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UP CLOSE / BEAT / HIS STYLE / HER STYLE / NOTICED

BY BECKY ANTIOCCO / PHOTOS BY CLAUDIA JOHNSTONE

DISRUPTING THE SYSTEM

Indipop founder Melissa Blatt aims to improve healthcare nationwide

Melissa Blatt is the founder of indipop, a company that provides subscription-based, affordable health insurance to the ever-growing “independent population” of workers. With her model of curated, high-value healthcare solutions, Blatt is disrupting a $1 trillion industry. Rather than making a conscious decision to change the way people think about and receive healthcare, Blatt says this venture chose her. After working for more than two decades in the corporate world, three years ago, she decided to venture out on her own and become one of the approximately 57 million independent

contractors working in the United States. The company that she was leaving offered her a COBRA plan to continue her health insurance, which, as a newly self-employed person, was way out of her budget. “So I went into the marketplace at healthcare.gov, thinking, ‘yay, finally I get to use this.’ And that’s when I had sticker shock. It was like a slap in the face,” Blatt says. “I could only afford the Bronze Plan, which was over $400 per month. But really it was the $8,000 deductibles and the limited networks that infuriated me.” With a background in business development, Blatt’s goal had been to find companies who wanted to make an impact in the world and help them create strategic partnerships to extend their audience and provide more value to employees and customers. Instead, she ended up becoming an innovator in her own right. “It was such a huge pain point. I was so frustrated and I just couldn’t let it go,” she says. “You shouldn’t have to worry that you’re going to go bankrupt for receiving care.” Indipop’s plans work on a set price model, with a large network of providers, and a care team to help users navigate the system. It’s a system based on personal, affordable service. “My large insurance company never knew me as a person. They knew me as an ID code or a claim number,” Blatt says.

Learning Resiliency

Blatt’s persistence in working to improve and disrupt the way Americans look at healthcare came from the lessons in resiliency and pursuing opportunity that she learned growing up. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Blatt and her family relocated four times before she turned 14, an experience that was difficult at the time, but laid the foundation for her future as an innovator who is quick to adapt and find ways to connect with people. In moving to Virginia Beach, Cincinnati, Minneapolis and finally to film school at New York University, Blatt learned resiliency and developed the mindset to pursue opportunity, even if it meant risking comfort and stability to head into the unknown. She watched her parents, who worked in sales, be willing to take risks, to challenge themselves, and sometimes go against the norm to go after what was important. “Moving in the middle of the year for a second grader, that’s hard,” says Blatt, noting it ultimately taught her how to adapt quickly to new situations. “It’s about making yourself uncomfortable. The more you do that, it’s like a muscle that you can flex. You’re not scared of these challenges, it’s growth. The most uncomfortable you can be is when you’re growing. That entrepreneurial mindset was in me from a very young age. The idea that this is going to be hard, but don’t back down of that.” A series of opportunities, including a move back to Minnesota to help her father launch a new business, paved the path for Blatt to create indipop. She relocated to Arizona 13 years ago, and worked in the corporate jobs that would ultimately lead to where she is today. Although working in healthcare wasn’t on her radar, Blatt says she believes that every experience along her journey led to where she is today. “The one thing I loved in film school was dramatic writing and storytelling. And I think that carried me through all the different roles that I’ve had,” she says. “I’ve worked in nonprofits, and sharing people’s stories is something I can relate to. I think translating people’s horror stories — and good stories — is something that has helped in all of my roles.”

Looking Ahead

The next step for indipop is to branch out into mental health services. And although the company operates in 50 states, Blatt has made Arizona her home base, with her parents and her brother joining her in the Valley of the Sun. Here, she has found a thriving entrepreneurial community. “The more that we feel connected, the power of people uniting can create change,” she says. “That’s what we have with indipop – a community of members that want to make a change in our healthcare system for the better.” When she’s not working at disrupting the healthcare system, Blatt enjoys walking along the canals with her Italian greyhound, visiting Arizona’s many beautiful resorts, doing yoga and taking meetings at The Henry. “I love Arizona. It’s a really great place to have roots. It has a great entrepreneurial community. I guess I’m a desert girl now,” she says. Blatt’s advice for anyone looking to make a change? Go for it! “I’m now in my 50s. So, for anyone out there who says, ‘I guess I didn’t get to do whatever I wanted to do,’ I launched this at 49. Different things come at different times for different people,” she says. “All of our experience keeps adding up. It’s a journey.”