Kimmel HR: Your Small Business Warriors

After spending 14 years in corporate human resources, Cindy Kimmel set out to help small businesses build their HR infrastructure in 2017 when she started Kimmel HR Solutions.

“When companies fundamentally change the way they think about healthcare, we not only grow as a business, we are helping our community get the care they need at an affordable price,” Cindy Kimmel said.

With Samir Masic by her side, Kimmel is helping sma

ll businesses enhance employee benefits, particularly healthcare, while reducing cost.

Read more of our interview with Cindy Kimmel below…

Tell us about your business and the role you play in it. 

Kimmel HR Solutions began providing HR guidance to small businesses in 2017. We are Human Resources and Benefits Advisors specializing in alternative healthcare solutions. Our goal is to enhance employee benefits while reducing costs. This approach addresses both the business’s and employees’ physical and financial health.

We support key HR elements of employee benefit programs to maximize the value and reduce the administrative lift for small businesses. Our complete services include healthcare benefits, voluntary and ancillary benefits, HR guidance, and HR and benefits IT administration.

Where did your career find its start? How did you get involved with your company?

I have been on the HR path since my undergraduate studies in Business and Human Resources Management. I achieved an M.S in Human Resources at Western North Carolina University while working as the Director of Benefits for RHA Health Services. When ACA came into play, we surveyed employees and learned healthcare benefits are often the top reason they chose their job. With year after year increases in healthcare cost, we strategized to create a sustainable plan with employees’ best interests in mind. This experience provided valuable insight on the importance employees place on their benefits and how thinking outside the box can bring more value.

I left corporate HR after 14 years to help small businesses build their HR infrastructure.

Where did your vision begin? How has it grown?

Working with several Asheville small businesses, I saw a lack of employee benefits options and plan support. I began identifying alternative solutions that include high-quality care and cost containment strategies. With a different approach to employee benefits, we provide hands-on support to communicate benefits and streamline administration.

My partner, Samir Masic, has been a significant contributor in formulating our vision as small business warriors fighting for affordable healthcare solutions with big business support.

What do you see as your company’s legacy?

Our solutions require a shift in the way you think about healthcare. Generally, people equate healthcare with health insurance, but this is not the case. Health insurance is the financial component transferring funds from your pockets to the provider. The traditional insurance model hides the actual cost of care and lacks an incentive to control its consumers’ costs.

Solutions including Direct Primary Care, group Medical Cost Sharing, price transparency, and independent plan designs put consumers back in the driver’s seat to control the cost and quality of their care. Our legacy is to help create a new normal through innovative healthcare solutions.

What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome?

The paradigm shift of how individuals think about their healthcare is our biggest challenge. Education is key! We spend a lot of time helping businesses understand their options based on their size and needs and then go through the nuts and bolts of our total healthcare solution.

When companies fundamentally change the way they think about healthcare, we not only grow as a business, we are helping our community get the care they need at an affordable price.