Interview with Steve Dorfman About Simple Health
Interviewer: Why did you launch Simple Health?
Steve Dorfman: Working in various insurance industry roles, I saw firsthand how confusing health insurance could be for average consumers. Interactions with insurance agents, claims staff, even medical providers themselves can be unpleasant, even adversarial. I envisioned a company that worked as an ally and advocate for people seeking health insurance, rather than an adversary.
Interviewer: What does Simple Health do, actually?
Steve Dorfman: In a sentence, we aim to connect consumers with health insurance plans that fit their needs and budgets. Our insurance industry professionals are licensed to provide plans in all 50 states, and we use proprietary technology and processes to ensure that we’re quoting the best possible prices while matching customers with optimal plans.
Interviewer: What can a typical customer expect from Simple Health?
Steve Dorfman: Customers typically begin by contacting us and requesting a request a rate quote for policies that match their needs and budget. One of our friendly, licensed agents then provides them with side-by-side comparisons of policies available in their home states. If needed, they walk them through each plan’s features to help them arrive at the best possible fit. Ultimately, we want everyone to make an informed decision that has their best interests at heart — not ours, nor anyone else’s.
Interviewer: Where are you located?
Steve Dorfman: Despite our national reach, we’re Florida born and bred. We have three locations in South Florida: customer contact centers in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, and a home office in Doral.
Interviewer: What’s your company’s guiding principle?
Steve Dorfman: One principle guides everything we do: “The best way to understand a customer is to imagine yourself being in their shoes.” If you think about it, that’s just another way of restating the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have done unto you,” or whatever variation you prefer. It’s easy for us to uphold this ideal because we’re healthcare consumers ourselves — everyone is. We put ourselves in our customers’ shoes every day because we can’t do otherwise.
Interviewer: What sets you apart from competitors?
Steve Dorfman: This is a tough question. We really do see ourselves as unique in the health insurance space. That said, we recognize that plenty of other companies and organizations do a version of what we do. We believe our biggest differentiator — what truly sets us apart from the rest — is our unwavering commitment to customer service. We strive to form personal relationships with everyone we serve, no matter their location, needs, or budget.
Interviewer: What internal policies or processes are you most proud of?
Steve Dorfman: All new employees go through a rigorous, proprietary training process that emphasizes far more than the fundamentals of insurance sales. After all, we only hire licensed insurance agents, so we expect our entire team to have that part of the job locked down before they come onboard. Our training is all about culture — instilling that sense of mission and purpose that sets us apart from competitors.
Interviewer: Are you hiring?
Steve Dorfman: Yes! As consumers’ health insurance needs change, we’re growing and changing along with them. We’re always looking to meet highly motivated, qualified professionals with insurance experience — or a willingness to learn. Our website has up-to-date information about the positions we aim to fill.
Interviewer: What are the biggest challenges facing your customers? Any issues you hear from them day in and day out?
Steve Dorfman: Again and again, we hear from healthcare consumers who are simply fed up with the confusing, conflicting nature of the health insurance marketplace. While the passage of the Affordable Care Act made health insurance accessible to millions of people who previously didn’t have good access, it did little to reduce noise in the marketplace. If anything, health insurance has become more difficult to parse in the years since.
The flip side of this is that health insurance really does cost less than most people think. It’s our job to connect people with plans that best fit their needs and budget, without any hidden agendas.
Interviewer: Are you optimistic about the future of America’s healthcare industry? Concerned?
Steve Dorfman: I’m optimistic that we’ll continue to improve and expand our ability to provide quality health insurance plans to a wide spectrum of customers, with premiums they can afford. When it comes to the nuts and bolts of health insurance and healthcare policy, I’m a realist. Healthcare policy is tough stuff. I see Simple Health’s role as facilitating choice and helping customers roll with future changes that we see as all but inevitable — even if we’re not yet sure how they’ll look.
