The ShiftShapers Podcast

Every study available continues to show that consumers need help with understanding and selecting plans. One company has developed an Uber-like marketplace that helps to make that connection. In this episode, we chat with Dan Hughes of Softheon about what’s new with private exchanges and how they are evolving to meet consumer’s needs. We explore the ongoing viability of private exchanges and how c...

This week’s guest believes that the smartphone has the power to transform the way health care is practiced and to put patients back in control of their health care. Dr. Eric Topol, joins us to talk about his recent book, “ The Patient Will See You Now ”. A practicing cardiologist, professor of genomics, and director of Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, CA, Dr. Topol outlines the...

Our ShiftShapers subject matter expert this week is Jessica Waltman. Jessica serves as principal at Forward Health Consulting, which she established after 16 distinguished years as Senior Vice-President of Government Affairs for the National Organization of Health Underwriters. In this wide-ranging discussion,  Jessica discusses ACA reporting, the need for clients to have up to date plan documents...

On this week’s episode of ShiftShapers , we’re excited to be speaking with Robin Gelburd, president of FAIR Health, a national independent non-profit organization that’s currently doing some interesting and effective work around the broad subject of pricing and transparency. They have recently released a must-read study for anyone in the benefits field titled “Understanding Consumer Health Insuran...

This week we welcome Employee Benefit Adviser Magazine’s “Adviser of The Year” Tim Olson, the managing partner at The Olson Group.  He joins us today to share his journey to building a successful benefits practice and to talk about some of the innovations their agency is using to keep the at the top of their game. We begin by discussing their beginnings and the way the agency has expanded to provi...

On this episode of Shiftshapers Podcast , we continue our conversation with Dr. Robert Graboyes, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, about the economics of health care and why both sides are losing the debate. Join us as we discuss the reasons why traditional economic principles have worked differently in health care and what is happening (and needs to happen)...

In this episode of ShiftShapers Podcast , we are privileged to welcome a leading economist and thought leader in our field, Robert Graboyes. Bob is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where he examines the economics of healthcare. His paper, “Fortress and Frontier in American Health Care” ( link below ) caught my interest and I invited him to discuss that – a...

In earlier episodes (see links below) we have spoken with physicians who are taking a very different, and more free-market approach to pricing health care. Their numbers are growing rapidly and while some may think that “free market medicine” is an oxymoron or an impossible dream, a new and growing association is beginning to prove otherwise. On this episode of ShiftShapers podcast, we’re excited...

From fully-insured to self-insured, a great deal of focus is on funding strategies rather than products. In previous episodes of ShiftShapers podcast, we’ve discussed everything from minimum premium to captive arrangements. In this episode Bill Hill, president and CEO of Visor Benefits, helps us take a deep dive into the defined contribution plans and some of the novel ways to deploy them with you...

Increases in personal responsibility, a need to control employer costs and a desire to improve the health of employee populations are renewing an interest in the area of on-site and near-site clinics. Karen Hjerleid, the Vice-President of National Business Development at Paladina Health shares her knowledge of the area and offers insight into an old concept that may make sense for an ever-increasi...

More so today than at any time in the past, benefit advisors are looking for new markets to serve. In this episode, we discuss some non-traditional markets that may be new to many of our listeners and we discuss the techniques that resonate in those markets. There’s no better person to talk about this topic than our guest, Bob Gardner, the National  Business Development Coordinator of Freedom Care...

In the post-ACA environment we have seen intensely increased interest in self insured financing arrangements. Some elements of self-insurance are now making their way out as stand-alone components, and are even being applied to fully-insured plans. Our guest and subject matter expert, Crystal Williams, President of RxReins joins us to discuss reinsuring one of the biggest cost drivers in any plan:...

In today’s environment, the average age of benefit advisors and agency owners is increasing, but there are some younger people coming into the insurance business and they are bringing innovation and new best practices to the table. Emily Bremer, founder at Bremer Conley Insurance Brokers & Consultants is one of those advisors, and she joins us to discuss some of the things her agency is doing....

In this episode of The  ShiftShapers  podcast, we interview Brett Rosen, Executive Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Digital Benefit Advisors. We begin our wide-ranging interview by exploring the most important things driving the M&A wave. Brett offers his expertise and opinions on the advantages some firms find by becoming a part of a larger organization. Get full show notes and...

On this second part of our look at the voluntary benefits, we invited Frank Doherty and Brian Jund, Co-founders of National Benefit Partners, to the ShiftShapers podcast to discuss their particular area of specialization – the large group market. Join us to discover how the large groups have used voluntary benefits in the past and how new benefits are coming to market. We also explore how PPACA ha...

For many advisors, voluntary benefits have gone from being a specialty area to being an integral part of their everyday businesses. Others are finding VB something they want to become a key part of their business. On this first of our two-part series on voluntary benefits, we invited Matt Boeshore and Gail Stark of eVolve Marketplace to talk about this exciting benefits area, specifically for smal...

At the recent NAHU Convention, we spoke with Lillian Shapiro, president of HR360, about some of the challenges that benefits advisors face from companies providing “free” stuff in exchange for Agent of Record Letters. She points out that this type of marketing is not a new hurdle, but one that has reappeared at a particularly interesting time in our business. On this episode of ShiftShapers ,Lilli...

At the recent National Association of Health Underwriters Convention we invited Troy Cook, Vice President of Sales & Development at Telligen to discuss how we can use data and analytics to improve the system for all stakeholders. Troy discusses some of the key variables that advisors need to embrace and understand to help bring clients make informed decisions around plan choice, employee educa...

From social media to video email marketing, one of the common themes we heard a lot of folks talking about at the recent National Association of Health Underwriters Convention was the need for better, more efficient and effective communication. One of the presenters from the convention, Barbara Saxton, CEO of Smart Choices, joins us on this episode to talk about the class she taught on that topic....

Jay Kempton, president & CEO of The Kempton Group has been described as “the personification of a disruptive force in the self funded world.” In our wide ranging discussion, Jay talks about everything from what buying a truck would be like if we applied today’s insurance purchasing rules to why Health Savings Accounts aren’t a real long-term solution. We also explore the gap between the insura...

It often seems as though the world of employee benefits is exempt from many of the forces that impact other industries. Kara Trott, Founder & CEO of Quantum Health, knows that is not true, and that much of what happen in other industries – especially retail sales – can help us to improve our industry and the client experience we provide. We invited Kara to share her experience with using strat...

We try to include a lot of different voices on the ShiftShapers podcast, and we have been missing an actuary’s perspective.  Our guest on this episode, Hobson Carroll, is the president of the Medrisk Actuarial Services. As you guessed from the headline, Hobson is a bit unorthodox and creative, but that is what makes him an intriguing and provocative thought leader in the industry – and a great pod...

Mark Gaunya returns to ShiftShapers to discuss the use of Captive Insurance Arrangements as an alternate funding mechanism for your clients. More and more advisors are considering different types of self-insured financing mechanisms for clients – especially in the mid to large market space. A Captive adds a few components that help to create a comfort level with clients making the change to self i...

As change accelerates all around us, most aspects of human life are undergoing dramatic amounts and various rates of shift. With that in mind, who better to ask about the myriad changes surrounding healthcare than a futurist? Our guest on this episode is David Houle, is a not only a futurist who lectures worldwide, he is also the author of a number of books, including on that is aimed directly at...

On this episode of ShiftShapers, we’re exploring an area that a lot of our listeners have asked about –  non-insurance based benefits. Our guest, Kyle Hodges, president of The Broker’s Broker, tired of bringing clients “bad news” and changed his practice to specialize in only these types of corporate benefits. Kyle shares some of the most common, and not-so-common, non-traditional non-insurance id...