Broker Tips

Cross-selling Ancillary Products

We find that the focus tends to shift toward new business growth in early spring, because this is a calmer time of year for many brokers. This is the perfect opportunity to explore ways to enrich the...

The Most Popular Ways to Control Health Care Costs

Employers are using creative ways to control health care costs, according to a survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEB) "Telemedicine stands out as the fastest growing h...

Employees Drastically Underestimate the Value of Their Benefits

Comparability.com is a somewhat addictive website that asks online users to answer questions about their workplace. In one survey, employees estimate the value of their benefits including “healthcare,...

Prescription Drugs Are a Significant Factor in Higher Premiums

Prescription drug costs are a major contributor to driving up health plan premiums according to a recent report by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC). Health plans paid nearly $8....

Benefit Trends for Part-Time Employees

With flexible work arrangements on the rise, more employers are considering benefits for part-time employees. Seventy-nine percent of employers surveyed by the International Foundation of Employee Ben...

Four Things that Separate Great Brokers from Good Brokers

by Kevin Timone This article is based on a PodCast with Dennis Carlson of Benefits Influencer Our industry is full of smart, dedicated people. But, when it comes to higher levels of success, what sepa...

Adding Up Nine of Years Health Care Spending Increases

When you look at healthcare spending on a yearly basis, the increases don’t seem that big. But when you add up nine years of increases, the results are staggering. From 2007 to 2016, there was a 44% i...

Is Cost Sharing Reaching its Limit for California Employers?

Health care costs continue to rise in California with the average health plan now topping $19,200 a year for a family. But employers and workers seem to be reaching their limit when it comes to increa...

A Look at Out-of-Network Billing

In more than 15% of inpatient admissions, a patient gets a bill from an out-of-network provider even though they used an in-network facility, according to a national study of large employer plans by t...

Many Employers Are Not Ready for Open Enrollment

A significant number of employers are not on the right pace to gear up for open enrollment. As of July, many had not yet planned or designed employee communications, reviewed compliance and eligibilit...

Group Coverage Rises in California While Individual Coverage Falls

In 2017, group coverage rose while individual coverage declined in California, according to a report by the California Healthcare Foundation. Strong employment growth contributed to rising enrollment ...

Employers Ramp Up Benefits in Tight Labor Market

Employers are using benefits to recruit and retain talent in a tight labor market. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) finds that more employers are reviewing their benefit pa...