Meet Kevin Kickhaefer, Gravie President and Chief Growth Officer

We’re excited to welcome Kevin Kickhaefer to Gravie as our President and Chief Growth Officer. Kevin’s name might sound familiar to those tracking who’s been making waves in healthcare: he’s been in the industry for over 30 years with over 16 years selling health benefits for two national payers through consulting and also direct to employers in the small, mid and large employer marketplace. Prior to joining our team, Kevin was CEO of Consumer Medical, where he was instrumental in the company’s sixfold market value growth and 2022 sale to Alight, a multi-billion dollar publicly traded HR services company. Before that, Kevin was head of sales and market development at Bloom Health, helping lead the company to a successful acquisition in 2011.

Now that Kevin has settled in a bit after joining us this past November, he was able to share a little about himself, his vision for Gravie. and what lies ahead:

Hi, Kevin! We’re excited to have you here! What led you to Gravie?

My career has been healthcare industry-focused on selling to employers and helping them provide the best solutions for their employees. From my previous roles, I realized the healthcare system is broken. At Gravie I am happy to be working again with Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Abir Sen. We have like-minded people working together to build a health plan people can love, which is ultimately what brought me here. I think it’s really exciting.

The Gravie health benefits model meets the needs of small and midsize businesses. This is a big part of what drew me here. These business owners already hold a lot of other responsibilities, and when it comes to traditional health benefits they just don’t have as many good options.

Gravie really steps up to the plate for them and lays out a comprehensive plan with Comfort™. It’s different than what a lot of people are used to, so there will be many eyes watching us to see how it unfolds as we continue growing.

You say the healthcare system is broken. From what you’ve seen during your years in the healthcare industry, what makes Gravie’s health benefits so appealing to small and midsize businesses?

I love the fact that we’re focused on these businesses. There are 32 million employers who fit that niche and don’t have the resources that the large employer market does. They’ve been the underserved population for too long. Gravie is looking to solve the unique health benefits problems these businesses face. For example, we are able to offer them additional plan perks that in the past were only available to large employers in the past. This includes Teladoc Health, which gives members access to virtual care, along with Sword, which helps members overcome musculoskeletal pain. When we take care of their employees’ health needs and do it well, the employer is happier, their employees are healthier and the broker is happier. That makes us happy, too.

What is the biggest growth opportunity for Gravie?

Both employees and employers love the plan designs we’ve built, especially Comfort. It provides 100% coverage on the most common healthcare services, whereas the industry has been pushing the high deductible plans that place a financial strain on employees who choose not to seek care due to the cost. We have changed this to encourage the right type of utilization. Comfort really is a one-of-a-kind plan – it makes healthcare easier to understand and encourages people to get care early before it turns into a major health condition. From primary care and specialist provider visits, to x-rays, therapy for mental health care, and virtual wellness checks along with most other common healthcare services – it’s covered at 100% with no deductible or copay.  I see more people wanting a plan they can love, and I can definitely see them choosing Gravie for this solution. 

How do you plan to lead Gravie through this continued growth?

There is a lot of growth ahead and in order to get there, we need to have strong leaders. While I want to be a strong leader, I also want to actively help create leaders of the people around me. I’ve always been a big proponent of servient leadership. Good leaders listen to those they support and try to remove barriers for them, and I try to do this by being highly transparent and empowering the people I support. I think empowerment is what people hunger for, but you also must hold people accountable for their work goals. And when they achieve those work goals, you must reward them appropriately. This builds a high level of trust and a high-performance culture, which is really important to me.

Want to learn more about how Gravie can be a perfect fit for your clients? Let’s talk!