Benefits Executive Roundtable

In this week’s podcast, Host Dorothy Cociu welcomes back Chris Condeluci, ERISA Attorney and Washington Counsel and Anthony Murrello, Government Relations Manager for the Self Insurance Institute of America, to continue their discussions from Episode 5, when the Government Shutdown delayed expected activity in Washington. After a whirlwind of Congressional & The Departments’ Regulatory activit...

In this week’s podcast, Host Dorothy Cociu discusses the use of Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans (MERPs), a specific type of HRA, to control costs in health plans with Craig Lack, President, and Sean Casey, Chief Legal Officer of Catilize Health, a TPA specializing in MERP administration. We discuss what they are, how and when they can be used, plan customization, governance, and more. We also...

In this week’s episode of the Benefits Executive Roundtable, Host Dorothy Cociu discusses AI Security, User Liability and Best Practices to Use AI Safely with guests Adriana Mendieta, Cyber Liability Agent and Avid AI Agile User, Eric Barricklow, a Chief Information Security Officer and owner of Stellar Cyber Solutions, and Miguel Villegas, Founder of iSecure Privacy, a Consultant who brings deep...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu talks last minute tips & tricks to wrap up these last weeks of the 4th quarter open enrollment period with Marilyn Monahan of Monahan Law Office and Anne Kelly from Patrick & Patrick Insurance Services. We discuss how to stay organized, the key market impacts and compliance reminders during this very stressful time. What are the most commonly aske...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu discusses Medicare Updates for Fall, 2025 with Maggie Stedt, Stedt Insurance, a Medicare Expert & Medicare Advisor/Task Force Emeritus Member for the National Association of Benefits & Insurance Professionals. We discuss the new rules for agents selling Medicare Plans, and why Medicare recipients should be aware of them, as well as the options ava...

In this episode, Host Dorothy Cociu discussed the hottest topics in the self-insured health industry with Chris Condeluci, ERISA Attorney and Washington Legal Counsel for the Self Insurance Institute of America (SIIA), and Anthony Murrello, SIIA’s Government Relations Manager. We discuss the latest on Price Transparency, Compensation Disclosure and Data Sharing, Fiduciary Duties and lawsuits again...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu interviews Angel Onuoha, co-owner and CEO of Avelis Health, an innovative AI-driven Claims Auditing Firm. We discuss how AI can assist TPAs in their auditing of claims quickly and efficiently, and can review every single claim for billing errors, without disrupting claims or plan set-up. Specifically, we discuss how they can assist with provider overcharg...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu is excited to bring you important cyber security updates from Matt Fields, a Principal Cyber Security Consultant from Microsoft. We discuss what consumers and businesses can do to protect themselves from cyber risks, including internal and external threats, and the importance of comprehensive and ongoing risk analyses/risk assessments. We also talk about...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu discusses with Steve McClung, CEO of Hines & Associates a new, and some would say much needed, way for self-funded health plans using reference-based pricing to better manage their risks of lawsuits and serious provider push-back. Offered in their new product Opus One, Hines executes agreements with providers before a service or facility stay actually...

In this podcast, we will discuss the provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that apply to employer sponsored health plans and individuals covered by them, including Telehealth provisions, HSA Reimbursement for Primary Care, Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account increases, and employer-provided educational assistance. We also discuss the OBBB changes to the Medicaid Program and the ACA Mar...

Grass Roots Work in the Legislative Process; Working with Congress to Form Federal Legislation to Help the Health Benefits of Employers, Individuals and Medicare Recipients In this week’s podcast, which is our last episode of Season 6, Host Dorothy Cociu discusses how the National Association of Benefits & Insurance Professionals (NABIP) works with Congressional representatives and staffers to...

In this week’s episode, Host Dorothy Cociu has a discussion with Phil Calhoun, owner and publisher of California Broker Magazine, as well as President/CEO of Integrity Advisors, about what’s going on around the health insurance industry and what Phil is seeing as the primary trends regarding the aging population of agents and Baby Boomers in general as they prepare for retirement and/or sales of t...

In this week’s podcast, Host Dorothy Cociu discusses California Legislative Updates with Faith Borges, Legislative Advocate for the California Agents & Health Insurance Professionals (CAHIP). We discuss the relationship between the Trump Administration 2.0 with California and what impact the federal elections will have on California, California’s statewide elections, the Super Majority in Cali...

Recently, we all saw in the news that the stock price of Artificial Intelligence chipmaker giant NVIDA fell when the Chinese start-up DeepSeek, a new AI tool they claim can be made cheaper than its American competitor, was released. What does this really mean for the American consumers, healthcare systems and manufacturers using AI technology? The news mentioned briefly the security concerns of su...

S6E12 - HIPAA Security Proposed Rules; Important Changes and Updates for 2025 – Part 2 In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu continues her discussion on the HIPAA Security Proposed Rules with Ted Flittner and Ted Mayeshiba, Principals of Aditi Group. In this podcast, we walk through the contents of the Fact Sheet of the proposed rules. We discuss the requirements for written policies, procedu...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu discusses the recently released HIPAA Security Proposed Rules with Marilyn Monahan of Monahan Law Office and Ted Flittner, Principal of Aditi Group, an IT/HIPAA Security/Cybersecurity firm. In Part 1 of this series, we discuss the proposed requirements for written policies and procedures, establishing technical and non-technical evaluations, and a robust...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu interviews Elizabeth Holman, President of the Holman Group, a Los Angeles based EAP Program and Behavioral Assistance Provider, on the current state of the EAP and mental health/behavioral health community. Have celebrity public discussions about mental health inspired the public to get help? Are most employees seeking virtual or brick and mortar visits?...

In this week’s episode, host Dorothy Cociu discusses the requirements for Health Plan Sponsors and Business Associates for the new HIPAA Reproductive Rights rules with Marilyn Monahan, Esq, of Monahan Law Office. We discuss what’s required and when, what is prohibited related to uses and disclosures, the scope and new definitions, and the application of the prohibition, including a required Attest...

In this week’s podcast episode, host Dorothy Cociu discusses Cybersecurity and Cyber Awareness in Today’s Threat Environment with Adriana Mendieta, Tech Coordinator, Cyber Insurance Solutions, Miguel (Mike) Villegas, Founder and President of iSecurePrivacy, LLC, and Carl Griftka, Managing Director, SL Business Informatics. We discuss why it is important for organizations to prioritize cybersecurit...

In this week’s podcast, host Dorothy Cociu discusses the final regulations from the Mental Health Parity Act and the required NQTL Analysis with Chris Condeluci, ESQ, Washington Counsel, SIIA and Jordan Smith, Chief Compliance Officer & Practice Leader on Mental Health Parity at Healthcare Reporting. We discuss the law in general, plus the increased activity related to audits and enforcement f...

In Part 2 of our 2-part podcast on ERISA Fiduciary Requirements, host Dorothy Cociu and Marilyn Monahan of Monahan Law Office discuss and share with our audience more excerpts from our September webinar. In this episode, we discuss the importance of the current environment of employee lawsuits against their health plan sponsors, which is one of the hottest topics in Washington and across the count...

In part 1 of this two-part podcast, host Dorothy Cociu and guest Marilyn Monahan of Monahan Law Office share with you excerpts from their September webinar on ERISA’s Fiduciary Requirements. In part 1, we discuss some background on ERISA and its importance, major components of ERISA, the role of a fiduciary, understanding fiduciary actions and how not understanding them can harm a plan and its fid...

Host Dorothy Cociu discusses the differences between tax write-offs on IRS Section 125 cafeteria plans and income tax returns with Anne Kelly, President of Kelly & Kelly Insurance Services. Pre-tax dollars for flexible spending accounts, dependent care and qualified insurance plan contributions will be discussed, and how they compare with common income tax write-offs in various categories. Joi...

Host Dorothy Cociu discusses what’s going on in Washington, DC, Healthcare Policies of Presidential Candidates, a Congressional update, and the hottest topics in the self-funded health plan market with Chris Condeluci, ESQ, Washington Counsel for the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) and Anthony Murrello, SIIA Government Relations Manager. Hot topics outside of the elections include Fiduc...

Host Dorothy Cociu discusses Medicare updates with Maggie Stedt, Medicare Expert from Stedt Insurance. They will preview the most important things Medicare recipients and their families/friends need to know during this upcoming Open Enrollment Period, the most common questions seniors have went signing up for Medicare, plan changes for 2025, including Prescription Drug plans, and more. We also dis...