Timeline
Health
Management Advisors, LLC (HMA Direct), is one of the nation’s
premier employee benefit consulting groups. Each of the
affiliated entities in the HMA Direct group participate in a niche
market requiring specialized knowledge about a territory,
service or product. Our competitive advantage lies in our
long-term strategy of decentralized operations, allowing each of
our units to identify and respond quickly and effectively to
changing market conditions and our local customer needs. This
decentralized structure provides financial accountability and
incentives to local management and enables us to attract and
retain the highest caliber professionals. We have the expertise
and resources to utilize our strengths in the present
environment, and the flexibility to anticipate, innovate and
respond to whatever opportunities and challenges the future may
hold. Our goal has been to continue to provide our employees
with a challenging and satisfying workplace while also making
significant contributions to the communities in which we
operate. Most significantly, we have been able to do these
things while providing our affiliated entities and their clients
with what we call The HMA Direct Umbrella Support Program, a
comprehensive client management program that focuses on helping
our clients accomplish and achieve their goals and objectives.
HMA Direct is based out of Boston, Massachusetts with affiliated entities located strategically around the country. The HMA Direct affiliated entities are separate and distinct legal entities that work cohesively together to provide outstanding service to their customers. HMA Direct manages risk and provides actuarial services through its managing general underwriter (MGU) to employers, providing services such as medical underwriting, excess loss program pricing and management, and actuarial simulation modeling. HMA Direct, through its Third Party Administrator (TPA) offers self funded medical, dental, and vision plan services to clients. HMA Direct also provides total health and wellness programs, self funded claims processing and management, disease management, COBRA, and HIPAA compliance services.
HMA Direct offers a variety of other services through New England Custom Health Plan Administrators, LLC (NECHPA). These services include employee benefit statements, legislative compliance guidance, and employee handbook consultation.
Executive Coordinating Committee
Jed Brettschneider, CEO - Health Management Advisors, LLC
The
Managing Member and CEO of Health Management
Advisors, LLC d/b/a HMA Direct, Mr. Jed
Brettschneider possesses extensive experience in
areas relating to self-funded health plans,
reinsurance, actuarial analysis, flexible
spending accounts, health savings accounts,
health reimbursement accounts, COBRA, ERISA,
HIPAA, and more. As Managing Member of HMA
Direct, Jed Brettschneider ensures that HMA
Direct’s customers and their employees receive
the most up-to-date knowledge on a variety of
benefit options available to them under ERISA,
as well as, the rules, regulations, and policies
associated with them. Over the course of his
professional career, Jed Brettschneider has held
numerous executive roles within the industry.
Jed Brettschneider was the founder and former
President of JLB Insurance Agency, Inc. where he
utilized his technical background and
entrepreneurial approach to create a simplified
economy of scale model for the entrepreneurial
business owner to access ERISA plan
administration services. Additionally, Jed
Brettschneider is experienced at the business to
business consulting level and was the top
producing Sales Representative and Sales Manager
in the country for a national publicly traded
employee benefits company.
Upon meeting Jed Brettschneider,
it is easy to see why he has become a well
respected leader in the industry. Mr.
Brettschneider combines a superior technical
foundation and extensive background with a
"common sense approach" and has a genuine
interest in his clients. It is his apparent core
values that instill instant confidence. Jed has
been known to say, "Clients have expressed
appreciation that I work from a solid foundation
built from extensive experience, but I believe
it is my matter of fact approach that makes our
working relationship so successful" In an
industry where trust and integrity has fallen by
the wayside for some, Mr. Brettschneider stands
tall and defines the intrinsic core values and
experience that all employers strive to find.
Mr. Brettschneider’s entrepreneurial passion was
established during his early years and is in his
family history, dating back to 1897 with the
start of the first family business, The
Brettschneider Funeral Chapels,
in what is known as Manhattans Lower East Side.
Nationally, Jed is recognized for his work with
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) and is an active member of the United
States Holocaust Museum. He is also a regular
supporter of the Special Olympics in
Massachusetts and other states. Residing in
Norton Massachusetts, Mr. Jed Brettschneider
leverages years of experience toward his current
role and is recognized amongst his colleagues
and clients as a results-driven thoughtful
leader.
Victor Lugo, President and Managing Member - NECHPA, LLC
Victor Lugo is the President and Managing Member
for NECHPA, a HMA Direct Company. NECHPA is a
Massachusetts based General Agency (GA)
providing full service employee benefits and HR
consulting services through a team of
independent consultants. Mr. Lugo is a member of
the Health Management Advisors Executive
Coordinating Committee and is responsible for overseeing the
sales and marketing efforts across the country.
Mr. Lugo has more than twenty years of
experience consulting with businesses in the
employee benefit industry. After graduating from
the world renowned Columbia University he was
involved in the successful development and
leadership of a sales organization for a
publicly traded national insurance carrier. Mr.
Lugo’s proven history of developing strong
cohesive and winning teams makes him a
tremendous asset to NECHPA. Mr. Lugo has an
extensive background in personal coaching and
strategic consulting for the leaders of
companies ranging from the entrepreneur to
multinational organizations. Mr. Lugo is known
for his work with specialized clients such as
the Zig Ziglar Organization, Dr. David Cook and
Mental Advantage, and the performance coach of
the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington
Wizards. Mr. Lugo is recognized nationally as a
honorary Medical Mission Team Member and is a
regular supporter of The Operation Smile.
Mark Celentano, Sr VP Operations - NECHPA, LLC
SR
Vice President of Operations Mark Celentano
ensures the continued progress, relevance, and
compliance of NECHPA’s services. Mark Celentano
and his team negotiate employee welfare program
pricing, evaluate third-party administration
solutions, and possess an intimate familiarity
with HIPAA, COBRA, and FMLA regulations. Mr.
Celentano has more than twenty-five years of
business experience in senior level positions in
corporations, consulting with businesses both
nationally and internationally. Prior to joining
HMA Direct he was the President of Celentano &
Associates and The Celentano Insurance Agency in
Rowley MA. Mr. Celentano is a life member in
Kiwanis International having served as a
Distinguished Lt. Governor in the New England
District and Vice President of the New England
Foundation of Kiwanis. His passion for helping
people is exemplified in his distinction as a
"Founding Fellow of the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma
Institute" which is affiliated with New England
Medical center, and his recognition as a "Sixth
Level Diamond Hixon Fellow" with the Kiwanis
International Foundation
for donations attributed to Pediatric Trauma
Research. Mr. Celentano strongly believes in the
rights of all citizens and companies to have
full access to Self Funded ERISA plans. Having
served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War,
he is not afraid to fight for what he firmly
believes is right and has the tenacity to get
the job done.
Mr. Celentano brings keen
insight and a practical hands-on approach to the
HMA Direct team and clients with an emphasis on
problem identification and resolution. He has
worked on a wide range of HR issues including:
sales compensation programs, diversity
initiatives, goal setting and performance
alignment, team building and conflict
resolutions. Mr. Celentano enjoys implementing
workforce employee retention programs focused on
supporting the organization’s corporate
philosophy while opening up opportunities to
bring in fresh ideas.
Steve Weir, CIO - HMA Administrators, LLC
Mr.
Weir is the CIO/COO of HMA Administrators, LLC
and is a member of the Health Management
Advisors Executive Coordinating Committee. Mr. Weir works
closely with the Managing Member of HMA
Administrators and leads the Claims
Administration and Operations teams. Mr. Weir
has been in the Third Party Administrator (TPA)
industry since the early 90’s in various
technical and operational roles. Milestone
accomplishments include: project manager for the
State of Louisiana's Office of Group Benefits
claims system conversion and implementation, the
claims system conversion and platform migration
from Microsoft NT to Sun Microsystems for a NYSE
publically traded national Insurance Company, as
well as, the implementation of a claims system
for Group Health Alliance, a startup TPA serving
the Edison Chouest group of companies in
Louisiana.
Prior to this, Mr. Weir was the IT
Director at Medcom, Inc., a TPA/PPO in
Jacksonville Florida which administers ERISA
health plans. Mr. Weir was a leading member of
an Eldorado Computing (ECI) user's group
executive committee. This committee was the
primary force in guiding Eldorado Computing's
development effort to meet the changing market
conditions of the TPA and health insurance
industry. Additionally, Mr. Weir was the IT
Director at Network Management Services (NMS), a
division of Columbia Hospital Systems. NMS
served as the TPA for the Columbia Hospitals.
Prior to NMS, Mr. Weir was the Director of
Implementation Services at Eldorado Computing
Company, Inc., and was responsible for
overseeing over twenty conversions and
installations of their large-scale claims
processing system in an 18 month period. Mr.
Weir built ECI's conversion business, which
enabled ECI to be competitive with RIMS, Inc.
(now a Trizetto Company). Mr. Weir began his
health care career as IT manager at Florida
Health Alliance, Inc., in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jean Buehler, Managing Member - HMA Administrators, LLC
Mrs. Buehler is the Managing Member of HMA
Administrators, LLC and is a member of the
Health Management Advisors Executive
Coordinating Committee. Mrs. Buehler is also the Director of the
Client Relations, Customer Service and Claims
Departments for HMA Administrators. Mrs. Buehler
brings over 20 years of experience managing
Third Party Administration (TPA) claims and
customer care departments for self funded ERISA
plans. Mrs. Buehler and her HMA Administrators
team focus their efforts on assisting companies
in areas such as, member communications,
preferred provider organization access, medical
management, evaluating managed care access and
cost effectiveness, as well as, developing and
assisting with compliance issues including
ERISA, HIPAA, PHI, COBRA and FMLA. Mrs. Buehler
has worked closely with corporations in
developing group benefits programs that attract
and retain quality employees. This "Total
Benefits Solution" is an ongoing quality review
process that involves a comprehensive evaluation
of a company's, Summary Plan Description (SPD),
managed care program, overall benefit plan
design, funding requirements and contribution
percentages.
Prior to the insurance industry,
Mrs. Buehler’s fulfilled her passion to help
people as a teacher in the public school system.
Her diverse and solid background and education
provides the ideal foundation for her role at
HMA Administrators. Mrs. Buehler is responsible
for managing employee development and ongoing
training to accomplish the HMA Administrators
goal for first call resolution on all claims and
customer service matters.
Mrs. Buehler was
instrumental in the development and
implementation of the HMA Healthy Lifestyles
Program; an integrated wellness program offered
to the members of employer’s ERISA plans. In her
spare time Mrs. Buehler enjoys spending time
with her husband, children and grandchildren.
Mrs. Buehler is also an avid golfer.
Shelley Lenkutis, Managing Member - HMA MGU, LLC
Shelley Lenkutis is the Managing Member and
Underwriting Manager for HMA MGU, LLC a HMA
Direct Company and is a member of the Health
Management Advisors Executive Coordinating
Committee.
Mrs. Lenkutis meets regularly with the Health
Management Advisors Actuarial Department.
Prior
to joining HMA MGU, Mrs. Lenkutis worked as a VP
of Operations for First Franklin Financial Corp,
a Merrill Lynch Company, in the underwriting and
banking business since the early 2000’s. Mrs.
Lenkutis was recognized for her dedication to
developing an organized and cohesive team
environment with the customer as the pinnacle.
Mrs. Lenkutis is focused on providing the
clients of HMA MGU with a seamless underwriting
support process that enables them to navigate
the complexities of various risk management
strategies. This underwriting process assists
companies in determining their proper risk
classification. Mrs. Lenkutis is primarily
responsible for the oversight of the HMA MGU
Underwriting unit with an emphasis on
maintaining the integrity of the underwriting
process, ensuring the continual maintenance of
the HMA MGU Milliman Actuarial Group Medical
Underwriting Guidelines System (GMUGS),
reinsurance contract management and excess loss
program implementation.
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