Broker blog

I just returned from the 2017 BenefitsPRO Broker Expo in Indianapolis. In light of the recent health care reformdebacle, I expected to get the pulse of the fast-changing employee benefits business and the brokers that are on the front lines working with customers. I was NOT disappointed.  

Following are my top 10 takeaways from the conference…. 

It was about as close as you can get to a sure thing in politics. Since 2010, Republicans have complained about the Affordable Care Act, calling it one of the worst laws ever enacted. For the past seven years, they’ve vowed to repeal it. During President Obama’s terms in office, they voted over 50 times to do away with his signature legislation.

Health Savings Accounts have been around since 2004 and, aside from a few tweaks along the way and an annual adjustment for inflation, are pretty much the same as they were when they were first introduced. That could soon be changing, though. Nearly every major proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act—including those by Donald Trump, Paul Ryan, and Tom Price—includes multiple suggestions to improve and expand HSAs.

In a recent post about the ongoing EpiPen pricing saga, I suggested that a case study might be unfolding before our eyes: for the first time I can remember, “consumerism” actually seems to be influencing health care prices. This is part two of that story.

Can you believe it? In just a few days, 2016 will be “in the books.” The healthcare industry roller coaster had a few twists throughout the year (with more to come in the year ahead)! Following tradition, we’re looking back at our most popular articles from the year gone by. Consider this our “2016 The Skimm edition.” Here we go…

Since late 2014, I’ve heard agents around the country complain about Zenefits. “They can’t take BORs like that!” “They aren’t even changing the plan design!” “Clients will hate their service once they find out how bad it is!”

Today, President Obama signs the 21st Century Cures Act into law and in doing so legalizes “qualified small employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements” (QSEHRAs). This provision, tacked on at the end of the law, is by no means the most important piece of this legislation.

As we all wake up to this strange new post-election world, two things seem certain:

1. Very few, if any, of us saw this coming.