But his tenure at that TPA job was short, and soon, he found himself transitioning to the broker/consultant side, teaming up with The Benefit Planning Group, where he’s been climbing the ladder since the ’80s. “I’ve worked through the account management and account executive roles and later led the large group department. Now I’m one of the partners with the firm.”

Education is key
One of Pittard’s strongest client strategies rests on the platform that education and evaluation is critical. He says his firm’s approach is more educational, rather than instructional based, and that’s subtly innovative when it comes to establishing efficient cost and health solutions for employers. “How we interact with our employer group is to not necessarily determine any preconceived solution or strategy for the client, but to truly understand the needs of our clients, evaluate all possible avenues with them,” he explains.

“Their corporate culture and needs, coupled with our knowledge of the industry, tends to make a better decision base. So that underwriting background probably differentiates us more than anything else.” Back before the health reform bill was reconciled between the House and Senate versions, Pittard was already prepping clients on what to expect. President Obama’s sweeping health care bill aligned more with the Senate version, which, in Pittard’s opinion, would mean greater opportunity for wellness strategies.

But amid the bipartisan rhetoric, lawsuits, and determination to repeal, it’s been a struggle just to help clients navigate the new mandates, because there’s still potential for change. “The biggest challenges have been trying to educate clients about what is currently contained in this loose framework of a law,” Pittard says. “And to try to stay ahead of the guidance, and position your client in design and strategy for a pathway that may have a full implementation of PPACA, or some modified watered-down version.

And so how do you pick a path that straddles both sides of that? We as a firm have been able to identify a number of sections within the law that (while I’m not supportive, per se) have potential positive outcomes from them. And being able to develop resources and programs around those various sections has been entertaining, for one, and two, we believe we’ll be able to deliver some cost containment strategies to the marketplace.” As an example, Pittard’s research of the law yielded potential opportunity as it relates to health care providers – one of his firm’s “primary industry segments.”

He says there’s a gateway through reform to help those clients reposition the way they deliver care. “We’ve had cross-over work [in that segment] that’s outside of the traditional employee benefit space, whether it be in the assistance with managed care contracting, development of other programs or helping deploy some of the resources in a little bit different fashion than they had been in the past.”

To be specific, Pittard points to Section 3025 of the PPACA — the creation of a hospital readmissions reduction program. A series of conditions — or diagnoses — have been identified as causing (or being linked to) higher readmission rates than others: things such as heart failure, heart disease and pneumonia.

Pittard says the provision can strengthen his tie with health care providers by “taking our knowledge base from the private sector where we’ve helped manage the health continuum for employer groups and now turning that into the public sector, where we can help our health system clients utilize that same health condition management approach in their Medicare and Medicaid patient base.”

Reaping the rewards
For Pittard, satisfaction derives from not only the opportunity to be creative in his work, but from knowing that what he does might positively impact thousands of individuals and families. “Our goal is to try to maintain or reduce the cost basis while not eroding away the need for benefits,” he says. “And being able to strike that balance and know that we kept costs in check not only for the employer, but for the employees themselves is very rewarding.”

He’s seen clients who have kept overall cost increases in check, and the employee in turn has seen steady, or even increased, take-home pay. “Add to that the focus towards improving the underlying health condition. Just knowing you get to have a positive impact on all these people that are out there working their tails off every day, and you’re helping maintain their coverage and their contributions towards it so that their pay is as great as it possibly can be — these are probably the most rewarding aspects of the profession.