The ShiftShapers Podcast

This week on ShiftShapers, we wrap up our two-part discussion with Brooks Goodison, President of Diversified Group.  Last week, Brooks helped us sort through the changes underway that target groups that want to move away from fully-insured plans. This week, he highlights strategies that employer groups are using to fight the rising cost of health care as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Health...

A quiet battle at the state level may make it more difficult for you to be creative in the small and mid-market spaces. In this week’s episode, Brooks Goodison, President of Diversified Group joins us to discuss how renewed interest in partially self-insured plans in the small to mid-market has drawn the attention of state regulators. In this first segment of a two-part discussion on ShiftShapers,...

This week, we welcome Patrick Irving, Managing Director of Covala Group, to The ShiftShapers podcast to help us explore the overlooked opportunities available with disability income. With only 30% of Fortune 1000 companies (and fewer in other segments) providing coverage in this area, advisors willing to develop a DI expertise will be in a prime position to expand their practices while providing i...

In part 2 of our quarterly visit with Jessica Waltman, we explore the upcoming regulatory changes during this election season that will directly affect benefit advisors. Jessica is a Principal at Forward Health Consulting and is a regular contributor to ShiftShapers .  As one of the preeminent experts on how legislative and regulatory changes will impact your practice, she is the perfect guest to...

In part 1 of our quarterly visit with Jessica Waltman we explore the “public option”, which down-ballot elections you should be watching and more. Jessica is Principal at Forward Health Consulting and is a regular contributor to ShiftShapers and one of the preeminent experts in how legislative and regulatory changes will affect your practice – and your clients. While we are all focused on the race...

Technology is most useful when provides insights that help you advise your clients on changes they can make to lower claims costs and bend their trend. Our subject matter expert this week is Keith Lemer, CEO of Wellnet Healthcare Plan and a founding member of the Healthcare Performance Management Institute – a think tank focused on using technology to bring down the cost of health care. Regardless...

Is it possible to help people make and sustain long-term behavior changes that yield better health and reduced claims cost? This week’s guest, Ted Borgstadt, CEO of TrestleTree, believes that achieving adherent health behaviors for an unmotivated population is possible through a change in the healthcare model. The current healthcare model focuses more on the 1/3 of patients who are motivated to ch...

Saving money by helping to increase consumer confidence and health care literacy should be a priority in today’s often fractured and always expensive healthcare system. A Thomson Reuters study estimates that health care costs can be cut by $36 billion dollars by helping consumers make smarter decisions. On this episode, Julian Lago, President of Benezon, helps us to learn how advisors can help con...

Business groups on health are helping employers understand and use data while they transition from volume purchasing to value purchasing. Jessica Brooks, CEO and Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, shares her expertise on health-focused business groups; potentially a new topic for many listeners. In the past, business groups formed primarily to leverage purchasing power....

Under ACA, companies are being penalized for growth, perverse incentives abound and risk adjustments are creating . . . risk! This week,  Tom Policelli, CEO of Minuteman Health, joins us to discuss the unintended consequences of risk adjustment in the Affordable Care Act. Although it may not have crossed your radar yet, it’s important to understand the market uncertainty triggered by the federal g...

Accustomed to knocking on the C-Suite door, many advisors are finding success by using the HR door instead. Leveraging ACA-related changes and technology creates compelling conversations advisors can use to grow their businesses. Our guest this week is George Reese of Employee Navigator who helps us explore shifts in the industry that makes oft-neglected HR departments a target rich environment fo...

This week on the ShiftShapers podcast, Sal Campanile stops by to help us explore the world of voluntary benefits. Sal is the Vice President of Workplace Voluntary Benefits and Group Sales for 5-Star; the insurance company for the Armed Forces Benefits Association. Voluntary benefits create a more enriching and satisfying experience for the consumer. They exist to support an insurance package, not...

A generational shift has created several generations of Americans who are financially unprepared for retirement, which represents an opportunity for advisors. We explore that and other changes going on at The American College on this episode of ShiftShapers . On this episode of the ShiftShapers podcast, we go back to school with Dr. Robert Johnson, President and CEO of The American College. Dr. Jo...

This week on the ShiftShapers podcast, Eric Parmenter outlines the differences between the HMOs of the past and value-based care at the provider and hospital level.  Eric is the VP of Employer Solutions at Evolent Health. His vast experience at all spectrums of the insurance industry makes him the perfect guest to identify the benefits and potential in store with a value-based approach to pricing....

Providing compliance advice and services is table stakes for today’s advisors. How do you build a compliance practice and should you create it in-house or contract it out? On this week’s episode of ShiftShapers, we chat with Peter Lewenson, the Founder and President of Compliance Bug, who has 20 years of experience with regulated industries including healthcare, financial services, insurance and e...

It’s all about risk management! Learn how today’s successful plans incorporate clinical expertise, financial understanding, and cutting edge cost containment strategies to deliver outstanding year-over-year results. Peter and Dr. Stacy Borans, provide the tools, techniques, strategies and tactics self-insured plans and their advisors need. The founders of Advanced Medical Strategies , they have ov...

It’s all about risk management! Learn how today’s successful plans incorporate clinical expertise, financial understanding, and cutting edge cost containment strategies to deliver outstanding year-over-year results. Peter and Dr. Stacy Borans, provide the tools, techniques, strategies and tactics self-insured plans and their advisors need. The founders of Advanced Medical Strategies , they have ov...

Communication and consumerism tools are especially important in smaller groups that lack the resources of their larger counterparts. This presents a challenge for advisors and their clients. Saravanan Chettiar, the founder of STRIVE Benefits , joins us on this week’s episodes to share his expertise on how new tools and technology help benefits advisors to deliver effective services in an easily sc...

Are non-insured benefits a tool to help combat commission compression and how can you integrate them into your practice? Regulatory changes, complexities introduced by the Affordable Care Act, and challenges facing HR directors to maximize employee benefits while reducing costs provide opportunities for advisors to offer additional services to supplement diminished commissions. Joel Ray, the chair...

Beyond the technicalities of the DOL Fiduciary Rule are the practicalities of how to adjust your practice to comply while still delivering a high level of client service. In an earlier episode, we examined the structure and context of the DOL’s newest edict. And while it is great to know the ins and outs of the rule, the more pressing question for practitioners is what it actually means at “ground...

If you want to help your clients engage, put away the product and focus on curated content and micro-moments. Helping consumers engage more easily with your services can help you maximize your efforts and your profitability. But what components do you need and how do you deliver them for best effect? Veer Gidwaney, the co-founder and CEO at Maxwell Health, joins us this week to answer these questi...

Who is trying to change the Employer Exclusion and why? How will the new overtime and wellness rules affect you? Jessica Waltman’s quarterly visit explains it all! In her last quarterly visit with us, Jessica Waltman profiled the Ds vs. the Rs regarding the Employer Health Tax Exclusion. A lot has happened since then. In this episode, we explore some recent Congressional hearings on the matter and...

If you are thinking about taking a more consultative approach and want a roadmap for how to get there, this episode is for you! On this episode, we welcome Chad Schneider, Chief Sales Officer at Code SixFour, who has extensively studied practices around the country and has keen insights into how the most successful advisors are either hanging out “Consultant” shingles or are taking a more consulta...

Behavioral economics may sound like an oxymoron, but it has everything to do with success in everything from benefit design to sales success. Jeremy Pincus, Principle at Forbes Consulting Group, studies the topic and believes that it is crucial to more productivity and happier clients. Jeremy explains what that useful offshoot of economics and psychology is all about and why “there’s a factor of e...

Are you a “solutionary”?  What is the role of wisdom in ethics, and where does wisdom begin? An old friend of the podcast has a new novel that helps explain it all. This week, we welcome Tony Boquet back to the podcast. In his “day” job, Tony is Vice President and Adjunct Professor at the American College. Last time we chatted, he told us about changes at the college, but this conversation centers...