Much has been written about how health care reform will impactthe benefits business—and many times this has been focused on thenegatives. We see predictions about loss of commissions from healthinsurance, employers dropping benefits entirely, and employeesbuying everything through the exchanges. But there areopportunities in all of this. In fact, we always say that “chaos”is actually good for our business. We think it can be good for you,too.

Let's first look at some research where we asked employers abouttheir plans related to the employer mandate and exchanges. About30-35 percent of employers in our study said they are likely to useexchanges for at least some benefits. But a significant percentageof employers either don't plan to use the exchanges or, moreimportantly for benefits professionals, still don't know what theyare planning to do.

The good news is that a significant percentage of employersstill don't know their plans. PPACA has created an environmentwhere you—as a benefits professional—are even more important toyour clients. But you need to be more prepared than ever. Forexample, you have to be up-to-date on the employer options for “payor play.” Employers are facing tough choices with PPACAshared-responsibility guidelines and new IRS proposed regulationsthat will affect pay or play benefits strategy. The implicationscan be significant given the cost associated with PPACA extendingemployer-sponsored coverage to workers who have previously not beenbenefit eligible in some industry segments.