Mr. Brettschneider was the founder of Health Management Advisors, LLC (HMA) dba HMA Direct and the HMA Companies. Mr. Brettschneider serves as the President and CEO for the HMA Direct companies as well as the Managing Member of HMA MGU, LLC. Prior to this; Mr. Brettschneider was the President of JLB Insurance Agency, Inc and previous to that, the number one producing agent and Sales Manager for the best performing office of Cornerstone America, a UICI Company that specialized in alternative health risk solutions and employee benefit plans for small and mid-sized businesses. His extensive experience serving small businesses and technical background led Mr. Brettschneider to recognize the demand in this market for a flexible funded alternative. His experience and thorough understanding of the health insurance industry provides a tremendous resource for his team as well as for the HMA Direct clients.

Mr. Brettschneider provides the HMA companies with the leadership necessary to guide employers through the multitude of progressive health insurance options currently available. Mr. Brettschneider has an extensive expertise in Self Funding, Reinsurance, Health & Welfare, Actuarial Analysis and Risk Transfer Mechanisms, Fully Insured Benefit Plans, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Compliance, COBRA, ERISA and HIPPA.

Licenses: Life, Accident, & Health

Mr. Cassandro is the Chief Operations Officer of HMA Administrators, LLC and is a member of the Health Management Advisors Executive Management Team. Mr. Cassandro has been in the employee benefits and investment advisory business since 1995.

Mr. Cassandro and his HMA team assist companies in the areas of negotiating benefit pricing at renewal, conducting market analyses, evaluating claims administration solutions, managed care access and cost effectiveness, as well as developing and assisting with human resource matters including ERISA, DOL, HIPAA, COBRA and FMLA. Mr. Cassandro has worked closely with corporations in developing group benefit programs and human resource initiatives that match their corporate philosophy while also attracting and retaining quality employees. This "total benefits solution" involves a comprehensive evaluation of a company's managed care plan, network access, overall plan design, funding of the benefit program, contribution program, retirement plan offerings, employee benefit statements and payroll program.

Prior to joining HMA Mr. Cassandro was the President of Cassandro Associates. Mr. Cassandro is licensed to offer securities (Series 7, 63 and 65) and has earned the prominent designation of Registered Health Underwriter from The American College, a designation given to those individuals who demonstrate a high level of knowledge about the health insurance business.

Licenses: Life, Accident Health, Securities

Victor Lugo is the Senior Vice President of Sales for New England Custom Health Plan Administrators, LLC (NECHPA), an HMA Direct company and a full service employee benefits consulting firm.  Mr. Lugo is a member of the Health Management Advisors Executive Management Team and responsible for leading the Dedicated Agency Distribution Channel across the country.

Mr. Lugo has over twenty years of experience in the employee benefit industry and 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 HMA Direct. Mr. Lugo has an extensive background in both personal coaching and strategic consulting for the leaders of large multinational organizations, as well as specialized clients such as the renowned Zig Ziegler Organization, Dr. David Cook and Mental Advantage, the performance coach of the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington Wizards.

Licenses: Life, Accident & Health

Joseph C. Freeman represents HMA Direct as Corporate Counsel and meets regularly with The Health Management Advisors, Executive Management Team. Mr. Freeman and the Freeman Firm, P.C. work closely together with the HMA Administrators, LLC Compliance Department.

Mr. Freeman is a Member of Massachusetts Bar Association and has a broad expertise practicing in the areas of business and corporate law, civil, litigation, estate planning, employment law, ERISA, state and federal legislation and real estate.

Mr. Freeman was instrumental in the development of HMA Direct’s corporate compliance standards and ethics programs. Mr. Freeman will also work with the client’s of HMA Direct focusing his expertise on matters involving corporate, real estate and business law. Mr. Freeman graduated from the University of Colorado Business School and earned a JD from Boston College Law School in 1985 and has been practicing law since.

Mr. Lake is the lead consulting Actuary for the HMA MGU, LLC Actuarial Team and works closely with the CEO. The HMA Actuarial team focuses on the development and ongoing adjustment of the HMA MGU pricing and rating system due to changes in products, plan designs, re-pricing discounts and state legislation. Mr. Lake was involved in the implementation of the Milliman Medical Underwriting Guideline System at HMA (The Milliman systems are among the Industry's most recognized and wide spread actuarial systems). Gary Lake is also the President of Lake Consulting, Inc. which was established in May 1998 by Gary Lake. The actuarial consulting firm brings over 60 years of experience and expertise to its clients.

Gary Lake's experience includes serving as primary actuary for several life and health insurance companies and HMOs, with specific expertise in managed care products. He has performed required state actuarial certifications and rate filings for insurance companies and HMOs in several states nationwide. He is also skilled in assessing the financial feasibility of self-insurance, conducting surveys to compare and contrast rating methodologies, and analyzing trends in experience under various managed care configurations. He also performs valuations of insurance plans providing health, life, disability and/or pension benefits.

A sample of clients includes CareFirst, BlueCross and BlueShield, Wonder State Insurance Company, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, Mid-Atlantic Medical Services, Knights of Columbus, Potomac Electric Power Company, AFL-CIO, the National Association of Letter Carriers, and Union Labor Life Insurance Company.

From 1993 to 1995, Gary was the national practice leader for health actuaries at Foster Higgins, a major benefits consulting firm, which merged with William M. Mercer. Gary continued with Mercer from 1995 to 1998. From 1972 to 1993, Gary managed a 25-person health and welfare benefit actuarial unit at Watson Wyatt, a national actuarial consulting firm. He also was associate actuary for a life insurance company and directed its actuarial department in 1971 and 1972.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He received a BA in mathematics from the University of Iowa.

Shelley Lenkutis is the Underwriting Manager for HMA MGU, LLC an HMA Direct Company and reports directly to the CEO. Mrs. Lenkutis meets regularly with the Health Management Advisors Executive Management Team as well as the HMA MGU Actuarial Department.

Prior to joining HMA MGU, Mrs. Lenkutis’s background included working as a VP of Operations for First Franklin Financial Corp, a Merrill Lynch Company, in the underwriting and banking business since 2003. Mrs. Lenkutis’s was most recognized for her dedication towards developing an organized and cohesive team environment with the customer as the pinnacle.

Mrs. Lenkutis is focused on providing our clients 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 if they can be classified as low risk, which in turn, can afford them the opportunity to take advantage of significant stop loss premium savings. Mrs. Lenkutis is primarily responsible for the oversight of the HMA MGU Underwriters with an emphasis on maintaining the integrity of our underwriting process, ensuring the continual maintenance of the HMA MGU Milliman Actuarial Medical Underwriting Guidelines System, reinsurance contract management and stop loss policy implementation.

Mr. Karapchanski joined HMA MGU, LLC in Newton MA in early 2007. In his role as a Vice President of Finance, Mr. Karapchanski manages the operational and financial effectiveness of the organization. Mr. Karapchanski is responsible for approving and monitoring the specific and aggregate stop loss claim reimburment process, as well managing the agency support commissions system.

Mr. Karapchanski is focused on providing our people with the tools, data and support that will enable them to provide the highest quality service to our clients. Mr. Karapchanski is also focused on driving competitive earnings, and strengthening the financial position of our organization while maintaining the integrity of our captive stop loss program, in order to support the investment in our people, quality, and service development initiatives, as well as to enhance the long-term security of our growing organization. These are key elements in attracting and retaining the best people, with the right skills and experience.

Mr. Karapchanski received a Bachelor in Arts degree in business administration with a major in mathematics from the American University of Bulgaria as an honorary member of the Deans list. After completing an accounting program at the Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts Mr. Karapchanski served as a finance manager for BrassRing, LLC a global provider of talent management solutions and prior to this worked in various roles as an assistant auditor for the Internal Revenue Service.

Bill O’Brien is the Massachusetts Regional Sales Director (RSD) for New England Custom Health Plan Administrators, LLC, (NECHPA) an HMA Direct Company. HMA Direct is a preeminent full service employee benefits and HR consulting firm. Mr. O’Brien and the HMA Direct team assist companies in the areas of negotiating employee welfare program pricing, conducting market analyses and renewal benefit studies, evaluating third party administration solutions, managed care network access and cost effectiveness, as well as developing and assisting with human resource matters including ERISA, DOL, HIPAA, COBRA and FMLA.

Prior to joining HMA Direct Mr. O’Brien worked in the employee benefits consulting business for the past ten years with a focus on providing smaller businesses with solutions to reduce costs and maintain the highest level of benefits for their employees.

Mr. O’Brien has extensive experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of employee benefit programs in a variety of corporate environments and settings. His areas of expertise include; Fully Insured Benefit Plans, Self Funding, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts. Mr. O’Brien has a demonstrated excellence in and has a passion for the development of quality employee benefit programs, team building, strategic planning, enrollment meeting process facilitation, and employee benefit communication initiatives. 

Mark Celentano is a District Sales Director (DSD) for New England Custom Health Plan Administrators, LLC, (NECHPA) an HMA Direct Company. HMA Direct is a preeminent full service employee benefits and HR consulting firm. Mr. Celentano and the HMA Direct team assist companies in the areas of negotiating employee welfare program pricing, conducting market analyses and renewal benefit studies, evaluating third party administration solutions, managed care network access and cost effectiveness, as well as developing and assisting with human resource matters including ERISA, DOL, HIPAA, COBRA and FMLA.

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 Insurance Agency in Rowley MA.

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.

Andy Hoffman is the Florida Regional Sales Director (RSD) for New England Custom Health Plan Administrators, LLC, (NECHPA) an HMA Direct Company. HMA Direct is a preeminent full service employee benefits and HR consulting firm. Mr. Hoffman and the HMA Direct team assist companies in the areas of negotiating employee welfare program pricing, conducting market analyses and renewal benefit studies, evaluating third party administration solutions, managed care network access and cost effectiveness, as well as developing and assisting with human resource matters including ERISA, DOL, HIPAA,COBRA and FMLA.

Mr. Hoffman provides leadership, strategic planning and coaching for his Florida team of benefits consultants. Mr. Hoffman has demonstrated commitment in providing trusted and knowledgeable advice to clients which exemplifies HMA Directs core business philosophy.

Prior to joining HMA Direct, Mr. Hoffman’s broad expertise and experience included serving as a Vice President of Sales where he drove record sales production growth for a leading wholesale banking company. Mr. Hoffman was recognized for developing business practices that assisted individuals and companies with planning strategies to successfully manage loans.