Benefits Influencer

In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson interviews Steve Santangelo, Chief Revenue Officer at Garner Health, about their unique approach to healthcare cost management through provider quality assessment. The conversation offers benefits brokers and consultants valuable insights into innovative solutions for addressing rising healthcare costs at a time when employers are seeking more effective alternatives to traditional health plans. ------------------------------------------------- Steve Santangelo brings his decade of carrier-side experience to explain how Garner Health uses data analytics to identify high-quality healthcare providers and incentivize employees to choose them, resulting in both better care and lower costs. The discussion explores: Key Takeaways: Provider Quality FocusMarket TransformationBroker Strategy The episode also covers insights on price transparency developments, how self-funded employers can leverage concentrated membership for direct contracting, and why brokers remain essential partners in implementing innovative healthcare solutions.

In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson sits down with Sina Chehrazi, founder and CEO of Nayya. Nayya is an AI-powered platform that unlocks the value of Health & Wealth programs for employees in real time. They discuss how Nayya is transforming employee benefits by connecting disparate data points to create a personalized experience throughout the benefits lifecycle - from enrollment decisions to ongoing usage and claims. Sina shares insights about the fragmented benefits ecosystem, the critical role of employee benefits consultants, and the future of benefits technology integration. Key Takeaways: More info at www.nayya.com

In this episode, Dennis Carlson sits down with Kristen Rivers, SVP of Sales at ParetoHealth. They discuss how mission-aligned benefits consultants and employers can access premium healthcare solutions typically reserved for large companies through captive healthcare models, highlighting the limitations of traditional fully-insured and level-funded plans while emphasizing the value of actionable data transparency and stronger contractual protections available through alternative funding approaches. Key Takeaways Contact Information To connect with Kristen Rivers or learn more about Pareto Health, reach out to her directly on LinkedIn or contact any member of the Pareto team in your market.

In this episode of Benefits Influencer, host Dennis Carlson interviews Rachel Schneider, the CEO and founder of Canary, a company revolutionizing how employers support their workforce during times of crisis. Canary manages employee emergency relief funds, allowing companies to formalize a compassionate and equitable response when employees face unexpected hardships. Schneider, drawing from her extensive experience researching the financial well-being of working Americans, shares her journey of creating Canary and its impact on countless lives. Listeners will gain invaluable insights into: Tune in to discover how Canary is changing the landscape of employee support and fostering a culture of care within organizations.

Brandy Burch, CEO and founder of benefitbay, joins Dennis to discuss Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs). Brandy shares her expertise on the evolution of the ICHRA market, strategic considerations for brokers, and the importance of a comprehensive technology platform for successful ICHRA implementation. Listen in as we discuss how to go from a defensive ICHRA strategy to playing offense to better serve employer clients. Show Notes (generated using AI) Brandy's Background and benefitbay (2:00):Brandy discusses her background in accounting and finance and her extensive experience purchasing benefits for businesses. This experience led her to found benefitbay, a SaaS technology platform designed to address the complexities of ICHRAs. benefitbay focuses on partnering with brokers to provide them with the tools they need to be successful in the ICHRA market.ICHRA Overview and Evolution (6:30):Brandy provides an overview of ICHRAs and their evolution since their introduction in 2020 under the Trump administration. She explains how ICHRAs allow employers to offer pre-tax benefits to employees who purchase individual health insurance plans. The discussion also covers the initial slow adoption by brokers and their shift towards more offensive strategies as employers express interest in ICHRAsBroker Strategies and the Role of Technology (10:00):The conversation shifts to the importance of brokers in the ICHRA market and the value they bring to employers. Brandy emphasizes the need for brokers to have comprehensive technology platforms that can help them quote, enroll, and administer ICHRAs efficiently. She also highlights the importance of integrating ancillary and voluntary benefits into the ICHRA platform to provide a holistic benefits solution for employers.Market Trends and Drivers for ICHRA Adoption (18:00):Brandy analyzes market trends in ICHRA adoption, noting the significant growth in the average group size adopting ICHRAs. She discusses the key drivers behind this adoption, including employee choice, cost savings, and the need to address the unique needs of diverse workforces and geographically dispersed employees. She also highlights the impact of M&A activity and the challenges faced by healthcare organizations with limited network plans.Positioning ICHRAs in the Benefits Landscape (26:00):The discussion focuses on where ICHRAs fit within the broader spectrum of employer-sponsored health insurance options. Brandy advises brokers to position ICHRAs as part of a comprehensive benefits strategy that includes fully insured, self-funded, and alternative financing arrangements. She stresses the importance of having the right tools and partners to effectively present ICHRA options to employers.Brandy outlines benefitbay's value proposition for brokers, emphasizing their focus on the mid-to-large group market and their commitment to broker partnerships. She encourages brokers to proactively explore ICHRAs and utilize benefitbay's platform to stay ahead of market trends and meet the evolving needs of their clients.

Dennis chats with Ryan Koo, an Employee Benefits Consultant who specializes in working with digital health companies. Ryan has just returned from the HLTH conference and shares his recap of the conference as well as his view on the digital health space. Tune in to learn about how digital health companies should be thinking about the employer channel as well as the employee benefits consultant channel. Ryan also shares his view of what's most exciting for the future of digital health. Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanmkoo/

Dennis Carlson and Benefits Influencer return with a recap of InsurTech Connect (ITC) with CEO & Co-Founder of Zoë Foundry, Garrett Viggers. Check out Zoë Foundry at www.zoefoundry.com Reach out at hello@zoefoundry.com Benefits Influencer is the #1 podcast for Employee Benefits Brokers and Advisors.

Dennis chats with Ty Wang, Co-Founder & CEO of Angle Health. Angle Health wants to make health benefits more accessible by connecting vendors that handle different services like telehealth and health savings accounts on a single platform. That way, employers of all sizes can offer a similar stack to the benefits you’d expect from a Fortune 500, but tailored for small to medium-sized businesses. Ty Wang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Angle Health, the digital-first, fully-licensed health insurance platform. Before founding Angle Health in 2019, Ty was at Palantir, where he met his co-founder Anirban Gangopadhyay. Before moving into the tech space, he spent seven years working for the US Government in Field Operations and as Foreign Liaison Officer. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, as well as a Bachelor’s in Systems Engineering, from Washington University in St. Louis. He splits his time between Salt Lake City and Denver. More info at https://www.anglehealth.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyw/

Dennis welcomes SVP & Senior Partner at Burnham Benefits, Chris Krusiewicz back to the podcast. Chris has been tracking AI as it relates to healthcare and employee benefits for years and brings his latest insights to the benefits community. Chris and Dennis discuss AI and its impact on the employee benefits and healthcare industries today and what we can expect in the future. Check out Season 1 Episode 3 for the earlier interview we reference in this episode. Find Chris on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriskrusiewicz/ Check out Burnham Benefits here: https://www.burnhambenefits.com/

This episode originally aired in January 2020 Charles Specht from The Permission Group shares how Benefits Brokers who target a micro niche can grow a massive book of business and better serve their clients. Connect with Charles at charles@permissiongroup.com

This episode orginally aired in March 2022. Ned Schaut talks with Becky Patel, CEO at Amwins Connect, about mentorship. Becky has over 35 years of experience in this business and shares the importance of both having a mentor and being a mentor. During the conversation they focus on the need to be authentic and know your secret sauce in the business.

This episode orginally aired in July 2020. Dennis and Chesley discuss ways to make employee benefits communication meaningful, relevant and timely in order to drive value for employers and employees. Connect with Chesley: chesley.gaddis@intrepid7.com http://intrepid7.com/

Dennis chats with Rachel Rutherford of ArmadaCare about Executive Benefits and how to position Executive Medical reimbursement to attract and retain top talent. Find Rachel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelgann/ Reach out at rrutherford@aramadacare.com visit https://armadacare.com/ for more info

Dennis chats with Spencer Smith about how benefits advisors can leverage social media to grow their pipeline and increase sales. Find Spencer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/ Check out Spencer's podcast here: https://spencerharlansmith.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerSmithSelfFunded For more info on Plansight visit: https://www.plansight.com/

Dennis chats with Kevin Curran, Founding Partner of Salt Margin a Baldwin Risk Company. Listen in as they discuss ways Benefits Brokers can win with a too often overlooked part of the benefits package, ancillary. Kevin outlines three ways brokers and advisors can get started with becoming true consultants on ancillary, just like they already are on medical insurance. Kevin uncovers some key group life and disability policy provisions that every advisor should be aware of. -- for more content for Benefits Brokers and Advisors visit: benefitsinfluencer.com

Dennis chats with The D.I. Coach, Chris Carlson about how benefits brokers and advisors can better position (or start positioning for the first time) disability insurance with their clients. Chris began his insurance career as a Brokerage Consultant with Provident Life and Accident in 1984. After working with Provident as a Consultant, District Manager and Branch Manager, he formed his own independent Disability Insurance Marketing Organization in 1995. Chris's organization eventually became the D.I. sales office for Ascensus Insurance Services. When Ascensus was purchased by BISYS, he became the National Sales Manager for the BISYS D.I. Center. Chris founded The D.I. Coach to fill the education void left by the disability insurance carriers. He combines his knowledge of the D.I. industry with his coaching expertise to provide a truly unique perspective in his coaching of producers. Chris is the author of six books to include, Prospecting Through Positioning For The Financial Advisor, The Napkin Advisor and The Broker’s Broker. He works with producers to help them fill their pipelines with highly-qualified prospects while establishing themselves as the recognized authority in their market niche. Reach out to Chris at chris@thedicoach.net https://www.thedicoach.net/ ---- More great episodes and sponsorship opportunities at: http://benefitsinfluencer.com/

Dennis chats with Executive Benefits expert, Helen Ornellas. Helen is the President and Founder of Ornellas & Associates Insurance Services. Based in California, Helen Ornellas specializes in Executive Benefits using Life Insurance, Disability, and Long Term Care to provide solutions. With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Helen represents many different insurance companies offering a wide variety of coverage options and price points. Her goal is to take the confusion and uncertainty out of buying Life Insurance, Long Term Care, and Medicare, and help you make sense of it all. She specializes in helping business owners understand their coverage and find the right solutions for the future. Helen is an active member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and has held various leadership roles at the local and state levels. More info at https://ornellasinsurance.com/ ------ For more episodes and insights for Employee Benefits Brokers and Advisors, check out http://benefitsinfluencer.com/

Dennis chats with Noyo CEO and Co-Founder, Shannon Goggin. Listen as they discuss how poor data quality prevents the benefits industry from delivering the modern experiences today’s consumers want. Addressing these challenges at the carrier and ben-admin level with clean, always updated enrollment data lets HR professionals and brokers truly remove friction for members — while paving the way for frictionless benefits that are easy to understand and easy to use. Shannon Goggin is the CEO and co-founder of Noyo. Before starting Noyo, she was a product manager, building benefits software that showed off the powerful role technology can play in improving people's experience with their benefits. Shannon lives in San Francisco, where Noyo is based. visit https://www.noyo.com/ for more info.

Dennis chats with Kevin Trokey. Kevin is the Founding Partner of Q4intelligence, a marketing and sales enablement firm committed to the preservation and transformation of the independent agency system. He writes prolifically regarding the many challenges being faced by today’s agencies, providing guidance to overcome those challenges. He is a frequent industry speaker and has been recognized by the National Association of Health Underwriters as their speaker of the year. Kevin is currently serving as the National Chair of the NAHU Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He recently led the NAHU Name Change Task Force, has served as the National Membership Chair, and is a past president of both St. Louis and Missouri chapters. https://www.q4intel.com/ Q4Live info here: https://q4live.q4intel.com/

Dennis interviews Benefits Advisors Andrew McNeil and Rosario Avila of Arrow Benefits Group. They discuss how winning awards and writing columns contribute to their position as thought leaders in the community and with their clients. They also discuss strategies they've found work well with small group clients in a post-COVID environment. Find Andrew and Rosario on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-d-mcneil-5a45559/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosarioavila/ For more episodes and information check out http://benefitsinfluencer.com/