Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 10, 1 October 2011 — Entrepreneur enjoys being 'part of the healing process' [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Entrepreneur enjoys being 'part of the healing process'

By Mary Aliee Milham n an economy where many businesses are struggling, Scott Gardner & Co. LLC, a Native Hawaiian-owned business helping Hawai'i residents access Medicaid and QUEST health-care benefits, is thriving. Fewer people with jobs equals more people without private heahh insurance. But through Gardner's services, a growing number of Hawai'i residents have been able to access health-care coverage. "People struggle when they try to apply on their own. The application is so technical that if they're just missing one small component, the application is denied," says Gardner, who grew his business with the help of a loan from OHA. To help them qualify, Gardner's company screens patients for Medicaid and QUEST eligibility and then guides those who are eligible step-by-step through the application process, from gathering required documents - like birth certificates and hnaneial documents - to filling out, reviewing and submitting the application in a timely manner. For the uninsured, time is definitely of the essence. Patients under age 65 must submit their application within five days of hospitalization to ensure coverage for services received. Hospital contracts are one side of Gardner's business. Patients are referred by the hospital and

the company is paid per eaeh approval. By making sure applications are approved, he says, everybody wins: the hospitals are paid by the state and the patients get comprehensive service that gives them coverage free of charge. Gardner's company will even drive patients to their Medicaid appointments and if needed will pay for certified copies of birth certificates. Before services like Gardner's were around, hospitals left the Medicaid and Quest applieahon process entirely up to the patient. "They would just give the patient the applieahon," says Gardner. "There was no follow up." Onee approved, patients are able to receive follow-up care, see their doctor regularly and get medications to improve their overall heahh. Gardner, who studied nursing at University of Hawai'i, feels good about the service his company provides to people who are sick and

stressed about how they'll pay their looming medical bills. "I really enjoy helping people understand the process and the criteria and just bringing a lot of hope and relief to them," says Gardner. "I like to think that we're part of the healing process." The other half of Gardner's business provides private consultation services for people seeking Medicaid to cover the cost of nursing homes. In this case, the client, an individual or family, pays a flat fee for an all-inclusive service designed to guide them through the Medicaid application process. Many heahh insurers, such as HMSA, Medicare and Kaiser, don't cover the cost of long-term nursing homes. With Medicaid's strict limitations on assets, qualifying ean be difficult, but Gardner's business helps clients see ways they ean qualify, for example, by reducing their assets by paying off debts. Gardner first learned about the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund while taking an entrepreneurship course through Alu Like. At the time, he was considering tapping into the surfboard-foam business. The surfboard foam venture didn't pan out. Instead, Gardner went to work for his brother Sherman in a business based on hospital contracts, first in California and then in Hawai'i. After five years, with the encouragement of his brother, Gardner was ready to strike out on his own. That's when he remembered the OHA loan program. When he applied for the loan in 2004, his company was literally a "one-man band" with Gardner working out of his home, approaching nursing homes and hospitals for business. Since receiving a $75,000, fixed-rate, lowinterest OHA loan in 2005, his company has grown steadily, increasing to a staff of 10 - who receive full medical insurance, life insurance, vacation and bonuses. Soon, his company will be moving into an office twice the size it has now. The new office will be located in the same building, in a second-floor suite at the Gentry Paeihe Design Center. A 2010 nominee for the O'ahu Small Business Association's Small Businessperson of the Year Award, Gardner repaid his OHA loan in late 2010. OHA Mālama Loans, up to $150,000 at a low, fixed-interest rate, are available to qualifying Hawai'i residents of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Applications are available at all First Hawaiian Bank branches or by calling 643-LOAN (5626). ■ Mary Aliee Kaiulani Miīham, a Portland, Oregon-based freelance journalist, is a former newspaper reporter and columnist from Califomia's Central Coast.

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Scott Gardner & Co. LLC Gentry Pacific Design Center 560 N. Nimitz Highway, second floor Honolulu, Hl 96817 Phone: (808) 585-0029 Fax: (808) 585-0039 E-mail: scott@scottgardnerco.com Web: www.scottgardnerco.com Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Weekends and evenings by appointment.

HEALĪH

Scoft Gardner, left, with a few of his staff: Karen, his wife, Justin Nishimoto, Lam Nguyen, Loraine Alambatin and Loraine lnsong. - Photo: Lisa Asato