There's lots of discussion in the broker community about high-performing health plans and next-generation strategies to control health care costs. But the problem is most benefit brokers and those who train them are talking at high levels about strategies and solutions that they don't know how to execute, don't have the resources to execute, or worse, have no intention of executing and just use as a parlor trick to add new clients. So even in a time when many non- traditional competitors are entering the space, not much changes, the results continue to be less than promising, and thus our industry becomes a target for elimination in the next model of health care.

There are a few advisors that have taken on this new model, but not many. If there were more advisors who were truly implementing the next-generation strategies they're posting all over LinkedIn, the industry as a whole would be clamoring for answers to an entirely new set of questions, such as:

• How do I get my team on board with these new strategies and vendors?
• How do I have that difficult conversation with my carrier rep to explain what we are doing?
• What if the carrier threatens to pull my appointment?
• How do I convert to fee for service to take control of my business?
• Why is my client base turning over at a higher rate than I anticipated?

For those of us who are leading the field, these are natural challenges and questions that come up as advisors truly convert their books and deliver real, positive change to their clients. The fact is, those questions aren't being asked, so it's clear that most advisors are not fully implementing the strategies that will work for their clients in the future. Anyone who is not teaching advisors how to navigate the questions above to prepare them for what they will be dealing with next is just doing glorified sales training.

Of course, it's usually easier and more comfortable to hold on to the status quo – the traditional producer model. But that model's spreadsheets, auction-based solutions, and carrier overrides aren't accomplishing the goal of lowering costs for employers and will not stand up as we see the rapidly approaching wave of non-traditional competitors enter the health care space.

A new way forward

For benefits brokers, the ultimate goal has always been and must remain to deliver quality medical coverage at a lower cost to employers. But what does that look like in today's business climate? If you build an independent, high-performing health plan with the right cost controls for your specific client, you are offering a solution that could be perceived as directly competing with the insurance products offered by your carrier partners today.