Starting a podcast to help deliver clients sounds easy enough, right? Ben Krueger of Cashflow Podcasting says there is more to it than meets the eye – including a healthy dose of commitment. But if you do it right it can be rewarding on a number of fronts. Ben helped us launch ShiftShapers, so we think of him as the guru of podcasting! What You’ll Learn From this Episode: The explosion of podcasts. Dealing with the “C” word. The 4 steps to take before you get started. Targeting your avatar. Gear...
Sep 02, 2019•26 min
Josh Luke is a man with many vantage points on our health care system: author, public speaker, healthcare futurist, and hospital administrator. He believes that the current healthcare system is irreparable. So, what are his thoughts about how we move forward and craft something that actually works? What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why affordability + greed + millennial culture = today’s dysfunctional system. Telehealth as a driver. Lack of transparency in the acute hospital sector. The curre...
Aug 26, 2019•26 min
How can plan participants use transparency tools to stay in network, but still find less expensive, higher quality care? Bill Hennessey is CEO at Pratter, Inc. and says the data proves – without argument – that providing transparency tools that are easy to use will help employers and their employees bust through the price/quality walls. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: What are the real components of a hospital charge? Why there is such unreal variation in pricing. Health care vs. Health Ins...
Aug 19, 2019•22 min
How does a nationally-recognized agency owner keep the joy in what she does – and what are her secrets for accomplishing that goal? Tanya Boyd, of the eponymous Tanya Boyd Agency, suggests we “quit it with the noise” and how to handle it when obstacles, limitations and beliefs collide. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Is disruption good, bad, or both? Don’t be the starving horse. Get out of your comfort zone to get comfortable. Trust your team. Love and trust trump all....
Aug 12, 2019•22 min
With all the noise and change in our industry, some find chaos and others find opportunity. Some of us need a Sherpa to help climb that opportunity market. But how do you get started, what do you look for in a guide or coach and how can you get to the summit? Ryan Miller is a fellow podcaster, coach and public speaker who talks to us about the help we all need to reach our peak of production. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why coaching matters more now than ever. What is the appropriate ro...
Aug 05, 2019•21 min
With all the noise and change in our industry, some find chaos and others find opportunity. Some of us need a Sherpa to help climb that opportunity market. But how do you get started, what do you look for in a guide or coach and how can you get to the summit? Ryan Miller is a fellow podcaster, coach and public speaker who talks to us about the help we all need to reach our peak of production. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why coaching matters more now than ever. What is the appropriate ro...
Jul 29, 2019•22 min
Shannon Skaggs, President at Quantum Health, knows that the average significant health event lasts 11 months, involves 5-7 providers and requires the patient to make 41 decisions. On this episode, Shannon explores how a patient can deal with all of that and discusses the tools and techniques that are available to help them. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Do patients need tech guidance or empathy and compassion or “all of the above?” How can digital tools help? The on-the-ground level servi...
Jul 22, 2019•22 min
Steve Watson is a CFO/CHRO of a 500-life group who has learned that there is a critical lack of understanding about benefits among his peers. In this interview, Steve offers his candid impressions about his efforts to educate other C-suite leaders and how benefits advisors can be more effective when talking with them. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How Steve started his benefits education journey. What surprised him the most as he learned more and more. How should benefits advisors talk wi...
Jul 15, 2019•21 min
We have had guests talk about benefits and P&C mergers, but how do you create a successful joint venture between benefits and accounting firms while managing the complexities of a highly regulated market? On this episode, we chat with Adam Rosenfeld, President of BT Benefits about the challenges and successes of just such a joint venture. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How the joint venture came about. What an underwriting background brought to the table. The importance of training. Th...
Jul 08, 2019•22 min
How do you deal with a bifurcated market, and what can we learn from our Taft/Hartley cousins? Jim Garrison, President at Pacific Federal, a private TPA in Southern California, discusses that and more in this episode. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How to deal with different market segments in the same state. How the cannabis industry is changing benefits delivery. Why agency rollups are both a curse and a blessing. How the field service component is still the key. What can Taft/Hartley ac...
Jul 01, 2019•21 min
A personal encounter with the medical system led to a decision that making a difference required a different approach. So Adam Berkowitz launched an agency that takes a new-day perspective in its operations and interactions with clients. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: The personal experience that began the process. Leveraging technology to control expense and enable scaling. Focusing on being educational and consultative. The St. Louis market and its influence. Working with the shifting mi...
Jun 24, 2019•23 min
Creating a pharmacy model that provides help for underserved populations using reclaimed prescriptions required a pharmacist with a mission, a change in legislation and a vision. Phil Baker is a pharmacist on a mission who has created a whole that is more than just the sum of its parts. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: The voyage from a national company to a Memphis neighborhood pharmacist. The Plavix example. How this initiative goes from an idea to reality – and then expands. What is a “me...
Jun 17, 2019•23 min
With the massive amount of creative disruption happening in our industry, the need for advisor education is greater than ever. The University of Lynchburg’s Tom Scott has relied on industry experts and others to create a new Masters degree which focuses on the practical aspects of the new world of health benefits. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How a Ph.D. in quantitative analysis found his way to the healthcare space. Why health care education is a true blue ocean – and why that can’t con...
Jun 10, 2019•23 min
With the massive amount of creative disruption happening in our industry, the need for advisor education is greater than ever. The University of Lynchburg’s Tom Scott has relied on industry experts and others to create a new Masters degree which focuses on the practical aspects of the new world of health benefits. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How a Ph.D. in quantitative analysis found his way to the healthcare space. Why health care education is a true blue ocean – and why that can’t con...
Jun 03, 2019•21 min
With all of the focus on deconstructing health plans, the technical aspects of self-funding, advising clients on compliance, and more – it is often hard to remember the amount of good we do as an industry. Advisor Tom DiLiegro’s experience as a young man drove that point home in a very personal and long-lasting way. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How his personal experience drove his professional choices. How to make an impact on a personal level. How the Charleston, SC market impacts plan...
May 27, 2019•21 min
It doesn’t do a lot of good if a firm has the best benefit plans in the world, but the employees don’t really know about them or understand how they work. What are some of the key tools and techniques you should use to make sure your client’s message is getting through? Ellen Anreder, Owner of Bleiweiss Communications, has spent her career helping Taft/Hartley Plans and others do just that. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How a picket line became a transformative event. The 5 key components...
May 20, 2019•23 min
Many firms are diversifying their client offerings and beefing up their value propositions to achieve success in the current environment. Some firms are finding that path by offering HR services. Barry Cohn and his wife’s firm have been moving in that direction and are about to make a big-time change to their practice. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: The story starts with Barry’s wife, Renee. The synergy between plans and employee benefits. How including HR changes the conversation. The ben...
May 13, 2019•23 min
Deconstructing health plans is a challenge – especially so in small markets. What are those conversations like, and is it possible to achieve success with new health plan strategies outside of large markets? Josh Baker, President of Butler Benefits in Amarillo, Texas, shares his experience and success secrets with us. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How did he end up opening an agency with his wife? What are some of the small marketplace challenges? Special hurdles to overcome in a state wi...
May 06, 2019•21 min
There is a great deal of discussion in our industry about “deconstructing” health plans and the benefits available when an employer embraces a deconstructed plan while working with the correct advisor. Robson Baker, advisor at Clarus Benefits, has studied this strategy and has great advice for those already working on deconstructed plans, and for those who aspire to help employers embrace this technique. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How Robson’s personal experience with the health care s...
Apr 29, 2019•23 min
Western medicine is not the only way to achieve health and wellbeing. How can Yoga and meditation affect your clients' health care spend and create a better environment for their employees? Naama Pozniak, CEO of A+ Insurance Services, has dedicated herself to bringing those disciplines to advisors and their clients. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How to overcome “monkey mind.” Why we should go back to what we have forgotten. Becoming a better listener as an advisor is another benefit. How ...
Apr 22, 2019•22 min
Within our own firm – and for clients – technology has become an often-confusing maze of choices. How do you know what to look for and how to make the right long-term choice? Jeff Severson, President of Trinity Advisors, has made a career of learning how to keep advisors and their clients from falling into tech traps. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: One size fits none. User experience is key in today’s employment market. Corporate culture as an important decision point. Red flags to watch o...
Apr 15, 2019•22 min
From application to claims, DI is a bit of a different animal. Underwriting is both medical and financial, and policy provisions are (understandably) more complex than a life sale. Death is not subjective, but disabilities are, and oftentimes this leads to claim challenges. Eric Buchanan, JD, and his firm help claimants when the rubber meets the road. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: How did he get into this area of the business? What causes most claims disputes. How to keep your client out ...
Apr 08, 2019•25 min
Product, marketing and technical knowledge alone are not enough to be effective with today’s prospects and clients. Dana Dombrowski, a coach with Hit The Ground Running, shares some of her tips and techniques for advisors who need to listen more carefully, speak more clearly, and act more deliberately. What You’ll Learn From this Episode: Why is coaching necessary for today’s advisors? What are the key areas of focus coaching targets? The critical role of listening. Why many make choices out of ...
Apr 01, 2019•22 min
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 matter. Founder of Borislow Insurance, Jennifer reflected on how to keep this from happening to othe...
Mar 25, 2019•20 min
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 formed. What geographical challenges added to the mix. How to help very traditional employers make the tr...
Mar 18, 2019•21 min
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. Special analytic tools for pharmacy. How to leverage onsite and nearsite clinics. Why an HR person was b...
Mar 11, 2019•24 min
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’ll Learn From this Episode: How and why wellness became a thing. What early models looked like, and...
Mar 04, 2019•22 min
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 plans are different from commercial plans. The journey from afterthought end user to ownership and ...
Feb 25, 2019•21 min
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’ll Learn From this Episode: The Creates Act. Medicare and Medicaid changes. An update on EMRs (again)...
Feb 18, 2019•23 min
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 believe. Why consumers should not rely on many advisors. The case for not selling Medicare Advantage pla...
Feb 11, 2019•23 min
