Employee Benefits and the New Health Care Landscape How Private Exchanges are Bringing Choice and Consumerism to America's Workforce

by Cohen, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780134665306
• ISBN10: 0134665309
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-09-10
• Publisher: Pearson FT Press

Summary

2018 International Book Awards Finalist in "Business and Management" Category

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

• Make sense of today’s challenging benefits landscape and plan breakthrough changes that have succeeded for thousands of employers of all sizes
• Leverage the lessons of the online shopping revolution to drive radical innovation
• Incorporate the 7 key pillars of a true private benefits exchange into your benefits mindset
• Gain indispensable practical insights from early adopters’ experiences
• Clarify the new roles of employers, HR, insurers, brokers, employees, and other stakeholders
• Accelerate your transition away from inefficient employer-managed plans
• Assess the ongoing impact of health care reform, public exchanges, health care consumerism, and other trends

Alan Cohen created one of the first private exchange platforms and has pioneered this approach for more than a decade. Now, in a candid discussion of how the economic principles of choice, consumerism, and defined contribution are at work in an exchange environment, he breaks down the concept for HR professionals, entrepreneurs, brokers, insurers, health care reformers, policy makers, and employees. Cohen looks to social and economic implications to forge a future in which all eyes are on a new model of the consumer for the benefits age.

With insights from industry veterans, Employee Benefits and the New Health Care Landscape brings a fresh perspective to the debate on health care and health insurance in America.

Author Biography

Alan Cohen co-founded Liazon, operator of one of the industry’s leading private benefits exchanges for businesses of all sizes, in 2007. Liazon was acquired by Towers Watson, now Willis Towers Watson, in 2013.

Alan has been a leader in the benefits space for over two decades. Prior to cofounding Liazon, he was CEO and cofounder of Online Benefits, one of the first web-based benefits technology companies in the United States. He led the company through its sale to A.D.A.M, a global provider of consumer health information and benefits technology solutions, and later served as president of A.D.A.M. Prior to cofounding Online Benefits, he worked in the insurance industry for Prudential, Mass Mutual, and Cigna and served as managing director for a division of Northwestern Mutual Life.

Alan is often sought out for his insights on private exchanges, their role in the new health care landscape, and their effect on businesses. His expert commentary has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Yahoo! Finance, CNBC.com, and numerous benefits publications, including Employee Benefit News and Benefits Pro. In 2016, Alan was a recipient of an “Industry Innovator” award by the Institute for HealthCare Consumerism (IHC). IHC’s 11th annual “HealthCare Consumerism Superstars and Industry Innovator Awards” recognized the year’s top executives for their work in transforming the landscape of corporate health and benefits.

In this book, Alan draws on his in-depth experience in the benefits industry to share how the key principles he used to create one of the first private exchange platforms over 10 years ago is still relevant to anyone interested in forging a better system for all.

Alan holds a BA from Cornell University, an MBA from Columbia Business School, and an MBA from London Business School, where he won the Award for Academic Excellence.

Alan resides in Westchester, New York, with his family and spends summer weekends in Woodstock, New York. The Cohens are avid skiers and outdoors people.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. A Better Way to Better Benefits and Health Care for Employers and Employees
2. The Accidental Entitlement: Benefits and How We Got Here
3. Making the Transition from Inefficient Employer-Managed Plans
4. They Don't Know What They're Missing: Flipping the Status Quo on its Head
5. How Exchanges Benefit Employers, Workers, and Providers
6. The Value of Brokers in the Marketplace
7. Private Exchanges and Expanded Human Resources Roles
8. Consumer-Driven Health Care Leads to Innovative Coverage and New Products
9. Exchanges, Benefits, and Post-ACA Politics
10. Fulfilling the Potential of Choice Marketplaces
Appendix