Independent, and it is checkable
We hold appointments with every carrier on our panel and we are captive to none of them. Ask us who pays us more for a group placement and the honest answer is nobody, because the schedule is the same.
Columbus, Ohio
A benefits department you do not have to hire
Six advisors, three desks and one rule: we get paid by carriers, never by you, and we are captive to none of them.
- Founded
- 2009
- Advisors
- 6
- States licensed
- 11
- Cost to clients
- $0
The story
We started on the employer side and stayed there
Meridian opened in 2009 with two desks and a client list of Franklin County manufacturers. Dana had come out of hospital revenue-cycle work, which shapes how the firm still thinks: the interesting question about any plan is not what the brochure says it covers, it is how a claim actually gets paid and who is left holding the balance.
The Medicare desk came four years later, because retiring clients kept asking and referring them out felt like handing someone off at exactly the moment the advice mattered most. The individual and Marketplace desk followed for the same reason: the spouse who leaves to go self-employed, the employee's adult child, the owner between businesses.
What has not changed is the compensation model. Employers pay us nothing. Individuals pay us nothing. Carriers pay us, on a schedule that does not vary between the carriers on our panel, which is the only structure under which a comparison means anything. It is also why we can tell a client to stay exactly where they are, which we do several times a season.
How we work
Four things we will not trade away
No cost to the client
Employers pay us nothing. Individuals pay us nothing. Compensation comes from the carrier you select, at a rate that does not change based on which one you pick.
Education before enrollment
We would rather spend an hour explaining why a plan is wrong for you than ten minutes enrolling you in it. Nobody at this firm works on a pressure script.
Numbers, not adjectives
Every recommendation comes with the arithmetic behind it: the deductible, the tier placement, the participation effect, the payroll deduction. You keep the comparison.
Ledger
Sixteen years, five decisions
- 2009
Two desks on Nationwide Boulevard
Dana and one associate, working small group renewals for Franklin County manufacturers.
- 2013
Medicare desk opens
Retiring clients kept asking, so we built a proper Medicare practice instead of referring it out.
- 2017
Licensed beyond Ohio
Remote hiring pushed our employer clients across state lines, so we followed them.
- 2021
Bilingual enrollment
Spanish-language sessions became standard rather than something we arranged on request.
- 2024
Compliance desk
A dedicated advisor for FTE counts, affordability testing and ACA reporting support.
We were at 54 percent participation and one carrier away from being unquotable. Meridian modelled three contribution splits, we moved to 70 percent of employee-only, and the following renewal came in flat.
The desks
Who you will actually talk to
Dana Whitfield
Managing partner
Group benefits
Marcus Oyelaran
Senior benefits advisor
Group benefits and compliance
Renata Silva
Benefits advisor
Individual and Marketplace
Harold Brennan
Medicare advisor
Medicare
Camille Okafor
Retirement income advisor
Social Security and annuities
Tomás Vega
Enrollment manager
Service and enrollment
Service standards
What we commit to, in writing
| Promise | Target |
|---|---|
| Census comparison returned | 2 to 4 business days |
| Renewal work begins | 150 days before the anniversary |
| Phone answered by a person | During posted hours, no phone tree |
| Annual Medicare drug list re-run | Every October, for every client |
| Enrollment meeting languages | English and Spanish |
| Cost to the client | $0, always |
Credentials, explained
What the letters after a name actually mean
Five designations at this desk. Here is what each one covers.
Certified Benefits & Group Advisor
Group plan design, funding models and renewal negotiation for employers between two and five hundred lives.
Arcwell Institute of Benefits Practice
Registered Medicare Benefit Advisor
Medicare parts, enrollment windows, late penalties and the Advantage versus Supplement decision.
Arcwell Institute of Benefits Practice
Accredited Coverage & Enrollment Specialist
Marketplace subsidy mechanics, household income reporting and mid-year qualifying events.
Lanterncrest Standards Board
Accredited Retirement Income Specialist
Claiming-age break-even work, spousal and survivor strategy, and income sequencing.
Lanterncrest Standards Board
Certified Benefits Compliance Professional
Full-time equivalent counting, affordability safe harbours, minimum value and annual reporting.
Arcwell Institute of Benefits Practice
Bring us the file. We will bring the market.
Send a census or ask one question. Either way it costs you nothing and nobody will chase you.
Independent and multi-carrier. $0 cost to work with us. No pressure scripts.