Today we’d like to introduce you to William Short, Bart McCollum, and Anne Richter.
William, Bart, and Anne, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Ameriflex was established twenty years ago – in 1998 – as a small office with less than 10 employees in Cherry Hill, NJ. The company was initially focused on benefits administration and payments processing for small to mid-sized businesses, and grew quickly thanks to strong partnerships with a select group of benefits consultants, a commitment to dedicated client service (which was sorely lacking from this space, at that point in time, particularly for smaller employers), and being first to market with card technology for consumer-driven benefit accounts (like FSAs and HSAs).
The ability to easily access funds from an FSA or other benefit account through a regular debit card, without having to submit tons of paperwork or wait weeks for a check in the mail was a huge turning point for the industry, and Ameriflex was fortunate to be at the front-edge of that trend. It allowed us to gain quick market share and establish a name for ourselves, but also set the tone for the type of administrator we would aspire to become, as we grew: one focused on continued product and payments innovation, and on investment in technology that improves the customer experience in an industry where the customer’s needs aren’t always prioritized.
Twenty years later, with more than 200 employees and more than 50k employer-clients across all 50 states, we believe we’re delivering on that vision. We’ve diversified our product offering and leveraged our technical and payments expertise in new ways, to adapt to the shifting needs of the healthcare benefits space. We’re also proud that we remain independent, and that our growth has been achieved organically, because we think it’s a big part of what has allowed us to innovate and to always put our customers first in everything we do.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We work in a tightly-regulated industry, and take our commitment to compliance very seriously. However, doing right by the regulations and helping safeguard the compliance of our employers’ plans doesn’t always allow for the type of seamless customer experience that we would wish for. We’ve chosen to tackle this challenge not by easing up on how we approach compliance, but by putting our technical capabilities and innovative mindset to the test in developing solutions that allow for these types of benefits to be used in a compliant yet more user-friendly manner. As the technology develops, so too will the user experience continue to improve.
Another challenge we’ve faced is, of course, the presence of ever-changing regulation and the continued impact of healthcare reform on our business, and on how our clients are able to offer healthcare benefits to their employees. Uncertainty about what a new rule or a new administration may mean to our business factors heavily into our long-term strategy and the decisions we make every day. We know others are in the same boat, and we’re proud of the leadership role we’ve assumed in ongoing advocacy efforts geared toward preserving and expanding the tax-advantaged benefits that help millions of American families save and pay for health care.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ameriflex – what should we know?
Ameriflex is an independent administrator of consumer-driven benefits, payments, and compliance solutions for employers and their employees. In brief, we build and deliver the platforms and payments technologies that help employers offer and help employees access benefits like FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, COBRA, and more. Through the years, we’ve expanded our family of companies into new markets that leverage our core technological competencies, payments expertise, and understanding of what employers require in order to deliver quality, cost-effective benefits to their employees. These new business lines include payroll and workforce management solutions, and, most recently through our sister company Accresa, a platform that lets employers offer a direct primary care benefit to their employees within the framework of a workplace benefits plan.
But across all business lines, we are proud of and recognized for the same core values that have been central to our culture and strategy since day one: exceptional service in an industry where service generally comes last; technologies and innovation driven by the needs and experience of our customers; and a vision for making it easier for employers to offer exceptional and affordable benefits to their employees.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
One of our core values at Ameriflex is to respect others through candor and accountability. This is something we each try to live and breathe every day, both personally and professionally. Candor, to me, means acting with integrity and transparency, and always being honest in how I engage with others and in how I reflect upon my own actions. And accountability means upholding my commitment to others, and taking ownership of every decision I make, and everything I do – whether the outcome is positive or not. I believe that these things are the essence of respect, and critical to establishing trust. And trust is ultimately what drives success either in business or in our personal lives.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2508 Highlander Way
Suite 200
Carrollton, TX 75006 - Website: myameriflex.com
- Email: info@myameriflex.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ameriflex125
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmeriFlex
- Other: http://www.linkedin.com/company/ameriflex
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