We shop for everything else online...why not benefits?Using private benefit exchanges (a.k.a. "online benefits marketplaces"), employers can bring a consumer-centric online shopping experience to benefits. Alan Cohen, a benefits technology pioneer, details how these platforms can offer unprecedented flexibility and choice to employees, revolutionize the way employers attract and retain talent, strengthen cost control in an era of skyrocketing premiums, and promote much-needed innovation in the U.S. health care system.Discover How To

Introduction 1 Attracting and Retaining Employees 3 A New Paradigm Shift for Benefits 5 The Exchange Evolution 8 "Try It, You'll Like It" 9 Overcoming the "Wait and See" Mindset 11 PART I: THE CHANGING BENEFITS LANDSCAPE 13Chapter 1 Building a Better Benefits System 15 Principle #1: Give Them Money and Let Them Shop 19 Principle #2: Provide True Price Transparency 23 Principle #3: Provide Meaningful Choice 24 Principle #4: Offer Guidance in the Form of Decision Support 27 Principle #5: Optimize the Shopping Experience 29 Principle #6: Ensure a Cultural Fit Within the Organization 33 Principle #7: Refine, Iterate, and Improve 33 Chapter 2 Benefits: The Accidental Entitlement 35 Not Really an "Exchange" 38 "Modern-Day" Insurance 40 Benefits as Compensation 41 So Where Does This Leave Us? 46 Brokers Join the Bandwagon 49 Chapter 3 They Don't Know What They're Missing: Flipping the Status Quo on Its Head 51 The Problem with the Status Quo 53 Disrupting the Status Quo 56 Meaningful Choice 57 Price Transparency and Defined Contribution 59 Personalization 67 Consumerism 70 Chapter 4 Making Sense of Benefits Solutions: Public Exchanges and Private Exchanges 75 The View from the Top: Public Versus Private Exchanges 75 Who Runs These Things Anyway? Types of Private Exchange Operators 79 Pure-Play Providers 79 Benefits Providers 80 Benefits Advisors 80 Traditional Benefits Administration Companies 81 What Should You Consider When Moving to a Private Exchange? 83 Single- Versus Multi-Carrier Exchanges 83 Self- Versus Fully-Insured Models 84 Funding Strategies 86 Who Can Benefit from Private Exchanges? Markets Served 86 A Look at Products in Private Exchanges 89 What Else Can Private Exchanges Offer? 95 PART II: STAKEHOLDERS: MAKING THE MOVE FROM "ONE SIZE FITS ALL" 97Chapter 5 Employers Find Skin in the Game 99 A Big Bet Pays Off: TitleMax, Part of the TMX Finance Family of Companies 100 Customer-Focused Luxury Resort Gives Back to Its Employees: Sandestin 104 Chapter 6 Six Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Private Exchange 109 What Makes for a True Private Exchange? 111 1 Is Elasticity Built into Its Foundation? 113 2 Does It Include Decision Support and Educational Tools? 114 3 Are Prices Transparent? 116 4 Does It Integrate with Value-Added Services? 118 5 Does It Provide Year-Round Support? 119 6 To What Extent Does It Handle Benefits Administration? 120 Chapter 7 Brokers and Exchanges: Better Together 123 Rick Strater, Arthur J Gallagher & Co 127 The Role of the Broker 128 Overcoming Misconceptions 128 Employees Don't Care About Choice 128 Cost Is All That Matters 129 Defined Contribution Is "Cost Shifting" 129 Rob Harkins, Willis Towers Watson 130 The Changing Role of Brokers 131 How Can Brokers Win? 131 The Role of HR 133 Technology Is the Future of Benefits 133 Chapter 8 Insurers Find a New Way to Move Product 137 The Private Exchange: A Bridge to the Future? 139 What Insurers Can Gain from Private Exchanges 143 Innovators Embrace Private Exchanges Early On 148 Jessica Moser, MetLife 148 Kevin Hill, Oxford Health Plans/UnitedHealthcare 150 Insurers Aren't the Only Ones Innovating 152 PART III: FUTURE VISION 155Chapter 9 Innovation in Benefits (Yes, Benefits) 157 Expanding the Aisles in the Benefits Store 163 Letting Individuals Create Their Own Preferred Networks 165 Creating a National Individual Insurance Market 169 Chapter 10 The "Law of the Land," Insurance Tax Reform, and the November Surprise 175 "The Law of the Land...for the Foreseeable Future" 178 The Viability of the Individual Market 183 What Else to Note on the Legislative Front 185 The "Cadillac" of Taxes-And Other Pending Legislation 186 The Medicare Marketplace as a Model 187 Small Businesses and Individual Benefits Marketplaces 188 Tweaking the Tax Code 190 Chapter 11 Who's Afraid of the American Consumer? 193 Some Potential Ways Forward 196 Tax-Protected Savings Accounts 197 Employer Funding for Individual Insurance 198 Consumer-Centric Provider Networks 200 Data and Digital Tools for Patients and Consumers 201 Patient-Empowered Healing 204 The Utopian Vision 206 Shopping for Care 208 Using a Marketplace to Purchase Non-Emergent Health Care on an As-Needed Basis 209 An "In-Network" Conundrum? 212 Final Thoughts 213 PART IV: APPENDIXES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PRIVATE EXCHANGES 215Appendix A Private Exchanges 101 217Appendix B Making Sense of Benefits Terms 223 Terms Related to Benefits 223 Terms Related to Health Care Consumerism 226 Terms Related to Private Exchanges 227 Guide to Common Benefits Products on a Private Exchange 230 Appendix C Real-World Data and Applications 233 What Really Happens on Private Exchanges? 233 Data from the 2017 Private Exchange Research Council (PERC) Analysis 233 What Do Employers and Employees Really Think About Liazon Exchanges? 237 Data from the Liazon 2017 Employer and Employee Surveys 237 The Exchange Experience: A Look at How Benefits Are Selected on Liazon Exchanges 240 For the Benefits Geeks: A Health Care Timeline 246 Index 251