Definity Health In the News

Definity Health CEO honored by Twin Cities business publication:

CityBusiness announces 2001 "Forty Under 40" list: The 40 Twin Cities' area top business leaders who are under age 40 (May 25, 2001)

From the editor's note:

We received a record number of nominations for Forty Under 40 this year - 174 in all- which was a mixed blessing.

On one hand, the overwhelming response means that in its eight years of existence, Forty Under 40 has created quite a buzz. On the other, the quantity made for some pretty tough decisions for CityBusiness editors. Bear in mind that only the best and brightest in their field even get nominated for this honor to begin with.

But we persevered and whittled the field down to the 40 young professionals you will read about in these pages. The editors took a number of criteria into consideration, chiefly accomplishments within each nominee's field, along with community involvement. Of course, the winners all had to be less than 40 years old as of May 24, 2001. We also tried for diversity, including fields represented within the group.

You'll find numerous professions, positions and paths to success represented among our 40 honorees.

-Diane Cormany FORTY UNDER 40 EDITOR

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Tony Miller, CEO, Definity Health

A sort of fearlessness and a powerful belief in an idea that could change the face of health care are a few of the traits that placed Tony Miller, the CEO of Definity Health, on this year's list.

The fearlessness came into play when Tony Miller, 34, shouldered aside the naysayers and co-founded Definity Health in 1998, with a belief in a new health-benefit model that strives to help consumers, health providers and employers.

At the time, people questioned the soundness of creating a new health benefits company in an already crowded and competitive market. What improvements could Miller and his crowd design that giants such as Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group hadn't already considered?

Miller and a group of eight entrepreneurs forged ahead anyway and eventually secured $23 million in private financing. Today, Definity Health has more than 100 employees and some major accounts under its belt, including about 15 percent of the approximately 11,000 Medtronic employees who chose Definity as an option over plans such as Medica and HealthPartners. "We beat our expectations," he said.

The secret of his success? "I'm too dumb to know when I should quit," says Miller, adding that his wife could tell stories about his stubbornness and how he left behind a plush salary and even sacrificed compensation for a year to try to build a better health-care model.

The ideas that later congealed into Definity started percolating when Miller and co-founder Craig Swanson worked at the Minneapolis office of Deloitte & Touche. Miller focused on strategic business development in the managed-care industry, and his colleague had expertise in health care and the Internet. Together, they came to the conclusion that the health-care system was broken.

I looked at the health system and said, "Hey this isn't working, we need a new approach," says Miller.

The Definity model has three parts: an employee account where the employer deposits a certain amount that the employee can spend on health care; health insurance for major medical expenses; and online and phone resources designed to help members track their accounts and make smart health-care choices. Miller said that he is excited about Definity's success, but he is most proud that the company is becoming a force for change within the nation's health-care system.

Scott D. Smith STAFF REPORTER