Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Wendell Strickland, Strongside Solutions
Wendell Strickland, President and CEO of Strongside Solutions, was Roger Lusby’s guest on this episode of Business Beat. Wendell talked about what sets Strongside apart as a healthcare insurance brokerage, their products, and recent changes in benefits. He also discussed Strongside’s culture, his leadership style, the long-term vision for the company, success stories, and much more.
Business Beat is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter and is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®
Strongside Solutions
Strongside Solutions – Insurance Brokerage PLUS is a privately held Georgia-based healthcare, insurance broker consulting and management company with over 20 years of proven results and expertise. 
They specialize in the review, design, and implementation of holistic self-funded benefits programs that yield better performance, richer employee benefits with greater efficiencies.
They deploy Strongside Solutions developed services and processes that reverse healthcare cost increases, minimizes administrative burden, and improves the overall healthcare experience for employees and the employer.
Wendell Strickland, President and CEO, Strongside Solutions
Wendell Strickland, President and CEO of Strongside Solutions, offers an accomplished history of executive leadership, talent acquisition and client centric business development. In Wendell’s current role at Strongside Solutions, he identifies growth opportunities, client centric strategic strategies and guides the implementation of operational services that provide greater value to the clients they serve.
The company was founded in response to growing inefficiencies, carrier option homogenization and diminishing customer service in the administration of healthcare. Strongside does not reinvent healthcare, they have found better ways of providing access to desired care while reducing time and expense.
Wendell’s programs, delivered by Strongside Solutions, challenge the status quo and are driven by the prospect of guiding greater financial control, providing options beyond the expected, and proven successes.
Our three distinct business divisions create cumulative advantages for our clients in the following areas:
- Financial Health:
- Initiatives that return expenses that positively impact OPEX, CAPEX, and EBITDA
- Our programs deliver up to 40% reduction in Healthcare and Prescription costs while expanding employee benefit options
- $0 Copays on name brand medications
- Plan Coverage:
- Global network access to best-in-class care
- Claimant Liability Insulation:
- Tailored programs isolate high-risk medical and pharmacy claims
Wendell also serves as one of Strongside’s Lead Benefit Consultants. Wendell has been a benefits consultant since 2004. Working for national and regional brokerage firms provided a platform for in-depth education and client experience. Ultimately, Wendell learned to identify and develop strategic offerings and processes that delivered better benefits at a lower cost to employees and employers.
Wendell specializes in self-funded middle and large market employer plans. His proficiency spans fully insured and self-funded medical plans. He is an expert in evaluating and managing pharmacy benefit management companies and programs as well as contract evaluation and negotiation. Wendell works closely with Strongside Solutions’ operational and management staff and our clients to develop strategies that reduce costs, deliver healthier employees, drive compliance, and reduce the overall administrative burden for benefits administration.
A Core Value that Wendell has instilled into Strongside Solutions’ culture is to listen first and offer solutions only when the business objectives and needs of our clients are understood. Wendell provides strategic direction and development of a 3-5-year client action plan that will be measured against plan analysis, forecasting and financial planning, contract negotiations and carrier/vendor management.
Wendell has over 20 years’ experience in:
- Corporate strategy and service development.
- Talent acquisition and development.
- Benefits consulting for Middle and Large Market Employers.
- Consulting experience on public sector, private sector and school system clients.
- Self-Funded and Fully Insured plan design and implementation experience.
- Analyzing and developing Stop Loss contract designs that meet client needs.
- PBM Analysis experience in delivering savings on RX programs.
- Medical Claim Analysis.
- Wellness Clinics.
- Population Health Management.
Frazier & Deeter
The Alpharetta office of Frazier & Deeter is home to a thriving CPA tax practice, a growing advisory practice and an Employee Benefit Plan Services group. CPAs and advisors in the Frazier & Deeter Alpharetta office serve clients across North Georgia and around the country with services such as personal tax planning, estate planning, business tax planning, business tax compliance, state and local tax planning, financial statement reviews, financial statement audits, employee benefit plan audits, internal audit outsourcing, cyber security, data privacy, SOX and other regulatory compliance, mergers, and acquisitions and more. Alpharetta CPAs serve clients ranging from business owners and executives to large corporations.
Roger Lusby, host of Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat, is an Alpharetta CPA and Alpharetta Office Managing Partner for Frazier & Deeter. He is also a member of the Tax Department in charge of coordinating tax and accounting services for our clientele. His responsibilities include a review of a variety of tax returns with an emphasis in the individual, estate, and corporate areas. Client assistance is also provided in the areas of financial planning, executive compensation and stock option planning, estate and succession planning, international planning (FBAR, SFOP), health care, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and service companies.
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