…and comes home renewed with confidence and appreciation.

Each year, the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) holds a legislative “fly-in” called Capitol (CAP) Conference. Well over a 1,000 brokers, consultants and employee benefit professionals make the annual pilgrimage to DC to share best practices, educate their legislators and build long-lasting relationships by supporting our profession and the clients and consumers we serve. Continue reading “Mr. Gaunya goes to Washington…” »

It seems like almost a daily event…I’m meeting with a client to discuss their renewal and they say, “Why are health care costs rising faster than the rate of inflation (CPI)?” Like me, I’m sure this question takes you many places because the answer can be complicated —but is it really? Continue reading ““Back to the Future”. . . but is that a good thing for advisers?” »

With responsibility comes opportunity . . . when we take on more responsibility for the way we live our lives and the health care choices we make, we earn opportunities for a better life. How? Continue reading “A bold change in buying health insurance” »

With knowledge comes responsibility and when we ask for transparency like we did in my last blog post, that’s exactly what we get . . . more responsibility.

Wiki defines responsibility as the state of having the duty to deal with something, to be accountable or to blame for something . . . though in my experience, blame is usually a waste of time and distracts attention from what’s really important. So, what does responsibility in health care look like? Continue reading “What does responsibility in health care look like?” »

According to Wikipedia, the word transparency implies openness, communication and accountability . . . performing in such a way that it is easy to see what’s wrong. Sounds like our health care system, doesn’t it? Not really and that’s where enormous opportunity exists to “fix” healthcare.

Why is buying healthcare so much more complicated than anything else we buy? Why can’t we see the cost and quality measures of the services we buy BEFORE we buy them? How can we ask people to make more informed choices without information? The answer is we can’t. Continue reading “What does transparency in health care mean?” »

Jennifer recently spoke with Rick Brutti and Jeffrey S. Davis on “MYOB – The Radio Show”!

You can listen to Jennifer’s segment HERE, where she discusses the role of Borislow Insurance, transparency of the healthcare system, Health Care Reform, and how to “Bend the Healthcare Trend”.

Brokers in the Bay State are currently trying to make the best of a bad situation stemming from Massachusetts’ four-year-old health care reform law. Listen in as Mark Gaunya gives “Employee Benefit Adviser” the insider’s view of what’s going on.

Listen to the Podcast HERE!

As our federal legislators grapple with political ideology and lose sight of the focus of healthcare reform – crippling rising healthcare costs – employers all over this country are faced with a grim reality of another year of healthcare costs increases that are 2-3x higher than general inflation.

American healthcare spending reached $2.4 trillion in 2008 – and will exceed $4 trillion by 2018 if left on its current course.

Traditional health insurance options haven’t just failed to stop the bleeding – they have also kept us in the dark and robbed of us our choices. Everyone is responsible for a small part of healthcare spending, and individuals have the power to turn the situation around.

What can you do to lower costs and improve the health and well-being of your employees? You can embrace the three principles of Consumer-Driven Health Plans (CDHP):

1. Transparency – seek out information such as the cost and quality of healthcare
2. Responsibility – live a healthy lifestyle and evaluate treatment options
3. Opportunity – become healthier and more productive, which will make you feel better AND save money by “banking” what you don’t spend for the future

Real behavior change isn’t easy and your employees need help learning how to live a healthier, more responsible lifestyle. How do you help them? You can start by building a culture of wellness and implementing a wellness program that is tailored to meet the unique needs of your employees and their families.

Our healthcare costs are soaring. After many failed attempts to control these costs, it’s time to rethink the word “healthcare” by putting more emphasis on health and less on care. A paradigm shift is needed, and this starts by seeing ourselves as consumers of healthcare who are in control of what our dollars purchase, and not as patients who passively accept what’s offered by physicians or an employer’s health plan.