Tracy Watts of Mercer also has her eye on changes related to the ACA. "The one that I would put on the list is any changes that are made to exchange coverage. We saw the expansion of the subsidies in the ARPA. I want everyone to pay close attention and make sure this doesn't interact with the affordability requirement under the ACA for employers. Heretofore, the percentages were tied to each other, and that could be a costly change."

"My bet is on transparency," added Shelby George of Perky. "Disclosures, transparency and due diligence are all key phrases that I think we need to keep a close eye on the rest of the year."

In addition, panelists touched on some of the Trump administration policies they expect to see rolled back by the Biden administration, including short-term health plan coverage and association health plans. There's also the question of whether the current administration will continue the ongoing efforts to bring down high drug prices.

A transparent future: Exploring how data analytics and increasing transparency is changing the future of benefits

Even before new government regulations went into effect in January, transparency was a hot topic in the health care world. As the analogy goes, you wouldn't buy a car without knowing the price, so why would you accept that for health care?

Panelists Lester Morales of Next Impact, Jen Berman of MZQ Consulting and Trevor Fast of Bind Benefits explored the regulatory and competitive drivers of transparency in the health care space today.

"If I'm an advisor, the talk track around transparency is front and center in my scope of services and my value proposition," Morales said. "No longer is the status quo acceptable. This is the way the world is going. You have the compliance component, but also, is it the right thing to do? It's hard to argue that it isn't a better scenario if we add transparency."

While we can all agree that transparency will go a long way to improving health care, the actual transition will be a lot more complicated. It's one thing to have information; it's another to put it to practical use.

"Compliance and transparency regulations, surprise billing, consumer protections–these are certainly top of mind, but 'compliance' is only going to take us the first step toward consumer actionability," said Fast. "Especially when it's so difficult for consumers to navigate much of the current health care landscape, it's really important to think about this holistically across your benefits program. It's not just how do I comply with these regulations, but how do I offer a comprehensive benefits package that really speaks to the clarity of cost and care options for my employees and their dependents?"

Thankfully, new regulations related to price disclosures for health care systems, health plans and even benefits brokers will go a long way in making the information more available. And for those companies that resist? "I get this question all the time: 'What are we supposed to do if this big company says they're not going to give the information to us?'" said Bergman. "The employer has to ask, and they have to document. At some point, there's nothing more they can do. Don't forget, one huge piece of this has to do with the compensation of our industry. I don't want to work with the advisor who is trying to play hide the ball."

If your health care and benefits partners aren't on board, there's a whole world of new platforms and companies waiting in line to help. As Morales put it, "At the end of the day, if you're not on this train already, you'd better get on. Every other industry has already done this."

Metamorphosis: Re-imagining your benefits practice

We can all think back to 18 months ago and what our lives were like before the pandemic began and quickly come up with a list of the aspects we've missed as well as those we'll be glad to see never return. Simply put, the pandemic has changed our mindsets–about the work we do, the values we hold and what we want to accomplish in our lives. And that's created a lot of challenges and opportunities in the workplace.

"It often takes a very significant emotional event like this where everybody is changed," said Dr. David Adamson, CEO of ARC Facility. "There's a really different emphasis now on quality of life and real values. Family has come forward, and the proverbial work/life balance… Now that people have been at home, that concept is being acted on in very different ways."

Dr. Adamson and co-panelists Adam Berkowitz of Simpara and Jessica Du Bois of Business Benefits Group (BBG) explored the challenges and opportunities employers, benefits advisor and their vendor-partners are facing as a result of this shift.

Berkowitz pointed to the unique pressures at play in the job market as one example. "Employers have a significant demand for talent, but the supply side is sitting on the sidelines," he said. "There's really a mismatch in what employers need right now. There's going to be a significant focus and pressure on optimizing business operations. It is going to be interesting to see how this impacts things like health insurance, cost of goods sold. Employers will be under tremendous pressure to figure out how to do more with less."

That means, among other things, that they'll be scrutinizing health care and other benefits offerings to ensure not only that they're cost-effective, but also offering the resources and services that will help them attract top talent.

"With the pandemic, you get this groundswell of interest and demand meeting up," Berkowitz added.

And that's where benefits brokers become even more essential. Said Adamson, "Brokers are really in the middle now to be able to go to the vendors and find out what's there and what's needed, and go to the employer and say, 'What do you need? I can find it for you.'"

Just a few areas that panelists expect to see more employer interest in: Social justice and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; digital health services (and how to identify those that are effective for users); compliance; employer technology and even employee education. It's a tall order for today's benefits professional.

"We've had to revamp how we're selling," said Du Bois. "We're not talking about the background of our company anymore; we're talking about the experts we have on our team, the actual people, how the process looks to create a plan of action. That's where we're headed. I also think we're heading toward a time of reckoning for brokers to have to ask, 'Do I want to be everything to everyone and provide every possible service there is,' or do I want to specialize and be that consultant in one specific area."

Read more: 

• BenefitsPRO Expo preview: Being transparent about transparent benefits
• BenefitsPRO Broker Expo May Virtual preview: Re-Set. Re-Think. Re-Tool.
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