Breaking Through The Status Quo - book by John Clay

Health care has become unaffordable for working Americans. But it’s hard to overstate just how unaffordable it has become. Experts now estimate that 100 million Americans are burdened by medical debt. A Commonwealth Fund Survey found that two of five working-age Americans do not have stable health coverage. It found that one-quarter of adults in employer-sponsored plans are underinsured.

Put simply: working Americans would embrace disruption that delivers affordable health care.

This process started long before Covid-19 lockdown, Great Resignation, and the astronomic inflation rate. It started even before summer of 2017, as I was writing the chapter of "Breaking Through the Status Quo."

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE "BREAKING THROUGH THE STATUS QUO"

How to See Benefits Opportunities

You do not need to become a benefits advisor to see a benefits plan opportunity. Learning the ins and outs of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape is a full-time job in itself, and you do not need to step away from the vision for your business to seize the advantages I have outlined. Bringing in an advisor is a lot like bringing in an engineer: you don’t need to be an engineer to see a problem that could benefit from an engineered solution.

CLAIM YOUR FREE CHAPTER OF THE BOOK HERE

Here is a quick checklist that can help you identify a benefits opportunity in your business:

• Are you using self-funded or level funded plan?
• Is your plan different from your competitor’s plans?
• Was your plan heavily customized to fit your unique needs?
• Does your benefits plan actively save you capital and help you retain key employees?
• Are you actively bucking the national trend of rising premiums and reduced coverage?
• When you implemented your benefits plan, did you incorporate the insights of multiple experts (CFO, HR, etc.)?
• Are your enrollment logistics using an electronic benefits platform with direct feeds that integrate with payroll and benefits (making enrollment changes near-instantaneous)?
• Does your benefits plan take an aggressive approach to prescription drugs?
• Does your benefits plan take an aggressive approach towards value based pricing for physicians and specialists?
• Does your benefits plan include a 24/7 concierge service?
• Does your benefits plan take advantage of a mobile app to deliver benefits information and service?

?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, there is likely an opportunity in your business to transform how you handle and deliver employee benefits. These questions are accessible by design. You do not need to be an expert to recognize when you need one, and this simple checklist will give you a starting point for engaging benefits advisors. If your advisor cannot elaborate on how these questions might impact your bottom-line (and starts to steer you back toward the rocks of a classic benefits plan; the kind that every one of your boring, unimaginative competitors uses), bring in another advisor, one who can keep pace with your drive for breaking the status quo.