Last year, the 2023 Benefit Consultant Sentiment THE INDEX, an inaugural report based on a survey of leading or top consultants to self-insured employers, revealed a dramatic paradigm shift underway in healthcare benefits. Much of the focus of their work had moved away from medical to lifestyle benefits. The kind of benefits that make employees feel valued.
In fact, 63% of consultants surveyed for the inaugural report last year said that their role has changed over time. The increasingly complex landscape for employers — with features such as new regulations, more vendor options, evolving point solutions, and advances in technology — requires greater breadth of knowledge and a more expansive role, consultants say, in order to serve the diverse needs of their clients. One respondent reported that they provide legal, tax, and technology advice in addition to brokerage services. Many describe their work as more consultative than transactional as they have transitioned to “trusted advisers” who are “more hands-on” with clients.
To take in this year’s survey click on this link.
The proliferation of benefits providers has led to a greater need for integration and navigation, another area where consultants’ advice is increasingly sought, according to the survey.
“Although cost remains a primary focus, there is greater emphasis on outcomes and “more criteria for decision making.” Many clients expect “more in-depth analysis of use vs. cost vs. plan utilization.” One consultant described how their work has changed over time:
“It continues to evolve far beyond brokerage services and placing of product. It now focuses more on controlling unit pricing and utilization, group specific population health management/ improvement, and data analytics.”
Take part in this survey and share some of the trends you are seeing among your clients across healthcare, including chronic conditions, behavioral health, healthcare navigation, and more.
