Higginbotham Expands Prevention with New Wellness Option: Function Health

Sophisticated benefits advisor navigates the complex wellness marketplace to bring clients a vetted preventive screening platform

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Higginbotham, a broad-based, employee-owned insurance and financial services firm headquartered in Texas and a trusted leader in employee benefits consulting, has expanded its well-being service offerings with the addition of Function Health. This new preventive screening platform strengthens Higginbotham's portfolio of population health solutions, giving clients another strategic option to help them build comprehensive health and benefits programs for their employees.

The addition strengthens Higginbotham's role as a trusted advisor in an increasingly complex benefits marketplace. Higginbotham focuses on practical innovation over trends, seeking to offer solutions that are implementable, measurable and work effectively alongside core medical plans.

"This isn't wellness as a perk; it's prevention as a core component of total rewards and workforce strategy," said Katelynne Callender, Director, Population Health Management at Higginbotham. "Employers are moving toward proactive prevention. Our role is to understand the evolving landscape of solutions, assess what truly fits our clients' needs, and help them adopt those tools in a thoughtful, data-informed way."

Callender added, "We're continuously looking to expand the value we deliver to clients. Function represents a strong addition to our prevention strategy that supports health literacy and earlier intervention, with the goal of mitigating high-cost claims, and driving more sustainable, long-term population health outcomes."

Function Health's platform offers twice-yearly comprehensive testing across approximately 100 biomarkers, including cardiovascular health, hormones, nutrients, toxins and metabolic markers. This early detection approach can help identify certain chronic conditions before symptoms appear, which may enable intervention when treatment is most effective.

"Higginbotham's deep experience in employee benefits and their employer-first advisory approach make them an ideal partner to bring preventive health screening to scale," said Jonathan Swerdlin, CEO of Function Health. "Their clients represent forward-thinking employers who understand that investing in prevention today reduces healthcare costs and improves workforce productivity tomorrow."

"Our clients rely on us for solutions that fit their population and goals," said Callender. "Function Health is one more tool we can now offer."

As a carrier-agnostic adviser, Higginbotham works with carriers and supplements traditional coverage with specialized solutions like Function Health. This approach helps enable clients to create customized benefits programs to address the full range of employee needs, from core medical coverage to proactive wellness initiatives. The service is currently available to Higginbotham clients and their employees for $334 annually, independent of their carrier selection.

This addition reflects Higginbotham's ongoing commitment to expanding its advisory capabilities and providing clients with access to innovative solutions across the benefits landscape.

About Higginbotham
Higginbotham is an employee-owned leader in insurance, financial services and employee benefits. Since 1948, the firm has combined national reach with local expertise, ranking as the 18th largest independent insurance brokerage in the U.S., according to The Hales Report in 2025. Higginbotham delivers customized programs supported by its Day Two Services®, designed to ensure that clients receive proactive guidance and support throughout the life of every policy.

Guided by a values-driven culture, the firm is committed to its employees, clients, carrier partners and the communities it serves. Learn more at Higginbotham.com.

About Function
Function is on a mission to empower everyone to live 100 healthy years, and is making lab testing, advanced MRI and CT scans, and longitudinal health data accessible and understandable. Function is developing Medical Intelligence, a continuous learning system designed to help people see, understand, and act on their biology in real time. Unlike the average annual physical, which typically measures roughly 26 biomarkers, Function members receive access to 160+ lab tests spanning heart, hormones, thyroid, liver, kidneys, heavy metals, nutrients, inflammation, cancer signals, and more biannually for $365 per year – $1/day. Through its acquisition of Ezra, Function now offers MRI powered by FDA-cleared AI that takes just 22 minutes and costs $499, making potentially lifesaving advanced scans accessible to more people. The advanced MRI can detect cancers, unruptured aneurysms, endometriosis, signs of stroke, etc., while the CT scan can identify lung cancer, plaque in the heart, etc. All data is integrated into a single intelligent interface, giving each member a personalized view of their health and enabling powerfully informed decisions. By turning data into action, Function is redefining what it means to take control of your health.

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SOURCE Higginbotham