Broker Expo recap: Health care is undergoing a sea change

“You all are the leaders of this industry. You are responsible for the culture as we know it. The rising tide starts with you in the front, from the small house to the large.”

Marlin Woods set the bar high for attendees during one of the first breakout sessions at this year’s BenefitsPRO Broker Expo in Atlanta. A standing-room-only crowd tuned in to hear Woods, executive coach with The Woods Plan, and a panel of benefits industry leaders discuss the current state of employee health care, what lies ahead and the role of brokers and benefits professionals in steering it down the right path.

“Health care changes every year,” said Robert Shestack, chairman and CEO of Voluntary Benefits Association. “It’s either delivery of health care, access to health care, how affordable it is. It’s really no different, we’re just doing it differently.”

Indeed, the problems with our health care system have plagued employers and employees alike for decades, and stakeholders from all areas have been attempting to solve those problems for decades. But real change is happening, and it’s incumbent upon the benefits industry to ensure that we don’t lose momentum and fall back into the same patterns.

“A lot of things were set in motion during the pandemic,” noted Erika Williams, senior vice president, employee benefits practice leader, with Brown & Brown. “There’s been a shift in employees and their demands and needing to meet them where they are. Things that had stigma in the past, mental health and infertility — people are stepping up and demanding what they want.”

Industry at a crossroads

The pandemic, Combs & Company CEO Susan Combs agreed, has disrupted the health care and benefits industry in a way that has the potential to create lasting change. The rise of remote work opened up the doors to new employee pools, but also new expectations, regulations and challenges. “The thing employers didn’t realize is that when you start shifting your demographics of employees, you might become out of compliance from a group standpoint,“ Combs said.

The stress of remote work and pandemic-era living has also sparked a population health management renaissance. “Everyone’s used to wellness programs, but population health management is looking at emotional, social, financial and physical well-being,” Williams said. “It used to be basic medical/dental/vision, now employers have to consider culture, flexibility and diversity,equity, inclusion and belonging.”

Unfortunately, not all of the shifts currently taking place in health care are positive. Combs addressed “the big elephant in the room,” which she expects will spark a wave of medical malpractice suits for wrongful births in coming years: the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Already, the industry has heard its fair share of stories of women struggling to access the health care services they need, and while some employers have stepped up to the plate in a big way, the majority will shy away from that level of responsibility.

“Those are the things we’re going to have to deal with on an ongoing basis,” Combs said. “If you run a small shop, the employees call you. They don’t want to share it with their employer. You’ve got to take politics out of it, the religion out. How can I serve this client and give them the best access to care?”

Maintaining the momentum

All of this points back to the benefits professionals, who, Woods says, are in control of whether we continue to plot a new course or revert to the old pattern. “When I say leadership and getting out in front of these things… we’re not dealing with the usual offerings that we administer and sell,” he said. “There is a real responsibility now, now that there is a very heavy cultural shift that pulls everybody to the table.”

And, if we want employers and employees to buy into these shifts, we have to make sure they know how. “It’s our job to educate people,” Combs said. “Do I really need this test, what’s the cash price? Letting people have the comfort level to know it’s okay to ask questions.”

In addition to encouraging patients to advocate for themselves, Shestack noted the industry itself is stepping up to be better advocates. “One of the things that we’re seeing is a lot of brokers who have self-funded clients are going back to exclusive provider organizations. They’re calling these doctors, hospitals, urgent cares and negotiating in advance,” he said. “We are educated, listened to, experienced, and we probably help control the second largest expense for employers. We need to be out in front.”

And for business owners, keeping these changes on track may just be a numbers game, said Williams. “George Floyd is a bigger conversation that has to do with DEI&B and feeling heard,” she said, noting that most companies are already paying for the cost of these efforts — or lack thereof. “The cost per employee per year of presenteeism is $9,450. Wouldn’t you rather have it as part of your culture? Instead of spending money, you’re saving money.”