Broker blog

This article was originally published on Q4intelligence Crushing Mediocrity blog

As your 2018 selling season comes to an end and you finish open enrollments, I’m sure you’ve started thinking about next year: what will change, what will stay the same and what will drive client conversations? 

Over the year, I attended dozens of conferences, spoke with thousands of benefits consultants, and read hundreds of thousands of words about our industry. 

Based on all that and my “few years” in this fine industry, I’m sharing predictions for 2019.

Think about your current clients. Your book of business consists of a diverse set of employers and employees. But, what percent of their employees do you actually serve?

With clear rules stating who is and isn’t eligible for benefits, most brokers zone in on the benefits-eligible segment as they present their strategies to the employer. Obviously, this is a necessary step, but have you considered the untouched opportunity that traditional strategies miss? 

How do you make decisions about technology investments? 

Technology has created new habits in all of us - including our clients. Just consider how you use the internet, apps, social media, or text messaging each day. 

As a professional, you have a choice: to ignore what’s going on or keep up! I say keep up! But, be strategic. Not everything that’s “new and shiny” serves your goals and objectives.

It’s the wild west out there in healthcare! News about mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, venture capital, technology, etc. are in the headlines daily.

If you haven’t heard, Baylor Scott & White and Memorial Hermann recently announced a merger. The planned combination of Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health with Houston-based Memorial Hermann Health System would form a 68-hospital system, making it the largest in Texas and among the largest nationwide, with annual revenue in excess of $14 billion.

How many of your clients find healthcare and insurance complicated and expensive? Pretty much everyone, right? 

Employees face challenges engaging a confusing system and employers deal with ever-growing costs associated with that same system.

Today I’m sharing 3 reasons healthcare navigation with our new advocacy partner, Compass Professional Health Services, can be a game-changer for your clients and their employees.  

Late September in New Orleans, Employee Benefit Advisor (EBA) and Employee Benefit News (EBN) hosted their Benefits Forum & Expo. Because it’s virtually the last benefit conference of the year, it’s like the exclamation point on the benefits industry for 2018. 

I attended and taught at more than 30 conferences this year. This particular one has a broader view than most because the attendance is split between benefits consultants and HR experts from mid-sized to large employers. 

UGH, healthcare costs! We deal with the topic every day, but do we know the stats? 

According to Milliman Medical Index, annual medical costs for a family of four is now nearly $27,000 – up $5,000 in the last 4 years. Employees are paying more for healthcare than ever before, too…