"The biggest finding isn't that health care costs are rising. Everyone is aware of that," said Adam V. Russo, Esq., co-founder and CEO of The Phia Group, a health care cost-containment and compliance company. "It's that employers are being asked to make increasingly sophisticated decisions about their health plans, while brokers are telling us there are still fundamental gaps in visibility and governance. The question is no longer just whether an employer can afford its health plan. It's whether it can understand, oversee, and defend the decisions it is making."

Survey key findings

Russo said the company's conclusions are based on some of the survey's key findings, which include the following:

Only 12% of advisors are very confident that their clients have the right fiduciary processes in place, yet just 22% say fiduciary oversight is among clients' leading questions.
Nearly 80% of advisors have no working visibility into their clients' No Surprises Act/Independent Dispute Resolution (NSA/IDR) performance.
Roughly two-thirds (62%) said client visibility into subrogation and recovery is limited or very little; only 4% report strong visibility.
More than three-fourths (76%) reported that their book of business has shifted toward self-funding over the past 12 months.
Almost three-fourths (70%) reported that most of their clients are seeing or expecting double-digit 2026 renewal increases.

Advisors see fiduciary preparedness as a primary issue, but employers aren't necessarily asking about it. More than half of advisors (54%) say a fiduciary oversight checklist would help them advise clients more effectively.

Instant Insights /

Advisors warn employers of fiduciary gaps in health renewals

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