‘GOOD PEOPLE’
Gov. Wolf tours, applauds company poised to create 250 jobs
“There’s things we need to learn, and here’s a company that does that every day for its clients. And it turns out that in doing a better job they’re actually saving money because people aren’t going to the emergency room or being readmitted to the hospital as much. So I come from away from this, thinking we can learn something from them.”
Gov. Tom Wolf
PLYMOUTH » A trailblazing company that’s been recognized as a top place to work received a visit from Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday to celebrate a partnership with the state in its imminent future.
Accolade Inc., which is planning to create 250 jobs over the next three years, specializes in simplifying and humanizing the frequently frustrating world of health care for its clients’ employees.
“What a weird idea,” Wolfe joked as he was greeted at the door by Chief Operating Officer Jack Stoddard and Chief Financial Officer Steve Barnes.
The privately held company, officially touted as “a consumer health care engagement services company,” plans to expand its Plymouth Meeting headquarters at 660 W. Germantown Pike to the tune of a self-invested $2 million, matched by a funding proposal from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for a $500,000 Pennsylvania First program grant and $500,000 in job creation tax credits.
Wolf, who was briefly joined during the visit by state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17th Dist., was led on a tour of the Accolade offices, stopping to chat with employees who, according to Stoddard, “do the real work,” and learning more about the company every step of the way, while sharing his views on education, job creation and economic development during a brief roundtable session.
A former nurse who now helps families maneuver through the health care quagmire told the governor that she found Accolade’s business model a rewarding experience on many levels.
“And the culture here is phenomenal,” she said of the company, which has been recognized as one of the nation’s 25 most promising companies by Forbes magazine.
“We want to do what we can to attract and retain those companies that are providing good jobs in Pennsylvania, and this is one,” Wolf noted following the visit. “They started out with 17 employees and are now close to 800, with 500 or 600 in Pennsylvania, so I want to
learn from them what more we can do to be more attractive to people. What I try to say to them is, ‘We want you to come to Pennsylvania because it’s a great place, we have good schools, good weather, a good environment.’
“This is a company that hires good people, and they get their clients to spend more and have better health outcomes, and I think that’s something that all of us trying to bend the health care cost curve can work from. There’s things we need to learn, and here’s a company that does that every day for its clients. And it turns out that in doing a better job they’re actually saving money because people aren’t going to the emergency room or being readmitted to the hospital as much. So I come from away from this, thinking we can learn something from them.”
Stoddard privately reflected on the success of Accolade, which also maintains offices in Seattle and the Czech Republic and credits “breakthrough” technology for fueling its unique grasp on health benefits and solutions.
“I think everyone would agree that health care is probably one of the most complex consumer markets that exists,” Stoddard said. “When we looked at other complex markets like financial services, real estate or the legal sector, I think everyone will agree that health care is more important to families and more complex than any of those things. We sort of saw that white space and put a health professional in there. We call them heath assistants, and having a health professional navigate the system with you helps attain the right care in the right place the first time, while improving quality and lowering cost.”
Ten years after Accolade was founded, and in the midst of its fifth expansion, the rest of the world is gradually beginning to follow the company’s model, Stoddard noted.
“When we started the company right here there, was always the hope that the big health insurance companies would migrate to this, so it’s really validation that we’re on to something,” he said. “While they can’t provide the same service and don’t have the same investment in technology, it’s exciting when the Aetnas of the world are trying to recreate our model.
“The competitive advantage we have, ” Stoddard added, “is that this is the only thing we focus on, and we’ve invested heavily in the technology, the people, the process and the culture … and we’re seven or eight years ahead of where they are.”