Small Business Spotlight

Keith Giles and his team at Verus Health Partners (VHP) are researchers, educators, and advocates in the Health Insurance space. Keith takes pride in their research and experience, informing their clients about how to be smart healthcare shoppers and consumers and giving them back control of their costs and access to quality care.  Their mission is to change the healthcare landscape by converting one business, one sole-proprietor, one individual, and one family at a time into a smart, informed healthcare consumer.

Keith left his engineering career in the satellite industry shortly after the economic crisis of 2007 - 2009. While working as a sub-contractor, his interests in the health insurance industry began when his parent’s health conditions required special attention. After spending thousands of dollars annually on their medical bills, he discovered each parent was on the wrong healthcare plan for their specific needs.

In 2010, he officially began his career as an individual/family and Medicare health insurance broker (pre-Obamacare). While other agents were exiting the industry, he looked at the industry as a challenge and an believed he had an edge. In 2011, he partnered with a financial planner to address the rising costs of healthcare for small businesses. He began surrounding himself with industry leaders and entrepreneurs who were solution driven, and, in 2016, he officially opened Verus Health Partners.

Keith became the first Certified Healthcare Reform Specialist in Brevard County (his prior home before relocating to northwest Florida) and holds a certification in Advanced Self-Funded for groups. He has been on numerous radio and local cable stations as a guest speaker on topics like, cost transparency, how to find mistakes in your medical bill, D.C. changes in your healthcare and technology.  He has also served as an advisor on boards in the indigent communities and public forums.

VHP focuses on helping small businesses, from sole proprietors to 100 employer groups. Their signature product is the 325 Plan, designed specifically for startup companies. When it comes to affordable healthcare benefits and coverage, Keith sees small businesses left behind. While it is a lot easier for large groups to overcome and navigate the regulations, costs, and risks, small businesses face unique challenges. Budgets are tight and hiring someone to take care of the risks associated with health benefits is not cost effective, leaving it to the owner or partner who wears many hats.

To meet this need, VHP’s mission is to teach their clients how to be smart healthcare consumers, beginning with understanding exactly what services they are paying for. The VHP team brings research-based information and guidance to educate their clients, helping them become their own advocates, transforming them into smart healthcare consumers.

“Our clients are smart,” Keith explains. “They learn how to shop, save money, and still find access to quality care.”

A United States Air Force veteran of 23 years, one of Keith’s greatest pleasures is helping veterans transition into the private healthcare sector. He speaks regularly with veterans’ organizations around Florida and educates brokers and agents on the integration of VA benefits and Medicare. Keith is an ambassador for the Florida Association of Veteran Owned Businesses (FAVOB) and has served on the board for the Space Coast FAVOB as Membership Chair. He has also served as a board member at the state and local levels for the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU). Keith supports Healing Paws for Warriors, who provide combat veterans with ADA-certified service dogs, and Special Olympics.

Advice Corner:

1.  If you don’t know what you are paying for, then you are probably paying too much. Don’t be scared to ask, what EXACTLY you are paying for. 

2.  Never pay your first medical bill. Always ask for a list bill. Ask for the cash price at the pharmacy. 

3.  Don’t be a Hammerhead! Stop doing the same thing over and over again. Educate yourself and become your own advocate.