Posts by Frank Stichter

You’ve got a problem and we can solve it. The problem occurs all the time: it’s high health plan costs. Every year employers are faced with the same issue – rate increases in their health plan – and they typically search for the same traditional alternatives. It’s like Einstein’s Definition Of Insanity – doing the…

I know it probably goes without saying, but most employers I talk to don’t actually understand exactly what goes on when they pay a health insurance premium in a fully insured Health Plan. They simply complain every year because they keep getting a rate increase. Would you like to maximize your cash flow in your…

Does your advisor drive your company’s value or drain it? By Dave Chase • Jul 19, 2018 Entrepreneur Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Company leaders don’t have a lot of allies in their constant battle against skyrocketing healthcare costs for their employees: And, if you’re that leader, even the one person you…

In December of 2021, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was signed in the legislation, and among other things it now requires full transparency and disclosure by brokers and consultants and service providers as to the amount that they charge for every service, or program that they provide to you and your company. Service providers may…

Hear me out on this one. For decades, we’ve all been exposed and educated to the benefits of PPO Networks. Comparing big discounts between insurance companies and network access has always been the norm – even though we really don’t know what the contractual discounts are. Nonetheless, this has always been the standard when shopping…

For decades we’ve all been taught by the insurance industry and medical providers of the value of networks – PPOs, HMOs, EPOs, EIEIO… While they have served a purpose over those decades, the reality is that they just don’t work anymore. Here’s why: PPO discounts are negotiated by insurance companies as a discount off of…

As everyone knows, there is a direct correlation between increased health insurance costs and the increased cost of healthcare. You’ve probably heard in the recent past from your broker that you may have had a bad year of claims so your health insurance costs are going up. If you want to pay less for health…

It seems that there’s a lot of misalignment in the world today and it couldn’t be more true in the insurance world, especially the relationship that benefit brokers have with their clients. Are brokers’ interests aligned with their clients’ interests? I would say not. Where is the value of benefits professionals? Is it in the…