The whole picture

Something we've observed and seen reinforced in our own market research is wellness giving way to “well-being,” with employers looking at employee health from a whole-person view, recognizing its physical, social, emotional, financial and environmental dimensions. And while these dimensions of well-being are critical in determining overall health, a key component is the delivery—how you empower employees to pay attention to take action. This requires adapting the way you work with each participant and client community to instill a culture of health that fosters sustainable healthy actions in more of an employee population.

Sean McManamy, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, HeathFitness

Shifting costs

Health care inflation has driven our business to grow leaps and bounds this year.

It's no secret that health care cost increases are pushing out-of-pocket costs. Employers and brokers are facing PR issues because employees are strapped. As a result, employers demand new ways to contain costs and/or soften the landing as they increase cost sharing. This is our sweet spot, and it's enabled us to add hundreds of new partners this year.

Reid Rasmussen, Co-Founder & President, Freshbenies

More voluntary

We've seen a dramatic increase in RFP activity this year and I believe that spike is attributed to three triggers. First, completing the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . Now that many aspects of PPACA have been put in place, employers can move their attention to voluntary benefits like legal insurance.

Secondly, life is complicated and problems seem to get more complex every day. Companies are looking for resources to help employees solve personal issues that cause problems at work. If an employer can offer a benefit that reduces stress to make employees more productive while decreasing absenteeism and presenteeism, it's a win for everyone.

And finally, in response to increased public concern around identity theft, we added protection and recovery services to our product this year. Our unique approach to pair identity theft protection with our comprehensive legal plan has been very attractive to brokers and employers because it allows them to solve two problems with one solution.