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Women In Leadership
Jessica Word is a strong advocate for women in business, mentoring executives within Word & Brown and sponsoring female business leaders to attend offsite training to develop their skills. She will be a speaker at the upcoming Ellevate Foundation Women’s Leadership Summit in Las Vegas next month.
Sponsored by Word&Brown
The Trick to Get More Women in the Industry? Mentoring
By Jessica Word
Strongly supporting women in business, Jessica Word CEO of Word & Brown will be a speaker at the Ellevate Women’s Leadership Summit 2023. In our October 2022 issue Jessica Brown talks about the benefits of mentoring. Continue to read
MEDICARE
Sponsored by AGA
Insurance lobby blasts Medicare Advantage audit rule
The CMS finalized a rule Monday that would crack down on Medicare Advantage plans and clawback billions of dollars from insurers.
Federal regulators are seeking to crack down on alleged overpayments made to Medicare Advantage insurers. The program has faced criticism in the past for alleged payment abuses tied to the so-called risk-adjusted payments sent to health insurers. Medicare Advantage plans, run by private insurers, are paid capitated rates to provide health coverage to millions of seniors and people with disabilities. The plans also receive what are called risk-adjusted payments designed to raise payments to cover for sicker members. Read more
FINANCE
Sponsored by TWH
The New Road to Retirement
Annuity sales hit record last year, eclipsing sales during 2008 financial crisis amid fear, higher rates
Amid stock market gyrations, recession fears and loftier payouts, consumers last year pumped a record sum of money into annuities, a type of insurance that offers a guaranteed income stream. Buyers funneled $310.6 billion into annuities in 2022, according to estimates published by Limra, an insurance industry trade group.
That figure is a 17% increase over the prior record set in 2008, when consumers purchased $265 billion of annuities. That year, the U.S. was in the throes of the Great Recession and the S&P 500 Index ultimately bottomed out with a 57% loss from its peak. Read more
EXIT PLANNING
Sponsored by Strazziri/Mancini
Group Health Broker Ponders the Future
Looking for a way to exit the business? Find out what a fair payout is and how to transfer your clients to the right health insurance professional who will advocate for clients as you have for years.
By Phil Calhoun
Health insurance professionals have worked for many years supporting their clients with access to affordable medical plans and advocated for clients to deal with the problems that occur when they use their benefits. As a client advocate, health benefits professionals work through the failures carriers and/or providers of medical care create. These failures can lead to denials for medical care, blocked referrals for tests and treatments, or incorrect billing. These service issues are becoming almost full-time work. Article continues
Advance Planning Opportunity
Resources For Group Benefits Brokers
By Phil Calhoun
“In January we introduced succession planning for small business owners and suggested ways that group benefit brokers can consider to learn more about business succession planning and to work with a team to bring resources to their business owner clients. We wanted to offer an open invitation for group health brokers to both access online information on succession planning and join monthly calls and in person Exit Planning Institute Chapter meetings. January Article continues
In the Spring we will begin a formal education program to cover ways you can approach your group clients on the topic of business succession planning. This series is called our “Six Pack Series- a Guide for Group Health Benefit Professionals”. More details to come soon.
For now please feel free to join a local EPI meeting. The link below leads to resources you can take action on now.
Links to SCI resources for the brokers:
- Weekly Thursday Insights Schedule and Registration: www.SCInstitute.org/ThursdayInsights
- EPI Orange County Chapter Meeting Schedule and Registration: www.SCInstitute.org/EPIOC
GROUP BENEFITS
Sponsored by United Healthcare
OPEN ENROLLMENT: In person or online — create a better experience
What does your clients’ game plan look like this year for benefit communication — and does it have any new plays to meet the fluid dynamics of today’s workforce? Read full article
These Are The Best Employee Benefits In 2023
Employees will always take more money if you offer it. But pay alone isn’t necessarily all it takes to attract and keep good employees. In a survey of employed workers and employers, Forbes Advisor found that 40% of employers say workers leave their job to find a role that offers better employee benefits. The survey also found that 62% of businesses have changed their benefit offerings in the past year. If you’re considering doing the same, keep in mind these new statistics about the best employee benefits. Read Article
Sponsored by BenefitMall
BenefitMall Expands Kaiser Permanente Relationship to California
New market builds upon existing offerings in Colorado, Georgia and Mid-Atlantic markets
BenefitMall, the leading provider of next-generation broker services, today announced an expansion of its relationship with Kaiser Permanente to serve as a general agency in California beginning February 1.
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health plans, known for pioneering a new model for healthcare that connects care with coverage. Kaiser Permanente members benefit from doctors, hospitals, digital tools, and specialty services that are all connected to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care. BenefitMall has served as a general agency for Kaiser Permanente in Colorado, Georgia, and the Mid-Atlantic for more than 10 years.
“BenefitMall is proud to become a general agency for Kaiser Permanente in the California market, adding to our strong portfolio of products,” said Tiffany Stiller, BenefitMall vice president for carrier relations. “The opportunity it presents to elevate our service to our broker and carrier partners aligns with our mission to provide the fastest, easiest, and most trusted benefits selling experience. For more information, please visit www.benefitmall.com.
INSURETECH
IN THE NEWS: ON THE ROAD TO ACHIEVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Healthcare Strategies Podcast features Peter Long’s healthcare predictions and barriers to digital transformation.
Technology-centered solutions, lack of payer alignment, and competition over data are barriers to digital health advancement in health insurance. Peter Long, executive vice president of strategy and health solutions at Blue Shield of California and co-author of an article on digital health published through the National Academy of Medicine, shared his perspective on digital healthcare. Listen to the full episode here.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
- Feb.15, 10 am PST OIG Work Plan – What We Learned in 2022 Webinar, Review OIG’s work planning process and a breakdown of work plan items between hospitals/physician practices and post-acute care Learn More & Register
- Feb. 22, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm PST, NAIFA San Diego Business Planning Summit. Topics include planning for business owners, business succession planning, life insurance strategies for business owners, employee stock ownership plans, exit strategies and more. Learn More & Register
- Feb. 23, 10 – 11am PST, CAHIP webinar “Traditional vs. Hybrid Long – Term Care Insurance.” Register
- Feb. 23, 11:30–1:30 pm PST by Zoom, 70th Annual Will G. Farrell Award & Leadership Recognition Event, sponsored by NAIFA-LA and FSP. Info: janet@wifs-losangeles.org
- March 4, 9:00-1:30 pm PST, by zoom: WIFS-LA Women’s Forum “Embrace Empowerment.” Info: janet@wifs-losangeles.org
CONFERENCES
- April 11-14, Virtual Fourth National Medicare Advantage Summit by Global Health Care, Virtual/Online Live Video; Media Partners: Harvard Health Policy Review, Health Affairs and Inside Health Policy. Phone: (800) 503-0078. Registration@hcconferences.com, Register
- March 13-15, Ellevate Women’s Leadership 2023 Summit, JW Marriott just outside Las Vegas. Register
- May 8-10, CAHIP Capitol Summit Sacramento REGISTER HERE
