Legislative Updates for Medicare and how “Build Back Better” will impact your business

John is currently Vice President of Congressional Affairs at the National Association of Health Underwriters and has been their lobbyist since September 2000. He has worked on every major piece of health care legislation from TAA to the PPACA. In 2005, he spearheaded legislation that expanded a program for long-term care insurance partnership policies to all states as part of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. He was a member of the Senate mental health parity negotiating team which led to the enactment in 2008. John helped get bipartisan support for a provision to remove a $2,000 deductible cap on small group plans and got legislation passed that restored the Medicare open enrollment period to the pre-ACA timeframe.
Prior to joining NAHU, John worked for the State of Maryland as a Health Policy Analyst with the Maryland Health Care Commission. John enjoys collecting political memorabilia particularly campaign buttons. He has a son who plays in a band in Nashville and a daughter who dances ballet in Pittsburgh. John has a Masters in Health Services Administration from The George Washington University and lives in Rockville, MD.

Seminar Selling both in person and virtually. Learn best practices on how to grow your business.

Jen Lowery DeBuhr started working in the marketing industry shortly after college. She joined LeadingResponse (back when it was still called Response Mail Express) in 2003 and is now one of the firm’s most tenured and successful consultants. She’s helped hundreds of financial advisors and estate planning attorneys aggressively grow their practices by personally facilitating over 35,000 events. Her client list includes large broker-dealers with national footprints, regional firms, Field Marketing Organizations, and some of the country’s most elite attorneys and independent advisors. She personally handles up to 100 campaigns a month while simultaneously managing a team of other marketing consultants. Jen is often invited to present at regional and national conferences, both virtually and in person. 

Jen has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 15 years. She co-owned a local studio, taught weekly classes, and had the privilege of leading numerous large yoga festivals and events. Jen married her husband, Darius, in 2014, and their daughter, Dylan, was born in the summer of 2016. These days Jen teaches yoga a lot less frequently so that she can spend more time helping her daughter develop a lifelong love for learning. Did you know that cows have four stomachs and spider crabs can grow to be 12 feet wide? 

Facebook Marketing to grow your sales. How can Pinnacle Financial make social media marketing work for you.

Bob Brzyski is vice president of marketing at Pinnacle Financial Services and has helped Pinnacle grow to a leading wholesaler of Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplements and Part D.

Bob joined Pinnacle in 2003 after working at a fortune 500 life and health insurer for several years as assistant vice president of sales focused in the senior market.

He is now focused on Pinnacle’s continue growth through technology, marketing and innovation.

Bob has a degree in Risk Management and Actuarial Science from Temple University and is an avid sports fan. He and his wife Ann Marie have two children, Emily and Bobby.

Medicare is an everchanging market.  Join Angela as she moderates our Medicare Panel of experts from the top carriers in the industry as we see how Medicare selling, marketing, and products are evolving.

Angela Palo started in the insurance business working in the group claims department for Prudential insurance. In 1990, Angela left Prudential and joined the Marketing team at American Travellers, specializing in Long Term Care. In 1995, she took her Life and Health License and moved to the Sales side of the company, where she became the National Director of Sales, overseeing both the sales team and sales support.

In 1996, Conseco Insurance company acquired American Travellers, and Angela joined the team there in a similar role for a Conseco-owned IMO, Bensalem Marketing Group. In 2003 she left BMG and joined Kevin Shields at Pinnacle Financial Services. In 2006, Angela bought into the agency and now serves as Executive Vice President. Pinnacle, one of the leading insurance marketing organizations in the senior market, is licensed in all 50 states. Pinnacle specializes in life, health, financial, senior insurance products, and marketing services. Angela is responsible for Pinnacle’s marketing, operations, sales support, website development, public relations, and business development.

Angela holds the following designations:

Fellow, Life Management Institute
Associate, Customer Services, LOMA
Long Term Care Professional, HIAA
Health Insurance Associate, HiAA
Managed Healthcare Professional, HIAA

Where is the opportunity in a growing Medicare market?  Our Multicultural Marketing discussion will cover best practices, sales strategies, and more.  How can you reach an ever-important under-served market?

Jeff Palo is Vice President of Health Sales at Pinnacle Financial Services.  Jeff started at Pinnacle just out of school in 2006 in a data entry role.  Since then he has worked in a Support, Licensing, Sales Assistant, and Sales Director Role.  He now oversees the entire Sales team and strategy on the health side at Pinnacle.  He has found particular success in the Multicultural Market and believes it is currently being overlooked.

Jeff lives with his wife, Mandy, and son, Valentine.  He is a die-hard Philly sports fan and an unsuccessful golfer.

Do you know SEO? Join search engine optimization expert Ed Crowe as he shows you how to use SEO in your business

Crowe & Associates offers a number of programs to independent brokers and agencies to increase sales and revenue.

With a primary focus on Medicare sales, we provide leads, online quotes, enrollment sites, training, and help agencies with recruiting.

All services are offered without any cost or commission reductions and all brokers working with us on their books of business

Medicare Panelist

Judy Gee is a broker relationship manager with Humana.  During her 13 year career at Humana, she has supported partners and agents in multiple states and assisted in recruiting, training, and creating a positive experience with all that engage with Humana.  Before Humana, Judy was a vice president of Insurance with HSBC Bank and a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual.  Having worked both as an agent and an insurance specialist she understands the agent point of view and is dedicated to helping agents be successful.  Judy is married to Ed and has 2 children Nathan and Kaitlin along with Ruger, their faithful lab otherwise known as “the toddler in a tank”.

Medicare Panelist

Steve has been with Anthem for the past 15 years. He spent his first 8 years as a captive agent for Individual Medicare where he gained the appreciation of what it takes to be a successful agent. He is currently one of their National Broker Sales Director supporting Anthem’s largest partners…which of course includes Pinnacle. He has been a life-long resident of CT where he lives with his wife and three children. He’s an avid sports fan and enjoys running, traveling, and watching his children either at sporting events or dance recitals.