In January and February, Oliver Wyman and BenefitsSelling set out to understand how brokers thought about reformand how they planned to respond to it. More than 1,250 brokersresponded to this year's survey, spanning the country and representing allemployer size segments as well as the individual market.

In addition, we interviewed a cross-section of brokers to get asense of the thinking that lay behind the survey answers. What wefound is that while brokers saw reform as a huge disrupter, theyhaven't quite made up their minds about what will happen next orwhat to do about it. Nonetheless, there are increasing signs ofinnovation in the marketplace, as some brokers rapidly developtheir business models to drive real results right now.

While a greater proportion of brokers in the Southeast areconsidering reducing their service offerings, brokers in the Wesetappear poised to expand their offerings with the onset ofreform.

Almost two-thirds of brokers anticipated at least some degree ofconsolidation as a result of reform, and more than one-fourth sawit as a strong trend.

The post-reform view of compensation is fairly diverse. MoreMidwest brokers expect to earn their revenues directly from theircustomers, whereas brokers from tjhe Southeast and West seecarriers and exchanges as the source of future communications.

Small-group brokers saw reform as the death knell for wellnessamong their clients, while large-group brokers believe that theywill play an increasing role. Interestingly, after theMassechusetts senatorial election, there was an uptick in brokersexpecting to play a greater roll in wellness.