A client brings up a PEO before you do and suddenly you are playing defense, walking into a story someone else already wrote. We dig into why that’s happening more often right now and how benefits brokers can keep their place as the trusted advisor when a professional employer organization enters the chat early. The big shift we’re seeing is not hype, it’s pressure: HR complexity, multi-state compliance, remote employees, and the constant strain of rising medical costs.

If you want to protect client relationships, expand your toolkit beyond the open market, and lead smarter HR and benefits conversations, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a broker who keeps getting surprised by PEOs, and leave a review with your biggest question about when PEOs truly make sense.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

The fastest way to get burned in benefits compliance is believing a notice “counts” just because it was sent. We sit down with Misty Baker, our Director of Compliance and Government Affairs, to talk about why required notices break down in the real world and what brokers and employers can do to make the message actually stick.

We get practical about the pressure points: COBRA timing (including the day-one initial notice), the decision to administer COBRA in-house versus using a third-party vendor, and the messy moments that happen when an employee hits a deadline they never realized applied to them. We also dig into digital delivery fatigue, why employees tune out even important emails, and how that creates extra work, late surprises, and avoidable liability.

Then we zoom out to the filings and deadlines that often get missed because “someone else” is assumed to own them. PCORI is the perfect example: what it is, who needs to file IRS Form 720 in self-funded and level-funded plans, and why July 31 should already be on your compliance calendar. Misty also explains a blunt reality of employee benefits compliance: employers are typically on the hook even when a broker or vendor is the one who dropped the ball.

If you want a clearer way to run client conversations, reduce penalties, and tighten your group health plan compliance process, this one will give you a framework. Subscribe to the CRC Benefits Podcast, share this with a colleague who owns compliance tasks, and leave a review with the notice or filing that causes the most confusion on your accounts.

Read Misty's article here: https://www.crcbenefits.com/tools-intel/why-required-notices-break-down/
Download the compliance doc and more here: https://www.crcbenefits.com/compliance/compliance-resources/

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

We sit down with Dan Kueter, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s commercial business, to unpack small-group cost pressures and explore how employers can counter trend with level funding and more transparent, tech-enabled benefits plan design. UnitedHealthcare’s Surest health plan offers a clear path to lower costs and a better consumer experience. In this episode, Dan gives a deep dive on how Surest is built around more than 1 million variable value-based copays that vary based on a provider’s historical performance, upfront pricing, and smart digital nudges.

We also cover today’s top trend drivers, including specialty drugs, GLP-1s, cell and gene therapy, and behavioral health. Dan breaks down how to choose between level funding and adjusted community rating and more detail about how Surest can help lower costs for employers and members alike.

You’ll also hear why digital engagement is key to real results, plus insights on broker education, rollout best practices, and how to partner with UnitedHealthcare for ongoing feedback and product refinement. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss upcoming episodes of the CRC BeneFit Check Podcast, where CRC Benefits delivers real insight, practical strategies, and smarter solutions to help you lead your clients with confidence.

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Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!