Posts by Paul Oyler

Most benefit plans aren’t broken. They’re just not working. And that’s the uncomfortable part. The payroll deductions are happening. The cards are in employees’ wallets. The renewal gets handled every year. Everyone says, “The plan is fine.” But “fine” is where a lot of benefit strategies quietly go to sleep. For CFOs, “fine” can still…

  In many plans, a small number of claims account for a large share of the spend. That’s not a problem… it’s just reality. But here’s where things start to break down : Most companies never actually see that level of detail. They get a renewal increase. A few high-level charts. Maybe some benchmarking. And…

Let me say something that may not be popular: Most companies don’t actually know why their health insurance costs are rising. They are usually told by their broker that it’s ‘trend,’ ‘utilization,’ or ‘the market’—but those aren’t the real answers. What usually happens? The renewal shows up, a few slides are presented, everyone signs off,…

If You Can’t Explain It, You Can’t Control It Your health plan costs went up again. But do you actually know why? I’m not talking about the “polished” answer your broker might give you—the vague references to “market trend,” “utilization,” or “the general economy.” I mean the real reason. In most companies, the renewal process…

Benchmarking is useful, but it is not a strategy. I see this all the time: A company benchmarks their health plan, their broker tells them they are “right in line with the market,” and for a moment, that feels good. It’s a relief to be average—until the renewal hits and nothing has changed. The problem…