Lindsay Clarke Youngwerth loves where she lives. The Boise, Idaho-based 
                  consultant says that her hometown has remained consistent over the years. 
                  “We have just a few rules: We’re nice for no reason. People pull over to help others change a flat. We pick up trash. We take care of our wild places. The culture and tradition really haven’t changed.”

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Clarke Youngwerth, a fan of outdoor activities who has been very active in the Salmon SuperHwy that restores habitats along rivers in the northwest, has a strong attachment to preserving the wild spaces around her. But she has also become a champion for helping the people of the area by making health care more affordable. In particular, her work in promoting the direct primary care (DPC) model has had a major impact on businesses and their employees.

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“She is an influencer in this space and is responsible for bringing new and innovative delivery systems to Idaho,” says Nate Isaak, a benefits advisor with HUB International Mountain States Limited.

“Lindsay helped establish Nice Healthcare in the state. But instead of harnessing that DPC vendor as a competitive edge for her book of business, she invited like-minded brokers to meet together to improve access in our communities.”

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Nothing is intuitive

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But for all the success she has had, Clarke Youngwerth’s early years came with their share of frustration and uncertainty. “It’s a misconception in our culture that business is intuitive,” she says. “There’s nothing intuitive about it. Especially health insurance.”

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Clarke Youngwerth started out as a life insurance agent, recruited by a stranger who suggested she get referrals from friends and families. “It was a common practice,” she says. “Go and sell to everyone you know.”

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She continued to knock on doors, but began to have 
a growing interest in the health insurance industry. On 
the advice of a male broker, she looked for a mentor, 
another woman who worked in the health insurance 
world. She called one suggested broker three times, 
and when they finally spoke, she explained her 
interest in learning about the industry, saying, “’I was 
told you could possibly mentor me.’ The broker 
replied, ‘No. And don’t call me again.’”

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Despite the roadblocks, Clarke Youngwerth remained 
stubborn, and also had strong financial incentives for 
figuring out the industry. She remembers struggling to 
make ends meet. “I was sitting with a kid in the car. I 
only had $40 and I had to buy groceries and put gas 
in the car. But I couldn’t afford both.”

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Eventually, she found work with a regional agency, which led to a position with Shandro Group, where she is now a managing partner. “It’s been remarkable for me; Lori Shandro, the group’s founder, has been very supportive. I’ve been able to build my confidence here and create this path for how I want to show up in the industry.”

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Clarke Youngwerth also credits her firm’s independence with giving her the freedom to be creative and learn about leadership. “Working at Shandro has created a safe place for me to regroup, make mistakes, explore possibilities, and develop relationships with others in the business.”

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Breaking new ground: direct provider contracting

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According to Eric Fredriksen, principal agent with Fredriksen Health Insurance, Clarke Youngwerth has been essential in introducing the concept of DPC to local businesses. He says it has been very helpful for working families short on time and money. “A standard route of care can take two to four weeks before you even talk to someone,” he says. “She introduced a product that can get employees to the doctor the same day. And it’s very affordable. It’s a huge win.”

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Clarke Youngwerth points to sparkMD, a local concierge direct care clinic, as being the inspiration for her idea. Her own experience with a health care issue where the response was slow and unhelpful motivated her to try sparkMD, where she quickly found a good outcome. From there, she began to spread the word within the industry. “I was convinced that DPC was the only way to go; it was about creating a better and more equitable experience,” she says.

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In 2020, Nice Healthcare, which has branches in 12 states, launched in Boise as a partnership with local providers, bringing the concept to a larger scale. Clarke Youngwerth describes it as a hybrid, where some primary care is handled virtually, but visits, drugs and labs are also covered. The monthly fee for a family is just $44 a month.

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“I met with Nice for the first time in February 2020,” Clarke Youngwerth says. “One of my clients knew Nice’s founder and CEO, Thompson Aderinkomi, and made an introduction to me. It was an unfortunate time to launch in a new area, but I was committed to DPC because of my experience and because I saw the incredible value for the employer space.”

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After a year, Clarke Youngwerth introduced the concept to two local associations, FARE Idaho, which represents independent food and beverage producers, and the Idaho Manufacturers Alliance. "Both were looking for an association health plan solution, which is nearly impossible in our state because regulations limit this possibility,” she says. “Both associations saw immediate value in the DPC benefit. We launched with both Fare and IMA within a few months of each other, with great success. It made perfect sense for the members of both associations.”

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The point, Clarke Youngwerth says, is to create a system that doesn’t disincentivize people from accessing care. “I’ve had employers who say, ‘I want benefits people can actually use,’” she says. And with DPC, she notes, employees miss less work time for clinical care, and their plans are more affordable.
 

Her peers, like Isaak, credit Clarke Youngwerth with sharing the idea and not trying to corner the market on the concept, part of an approach that values collaboration over competition. “Consultants are terrified to share,” Clarke Youngwerth says. “If we are all truly committed to changing the system, we have to let go of our ivory towers and understand there’s plenty of business to go around.”

Speaking the language

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“It’s not really a secret that there’s not a lot of diversity in Idaho,” Clarke Youngwerth notes. But like the rest of the U.S., the state is becoming more diverse over time. Clarke Youngwerth found that a growing number of companies in her area employed workers who spoke Spanish as a first language and were not being well-served when it came to health benefits.

“It’s devastating to me how many people in that community won’t engage. The health care system here is completely different—they don’t understand it. You’re more apt to trust a person who looks like and talks like you. If someone who looks like them and speaks their language stands up and explains these concepts, it helps establish trust.”

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She was troubled that companies were seeing high rates of employees declining coverage simply because of communication issues. With more inclusion, she says, “You’d have more engagement in benefits that employers offer; but it must be an invitation. People need to understand how it works.”

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She says it reminded her of the broker who refused to consider mentoring her. “You can’t leave people out there and say, ‘You figure it out.’ We have to be open to teaching.”

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Clarke Youngwerth feels similarly about working with younger workers. “They need coaching and help. They don’t want to do it on their own.”

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Fredriksen says that Clarke Youngwerth’s desire to help others is a defining trait. “She’s selfless. She’s not afraid to acknowledge that our industry is always changing and she understands that our health care system is broken. She will always find a way to put her clients’ interests above her own.”

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An outdoor state

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Clarke Youngwerth loves to talk about the great opportunities for enjoying nature that exist in Idaho. “We have the most wilderness areas of any state other than Alaska,” she notes.

Clarke Youngwerth and her husband, Al, 
are empty nesters, with four adult 
children. Both are outdoor activity 
enthusiasts — he has developed an 
innovative clutch for dirt bikes, and is 
also a pilot.

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“Al takes me up in his plane from time 
to time so we can visit some of my 
favorite parts of Idaho for lunch or 
breakfast,” she says. “We love live music 
and hanging out at home with our dogs.”

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Clarke Youngwerth also remains active 
with groups trying to restore salmon 
habitats and other green spaces in 
Idaho. “I participate with local nonprofits 
like Idaho Rivers United and have also 
engaged in conversations with local and 
federal lawmakers, educating others on 
the impact of the salmon loss and the 
easy fix. I wish I had more time so that 
I could do more to help.”

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