History
A Quick History
In 2005, Navy Submarine Service Veteran Alan Elam was working in financial planning and insurance sales. As he began working with more and more senior citizens, he was a bit surprised by how frequently his clients didn't know any details about Medicare. Admittedly, the world of Medicare and Medicare Supplement options is quite diverse, but at the time there were 10 federally mandated Medicare Supplement plan options. There are now 16 plans. While the federal government standardized these plans from company to company, there was no resource for senior citizens to help breakdown what each plan meant.
Alan noticed how this could put a senior citizen in a major financial crisis. With fixed income for a retiree, and medical bills that mount up too quickly, this seemed like the perfect storm if the proper insurance program wasn't picked. Alan sought out to fix this problem by holding informational sessions to help senior citizens learn more about what their options were. Initially he started with sessions at his church. With a robust elderly community, these were also the folks who had helped raise him along the way as a child and young man. He found it as his way to give back, and make sure a retiree didn't lose everything they'd spent their life building just because of a single decision. He leaned on his background as a professor at a local community college teaching entrepreneurship courses to help develop a program that was easy to understand.
With the business and insurance background, Alan wanted to make sure people knew that these informational sessions were completely separate from any type of sales pitch. In order to do things the right way, National Medical Foundation was born. With the reach of these sessions growing, another group popped up that needed help: Veterans.
Being a veteran himself, Alan couldn't say no to taking care of some of his own. The challenge was that the needs of veterans encompassed more financial planning and overcoming challenges to access federal, state and local programs. A regular old "Ron Swanson," he understood bureaucracy too well, but also loathed how cumbersome it could be to get help to the right people. His special skill was how to help others navigate it properly so they could access the programs they needed.
There was one last logical step for Alan's skillset... helping other Non-Profits. Navigating the IRS filings can be daunting. Alan was able to step in and help a few other Non-Profits navigate the paperwork and IRS submission to get their respective Non-Profits up and running. He continues this assistance to this day. He finds that helping get other Non-Profits started is such a rewarding task because it extends beyond what he could do in a single day. He sums it up with this quick thought:
"I help others get in a position to help even more people. When I hold an informational session, I'm helping the people in the room. When I help a Non-Profit get started, I end up helping people I would never have the time to meet."