Smirk Health

Healthcare wasn't built for the way people live and work today, but the people challenging the status quo are building a health benefits system designed for the modern workforce. In this episode of State of Access, Melissa Stefani-Bolin sits down with two of those people, Senator Bill Cassidy, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, and Felix W. Ortiz III, Founder & CEO of Smirk Health, to explore how policy, innovation, and technology can work together to create a more transparent, portable, and people-centered healthcare system. Drawing on decades of experience as both a practicing physician and policymaker, Senator Cassidy shares his perspective on the reforms shaping healthcare today, from price transparency and the No Surprises Act to the future of employer-sponsored benefits and consumer choice. Together, they explore: -Why the healthcare system has struggled to keep pace with today's workforce -The progress, and remaining challenges, of healthcare price transparency -How employer-sponsored benefits can evolve without losing what works -Why portability is becoming essential for a modern workforce -The role of public policy in expanding access while encouraging innovation -How AI can improve navigation, decision-making, and healthcare confidence -What the next decade of healthcare could look like for patients, employers, and providers The future of healthcare isn't just about expanding coverage, it's about making care easier to understand, easier to access, more transparent and better aligned with how Americans actually live and work today. Check out the clip and view the entire podcast by clicking on the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gTmMPCge #Healthcare #HealthInnovation #PriceTransparency #FutureOfWork #HealthBenefits #AI #SmirkHealth

We're proud to welcome and recognize Frank Congiu as an advisor to Smirk Health. Frank has spent his career helping the world's largest organizations navigate transformation. As Executive Vice President at Randstad Enterprise, he advises global enterprises on workforce strategy, organizational change, leadership, and innovation, working directly with executive teams and boards to prepare for what's next. Throughout his career, Frank has helped organizations redesign how work gets done, from leading enterprise transformation initiatives at Randstad Enterprise and The Adecco Group to building executive networks that connect today's leaders with tomorrow's ideas. He is also the co-founder of the Radical Innovators Collaborative, bringing together leaders from Fortune 10 companies to accelerate breakthrough thinking around the future of work. His partnerships with Columbia University, TED, and the World Economic Forum further reinforce his commitment to advancing research, leadership, and innovation at enterprise scale. At Smirk Health, Frank brings invaluable perspective on one of the defining challenges facing employers today: creating a healthier, more resilient workforce in a rapidly changing world. His expertise in workforce transformation helps ensure we're building benefits that evolve alongside the modern workforce, not yesterday's employment model. We're proud to have Frank helping guide Smirk as we build the future of Mobile Health Benefits.

We're pleased to welcome Zeke Emanuel as an Advisor to Smirk Health. Dr. Emanuel is one of the nation's leading oncologists, health policy experts, and bioethicists. He currently serves as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Emanuel has helped shape some of the most important healthcare policies and conversations in the United States. He served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the White House, contributed to the development of the Affordable Care Act, founded and led the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, and has advised organizations including the World Health Organization and the Council on Foreign Relations. He joins Smirk at an important moment as we continue building a more modern, accessible approach to health benefits for today's workforce. As Dr. Emanuel shared: "Getting every American health coverage that is affordable is an undeniable goal. Smirk is achieving this goal for those workers left out of health insurance because of employment and income. Smirk is filling a critical void in our current healthcare system and has the potential to help millions of uninsured Americans." Dr. Emanuel's perspective on healthcare access, policy, and system design will be invaluable as we work to expand affordable coverage and improve health outcomes for populations underserved by traditional models. We're honored to have Dr. Emanuel's guidance and partnership as we continue building Smirk. #Healthcare #HealthPolicy #BenefitsInnovation #FutureOfWork #SmirkHealth

We're proud to welcome and recognize Harriet Harty as an Advisor to Smirk Health. Harriet brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience across Fortune 100 public, private equity-backed, and private companies, with deep expertise in financial acumen as a CPA in addition to human capital strategy as a Chief Human Resource Officer. During her career, Harriet served as Chief Human Resources Officer of Allstate, where she led human capital strategy supporting more than 70,000 employees and agents. She later served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of ADT, overseeing Human Resources, Employee Health & Safety, Corporate Security, Facilities, and Real Estate for a workforce of more than 25,000 employees. Throughout her career, Harriet has advised CEOs, Boards of Directors, and executive leadership teams on succession planning, executive coaching, compensation, benefits strategy, and large-scale business transformation, including significant M&As. She also brings extensive governance experience as a board director and advisor to high-growth companies. “As a Board Director, Former Chief Human Resource Officer and CPA, I evaluate solutions through strategic, human capital and financial lenses. Smirk's benefits infrastructure delivers measurable ROI while solving one of corporate America's most pressing challenges, how to support today's and the future dynamic workforce.” Welcome to Smirk, Harriet.

Smirk Health welcomes Bradley Tusk as an advisor. Bradley is the founder of Tusk Ventures, the world’s first venture capital fund focused on early-stage startups in highly regulated industries, backing companies like Lemonade, Ro, FanDuel, Coinbase, and Bird. He also founded Tusk Strategies, the nation’s leading boutique political consulting firm, and has spent his career at the intersection of technology, politics, and policy, serving as Deputy Governor of Illinois, Mike Bloomberg’s campaign manager, and Uber’s first political adviser. Bradley states: “The benefits system in this country was built for a workforce that barely exists anymore. Most startups in this industry get stopped before they can even start because of the regulatory complexity. We’re proud to have invested in Smirk and to work alongside Felix and his team as they disrupt the status quo and get people the care they need.” Welcome to the team Bradley, we're excited you're on board.

We’re proud to welcome Glen Stettin, MD. as an Advisor to Smirk Health. Glen is a seasoned physician-executive with over 30 years of leadership experience across healthcare, spanning clinical care, product innovation, data and analytics, and large-scale operations. Throughout his career, he has led complex organizations through transformation, driving impact on both patient outcomes and business performance. Most recently, Glen served as Chief Innovation Officer at Evernorth, where he helped shape next-generation health solutions at scale. Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions, contributing to major industry advancements through periods of significant growth and acquisition, including the integration into Cigna. In addition to his executive leadership, Glen has served on boards for both public and nonprofit organizations and continues to advise early-stage healthcare companies, bringing deep expertise in innovation, strategy, and system transformation. Glen states: “Smirk is solving one of the biggest challenges in healthcare - providing affordable coverage for medical, dental and other benefits for working people who do not qualify for traditional, employer sponsored insurance and can’t afford ACA plan premiums. And Smirk is building these affordable plans to deliver real value for their enrollees, by helping enrollees find and access affordable care, and providing flexible benefit options that enable enrollees to tailor their benefits to their needs and take their plans with them even if they change employers. “ Welcome, Glen. We’re excited to have your perspective and leadership at the table.