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.