How I Found Purpose in a Flawed System
By Elizabeth powers, Marketing Manager
As a child, I didn’t think, “I want to be in the healthcare benefits industry when I grow up.” Actually, I’m pretty sure no one does. But even in college, working towards a sociology degree, I wasn’t heading towards this industry. I just knew I wanted to understand the systems that shape our lives and support the people who are most often overlooked or left behind by them.
The pandemic hit right as I graduated college. Entering the job market at this time, I leaned into marketing skills I had built and started paying closer attention to industries that I knew were here to stay. Healthcare topped the list—not just for stability, but because I knew it was deeply, wildly broken. Once, as a struggling college student, I paid $300 for eyedrops that I used twice… with a coupon.
The truth is, our healthcare benefits system isn’t just broken. It’s rigged. Prices are inflated without explanation. Networks are confusing by design. People avoid care because they don’t know what they’ll owe, or they get hit with bills that can ruin them financially.
That’s why Reference-Based Pricing stood out to me. It’s one of the few models that gives people real power. It pushes back on inflated pricing and brings the transparency our system has been missing. It felt like a real opportunity to help people in a bigger way than I ever expected.
I don’t believe you have to have some special, personal connection to your job. We all need to make money somehow, and in our modern capitalistic society, this is simply not the reality of work for most. But at PERMA FAIR, I’ve found a team of people who do care. Who do take it personally. And who intend to change the broken ways of the healthcare benefits model in our country.
At PERMA FAIR, we believe in providing healthcare benefits that prioritize people. We care about empowering our members and fighting against an unjust system. We can’t fix the industry overnight, but we can give people the tools to stop being taken advantage of. I believe that’s a mission worth showing up for every day.
Featured Resources
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Why I joined PERMA FAIR
The healthcare system in the United States is often overwhelming — defined by complex regulations, rising costs, and processes that can feel far removed from the needs of patients and families. I have experienced that reality from multiple perspectives: as a professional within the health insurance industry and as a parent who has relied on the system to care for my own family.
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Why I joined PERMA FAIR
Healthcare in the United States is complicated, expensive, and too often frustrating for the very people it’s meant to serve. I know that firsthand, not just as a professional in the health insurance industry, but as a member myself. I began my career working in health insurance as an Administrative Assistant, supporting leadership, and learning how the system works behind the scenes. Later, I moved into a role at a large insurance company, where I expected better access, clearer answers, and more support. Instead, what I experienced was the opposite.
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Cut Through the Noise: Why Indexed Reimbursement is the Future of Fair Benefits
The latest national pricing data confirms what many employers already suspect: the same medical procedure can cost two to nine times more depending on the hospital, insurer, or even the contract. A bypass surgery at one Boston hospital, for instance, billed Aetna members nearly $50,000 less than UnitedHealthcare members, according to a recent Fierce Healthcare report on Trilliant Health’s transparency analysis
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