In this episode, I sit down with Charles Ernst, co-founder of CoreVantage, as he shares his journey of building a business with his wife, Joanna, over the past 15 years. He discusses the critical lessons learned about delegation, teamwork, and the complexities of the insurance industry, including the impact of service provider errors on patient care. Charles recounts a poignant story about a client’s struggle with insurance delays and the tragic consequences of processing errors, and I reflect on my own experience with healthcare mismanagement, highlighting how these issues often lead to frustration and misunderstanding. Together, we explore the importance of supporting patients and clients, emphasizing that proactive, compassionate service can make all the difference. Tune in for a conversation about balancing business, personal well-being, and the future of healthcare.
In this episode, I sit down with Charles Ernst, co-founder of CoreVantage, as he shares his journey of building a business with his wife, Joanna, over the past 15 years. He discusses the critical lessons learned about delegation, teamwork, and the complexities of the insurance industry, including the impact of service provider errors on patient care. Charles recounts a poignant story about a client’s struggle with insurance delays and the tragic consequences of processing errors, and I reflect on my own experience with healthcare mismanagement, highlighting how these issues often lead to frustration and misunderstanding. Together, we explore the importance of supporting patients and clients, emphasizing that proactive, compassionate service can make all the difference. Tune in for a conversation about balancing business, personal well-being, and the future of healthcare.
Charles Ernst - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-ernst-994547124
CoreVantage - https://corevantagehub.com/
This episode is sponsored by UnitedAg, one of the largest association health plans to offer healthcare to the agriculture industry of California and Arizona.
Kirti Mutatkar, President and CEO of UnitedAg.
Reach me at kmutatkar@unitedag.org, www.linkedin.com/in/kirtimutatkar
UnitedAg website - www.unitedag.org
Episode Contributors - Charles Ernst, Kirti Mutatkar, Dave Visaya, Rhianna Macias
The episode is also sponsored by Brent Eastman Insurance Services Inc. - https://brenteastman.com
Blue Shield of California - https://www.blueshieldca.com
Elite Medical - https://www.elitecorpmed.com
Gallagher - https://www.ajg.com/
SAIN Medical https://sainmedical.com/
MDI Network - https://www.mdinetworx.com/about-us
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:00:04] Today I'm super, super excited. So I walk in, we drove from Irvine to Bakersfield and I walk in. Usually I come in with this, all my equipment and I'm putting it all together. I walk into this beautiful studio. This is great to have you on the podcast. I wish all my guests come in with this podcast. The studio with that.
Charles Ernst: [00:00:24] No, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you for having me on. I really appreciate the fact that you guys drove all this way, and it's an absolute pleasure to be on your podcast.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:00:39] So what made you have this? What is the story behind the studio?
Charles Ernst: [00:00:43] Well, Joanna, my wife and business partner, decided that it was time to kind of evolve our marketing technique and kind of get with the 2024 landscape and know that a lot of people like to see things in video, or they like things in audio and we need to think a little bit more outside of the box on how we're reaching our audience and potential customers, but ultimately to share our story so we could help people. And I felt like this was a great medium. And and instead of having to go elsewhere, I just wanted to make sure, yeah, why not here? And it's it's really easy to get here. It took a lot of work to put this together, and I give her all the credit, you know, for finding all the equipment, but it just made a lot of sense to be able to do it locally.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:01:31] Awesome. So but what do you do. So I know I didn't introduce yourself, but the reason I don't want to do that is because I want to go a little bit beyond the title. Yes, you can introduce and say what you do, but who is the Charles behind it and how would you introduce yourself?
Charles Ernst: [00:01:46] Well, I mean, so we own an insurance agency, right? We actually own more than one business. We have multiple businesses. So we are entrepreneurs and business owners. And, you know, we run into all the things that business owners do. And, you know, just all of the the aspects of, you know, running through the day to day and building and growth. But mostly I got into this business because I really do enjoy helping people, and this was a business that allowed me to do so and have enjoyed, you know, we've been in business 15 years. And interestingly enough, my wife and I have been married for 15 years. So not only are we celebrating our.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:02:26] So as soon as you got married, or was it before you got married, the business. What came first?
Charles Ernst: [00:02:30] Well, actually, we were married and then we started a business together. I mean, it's not a great way to like, you know, throw on a few more challenges, right? Like, hey, let's just be newly married and start a business together. Doing it.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:02:41] Together. How was that? Was that stressful or was that fun?
Charles Ernst: [00:02:45] Initially, I think when you kind of go all in together and it's not like we eased into it, like some people do this where maybe one spouse is still working and the other one starts a business and then, you know, they come into it or vice versa. But the funny thing about it was, is that we just went all in together. So, you know, Joanna did all of the inside sales, like, you know, picking up the phone and calling people. And then I would do all the outside sales and get in front of people. So yeah, it was a very humble beginning and we just kind of hit the ground running in 2008, which was a crazy time to start a business, but it turned out to be one of the best times because I think people were more open to listening to new ideas.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:03:26] You know, this is my podcast, This is Ag!. When you think of agriculture, a lot of people, I just talked to someone and he said the reason he chose to come back. So he's a 30, 31 year old kid who decided to come back into agriculture and work. And he said that the reason was because he gets up and his dad is with him. His brother is with him. It's a family thing. It's like I get to work and play with my family. It seems like that with you and Joanna. Is that right?
Charles Ernst: [00:03:53] Oh, it's very much. It's very much like that, because I can't think of a better way to spend time with your spouse than in your business.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:04:02] Not everybody can say that.
Charles Ernst: [00:04:05] I think that's a fair statement.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:04:07] That speaks for your love. That's true. Well, yeah.
Charles Ernst: [00:04:10] Like we want to spend all the time we can together, so why not do that? So I think to your point, it is really great to have that marriage and also have all that time together in the business. And, you know, we get to travel together and of course we have a little one now and we don't get to travel as much. But I think that's really been good. And to share that journey and share the struggles. And, you know, it's not always been easy, but I think doing it together has has made us stronger.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:04:40] So when you think of and knowing you as a person and just the beginning of this, the podcast that you do. Hey Charles, everything I see comes in the human side of how we live our life, right? So you talk a little bit about sleep and what that means. And here you have a business with your wife and you kind of introspect on how the way we lead our lives every day and the impact that has on business taking, for example, sleep, right. And the impact it has on business. People don't usually think of it from a business standpoint. Your thoughts on that?
Charles Ernst: [00:05:13] Yes, absolutely. I think that was one of the things that I talked about. When you kind of push yourself, I mean, that's another aspect of the business, especially when you're living it, you know, you eat and breathe it, right, because you're trying to make sure that you're putting all that you have in it. And there's a lot of stress that comes with that. And it's very easy to sacrifice sleep because there's only so many hours in a day. Right? And there's only so much output that you can do. But what ends up happening is that if you don't prioritize sleep, that is one of the things that can lead to burnout and it can lead to other issues. Right? Mental health issues. You know, I mean, there's a lot of things going on right now in this day and age, but it really does start with sleep. So if you don't sleep well at night, eventually you'll get into that point where, you know, you might experience things that you don't want to experience.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:06:03] Sure, and especially from looking at it from the healthcare side of business. And I'm in the healthcare side of business and some of these things and the impact it has on the long term, even the cost. Right? Yeah. I mean, business. Yes. From an individual business and how we grow it, but also from an impact it has on the healthcare industry. Right. We forget how all these smaller things that you do to yourself has big impact.
Charles Ernst: [00:06:30] Right. And it all starts. Anybody that you talk to or any study that you look at is going to talk about sleep, right? I mean, what is the common thing that, you know, I think physicians I don't want to speak for all of them, but a lot of them people is like, you know, how well do you sleep? Do you sleep? How many hours do you sleep at night? And I know there's several studies and there are people that can serve. They could do well on smaller amounts of sleep, but not everybody is that way. And I think what you're saying is, is that yes, if you don't take care of yourself, you know, how can you really take care of others? And I think that's that's kind of where I think it starts with sleep.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:07:05] Right? So one of my goals through United is I'm thinking through this, right. You provide a health plan, you provide this. But deep down, the reason some of us get into this business is we're looking at what are the drivers of the cost, right. The true cost. How do we change that? Right. So I do that from a united standpoint in a small way that we can. And having service rep or brokers like you, you do that on your end, right? Just through this podcast, you're educating people on the ways that you live and lead your life, and you take care of your business. That has a big impact. And that's where I was going with that.
Charles Ernst: [00:07:41] No, absolutely. Because if you think about healthcare, obviously we know it's a huge topic. You know, some of the health care premiums, as you know, you know, being the CEO of your company and agricultural trust, you know that these are really, really big topics right now. You know, people have, you know, health issues or sometimes they don't ever go to the doctor. And I think ultimately, you know, I think we've always thought about preventative. And I think that's one of the things that, you know, we always try to do as an organization and even you as an organization, you know, we talk about all of the accessible things up front because you're trying to be proactive and potentially prevent a larger problem. And I think none of these health issues, you know, sometimes they can be instantaneous. But the majority of them, if you think about take a long time and it's it's kind of maybe lifestyle driven, you know, stress is a huge factor.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:08:38] I think that causes a lot of reasons that you talked about earlier. That is a big issue, right?
Charles Ernst: [00:08:42] And then I think especially after the lockdown, I mean, I think mental health is a huge issue right now. And, you know, a lot of people are talking about it, and I know that. You know, in your particular offering, you guys have gone extra in the way that you offer to help individuals with that. And I know that there's a lot of people that suffer in that arena in different maybe it's not different intensity levels, but the fact that there is that accessibility, I find, is really helpful because I don't know how many times I've talked to people that are struggling with something, or their loved one is struggling with something, and it's really hard to get into somebody.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:09:19] And it has. I think one of the good things that have happened because of Covid is it's taken the taboo out of that. Earlier, if you had that burn out or mental health issues, people still did not get the help. I feel like post Covid, people are a little bit more open to getting that help and the impact that mental health and not taking care of it, and the impact that has on the overall health of individuals and the economy and the bigger health care industry. It's so huge and it's so hard to detect that earlier on. So it's a little whatever little we can do right towards that. Right.
Charles Ernst: [00:09:55] But I think you do a lot. I think you do a lot. I mean, one of the things that I was very impressed with, especially with your offering, is I remember at the last conference we went to that you did have that, you know, online capability, and it was something that you're adding on at your own expense, right? Yeah. The spring health, because you're doing that because you want to bring that value to the members and you understand that, you know, a lot of that can be helpful. I think one of the things that I found overall is that a lot of times, people don't even realize that they're slipping into something like that. And you're right. I think prior to the lockdown, I think people were a little bit more quiet about it. Yeah, they didn't really want to maybe ask for time off, or they were a little bit hesitant in bringing that out to the surface because I agree with you. I think people didn't really feel comfortable talking about it. And then all of a sudden you have this massive influx and now people are coming up to the surface, and now you're hearing it all over the place that that people need to address these issues.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:11:00] Especially in our industry. Right. The ag industry that we serve. I think the taboo around mental health is even more from a cultural standpoint. I think telemedicine kind of help because you can be somewhere that nobody knows you are going for an appointment or something, and you do it within your own office or your home. It makes it more accessible. And that's what we found through our United AG.
Charles Ernst: [00:11:22] No, absolutely. Because I mean, again, I think it's a personal I mean, I, I mean, you heard the podcast that I talked about on burnout. That was a very vulnerable thing emotionally to share with your mom.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:11:32]. Right.
Charles Ernst: [00:11:34] And just just part of the business that I think a lot of people look outside and, you know, no matter what your story is. And so ours is a very great story and being married and starting a business together and going through that process. But there were a lot of times that it wasn't easy and there was a toll that was taken. And I think that maybe if I would have paid a little more attention to it early on, you know, maybe I wouldn't have gotten so burned out during that time.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:12:03] And that story. So you talk about your mom and, yes, your last conversation with your mom, and you were kind of in a burnt out state and did not do the justice, or you feel like you could have done more, spend some more time with her. And that was very, very touching. It was listening to it. And it gets you thinking about just life and how we get carried away with things or make decisions which really don't mean anything. Right. The family comes first.
Charles Ernst: [00:12:31] Absolutely. And then what do we do all this stuff for if it's not for family? But yeah, I know when I was referencing that, I really think back to that morning. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Like I remember I was sitting in the chair and I was having that conversation, and I didn't know it was going to be the last conversation with her. And she didn't sound good. I mean, as I had mentioned, she had gone through her procedure. And I remember thinking to myself, you know, I just don't have the bandwidth to have that conversation. And what ended up happening was, yeah, I mean, that was the last conversation. So so now I don't think I take things as lightly in that case, because when it comes to family and it comes to, you know, balancing things out, you know, family is so important and you just never know.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:13:19] You know, when I was listening to that story yesterday, what it reminded me of was how we neglect ourselves and don't take care of our own bodies. Right. You're so caught up in the day to day. You want to grow your business, you want to do the next thing. And you're such a go, go, go. And you fail to listen to even your own self. And taking that minute to pause and say, okay, just love ourselves first and start with that and take care of ourselves, take care of our family. And then everything falls in place and we just tend to forget that, right? It's a we are such a go, go, go type people.
Charles Ernst: [00:13:57] Well, well, I think I think culturally speaking, I mean here it's like, man, we gotta go. Like, you know, if we're not working every single minute and how connected we are with everything you're talking about. But I always think back to what you just said is, you know, when you're on a plane and they say, you know, in the case of an emergency, if the mask deploys first, right? They put your mask on first so you can put your mask on someone else. So I think that's a very simple analogy on what people kind of fail to miss, that you have to put priority on self-care. Otherwise you can't perform at your best and you can't support others.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:14:34] So you can. Yeah, you can be a service to anybody, including your family. That's such a true thing. So, Charles, going into what you where you started. So and this is this is ag podcast right. Agriculture reserve and you started your life in act two right?
Charles Ernst: [00:14:47] Yes I did. I actually worked for a while, you know that's interesting. So as a young man, I moved here in ‘97 after high school, and I actually worked at a packing house here in Bakersfield.
Charles Ernst: [00:15:02] Actually in the Porterville area. Porterville. Yeah. Yeah. So, like the lovely city of Porterville, like, it was kind of a little bit of a transition into into that. And it was interesting because I don't think I really kind of understood. You know, agriculture, you know, you go to the grocery store, you buy your fruit, you buy your produce, you buy whatever. I mean, who knows, you know, how did it even get there? I mean, I was just a kid. I don't think most people even think about it or they know. And I got into it and I really did start at the bottom. So my very first job, my job was to refill the glue machine because like so if you think about it.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:15:38] Really, that was your first job?
Charles Ernst: [00:15:41] Yeah, that was my first job in AG, right. So so as it went through, you know, the cartons would come in and it was a citrus house. So it was all pattern packed and it was on a carousel. And, you know, it would, uh, you know, the cardboard would come in and it wasn't sealed, and then it would come into this machine, and if it got jammed up, I'd have to stop the line and pull it off and clear it. And then if there was a red stamp on there, that means it's export and you had to flip them all blossom, end up and and so on and so forth. And, and then I had like various jobs, but it was a lot of work. But it taught me how to work because there was a lot of 14, 16 hour days. And I do attribute that experience to why I have that work ethic. And when I was having to drive, you know, 12 hour turnarounds to go talk to a client, you know, all the way at the other end of the state in the Sacramento area and, you know, beyond, and come back and do meetings all day that it was like, that's okay. I've already had that ingrained, but it really gave me a respect for agriculture to just understand how much work it just went in and remember that was just oranges or it was specialty fruits. But that was just one small piece of the big, huge chain. You know, call it whatever you want to the logistical process of how fruit gets from the tree, you know, processed, and then it gets shipped out. Then it goes to the grocery store and to somebody's house and, you know, so they can enjoy it. But that was interesting. But I really did enjoy working, you know, with my fellow.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:17:08] I know the name of the place in Porterville. And you said citrus. Oh, yeah. Is that what it is? No.
Charles Ernst: [00:17:13] Well, it was it was actually in Strathmore. They're no longer in business, but. Oh, okay. But it was something that I kind of think back in and do cherish. I mean, there was it was a lot of, like, long days and hours. And sometimes I felt like, am I, like, kind of being a zombie here? You know, and there's a lot of stuff going on. But but it was a lot of hard work. So so that was my experience. So I did that for a couple of years and ultimately there was two freezes. I don't remember. There was like, remember, right? And that that kind of was the end of that. And then Ag side of things, and I had to do something else because at the time, you know, my son was born from my first marriage and I was like, man, I got to do something else. So I went to work in computers and technology and so on and so forth. And then eventually I got to a point where I had set a goal that, you know, when I'm this age, 30 years old, I'm going to go out on my own no matter what, no matter what, no matter how well I'm doing, I'm going to do it because I don't think if you don't set a deadline, you'll never do it because there's always a reason not to.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:18:15] So and there are challenges. So now you own your business since 15 years, right? So what are some of the lessons that you've learned from that?
Charles Ernst: [00:18:24] Well, there's been quite a few. I think one of the biggest things that I've found to be the case, that has been one that kind of stuck with me is that, you know, you don't have to do everything yourself, right? And I think it's very common, especially for, you know, driven people. Right. And you probably see this in your own organization where people just want to do everything. And and there's only so much bandwidth. And that's why it's so important to rely on a team and train your team and bring them up to speed so that you have that ability to properly, you know, distribute that workload. And that's probably one of the biggest lessons that I think if I was to go back and talk to the younger version of myself, I would delegate more, delegate more, and come to that conclusion, because ultimately what it does is it makes everything better, right? You have that sense of for not only your company, but your team as well as your clients, because you're doing a better service for everyone that's involved in that hierarchy, because you are trusting and training and bringing people up. And I think in this business, you know, it's very relational. It's very hands on, so you want to make sure that people are getting the best from you in your company and why?
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:19:38] When you started a business, what lessons do you learn from being an insurance in this business?
Charles Ernst: [00:19:43] Well, I realized that there's a lot of people that I mean, insurance shouldn't be as complicated as it is, and I think that it should be very simple, but I find that there's a lot of moving parts, and it's not like, not even from, like, say, the carrier side. Like, you know, if I get a card and it says, hey, this is my co-pay, this is this, this is that. But I go to a service provider and we deal with this. That's why we have an in-house advocacy team, because, you know, we want to make sure that the end user who are also our customers. Right. The businesses are our customers, but the end users are our customers have a really good experience. But if they go to a service provider and that's outside of our control and they say, oh, sorry, you know, this is wrong or this is right, or you got to wait for this, I think, I mean, I'm kind of being a little bit broad, but I mean, you don't know how many times I have people that say, oh, they typed in something wrong? Oh, you're not covered, right? And can you imagine?
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:20:36] Authorization comes in and it's the wrong.
Charles Ernst: [00:20:38] Yeah, it's the wrong one. And then people say, man, I paid for this insurance. I'm supposed to have this coverage. And the natural reaction is to have that huge disappointment and frustration, and then it comes back and goes uphill. But I think there is kind of a lack of understanding in the industry as a whole. And when I talk about that, I'm not just talking about it. I mean everything from the people who use the insurance, the people who take the insurance. Right? You know, all of that aspect of you can't control all of that, you know, to make sure that everybody's on top of their game. And we've had some, some pretty, I think, challenging stories where I think very heartfelt ones. We had somebody who had coverage and they weren't in agriculture, but they had coverage out of state, and they were told that they didn't. And this person needed to go to this very special hospital. Right. That specialized at. You know, I don't want to say, but, I mean, everybody can kind of figure it out. And they told him that his coverage was not good there. And actually, when we dug into it, because one of our clients had called and said, hey, can you do me a favor? This person has, you know, this policy, right? So we called and we spent a whole entire week on the phone telling them that they were wrong. And they told us, you guys, what do you guys know? You guys are from California. You guys don't know anything. And it was a sad story for me because they had the coverage and he had already met his match and he didn't.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:22:05] He couldn't.
Charles Ernst: [00:22:05] Do it. They had dragged their feet so long and told them no. And unfortunately he didn't make it. Oh yes. And the sad part about this, and I'm not saying that if you would have been able to, but he should have had that ability to go. But the fact is, we actually had to get the carrier like the eligibility, like VP on the phone with us to explain to this person that this was incorrect and they were covered, and then all of a sudden they're like, oh, well, great, you know. You know, come now. But those are situations and I'm not I don't want to say anything specific against that service provider, but I think there was a complexity there. But this was somebody's father. Yeah. Grandfather. Right. Husband. And they deserve that opportunity to, you know, utilize their coverage and have that access. And because there wasn't a clear distinction and somebody on the other side didn't take the time. So that's probably one of the stories that I always kind of hold dear. And I always talk to the team and say, you know, even though maybe the outcome wasn't great, the fact that you guys were so diligent in picking up that phone and just going on behalf, and it was a friend of a customer, like they weren't even there. But that's what I think we really get into this business is that we want to help people. And I know, I know that I've heard you several times, always talking about the agriculture industry in that way.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:23:25] We missed that. We missed that Somebody is your dad. Could be a dad or brother or sister or mom or anybody, right? In this process. And the same thing, I mean, the simple thing. So this is yours was a sad thing. I was going through something and I was sitting in the doctor's office and I needed the something scheduled for the surgery. So I'm sitting there. It's an hour goes by. I'm like, like what happened? So I'm like, oh, I was I continued working and stuff and hour goes by, two hours go by. So I get up and tell the receptionist, I said, hey, you know what, you have to just schedule this surgery, right? What is the holdup? So she says she has this phone next to her and she's putting it this way. And she said, I'm just talking to your insurance company and they're not approving it. So you said you're talking to an insurance company and they're not approving this. Really? So who are you calling? So she's like, I'm just talking to a customer service. And I've been. So I said, you've been on hold for two hours. Right? So she said yes. So I'm like, really? So I move away, I talk, call Sonia. And I said, Sonia, is there anybody coming in? I was just going to give away the name of the hospital.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:24:29] I will not do that. But I said, do you see a call coming in from this hospital? We are on two hours hold. What's going on? It's like, are we understaffed today? What's happening? So she said, I don't see anybody from this call coming in. So really? So I walk over and say, here, our director of Member services on the call, can you tell me which number are you calling for the two hours. So guess what she was doing. She was not calling anybody. She just had the phone next to her. Oh, she's not calling anybody. Wow. And so the receptionist at my doctor's office in the hospital for two hours, she just made me wait. And so the bet. As if I wouldn't have. I'm a CEO of United AG. I'm like, oh, my mind is not covering this. So. And when think about all the patients who go through this. So you leave that hospital, you leave the doctor's office and you say, oh, health insurance companies, health plans. They're trying to create all these hurdles and not approve this process. So health insurance companies, the health plans will get the bad reputation. The doctor's office didn't even make a call.
Charles Ernst: [00:25:36] So true, so true. That happens a lot. I mean, there's a lot of there's a lot of aspect to that, right? I mean, I got to imagine I mean, I think it's really good that you like, see that and you have been able to just really have that experience. So, I mean, one of the things that I've always thought of when we kind of look at these situations and we're trying to talk through with, you know, whoever that is on the phone that's going through this problem, you kind of go, if you can live through it yourself, then you can understand and be more like, wow, this is kind of a crazy thing that happens out there. So happens all the time.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:26:11] And that's one of the things I say at United AG with all the employees, right? Go through your experiences, come back and say what worked, what did not work, what did not work is not working for our members too. So we need to change that. The same thing happens for Pre-authorization. Like you said, a wrong name or whatever. And then you think, oh my health planners or health insurance is not approving my knee surgery and I'm waiting for months. The paperwork was done incorrectly. Could have been approved, right? So, I mean, you hear those stories, I hear those stories. It's pretty crazy out there. So we all need advocates. So I'm glad you have one too.
Charles Ernst: [00:26:45] No, no, I appreciate that. And I will say that, uh, that every time that we have a, you know, a client that is utilizing United AG and we have an issue, you know, we love the fact that we can call in to customer service, and we always have somebody that's willing to work with us and work through the situation. And I think that, you know, you can't understand how important that is, even as us as the intermediator per se, to being assisting, you know, this particular person that's going through this big thing. Because at that moment, like you said, you're sitting in the waiting room, right? The last thing on your mind is. How do I figure this out? Right. I don't I don't want to spend all this time. Why doesn't it just work? And you didn't have any idea that the gatekeeper was just somebody. And who knows, maybe the surgery was delayed and they just didn't want to tell you. Hey. It's delayed.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:27:39] Yeah, I don't know, whatever it was like. And it's easier to blame the health insurance company, right? Right. Put the blame on that. Well, no.
Charles Ernst: [00:27:43] And you get that a lot, right? Like, people are like, oh, man, there's something wrong with this or just because the pharmacist, like, said, oh, you have no coverage. And you're like, well, no, you have coverage. They're like, oh no, he said that. So it must be true. It must be the big.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:27:57] Bad insurance company is saying no.
Charles Ernst: [00:28:00] That's so true. Right. You probably must get a lot of that too.
Speaker3: [00:28:03] Yeah, we get that.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:28:03] And so I think the work we do through United Ag is bringing that human side back and treating each other as how would we want to be treated when we were in this situation. Right. Yes. And I know you do the same thing. Anything else you want to add to this conversation?
Charles Ernst: [00:28:18] Well, I think, you know, ultimately I always just want to say that, you know, I think this is an area that's, you know, a big, big conversational piece in our country right now, right? Not only just in our state, in our communities, but in our country. And I think overall, right, we have to keep, you know, getting this towards better clarity, better information, making sure that the user experience is good, even though that we know that, you know, sometimes that's necessarily outside of our control, outside of, you know, the carrier's control. It's outside of the agency's control. But we have to keep pushing. And I think it's always important that it has to be a priority because that's why we're here, right? We're providing this level of service and we're hoping that more people get on board with this. So I'm always appreciative to come on this show and have a conversation like this, because I think it's important for people to really understand how important what we do is so important because there are so many people that are depending on us. For the ones that are, you know, enrolled in healthcare. And that's what it's there for. It's there when you know somebody gets sick or has an issue or needs some help. And, you know, that's why it exists.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:29:34] So you need somebody like a Charles standing next to them. Because it is so important though. I mean, we're laughing a little bit about it, but it's so important when you have, especially when a chronic condition or something gets diagnosed. When you have the right people, at least you have to go through that process. You have to go through your chemo's, you have to do all that. But to think about somebody standing next to you, holding your hand as you walk through the process, that's what unity is all about. And when unity looks for partners in our service reps or brokers, they look for partners like you. Because I know deep down that's important to you, right? I mean, everything else with the business, the money and all that happens. But what are we really trying to solve? We're trying to solve the human aspect of it first. That's the first. I mean, the family, human aspect, all that comes first, everything else follows. And the reason I'm sitting here right now, the reason I'm talking to you and the reason we are so aligned that makes it so exciting and what we do.
Charles Ernst: [00:30:37] So I couldn't agree more. Well thank you and I appreciate that partnership that we have and I look forward to the future. I always notice that one of the things that I probably can say that that I do admire is you guys are always are trying to look forward, you know, how can you make a better difference? How can we make this better each year? And I know that, you know, you're a huge part of that. And I know you have a team, but I think that's always much appreciated.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:31:02] What can we bring AI to? Because some of these actually I was having this conversation yesterday. From a mental health standpoint, it's really, really hard to diagnose that right now. Early phases. Right? Right. Any let's say, Alzheimer's or even simple mental health issues. So if we can gather all the data of what you do on day to day on your social post, your Google searches, your Amazon purchases that you do and you do, put all that together with your healthcare data and analyze and understand what your mental state of mind is, and treat for that. How awesome would that be? So bringing AI to healthcare?
Charles Ernst: [00:31:40] I know, and it's here already. So I mean, I think I think the fact is, is that you have to explore options, anything to be able to better serve the end user, the people who actually use the insurance. Right. Is always important. And you know, the companies that we serve. So thank you for having me on today.
Kirti Mutatkar: [00:31:57] Thank you, thank you. Thanks for being you.
Charles Ernest: [00:31:59] All right. Okay. Appreciate it.