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Benefit concierge services: Legal issues to know

Services provided by the benefit concierge raise concerns regarding fiduciary liability under ERISA, and employers should treat the relationship accordingly.

By Kendra Roberson and Chris Lowther | Updated on November 12, 2018
Benefit concierge services act as a central point of contact for employees, as well as a trusted adviser and a data analyst. (Photo: Shutterstock)

As health care costs continue to rise, employers increasingly seek to discover new ways to offer affordable health coverage to employees. For a variety of reasons, including various laws that require more robust group health plan designs and increased competition in the labor market, employers are reluctant to address rising costs by cutting health benefits and are loathe to shift additional health care costs to employees.

Some employers have engaged an innovative service commonly referred to as a benefit concierge service to lower health care costs by increasing employee utilization of their health and welfare benefits. Benefit concierge services strive to achieve these two seemingly competing goals by serving as a central point of contact for employees, as a trusted adviser to employees, and as a data analyst. This article describes these roles and some legal issues associated with each role.

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