American Benefits Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 40: No Surprises, Please: The Twisty Tale of 'Surprise' Medical Billing Apr 21, 2022

Show notes

The 2020 enactment of legislation to eliminate "surprise" medical billing was not just the most significant health care coverage legislation since the Affordable Care Act. It was also the culmination of a remarkable show of (relatively) swift and bipartisan lawmaking.

Since that enactment, however, the story has taken dizzying twists and turns, with more to come as the regulatory implementation phase gives way to nationwide litigation over the Biden administration's rules.

In this episode, host Jason Hammersla speaks to Katie Keith, a member of the research faculty for the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms, and who has been following the surprise billing saga closely as a contributor to the Health Affairs blog. Keith puts the 2020 law in context, explains how regulatory agencies have sought to implement the law and breaks down the six different lawsuits scattered throughout the country.

You can find Katie Keith's writing on Health Affairs' Following The ACA Forefront article series and the recently launched Health Reform newsletter. You can also find her recent article on the surprise billing litigation at The Commonwealth Fund.

Episode 39: Plumbing and the PBGC: How Plans and Participants are Getting Stuck Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

Even casual observers know that, over the past several decades, the nation's retirement system has evolved from a predominantly defined benefit system to a predominantly defined contribution system. That said, there are still nearly 47,000 defined benefit plans in the United States, (half of which are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC), covering almost 33 million people and totaling more than $3.2 trillion in assets.

On this past New Year's Eve, the PBGC's Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, Connie Donovan, issued the 2021 Annual Report of the Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, highlighting the agency's successes and improvements, as well as areas of lingering concern. (See the report here: https://www.pbgc.gov/documents/2021-annual-report-participant-and-plan-sponsor-advocate)

In this episode, Donovan speaks with host Jason Hammersla about the customer experience with PBGC, including what she has characterized as "internal administrative issues" within the agency.

Episode 38: Nontraditional Workers and Barriers to Retirement Savings Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

The current labor market is in flux, with many industries still in pandemic recovery while the "great resignation" creating a talent vacuum. Contingent or "nontraditional" work may not be as trendy a topic as it was five years ago, but it could represent a resource for companies seeking to fill important roles.

In this episode, host Jason Hammersla speaks to John C. Scott, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts Retirement Savings Project, about recent research on the retirement preparedness of "nontraditional workers" and remaining barriers to their improved financial security.

Episode No. 37: Still V.B.I.D.: Chronic Disease and the Drive to Health Care Value Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 in 10 adults in the U.S. have at least one chronic disease, while 4 in 10 have two or more. The CDC also estimates that 90% of the nation's health care expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions. And it's very likely that the pandemic has exacerbated chronic disease by disrupting access to chronic disease treatment and control services.

If we have any hope of lowering health care costs and improving outcomes – which is the crux of the Council's health policy agenda – we have to address chronic care.

On this episode of the American Benefits Podcast, the Council's Senior Advisor, Health Policy, Katy Spangler speaks to Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, professor of Internal Medicine in the University of Michigan School of Medicine and a Professor of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, and Paul Fronstin, director of the Health Research and Education Program at EBRI, about a recent study they published on employer take-up of pre-deductible chronic care services.

Episode 36: Polak's Republic: A Dialogue on Working Smarter Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Over the past year, the American workforce has undergone a forced evolution, with work environments and habits thrown into chaos. But even before the pandemic, human resources strategy had shown signs of strain under a rigid definition of "productivity."

In this episode, host Jason Hammersla speaks to internationally respected HR consultant Richard Polak, who thinks there is a better way. Polak explains the philosophy behind his new book, Work Smart Now: How to Jump Start Productivity, Empower Employees, and Achieve More, what "compassionate productivity" means and why "work-life balance" is a misnomer.

Episode 35: Law and Order with Meaghan VerGow Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

With the nation in the throes of a lame-duck congressional session and slow-motion presidential transition, the judiciary is the only branch of the federal government that is working smoothly at the moment, even in the wake of seismic change in the U.S. Supreme Court's personnel. And, as it happens, employee benefits policy hangs in the balance.

On November 10, the high court heard oral arguments in California v. Texas, the latest lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. A number of other important benefits cases will also come before the court in the coming months.

In this episode, special guest host James Klein, American Benefits Council president, speaks with Meaghan VerGow, a partner and litigator with the law firm of O'Melveny and Myers and a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice David Souter and for D.C. Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland. VerGow and Klein discuss the fate of the ACA, the nuances of ERISA litigation and where the "highest court in the land" really is.

Please rate and subscribe the American Benefits Podcast on iTunes. For more information on the Council or the American Benefits Podcast, please email us at info@abcstaff.org.

Better Know a Council Colleague: New Health Policy Senior Counsel Katy Johnson Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

The American Benefits Council is known for its staff continuity, with seven of our 15 staff members having been here for at least two decades. Occasionally, however, the employee benefit gods require new blood and new energy. The most recent addition to the Council family is Katy Johnson, who succeeds the newly retired Kathryn Wilber as Senior Counsel, Health Policy, directing the analysis and advocacy of health policy regulation and litigation.

In addition to her tireless work ethic, Katy brings a wealth of experience to the role after stints at the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service. In this episode of the American Benefits Podcast, she talks to host Jason Hammersla about the origin of that work ethic, the path that led her to the Council and her favorite break room snack.

Episode 33: Benefits Calling: The World of Church Plans with Rev. Jeff Thiemann Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

While we often focus on the Fortune 500 companies that dominate the world economy, another group of employers plays a fundamental role in the daily lives of millions of Americans: the churches, religious institutions and affiliated organizations that employ hundreds of thousands of clergy, lay workers, and their family members. This is a population with very typical health and retirement needs but also very unique practices and perspectives.

Ably representing these perspectives in the advocacy world and in the American Benefits Council is the Church Alliance, a coalition of the chief executive officers of 38 church benefit programs. In this episode, host Jason Hammersla speaks with Reverend Jeffrey Thiemann, vice chair of the Church Alliance and president and CEO of Portico Benefit Services (a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), to talk about what makes church plan benefits so challenging -- and rewarding -- to administer.

Episode 32: It's a Big World After All: Going Global with Mark Azzarello, International Paper Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

The American economy crosses borders, oceans, time zones, cultures, languages and great walls. And therefore, compensation and benefits has gone global, too. For many multinational companies, figuring out how to scale employee benefits for a global population is a critical element of their economic competitiveness. Here at the Council, we're engaged on global benefits in numerous ways, from functioning as the U.S. chapter of the International Employee Benefit Association (or "IEBA") to serving as a private-sector advisor to the U.S. delegation to the Organizational for Economic Cooperation and Development. We're also focused on practical matters for global employee benefit plan sponsors like governance, controlling costs, health plan offerings, employee mobility, mergers and acquisitions and much, much more.

In this episode, host Jason Hammersla talks to Mark Azzarello, vice president, global compensation & benefits, for the International Paper Company. Azzarello is a member of the American Benefits Council's board of directors and chair of the Council's Global Benefits Committee. In this wide-ranging conversation, Azzarello describes the objectives of the Global Benefits Committee and the upshot of the group's October 2019 meeting. He also describes International Paper's distinctive approach to employee benefits policy including global governance, employee financial wellness and electronic disclosure.

Episode 31: All Debts, Public and Private - Helping Employers Help Employees Pay Down Student Loans Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

Retirement benefits are obviously one pillar of employee health and financial security, but despite all that employers do the "retirement savings gap" between what people have and should have, continues to grow. One of the biggest barriers to savings is student loan debt, which now exceeds 1.5 trillion in the U.S., while tuition rises 8% year over year. In an effort to help their employees, more companies are now seeing value in helping to allay this burden.

The American Benefits Council is part of a broad, multi-stakeholder coalition called Debt Free Tax Free, whose mission is to help employers provide student loan repayment on a tax-free basis, if they want to do so. In this episode of the American Benefits Podcast, Debt Free Tax Free spokesperson Tara Fung (vice president at CommonBond for Business) speaks to host Jason Hammersla about how student debt is different than other kinds of debt, why student loan repayment programs are a good investment for companies – and the government, via the tax code – and what to do about the tuition "bubble."

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