Insights

WHAT WE'D TELL A CLIENT THIS WEEK

Weekly takes on employer health benefits — what's changing, what it means for your renewal, and where the wins are hiding.

May 19, 2026

Medicaid work requirements will land on your plan — not theirs

The 2027 Medicaid eligibility shift is a funding-structure problem that fully insured employers need to model now, before the carrier models it for them.

April 20, 2026

GLP-1s didn't break your plan; the missing engagement lever did

For self-funded employers, specialty drug spend is not a pharmacy problem — it's the predictable result of a plan design that never gave employees a structural reason to engage before the expensive diagnosis arrived.

April 06, 2026

The benefit your employees pay for but never actually use

A high-deductible plan isn't a benefit — it's a cost-shift dressed as coverage, and the behavior it produces is a talent and culture problem the CEO owns.

March 23, 2026

What your renewal letter's trend number is actually telling you

That percentage baked into your renewal isn't a market forecast — it's a structural verdict on your current plan design, and it's telling you something your carrier won't say out loud.

March 09, 2026

Fully insured is not simpler — it's just someone else's profit center

Every fully-insured premium dollar contains a carrier margin, a risk charge, and a retention load the employer paid whether or not the claims justified it — and the renewal window is the one moment to see that math clearly.