|
|
<< Home > << The EBA Raw Bar
The EBA Raw Bar
Daily in-depth interviews and discussions with the leading employee benefits minds of our time. Giving you the insight and analysis you need to serve your clients. This is unfiltered stuff, hence the name. We talk to them and then push it online so you can listen.
Current Episodes:
 |
Pub Date: Jul 03, 2008 - 9:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Eric Raymond of Corporate Synergies |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Raymond's research shows that just about half of all employers with more than 100 workers are out of compliance regarding their 5500 filing. What gives? |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jul 02, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Alison Borland of Hewitt Associates |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Hewitt's raising the retirement readiness bar -- 126% of income is what they say on average workers will need to deal once they quit working. Scary? A little bit, but listen in as Borland shares how a little action in some basic areas can make the number look much more attainable. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jul 01, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Will Werhane of the Hay Group |
| Direct Download |
| Leah Shepherd, managing editor of Employee Benefit News spends five minutes with Will Werhane, global managing director at Hay Group’s Insight Business to discuss what employers can do to retain employees in this difficult economic climate. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 30, 2008 - 4:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Robert Laszewski of Health Policy & Strategy Associates |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Laszewski brings us up to speed on health care happenings on Capitol Hill. The recent Medicare activity helps remind us that health care reform manages to mean something different and yet the same thing for each and every stakeholder. It's not a riddle. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 27, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Randy Stram of MetLife Institutional Business |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Advisers work with benefits, so it makes sense that they would understand their own and be appropriately enrolled. Stram explains MetLife's new study and explores why those assumptions may be wrong. It turns out the financial services industry is just as in the dark about their benefits as other industries. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 26, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Michael Thompson of PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| PWC says medical costs are running at 9.6% for 2009, down just a hair from the 9.9% clocked last year. The slowing of the decline in the increase worry some. Listen in as Thompson goes behind the numbers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 25, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Neil Simons of Independent Benefit Services |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
Advisers are feeling some anxiety as the race for the White House begins and health care reform looms in the distance. Simons explains what he considers constructive involvement in health care by the government and expresses concerns that legislators don't understand all the good things advisers bring to the table.
|
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 24, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Evan Falchuck of Best Doctors |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Employers promote wellness and early diagnosis, but do they help employees take a closer look at the right diagnosis? Falchuck talks about how the right diagnosis saves money and sometimes lives. He also hints at their small group product that will hit the market sometime later this year. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 23, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Thom Mangan of Hub International |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Mangan's down about 10 pounds and has a goal -- a fancy road bike and the requisite spandex that must be worn while riding it. He's also mining his newfound wellness commitment for business growth as well. Listen in as he talks about the employer appetite for all things wellness. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 20, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Michael Case Smith of Zacks Investment Management |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| The QDIA regs have some in the financial services market thinking fat times are here again. Listen in as Smith describes who is angling to make the PPA pay off and why it could lead to some plan sponsors spending time in court. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 19, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jesse Slome of the AALTCI |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Slome's group has new research on how LTC applicants are less likely to qualify for good health discounts and more likely to be denied as they age. It's one of the many factoids advisers will want to keep straight as more and more media attention is paid to LTCI. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 18, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Dan Colacino of NYSAHU and Rose and Kiernan |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Colacino's group partnered with the N.Y. insurance department on the recent rebating seminars. Hear his take on the issue, one that has many brokers in the region on edge. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 17, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Joseph Musher of Buchbinder Tunick |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Plan audits are supposed to be harder this year, what with the application of the "risk assessment standards." Listen in as Musher offers some tips and tactics for coping with the upcoming July 31st deadline for calendar year based plans. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 16, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar Jim Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| UPDATED: SORRY FOR THE POSTING ERROR WHEN THIS FIRST APPEARED. ONLY THE INTRO MADE IT. IT'S ALL THERE NOW SO TUNE BACK IN. Brokers get lazy, that's a fact. Listen in as Edholm -- a sometimes EBN contributor -- talks about how he's recently profited from the lazier practices of his peers. |
|
|
|
Pub Date: Jun 13, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Eric Raymond of Corporate Synergies |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Raymond, like others we've spoken to, say opportunities abound when jumbos merge. Listen in as he shares his thoughts on the recent announcement that Willis is ready to digest HRH. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 12, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Steve Alpert of Mercer |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Pensions are pretty well funded on average, according to Mercer's latest findings. Listen in as Alpert unpacks the numbers and also reminds employers about the need for caution going forward. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 11, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jim Neve of ADP |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Neve outlines what ADP is and isn't doing with employers. Benefit brokers regularly worry about the mammoth company's intentions. Worry no more as Neve outlines how his company can partner with the universe of mid-market advisers to better serve America's employers and individual workers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 10, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jere Cowden of Cowden Associates |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Willis is buying HRH. What does it mean for you? Listen in as Cowden talks a little bit about what it might mean for the ranks of small and medium independent benefit brokers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 06, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Kate Biss of Nationwide Better Health |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| We're continuing to track Thom Mangan's progress for our first annual broker health challenge. Today we're checking in with Biss, who will be Mangan's health coach over the next year. She just wrapped up his initial assessment and is dishing on his health status as he begins the journey towards better health. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 05, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Intercare's John Kahle and Littler Mendelson's AnnaMary Gannon |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Kahle and Gannon talk about the nexus between employer wellness interest and the laws that govern it. Too often the law is used to discourage progressive wellness efforts. Gannon and Kahle help separate fact from fiction on this popular topic. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 04, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jonathan Edelheit of FreeHealth.com and the Medical Tourism Association |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Edelheit explains how medical tourism and consumer driven health models can offer brokers more flexibility than ever with benefit plan design. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: Jun 02, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Keith Crocker and John Moran of PSU |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as these Penn State economists talk about their research (from earlier this decade) on how the employer-sponsored group health insurance chasis helps preserve manageable risk pools -- a crucial aspect that individual market proponents must consider. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 30, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Hugh Devlyn of Arete Partners |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Devlyn just inked a few deals to expand Arete's reach. The now full-service employer shop is also looking to expand its international muscles with plans to open a Mexico City office next year. Hear him explain why border busting isn't just for the big national houses anymore. (Editor's note: The picture is of EBA Editor Robert Whiddon, not Devlyn. We'll post his pic when we receive it.) |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 29, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Joe Part of Alltrust Insurance |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Pipeline management just doesn't get enough attention, according to Part. Listen in as he shares why it's so important. We also start to get into the best ways for filling a client pipeline. Stay tuned. This is an issue we're going to explore aggressively. |
|
|
|
Pub Date: May 28, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Thom Mangan of Hub International |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| We're continuing to track Mangan's health improvement odyssey. He just went through the wellness testing and consulting process with Nationwide Better Health. Listen in as he talks about the changes they're recommending for him. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 27, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Neil Gordon of Nationwide Better Health |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Dr. Gordon knows a thing or two about physical fitness. Listen in as he helps brokers articulate a winning argument for more serious consideration of workplace wellness and health promotion programs for employers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 26, 2008 - 5:00 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Chris Girod of Milliman |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Milliman’s new MMI is out. All-in medical costs for the typical family of four are well over $15,000. The number grew 7.6% over last year (down a bit from the percentage increase of the year before). Things are getting worse, just not as fast. Listen in as Girod talks about the new number and its implications for the industry. |
|
|
|
Pub Date: May 23, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Thom Mangan of Hub International |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| A healthier benefits broker is a better benefits broker. That's our logic here at EBA HQ. We're testing it over the next six months with Hub's Thom Mangan. He's got some pounds to lose and inches to shrink. Join us as we track his progress in our inaugural broker fitness challenge. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 22, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Mark Ruloff of Watson Wyatt |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Ruloff details Watson's new research showing that target-date funds can vary widely in their asset allocation. Some geared toward 2010 retirees had nearly 70% of assets in equities. What does it mean for plan sponsors and participants? Listen in and find out. |
|
|
|
Pub Date: May 21, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Robert Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Laszewski breaks down the latest in the political health reform discussion, highlighting how McCain may be making things unnecessarily hard on himself at the moment. Listen in as he also dissects the Wyden/Bennett bill and agrees that it might be the match that ignites a genuine reform conversation among lawmakers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 19, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Clayton T. Larsen of Flagship Global Health |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
Listen in as Larsen explains how getting a second opinion or getting provider-selection assistance helps employees -- both stateside and abroad -- get the best health outcomes.
|
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 16, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Vince Wolf of Cowden Associates |
| Direct Download |
| Listen in as McLean Robbins, of sister publication SMBHuman Resources, speaks with Vince Wolf, executive VP of Pittsburgh-based consulting firm, Cowden Associates, Inc. Wolf talks about his company's recent survey of area companies and what the findings have to say about high deductible health plans and wellness. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 14, 2008 - 3:45 am |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Rudy Rupak of PlanetHospital |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Rupak explains how medical tourism is becoming more than a vague and far-off concept. For his company it's a real strategy that employers are incorporating into their benefits plan design. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 13, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Joe Knight, co-author of Financial Intelligence for HR Professionals |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Knight and (co-author) Karen Berman make a persuasive case why HR professionals (and those that serve them) should brush up on their financial literacy -- that means cracking a balance sheet and income statement or two. Doing so can help transform HR and benefits from a cost center to a valued source of information within a corporate structure, according to Knight. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 12, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Chuck Kennedy of Armstrong, Robitaille and Riegle |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Listen in as Kennedy talks about the benefits increasingly ubiquitous fiduciary liability management programs hold for both advisers and their clients. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 09, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jim Dougherty of J.D. Power and Associates |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| J.D.'s annual health plan analysis is out and it's a doozy. Listen in as Dougherty unpacks some of the findings. It seems -- as always -- that the plans just don't do a good enough job communicating. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 08, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Kurt Turner of InsuranceGossip.com |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Turner's got an agency and now he's got a Web site. He launched InsuranceGossip.com in February. Check it out and check out our call as we talk about building a better community of agents and advisers. |
|
|
 |
Pub Date: May 07, 2008 |
| The EBA Raw Bar with Jim Kenneally of Health Plan Administrators |
Listen: This site uses Flash Player 7 Direct Download |
| Graduation days are among us and that gives advisers an opportunity to talk short-term medical programs with clients. Listen in as Kenneally outlines what's what with the products. Also, make sure to check out the company's marketing video for STM, which is geared toward parents but is really funny. |
|
|
|
