Brian Bellware

Brian Bellware

As a Principal Gibson and a Health Rosetta Advisor, Brian helps leaders deliver world-class healthcare at a fraction of the cost.

Most leaders view health benefits with limited scope. In fact, Brian was one of those leaders, purchasing and managing employee benefits for 400+ employees in a fast-paced, growing organization. After moving into employee benefits, he’s identified the core issues through experience and education and has gained insight on how to get beyond the limited scope of insurance.

Brian is independently certified by the Validation Institute as a Certified Health Value Professional and is one of eight Health Rosetta Advisors in Michigan, the first and only in Southwest Michigan.

Recent posts by Brian Bellware

4 min read

Focus Your Imagination

By Brian Bellware on Jun 1, 2023 6:30:00 AM

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” - Mark Twain

About six years ago, I connected with Gibson’s CEO, Tim Leman, after hearing him speak on a leadership podcast. Being somewhat new to the insurance industry at the time and limited in perspective, I was curious about a number of things that he shared so figured an outreach couldn’t hurt. He said ‘yes,’ which would eventually lead to a series of conversations and several months later, I joined Gibson.

Little did I know at the time that Tim had published a book, written years before, that would lay out a vision for Gibson to have a Michigan office. In our conversations, Tim laid out a vision of what my career could look like and the incredible opportunity we could pursue together. I recognized a gap in what the local market needed relative to proactive risk management, and through some due diligence with the operational leaders, I felt Gibson’s approach would resonate.

Topics: Executive
2 min read

The Employer-Optimized Healthcare Model

By Brian Bellware on Apr 28, 2021 6:45:00 AM

Warren Buffett said, “there are two sides to every coin…price and value. Price is what you pay, and value is what you get.”

In today’s healthcare system, there is a broad range in both price and value, and unfortunately, traditional health plans do not effectively support members consistently using high-quality, affordable providers and facilities.

On the value side of the coin, there are several reputable quality measures that consistently demonstrate wide variability in safety scores, infection rates, and overall health outcomes – even between two hospitals within the same system! And the statistics on unnecessary care, overuse of testing, and misdiagnosis are staggering.

Topics: Employee Benefits Health Care Reform
3 min read

Bacon & Eggs Leadership: Sacrifice

By Brian Bellware on Jul 13, 2018 6:30:00 AM

Last week, we heard the story of a chicken and a pig, and learned about the first of two leadership qualities that mark bacon-level commitment.

Today we’re going to learn about the second quality of bacon-level commitment: Sacrifice.

Topics: Executive
4 min read

Bacon & Eggs Leadership: Vision

By Brian Bellware on Jul 6, 2018 6:30:00 AM

The story is told of a pig and a chicken journeying together. The chicken grew hungry and recommended they stop to make some bacon and eggs. The pig replied that while it sounded like a great idea, there was a fundamental flaw in his plan. He went on to explain to his feathered friend that to make bacon and eggs, a chicken simply needs to be involved, but for a pig, it requires total commitment!

Is your leadership more aligned with a chicken or with a pig? That is, are you merely involved or are you totally committed?

Topics: Executive
2 min read

M&A Employee Benefits Strategies

By Brian Bellware on Apr 25, 2018 6:30:00 AM

In this thriving economy, savvy leaders are preparing themselves to capitalize on Merger and Acquisition (M&A) opportunities to supplement organic growth. According to a recent study from Deloitte, “Corporations and private equity firms foresee an acceleration of M&A activity in 2018—both in the number of deals and the size of those transactions.”

Topics: Employee Benefits Employee Benefits Practice M&A