Member Profile: Sotarea

Navigating healthcare plans can be difficult for employers and employees alike. Sotarea was created to address this issue, helping businesses identify coverage options that best meet their needs. The healthcare brokerage agency is dedicated to providing businesses across the country with affordable, high-quality health plans. The Springfield Chamber sat down with Andy Gobble, Health Benefits Consultant at Sotarea, to learn more about the sales agency.

Tell us a little about Sotarea
Sotarea is a healthcare benefits brokerage helping employers and individuals move beyond the traditional, one-size-fits-all group health plan. We specialize in modern funding models — health co-op, direct primary care (DPC), Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRA), and unbundled level-funded plans (direct contracts with hospitals) — that give businesses more transparency, flexibility, and control over their healthcare spend. While we got our start in Oregon and have a strong presence in the Cincinnati area, we now serve employers nationally. Our goal is simple: better, more accessible care for employees, at a cost that makes sense for the business.

Where and how did Sotarea start?
Sotarea grew out of a frustration we kept seeing on both sides of the table, with employers facing relentless premium increases and employees who couldn’t get a timely appointment with a doctor. The conventional fully-insured group plan wasn’t solving the problem, it was just passing along the cost. We saw that newer models like DPC and health co-op could fundamentally change that equation, so we built Sotarea around them, starting with employers in Oregon. As word spread and the results spoke for themselves, we expanded into the Cincinnati market and began serving clients across the country.

What services do you offer and what makes Sotarea unique?
We help employers design, implement, and manage benefits strategies built around the models that fit them best. This includes DPC arrangements that give employees same-day access and a real relationship with a physician, as well as self-funded or co-op setups that let employers fund coverage in a defined, predictable way while giving employees choice. At the same time, we break apart the traditional plan so employers only pay for what they use – and gain real visibility into their claims.

What makes us unique is that we understand both sides of the equation — the employer’s budget and the clinic’s day-to-day operations. We don’t just sell a plan and walk away. We support the operational details and we stay engaged long after the plan goes live. Combine that with national reach and a genuinely independent approach, and employers get a partner who’s invested in the outcome, not just the sale.

What do you like most about this work?
The moment it clicks for an employer, when they realize their people are getting real, accessible primary care, while the company is actually spending less than before. Solving a problem most business owners have been told is unsolvable, and watching the relief on their faces, never gets old. Building long-term partnerships with the employers and clinics we serve is what makes the work meaningful.

Do you have any advice for others?
Question the default. So many businesses assume the traditional group plan is the only option simply because it’s what everyone else uses. It isn’t. Before your next renewal, take the time to understand newer models like DPC, ICHRA, health co-op, and unbundled level funding. The improvement in both cost and care can be substantial, but only if you’re willing to look past the way it’s always been done.

Anything else you’d like to share?
If you’re an employer who’s been frustrated with your health benefits — wherever you’re located — we’d welcome the conversation. We started in Oregon, we’ve put down roots in Cincinnati, and we now work with businesses nationwide. There’s no obligation; we’re always glad to walk through whether a different approach might be a fit for your team.