Only two months into 2014, it's still smart to prepare for the year ahead.
And at the beginning of planning, I always think of how the great basketball coach John Wooden began each season: he reviewed how to tie shoelaces with his players.
Wooden went over the process in great detail: He made sure each player understood that precise attention to every detail is a terrific competitive advantage. A careless opponent might pay less attention to basics like tying shoes — and that could be the difference in a close contest. And the shoelaces secured the foundation of a player's leverage on the floor. Wooden knew that paying attention to such a basic item would also underscore the value of attention to other details, by creating a mindset that nothing can be assumed when it comes to preparation.
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So what are the shoelaces of our business? They are the basics we need to keep in mind as we address the burning questions we are going to need to deal with during 2014.
- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Obamacare has dominated our world for the past three years, and the headlines for the past few months. With the inability to meet expectations, the President and Congress are finding out that our business isn't so simple after all. But now more than ever, with government-backed programs falling more into question, employers are going to rely on their brokers for advice — and brokers on their carrier partners.
- Voluntary benefits. We've talked for years about how voluntary benefits can fill gaps — gaps in the plans employers provide to employees, gaps created by Obamacare, and gaps in broker income generated by the MLR requirements. But while we've talked about this, it's still not possible to design the best gap-filling product. The problems with the HealthCare.gov site, the issues with regulations put off or modified, have delayed any specific solutions for another year.
- Voluntary benefits 2. We have to wonder about employees. They have been told they must have health insurance coverage, yet their options have been confusing and frustrating at best. The economy hasn't helped, either. So will employees keep reacting favorably to voluntary benefits this year?
- Defined contribution and private exchanges. Are these "Obamacare solutions" going to be as fresh in 2014 as they seemed in 2013? Will this movement stall a bit as employers realize they would be introducing ideas their employees are not necessarily interested in? Are employers going to think: "why bother?"
In 2014, as we look forward, more than ever we need to focus on our customers. Let's quit watching Washington so closely, quit planning to react to the moving targets represented by PPACA, and have direct discussions with employers about how to best define medical, ancillary, and voluntary benefits to meet the needs of their employees.
Let's make sure their shoelaces are tied, so their benefit strategies are on solid footing.
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