The ShiftShapers Podcast

A client called to tell Jennifer Borislow that two employees who were away on vacation had an accident and informed her that one died, one has serious injuries. The client asked for help and Jennifer soon learned that because the employees were young and had not done much – if any – advance planning, sorting through all of the challenges for them and their families would become a very complicated...

Taylor Lindsey is a partner at Employee Benefit Consultants, but he is also the fourth-generation member of the firm and he is working to morph this highly-respected old-line agency into a totally modern value-based, data-driven firm. Listen in and learn some of the tools and techniques he has employed to overcome that challenge. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How the agency originally forme...

Increased interest in self-funded plans means more clients are gaining access to data, but data without interpretation that creates actionable changes is pretty much useless. Ross Bjella, CEO of Alithias knows how to make that happen –and shares his insight on this episode. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Exposing the problem of data without action. Strategies for dealing with plan data. Spec...

Wellness is evolving, but it is also an often-challenging subject for advisors. What is working and what isn’t? What will provide a demonstrable ROI and how do you set expectations and position these programs with prospects and clients? Ed Buckley, Chairman and CEO of Peerfit, has studied this area for years and has the answers you need to make wellness an integral part of your offerings. What You...

Our guest on this episode, Jacques Loveall, is Chairman of the United Food and Commercial Workers Trust, which, after being buffeted by the system as end users and an (almost) afterthought, has made some long-overdue changes in ownership and control of healthcare delivery. It is has been a fascinating journey, and they are just getting started. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why Taft/Hartley...

Contributor Jessica Waltman joins us for her quarterly visit to discuss the legislative and regulatory changes going on in Washington. Beyond the jockeying for the 2020 Presidential race, there is a great deal going on that you may not have been able to hear about over that din. Listen in to learn what you should be paying attention to and how it might affect your prospects and clients. What You’l...

In Mel Schlesinger’s new book, The Better Medicare Solution: What No One Is Telling You , he does the math and lays out his belief that Medicare Supplements are a much better option for almost all consumers. He won’t even sell Medicare Advantage Plans! In this fast-paced interview, Mel makes the case and explains why. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Medicare is not as complicated as many beli...

Can you create an agency that is focused more on relationships and results than on the traditional sales-driven mentality? That’s what Braden Monaco, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Blue Horizon Benefits, set out to learn. Along the way, he and his team created a concept they call the “Total Concierge Approach,” which creates true results-driven partnerships. Braden shares his firm’s journey an...

Mark Blum has taken a very different path to get to the healthcare universe – starting as a labor organizer and negotiator who quickly found healthcare to be the most frequent stumbling stone in negotiations. The determination to find a way to resolve that issue has brought him to some interesting destinations and some surprising conclusions along the way. He is Executive Director of America’s Age...

We have had a few guests discussing RBP, but the inevitable comments come down to how to implement it successfully more than how the components work (or occasionally – don’t work). Lester Morales is CEO of Next Impact, and he shares his extensive experience about how to go from “here to there” without the usual client and employee fears. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why RBP (done right) ma...

Have you finally “had it” with commission compression, but don’t have a clue about how to escape the commission boa constrictor and move toward a fee-based or hybrid practice model? Cheryl Perez, President of BIG-HR, shares her agency’s journey and offers specific advice about what KPIs to watch, how to value what you provide to clients and how to gain a competitive advantage in the process. What...

With the stratospheric rise in advisor interest in self-funding as a base financing design for bringing other state-of-the-art tools to employers, it is critical for advisors to understand the components and players. Jonathan Socko is Senior Vice President for Sales & Business Development for East Coast Underwriters and offers his advice for newbies and seasoned practitioners as well. What You...

In this episode, we explore some of the most common questions advisors ask about self-funding and discuss concerns ranging from minimum group size to tools and techniques. Our guest on this episode of ShiftShapers is Adam Russo, Esq., co-founder and CEO of The Phia Group, as well as the founding and managing partner at a law firm, Russo & Minchoff. He believes that, in light of the healthcare...

Tobe Gerard shares valuable insight into how she built a successful agency specializing in long-term care insurance. She had 20 years of experience in the insurance industry before starting her firm, and for the past 15 years, she's built a highly efficient, effective and successful agency using a unique strategy. Rather than finding prospects directly – as is the case with most practices – T...

On this episode of ShiftShapers, our guest and I discuss the new and diverse tools that advisors within the insurance industry are using to market their businesses. The fastest growing method happens to be video, and Bart Camarata is an expert on the topic. Bart is the creator and host of BenefitAdvisor TV , where he leverages his Middle Tennessee State education to produce quality video content....

Drug costs are soaring and driving more of medical spend than ever before. The good news is that there are tools coming to market to help consumers and plans alike. That is what our guest, Gary Becker, CEO of ScriptSourcing, and I discuss on this episode. We begin with an exploration of why prescription drugs are so much more expensive in the United States than they are in other countries. We disc...

Clients want more than a broker slinging the same old solutions – they want an advisor who can help them understand where the money is going, and how to control their spend over the entire claims spend continuum. Our guest on this episode, former professional poker player turned benefits advisor John Sbrocco, has spent time, money and a whole lot of effort to be that advisor, and in the 2-part int...

Clients want more than a broker slinging the same old solutions – they want an advisor who can help them understand where the money is going, and how to control their spend over the entire claims spend continuum. Our guest on this episode, former professional poker player turned benefits advisor John Sbrocco, has spent time, money and a whole lot of effort to be that advisor, and in the 2-part int...

Specialty drugs represent an ever-growing driver of our overall enormous drug spend. Pramod John, our guest on this episode, is CEO of Vivio Health, which is singularly focused on using outcomes revealed by data and analytics to bend the hockey-stick curve of this spending trend. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why do Americans have the highest drug costs? Exploding the myth that Americans’ c...

There is a fast-growing movement toward bundled, all-in one-price medical services that save money, provides less complexity for members, and may make networks (as we know them today) obsolete. Our guest on this episode is Stan Schwartz, M.D., the Chief Medical Officer of The Zero Card, a company which is in the forefront of making this dramatic change. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: What is...

Pharmacy costs are increasing exponentially – some estimate that they will soon represent more than a quarter of all plan spend. Yet this portion of the industry is so opaque that it is nearly impossible to accurately understand what, exactly, is being paid – and where those payments actually go. Our guest on this episode is Kent Thomas, founder of Pharmatrix, a marketing firm focused on creating...

Direct Primary Care (DPC) has been available for some time, but it has been marketed mainly to individuals. Today, a small number of DPC doctors and executives are making substantial strides toward breaking into the employer market. Our guest, Alex Lickerman, MD, Founder and CEO at ImagineMD, thinks the time is right and explains how it all works. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Understanding...

On this episode, Megan Chiarello (Grassetto Creative) and your host – two admitted marketing geeks – discuss how to create impactful marketing campaigns and events. Megan offers her advice on the three questions you must answer to create success with your marketing efforts. We explore the differences between selling and marketing, and much more. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: The 3 first que...

The midterms will undoubtedly create conversations and different directions for what we can expect around healthcare legislation and regulation. In part two of our two-part episode, Jessica outlines some of the thinking on both sides of the aisle, the key players to watch, and much more. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: What can we expect to see if the Democrats win both houses of Congress? Wh...

Legislative and regulatory changes that affect your practice and your clients continue to happen despite the other noise from the Hill. In part one of this two-part interview with regular contributor Jessica Waltman, we will explore those initiatives and what you need to know to advise your clients appropriately. In part two we discuss . . . politics! Which parties are taking what positions, how t...