or illness is going to destroy their lives financially. Workers are in a precarious position caused by high interest rates and corporate greedflation. Most Americans can’t afford an unexpected expense of a few hundred dollars.
One of the worst things is realizing buzzwords like “transparency” get overused and, while everyone now likes to say they’re transparent, they rarely are. It’s the realization that there will always be hucksters in the industry and you must be careful about working on assumptions of transparency.
Nick Soman, Decent: I know you're an advocate for a well-structured plan that includes reference-based pricing (RBP). What misconceptions about RBP would you like to clear up?
Tom: That Medicare is the only reference and that it’s a poor reference. RBP isn’t called Medicare-Based Pricing. Other pricing references could be substituted for Medicare, but not on a national scale at this point. Medicare is the best reference available now as prices are standardized while also being annually and regionally adjusted and increase at a reliable two to three percent. Plus, it’s largely stable, reliable, and almost universally accepted. Those things make it the most reliable reference available nationally.
Nick Soman, Decent: Who else in healthcare inspires you, and why?
Tom: I admire anyone promoting BUCA alternatives. But I have a soft spot in my heart for the truly indignant personalities among us. David Contorno and Deb Ault are two great examples. We have good reason to be indignant in healthcare. The things being perpetrated on the American people by the healthcare industry are malicious and disgraceful, and great for shareholders. Speaking plainly to employers about their fiduciary liabilities is rarely convenient or easy, but it sets the stage for plan decision-making and is, therefore, necessary. It takes grit and an uncompromising belief in doing things the right way to set the foundation for a great health plan.
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