The broker’s role in the future of health care

Although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has undoubtedly changed the health insurance market, it may not be for the reasons that most people think. What’s clear, however, is that employee benefits professionals need to adapt to new customer needs and expectations.

In other words, they need to learn how to thrive rather than merely survive.

Legislation has forced a shift in the employee benefits landscape while at the same time calling for higher quality care for all. It’s also helped make health care more accessible and affordable.

But the real change has come in the form of transparency demands from a wave of consumers who are taking charge of their own health care.

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Change is also surfacing in the new roles many insurance professionals find themselves called to fill: advisor, innovator, strategic partner and futurist. A number of emerging trends will, over the coming decade, move brokers away from simply offering products and toward a more educational and consultative role, according to findings in Aflac’s “Healthcare 2025” study, which was conducted by Research Now and based on survey responses form 1,024 employers and 2,047 consumers.

Are brokers ready?

Aflac’s study offered a look at where the industry might be headed, and how brokers can prepare.

Today’s employers are being asked to do more with less. This means that brokers can play a key role by stepping in and offering innovative solutions. For instance, brokers might educate employees about the process and value of their total benefits package. Otherwise, a poor benefits experience could reflect badly on the employer.

Higher out-of-pocket costs are also driving demand for a retail marketplace and a redefined employer value proposition. While most employers see benefits as a way to attract and retain quality talent, roughly 90 percent of employees typically choose the same benefits year after year, according to Aflac’s 2015 WorkForces Report, which also was conducted by Research Now. This shows that employees perhaps don’t see the value of flexible coverage.

This phenomenon isn’t likely to keep occurring in this wave of health care consumerism, though. That is why brokers and consultants should reframe the benefits experience from a “check-the-box” activity for employees toward a solutions-based, individualized strategy.

Companies have, in a way, already begun to offer employees more control options rather than simply selecting blanket coverage for hundreds or thousands of employees.