I started in the health insurance business in 1986,
marketing directly to individuals and small businesses
all over the state of Georgia. Over the next
11 years I built an agency from the ground up that
eventually produced over $10,000,000 in business per
year. During that time I personally met one-on-one
with several thousand individuals and small business
owners concerning their health insurance needs.
In
2000 my wife Christie and I took a year off to travel
around the world. The entire trip is documented
on our website, www.longsstrangetrip.com.
After 13 months, we finally left Bali and headed back
to the “real” world.
When
we returned from Bali, we moved to Fort Collins, Colorado
to both go back to school. Christie’s in
veterinary school, and I recently completed my master’s
in Nutrition and Exercise Science. In January
of 2004 HSAs first became available, and HSA
for America was born. In addition
to running the company, I am the author of the monthly
newsletter Maximize Your
HSA, I have written for Agents Sales Journal,
and I have been featured in American Airlines Magazine,
Pregnancy Magazine, the LA Times, and numerous other
publications. I am also editor of The
Paleo Diet Newsletter.
The
introduction of Health Savings Accounts has created
a tremendous opportunity for individuals and businesses
to lower the cost of their health care, receive a
generous tax-break, and save money for future medical
expenses. By introducing market competition
into the medical marketplace, HSAs will force doctors
and hospitals to begin posting their prices and actually
competing for their customers’ business.
As anyone with a basic understanding of economics
can tell you, competition leads to lower prices and
higher quality for all.
Too
often government programs encourage dependence and
discourage personal responsibility. Health savings
accounts reward people for saving for their future,
and further reward them for taking care of their health.
The person that puts aside money in their HSA and
then doesn’t use it will be rewarded with tax
deductions and tax-deferred growth and a savings account
that can be used to pay medical expenses during retirement.
I am a big believer that individuals should take greater
responsibility for their future, instead of relying
on the government “nanny” to take care of
them.
I
believe that HSAs are the best thing to happen to
healthcare in a long time. They save people
money, they encourage responsible behavior, and they
force the medical providers to compete for our business.
I started HSA for
America to make it easy for people to learn
about and set up these plans. Our mission is
to find our clients the best plans that meet their
needs, at the lowest premiums available, and to make
the process easy. By helping you save money
and have peace of mind, we expect to continue to earn
your business for life.
