Here’s What 12 Months Working at CoverMyMeds Can Do for You
Finding a company that challenges and supports them has been the highlight of three employees’ experience at CoverMyMeds a year into their positions. They share stories of pursuing a new career path with a manager’s encouragement; bringing your whole self to work; and being rewarded by just how meaningful helping patients can be.
Culture, as the mantra goes, is king. Get the culture right, and the financial success will follow. To put it another way, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” So says the quote attributed to Peter Drucker, the famous management consultant.
Since the founding of CoverMyMeds, a strong culture has been one of our core business strategies. We hire great people and then treat them great. That manifests in various ways, from a “work how and where you want” policy to numerous employee resource groups (ERGs) to an environment where fun and rewarding work go hand in hand.
Three employees who started at CoverMyMeds in November and December 2021 were part of one of the largest new hire orientation classes in the company’s history. They enjoy the welcoming atmosphere, opportunities to choose a career path and their connection to our mission to help people get the medicine they need to live healthier lives. Each also shared stories of connection, growth and embracing differences at work.
Hear what one year at CoverMyMeds can do for you, from three employees who started a year ago:
- Seth Showalter, a case manager for AMP
- Casey Varabkanich, an account coordinator for Hub Express patient services
- Jessica Darst, account coordinator, patient services
Curious about a new career path? You can try one at CoverMyMeds
Seth Showalter’s social work degree and experience managing home care for people with developmental disabilities made him a great fit when he applied to CoverMyMeds in 2021. He was immediately impressed when the recruiter guided him into a case manager position instead of the account coordinator job he was targeting.
People are grateful and say, ‘We wouldn't have gotten this medication without your help. This is going to change my life.’ The interactions are really powerful and definitely stick with me.
Seth Showaltercase manager at CoverMyMeds
As an AMP case manager, Seth acts as a liaison between doctors, patients and health insurance plans. His role is to help patients access the medications they need. Many of his cases involve people with conditions that require specialty medications that can be more complex and more expensive. “People are grateful and say, ‘We wouldn't have gotten this medication without your help. This is going to change my life,’” he shared. “The interactions are really powerful and definitely stick with me.”
Seth finds his role at CoverMyMeds rewarding. But he could also see himself doing something else — and he’s getting the opportunity to try a new role on for size.
The CoverMyMeds stretch program lets employees explore careers they find interesting, and Seth was immediately interested in an employee engagement lead position when he heard about it. He received his manager’s permission to apply for the stretch program and was selected for it.
He had no idea employee engagement meant he would be traveling to CoverMyMeds offices in Louisville and Scottsdale, Arizona, to surprise coworkers with giant checks. The trips were part of the 10th anniversary celebration for CoverMyQuest, a program that awards employees mini grants for personal fulfillment such as helping family members in need, travel or pursuing creative passions. Going into 2022’s program, the company had awarded $310,050 to employees.
“It was a really powerful experience to see the investment in people’s lives and how meaningful it was for winners,” Seth said.
At CoverMyMeds, you’re supported as a person, not just an employee
Casey Varabkanich didn’t quite feel comfortable talking about his personal life in previous jobs. Being a gay, trans man, “I felt like I had to wear a mask or pretend to be someone I wasn’t,” he said.
Many of his former coworkers from a previous job joined CoverMyMeds, and Casey heard about the welcoming culture. He was hired as an account coordinator role supporting CoverMyMeds’ Hub Express patient services. In his job, he makes phone calls to pharmacies, prescribers, providers’ offices and insurance plans to help patients get coverage for their medications.
He wasn’t the new guy for long. When Casey joined, the next newest person on his team had been there for seven months, and since then, three more people have joined. “It's a great group of people, and we all approach things from different ways,” he said.
A few team members work in office, including Casey, while the rest mostly work from home. The group of 12 likes to have fun, calling each other nicknames and celebrating one another’s life moments, such as marriage — a milestone Casey reached this year, when he married his husband.
One of the biggest things that drew me to this job was the core value of being yourself.
Casey Varabkanichaccount coordinator for Hub Express, CoverMyMeds
During a recent team meeting, Casey and two coworkers talked through their experiences as members of the LGBTQ+ community. He couldn’t have seen himself doing that in previous jobs.
“One of the biggest things that drew me to this job was the core value of being yourself,” Casey said. “Being transgender isn't something that's necessarily obvious to other people, but it's an important part of my identity.”
Casey says he appreciates the gender-neutral, single-stall restrooms at CoverMyMeds. He’s involved with the QCrew employee resource group for LGBTQ+ community members and has helped plan the company’s Transgender Visibility Week.
“A company or an organization is only as successful as the people there and the attitudes they bring. And it seems like this group is just such a good one,” Casey said.
A job that’s inclusive, challenging and fun
Jessica Darst’s background as an optometric and pharmacy technician gave her views into both sides of CoverMyMeds’ patient services work: pharmacy and provider. Melding the two led her to apply for an account coordinator role.
“I was really intrigued by the culture here, how many amazing things people have to say about this company,” Jessica said.
She’s found the role rewarding and credits a great team.
“I really love the team that I was put with, I love my pod lead, and I love the activities we do throughout the day to make it fun and light,” she said.
I feel like the work that I do is recognized. That's the most important part: Being appreciated through and through.
Jessica Darstaccount coordinator at CoverMyMeds
Inclusive, challenging and fun are three words that come to mind when Jessica thinks of her job, which involves working with providers, pharmacies and insurance plans to speed approval of electronic prior authorization (ePA) requests for patients. Her team is competitive in the best way.
“We’ll do power hours to see how many ePAs you can do in an hour. Most of the time we’re really focused,” she said, adding that the hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. “I feel like the work I do is recognized. That's the most important part: Being appreciated through and through.”
Jessica, like Seth, is taking the opportunity to learn about a different career path, though she’s not enrolled in a formal stretch assignment. She’s delving into her love for art and photography — she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree — with a mentorship from the UX, or user experience, team.
“Hopefully further down the road, I’d love to be in the UX department design side,” Jessica says.
Wondering what 12 months of working at CoverMyMeds can do for you? Learn more about working with us at our Experience website.