Access Health Board President Don Shampine came to the agency’s leadership with a health insurance industry background. He has grown to appreciate the way Access Health is “disruptive of the status quo.”
Access Health’s work with the uninsured and their employers brought Don to the agency and finding success outside the structure of traditional health insurance kept him engaged with an agency celebrating 25 years in the Muskegon community.
“I love that Access Health addresses the empowerment of people not just through its community benefit program but creating a pathway to personal growth and success,” said Don, the founder and CEO of the Michigan Insurance Group. He is also a risk management consultant and speaks nationally on the insurance industry.
“For individuals Access Health brings behavioral changes that drive members to be healthier,” Don said. “That allows them to work more, advance in the workplace and earn better incomes.”
Over the years, Don said he has been impressed with how Access Health has evolved in providing education and support for its members based on social determinants of health. Access Health has addressed issues such as housing, childcare, job training and transportation, he said.
“We have empowered and educated people and helped them realize that sometimes the only barriers in front of them are self-imposed,” Don said. “We have set the bar higher and people have found success.”
In the future, Don hopes that Access Health will champion the “tiering” of government assistance so that an increase in income doesn’t result in the complete elimination of benefits. Instead, he hopes Access Health will navigate changes that as an individual’s income increases government benefits would proportionately decrease.