With more than 30 years in the insurance business, Patrick Casale is extremely passionate about two things: maximizing the dollars you spend on insurance while ensuring that you have a strong understanding of the coverage you choose.
Casale is the president of The MultiCare Group, a full-service insurance agency based in Las Vegas that serves customers nationwide, even international companies opening offices in the U.S. MultiCare specializes in employee benefits, but also offers automobile, disability, life and other insurance products. His team is licensed with all carriers and strives to find the right plan for your situation, whether you’re an individual or a business with 5,000 employees.
Casale recently sat down with host
for Patranya Media’s “Entrepreneur Showcase Series” podcast. There he shared his passion for the work he does and more about how to navigate the confusing environment of insurance selection.
Casale wasted no time addressing an elephant-in-the-room subject: skyrocketing insurance costs, more specifically their escalation since the passing of the Affordable Care Act.
“When you look at premiums right now for someone between the ages of 60 and 64, the cheapest plan is over $700 a month, there’s something wrong,” he said. “The same plan pre-Obamacare, a plan that was richer, was $224, How could that be? How can premiums be 400% higher for less coverage? … That’s my passion. I go to DC and lobby for that reason. I work with different associations for that reason. It’s important for the consumer to not be paying a mortgage payment for insurance.”
Until there’s policy change, Casale says it’s up to him to be both a sound insurance dollar manager for his customers and an educator.
“The biggest problem we have is that people don’t understand insurance, period. All they understand is ‘what am I going to pay when I go to a doctor?’ … You have to know what your maximum exposure is,” he emphasized.
Casale can tap resources like association plans, for example, and other resources to help businesses find reasonable premiums. But people need to also understand their maximum out-of-pocket expenses, how deductibles work and how much they may truly pay if they need the insurance for more than check-ups and prescriptions. A lower-cost plan may be an answer for one person, but it could expose someone else to significant hardship. With automobile plans, for example, the state coverage minimum of $10,000 is very low. Casale won’t sell a plan below $25,000 of coverage.
“You can get sued for the balance. Sometimes being frugal can really cost you,” he added.
With health insurance, he also emphasizes the importance of choosing plans with a national reach, in case of serious illnesses that may require out-of-state treatment.
“When you buy the insurance you have to think ‘what’s the best opportunity for me?’ If I go see my general practitioner for a physical, that’s fine and good. But if I’m very sick, I want access to the best care,” he noted.
Casale does not see his job as being done once he sells a plan. He helps his clients use their plan to maximum benefit as they go through treatments as well.
“It’s about having empathy, having a heart, and being passionate for those people with a medical need,” he said. “Selling you an insurance plan is the easy part, but to me, it’s about being there when you need to use it.”
Going forward, Casale plans to make his voice heard about ways to make health insurance more affordable. He advocates for making all insurance premiums and medical expenses tax deductible, as one example.
“My passion for this industry is to make healthcare affordable again.”
