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The Apex Team

John F. Gause
President, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

John is a native of Indianapolis and started his career in 1984 with a large national insurance company as a Group Health Underwriter specializing in alternative funding programs and other creative risk sharing arrangements. John then applied this specialized benefits industry knowledge to the Broker/Consultant position he accepted with an international employee benefits consulting firm, working with employers in health plan management strategies. He then moved to a large regional brokerage firm and helped to develop their employee benefits department.

In 2003 he launched Apex Benefits Group to provide employers with an option to work with an organization committed exclusively to employee benefits management. His strengths include financial and benefit plan analysis, communications and a comprehensive knowledge of the employee benefits marketplace.

John is a graduate of St. Joseph's College where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business Administration in Finance. He has been involved in the Catholic Youth Organization as a volunteer coach, the Scecina High School Board of Directors, St. Joseph's College Alumni Association, and serves as a member of the St. Joseph's College Board of Trustees. John is an active supporter of Noble of Indiana.

After more than 20 years in the insurance industry, John still enjoys the challenge of working with employers to provide solutions that fit their needs. He credits Apex's independent status for the company's growth, and is satisfied when a client receives a custom benefits plan and the service that only an independent advisor can provide.

 

 

 

 

Todd Foushee
Director of Operations, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Todd is a native of Louisville, KY and a degreed professional having started his career in 1984 with Golden Rule Insurance Company as Claims Manager in their Indianapolis, IN office.  Over the past 25+ years, other opportunities have included professional positions with CoreSource (TPA), Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Methodist Medical Physican Group and GroupLink, Inc.

Each of the above experiences have allowed Todd to garner expertise in multiple product lines including but not limited to Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and HMO risk products in addition to managing a Provider Contracting Division and  two Third Party Administrators.  Having worked with a variety of products, entities and regulatory agencies; Todd has positioned himself to provide value adds to employers by identifying and incorporating "real" solutions into their benefit plans.  Solutions that can change the culture and employee's behavior resulting in lower cost and improved health outcomes.

As a graduate with a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Lousiville, Todd also has earned various LOMA and Dale Carnegie designations.  In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for DentalNet, Inc and is actively involved in the Butler Tarkington and Meridian Kessler Neighborhood Associations.

Christi Vitales
Business Manager, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Christi started her employee benefits career in 1992 with a large regional third party administrator. She worked in sales administration, new business installations, and accounting during her six year tenure. She then moved to another local TPA as the Marketing Coordinator. Her responsibilities included managing all account renewals and shopping reinsurance, contract review, analyzing claims reports, premium and funding evaluations, and maintaining reinsurance relationships. Since 2000, she has worked in the independent broker arena where she has been able to put all of her employee benefits service, administration and account management experience to use and gain a deep knowledge of fully insured medical and ancillary products.

At Apex Benefits Group, she is responsible for coordinating internal operations, new business development, marketing, and customer service functions.

Christi has a bachelor degree in Business Administration from Ball State University and is a licensed agent.

Apex's first employee, Christi was excited about the entrepreneurial component of being part of a business from the ground up. Christi uses a combination of work ethic and creativity to support the success of Apex. Her favorite quote is "If you only do what you know you can do, you'll never do very much" by Tom Krause. She enjoys home and garden projects, learning to golf and spending time with her husband and two sons.












Matthew D. M. Arnold
Benefits Consultant, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Matt is a native of Indiana and started his career in 1996 with a large national insurance company as the Director of Provider Relations specializing in physician/ancillary contracting.  Matt later applied his sales skills and contract negotiating ability to become the National Accounts Sales Vice President of Indiana.  After almost a decade of carrier employment Matt furthered his experience by joining the worlds largest healthcare consulting firm as a employee benefits consultant, working with employers on health plan management strategies in Indiana.

In 2009 Matt joined Apex Benefits Group to provide employers with an option to work with an organization committed exclusively to employee benefits management.  His strengths include benefit plan analysis, consumerism strategies and a comprehensive knowledge of the employee benefits marketplace.

Matt is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree in Psychology.  He has been involved in the Catholic Youth Organization and the IHSAA as a volunteer coach for the past several years.  Matt is a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Indiana Association of Health Underwriters and the Compensation and Benefit Professionals of Indiana.













Brian Elson
Benefits Consultant, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Brian came to Apex Benefits Group in 2004 after ten years of employee benefits consulting experience with one of the leading insurance brokerage firms in Indiana. Brian's insurance background has been entirely focused in the group employee benefits marketplace. Particularly, his expertise lies in the area of healthcare strategic plan management. Industries represented include manufacturing transportation, retail, construction, information technology and a host of others. His experience and skills in managing public and private employee benefits programs from fifty employees to over one thousand, has gained him respect and long term relationships with his clients.

Brian is involved in volunteer coaching and serves on the Alumni and Board of Trustees of Indianapolis Cathedral High School. He is also a graduate of Butler University holding a bachelor degree in Business Administration.

Brian joined Apex Benefits Group for an opportunity to be part of a positive and upbeat work environment with a dynamic growth oriented company. He believes in the "Don't ever give up" philosophy and uses this to guide young athletes as a volunteer football coach.




Amy Carpenter, CFC
Benefits Consultant, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Amy brings more than 20 years of hands on experience in the employee benefits industry to Apex Benefits Group. During her benefits career, she has worked internally in the area of administration and account management for group life and disability programs and more recently, in the area of sales and marketing. Her expertise and enjoyment lies in the medical arena and includes traditional medical programs, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Health Savings Accounts. She specializes in Consumer Driven Health plans for both fully-insured and self-funded clients. Amy has been instrumental in teaching Consumer Driven Health plans to co-workers and clients as well as at conventions and different society meetings.

Amy holds a Certification in Flexible Compensation and is pursuing a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation. She is also a member of the Society of Human Resources and the Indiana Mental Health Foundation Board.

Amy knew she was going to be a fit at Apex when she realized the size of the company. She also appreciates the importance of focusing only on employee health benefits, making them experts in the field. Her favorite quote is "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure" by Bill Cosby. When Amy is not working, she enjoys motorcycle riding, concerts, gardening and spending time with her children.

Gordon Snyder
Account Executive, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Gordon joined Apex Benefits Group in September of 2007 with over 25 years of service in the insurance industry. Gordon started his career as a Claims Examiner processing student accident and health claims for a small TPA. He then worked as a Group Sales Representative for a major life and disability carrier. Gordon then joined a national insurance company, and garnered experience as a Medical Claims Representative, Supervisor of Reimbursement Accounts, Long Term Disability Claim Specialist, and finally as an Account Service Representative. In 1999, Gordon joined the largest TPA in Indiana serving as an Account Executive, responsible for the relationship and service between the TPA and clients. As a result of a merger, Gordon gained more experience in account management serving as a Senior Account Manager for the TPA division of that national insurance company.

Gordon is a graduate of Columbus State Community College, and holds a Consultant License from the State of Indiana.

Gordon knew that the high-touch manner of doing business was for him and this is what attracted him to Apex. He appreciates the fact that he is in a position to help all individuals associated with life and health benefits. His favorite quote is "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink." When Gordon is not working, he enjoys working in the yard and planning for the next vacation.

Toni Stinson
Specialty Account Manager, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Toni joined Apex Benefits Group in June of 2004 after gaining 5 years of employee benefits experience at a national TPA specializing in hospitals and the healthcare industry. Toni served as the supervisor of the Insured Claims Department, leading a staff of 4 claims administrators in the customer service and administration of short term disability, long term disability, life and accident claims. When the department expanded to eight staff members, and added the tasks of billing, eligibility and initial underwriting review, she took on the new role as Supervisor of Group Operations. Toni acted as a liaison between insureds and policyholders and their carriers facilitating claims resolution, coached her team members and co-workers on customer service, taught her team about policy provisions and their impact on insureds and policyholders, and provided front line assistance with billing and eligibility on a block of business totaling over $17 million in Life and Disability annual premium.

Toni is a graduate of St. Joseph's College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, and is a licensed agent.

Toni joined Apex knowing that she would be expected to make sure that all clients' service needs were met and that she would be provided the tools, support and authority to see this through. Her favorite quote is "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value" by Thomas Paine. Her interests outside of work include her dogs, reading, writing, and traveling historic destinations with her husband.

Sherry Fazzini
Account Executive, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Sherry joined Apex Benefits Group in June 2009 with over 16 years of employee benefits consulting experience.  Her experience is with leading national insurance brokerage firms in both Indianapolis and Chicago.  Sherry has helped employers develop and implement employee benefit programs, provided assistance in reviewing, designing and coordinating their insured and self-funded plans, as well as expanding and communicating plan changes to employees.

Sherry's experience and attention to detail has proven invaluable in the ongoing maintenance of employee benefit plans.  Developing relationships with vendors, she manages to assist employers run their plans efficiently and "get things done".  She has helped employers steer towards consumer driven plans, including Health Saving Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements for both insured and self-funded health plans.

Her education includes a Bachelor's Degree from Governors State in Illinois.  She has also earned her Certified Employee Benefit Designation (CEBS) and a Life and Health Insurance Brokers License in both Indiana and Illinois.  She continues to take classes to meet ongoing education requirements including:  Group Insurance, Business Life and Health Insurance, Retirement Planning, Mutual Funds, and several Financial Planning courses.

Tricia Garcia Fuller
Renewal Underwriting Specialist, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Tricia started in employee benefits in 1999 with a national TPA where she began as the bilingual customer service representative. She then moved into the Marketing Department as a Plan Document Specialist drafting Employee Benefit Plan Documents and Amendments in both Spanish and English. She was promoted to the Marketing Coordinator position where she worked with in force business handling renewal implementation documents and reinsurance contracts. Eventually, Tricia's responsibilities were expanded to include handling all account renewals, negotiating reinsurance, analyzing claims data and maintaining strong vendor relationships.

At Apex Benefits Group Tricia is responsible for the marketing and negotiations of new and in force business as the Marketing Analyst.

Tricia is a licensed agent and assists with enrollments, communications and meeting handouts for our Spanish speaking participants.

Tricia's respect for Apex as a group employee benefits business was her reason for joining the team. Her favorite quote is "There is no "I" in team." When Tricia is not working, she enjoys peaceful moments with her cats and not-so-peaceful moments attending a variety of her children's sporting events.












Jean Ann Linville
Customer Service Representative, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Jean Ann began her career in the insurance industry in March of 1984 in Indianapolis as a medical claims processor and customer service representative for a nationally known, fully insured carrier.  Before long, she was auditing claims for that carrier and in March 1989, she moved to a local TPA, where she gained additional experience in customer service, team leadership and plan building using Telos, RIMS and Luminex systems.  Jean Ann was also responsible for transitioning all medical, dental and vision plans from one system to another when her employer merged with another TPA.  Some of her other responsibilities throughout the years have been extensive work with the review and writing of plan documents, setting up the system to handle reinsurance parameters and short term disability plans, the transitioning of self insured groups to fully insured plan designs with a national carrier, while acting as a liason between the insured members and the carrier, assisting adminstration in their daily duties and the paying of staff claims.  Jean Ann has extensive knowledge of group health benefits and she loves working with people to be sure they understand their benefits, and to answer any questions they may have and to resolve any issues that may arise.  She was especially excited to join Apex Benefits Group because they not only work diligently to find the best fit in carriers for their clients, they work throughout the year to make sure everything is running smoothly and that their clients are 100% satisfied with the benefits and service they are receiving!  Customer service taken to the highest level!

Jean Ann attended Butler University for two years and studied Business Education.  She transferred to IUPUI and earned her Associates of Applied Science Degree in Computer Technology in 1982.  In her spare time, she is involved in church and youth group activities and she likes to spend as much time as she can with her "all to quickly growing" children!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Gause, BSN
Medical Director, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Jennifer  joined Apex Benefits Group Inc. in June of 2003.  She has 20 years of experience in a large local hospital where she specializes in critical care units.  In addition to her direct patient care experience, she applies her practical knowledge to serve as a consultant specializing in healthcare audits with an international acounting firm.

At Apex Benefits Group, Jennifer is responsible for communicating with doctors, nurses and large claimants to determine prognosis and treatment plans.  All communications adhere to the strict privacy guidelines of HIPAA

Jennifer received her BSN from Anderson University

 

 

 

 

 

 
 Rick Bousum
LAN Technician, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Rick began working for Apex Benefits Group in 2004, with 3 years of experience in computer networking and server technologies.  In addition to experience at Apex Benefits Group, Rick has implemented and maintained a network with connections located across the United States. 

Rick is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Technology.

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Arnold
Executive Assistant, Apex Benefits Group, Inc.

Mark joined Apex Benefits Group in 2009, with 20 years of service with a leading global technology services provider. In his IT career, Mark has held positions in Computer Operations, Customer Service, Help Desk, and Procurement.  Mark will use his information technology background to help support the IT systems and his customer service experience to provide excellent service to Apex customers.