From Desk To Dancing Dinosour – The Columbian

If you’re anything like Stacey Johnson, owner of the local Medicare and Health Insurance Agency Your Insurance Gal, you likely really love your job! So much so, you may even dance through a parade in a dinosaur costume to show it. The road from college student to dancing dinosaur is a long one, and for Stacey, it’s been a journey filled with community involvement and a passion for helping seniors.

Stacey backs her senior services with a rich educational background. She holds a number of degrees including a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development with a concentration in Aging.

Stacey’s no stranger to public service. Throughout her career, she’s accumulated a long list of community involvement including leading roles in neighborhood associations as well as church, city, and school boards. She’s even a founding member of the Battle Ground Rotary Club and is still an active member in addition to her work with seniors.

Stacey’s passion for senior services was ignited by caring for her own family. Her father’s battle with Parkinson’s Disease inspired her to pursue her degrees in Human Development. However, it was caring for her elderly grandmother that truly ignited her passion for senior services. After her grandmother passed away at age 103, Stacey realized how much she missed assisting in retirement center events and functions. She quickly realized that serving seniors through Medicare was the perfect transition.

Stacey has been an insurance agent for over 18 years and holds health insurance licenses in the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, South Dakota, California, Alaska, and Texas. She opened the crown jewel of her career, Your Insurance Gal Agency in 2015 and moved into her brick-and-mortar location on 92nd Avenue in Vancouver that spring.

The agency still occupies the building at 113 NE 92nd Street (& Mill Plain Boulevard) and has grown and evolved dramatically over the years. Ever the leader and mentor, Stacey has accumulated a diverse team of agents and administrators who all share her passion for senior care. Viewing Your Insurance Gal Agency as the culmination of her life’s work and legacy, Stacey has invested in and coached many up-and-coming agents to be guides and advocates for Medicare beneficiaries after she’s hung up her dinosaur suit for good.

In the Your Insurance Gal Agency office, “Sales” is considered a foul word. Stacey and her agents take a no-pressure, education-centered approach to insurance. Drawing from methods and philosophies from the field of education, Medicare appointments usually feel more like working with a tutor than picking an insurance product.

Stacey and her agents aim for transparency in their practices and explanations so folks always know what to expect. With nearly forty different Medicare Advantage plans in Clark County, they aim to make things as simple and clear as possible. As independent agents, Stacey and her team aren’t loyal to any one insurance company, but rather to the needs of their clients. With them, you’ll always know you’re getting impartial, unbiased help.

For new clients, appointments usually follow a similar pattern. Once you’ve settled into Stacey’s office, she’ll start out by explaining the basics of Medicare. Next, she will outline the different parts of Medicare, the base costs, and the 2 main options you can choose from. Once you’ve covered the basics, you’ll talk about your health needs, doctor preferences, and medications that you need to cover. After she’s learned about everything you need or would like to have in a Medicare insurance plan, Stacey will break down between two and four different company plan options that meet your needs the most. Depending on your situation and comfort level, she’ll either help you complete your application in the same appointment or send you home with some information booklets to help you think over your options. Whichever way you decide to sign up, you won’t have to do it alone!

For something as complex and confusing as Medicare, it can be hard to know what you’re getting from your benefits and from your agent. With Stacey and her team at Your Insurance Gal Agency, you know exactly what you’re going to get: a warm welcome, compassionate and competent help, an office full of folks who love what they do, and maybe even a story or two about the infamous dinosaur costume.