As consumers take on more of the cost of their annual health care bill — which their employers paid for in the form of very comprehensive insurance previously — they're demanding better information, better processes and better insight into what they get for those dollars. We call that health care consumerism.

Consumers are beginning to bring a perspective from interactions they have in other facets of their lives. Think experiences with retail, banking and financial services.

They also face significant economic realities, including greater exposure to health care costs, concerns about having enough money to send their children to college or having enough money to retire. Changing expectations combined with sobering economic realities and a big dose of technology makes for a significant shift in the underlying dynamics of the health care market. With the advent of consumerism, brokers must change elements of their solutions to provide value in this dynamic market.