Beyond Borders: What Global Healthcare Can Teach Employers

Beyond Borders: What Global Healthcare Can Teach Employers

What happens when a practicing physician steps into the world of employee benefits? In this episode of Broken Benefits, Lee Lewis sits down with Dr. Lowell Fernander, a physician-turned-benefits executive whose career has taken him from healthcare systems in the United Kingdom and Europe to helping lead healthcare strategy for one of America's largest employers. Drawing on his unique experience in clinical medicine, health informatics, provider strategy, and benefits leadership, Dr. Fernander offers a rare perspective on the challenges facing healthcare today. From the philosophical differences between healthcare systems around the world to the realities of employer-sponsored healthcare in the United States, this conversation explores what employers can learn from global approaches to care delivery. Along the way, Dr. Fernander shares why benefits leaders have an enormous responsibility in shaping healthcare outcomes, how data can uncover opportunities for better care, and why collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem is essential if we hope to improve outcomes while controlling costs. If you're an employer, benefits professional, healthcare leader, or simply interested in the future of healthcare, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Chapters: 0:00 Every Healthcare System Has Problems 0:28 Welcome to Broken Benefits 1:25 How a Physician Ended Up Leading Benefits Strategy 4:28 What America Can Learn from European Healthcare 8:02 Is Healthcare a Right or a Privilege? 10:42 Why the U.S. Healthcare Debate Misses the Point 13:00 The Real Problem: Access to Care 17:03 Healthcare Deserts and the Hidden Cost of Poor Access 21:03 Employers Shape Healthcare More Than They Realize 25:03 Why Data Is the Foundation of Better Benefits 29:00 Looking Beyond Cost Savings 33:00 The Employee Engagement Problem 37:00 Building Better Healthcare Experiences 40:00 The Impact of Social Determinants of Health 44:00 Why Healthcare Is an Ecosystem Challenge 48:02 Where Employer Healthcare Goes Next 50:06 Closing Thoughts

From Accounting to Innovation: A Different Mindset for Better Benefits (Feat: Brian Duclos)

What happens when you put an auditor in charge of employee benefits? You stop accepting assumptions. In this episode of Broken Benefits, Brian Duclos shares how a non-traditional background in accounting and internal audit shaped his approach to benefits strategy—and ultimately led him to challenge many of the industry's long-standing norms. Rather than accepting annual cost increases as inevitable, Brian applies financial discipline, operational rigor, and data-driven decision-making to one of the largest expense categories organizations face. The result has been a series of innovative plan design strategies, stronger vendor accountability, and a fundamentally different way of thinking about benefits management. This conversation explores the importance of data ownership, performance guarantees, vendor oversight, and why benefits leaders should start thinking more like business operators. If you're responsible for managing healthcare costs, improving employee outcomes, or driving value from your benefits program, this episode offers a practical blueprint for doing things differently. Chapters: 00:00 The Audit That Changed Everything 00:26 Introduction to Brian Duclos 01:16 From Accounting to Benefits Leadership 04:16 Why Brian Left Internal Audit to Fix Benefits 08:09 The Advantage of a Non-Traditional Background 11:05 Challenging Industry Assumptions 14:09 A Case Study in Benefits Innovation 18:13 Why Operational Excellence Matters 20:34 Building Innovative Benefits Strategies 21:53 Start with the Data 24:01 Turning Insights into Action 25:36 Getting Team Buy-In for Change 29:13 Psychological Safety and Innovation 30:12 How to Sell New Ideas to Leadership 33:00 Building the Executive Business Case 34:56 Vendor Accountability and Performance Guarantees 38:00 Finding Hidden Costs in Your Health Plan 39:53 Following the Data to Better Outcomes 43:10 Eliminating Misaligned Incentives in Healthcare 45:12 Contracting, Transparency, and Employer Leverage 47:42 Choosing the Right Advisors and Partners 49:36 What Industry Conferences Actually Teach You 51:33 The Traits of Successful Benefits Leaders 53:15 Brian's Framework for Driving Change 55:10 Final Advice for Benefits Professionals 56:49 Closing Thoughts

No More Excuses: A Hard Look at Healthcare Reform (Feat: Chris Deacon)

In this episode of Broken Benefits, we’re joined by Chris Deacon, a leading voice in healthcare reform known for her direct, no-nonsense approach to fixing a system that too often fails the very people it’s meant to serve. With experience spanning both the public and private sectors—including leading one of the largest public health plans in the country—Chris brings a level of insight that few can match. Her work has consistently centered on one thing: demanding transparency, accountability, and real outcomes in healthcare. This conversation takes a hard look at the current state of the system, the structural issues that continue to drive inefficiency, and the opportunity employers have to take a more active role in shaping better solutions. If you’re tired of excuses and ready to think differently about healthcare and benefits, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 1:45 - Change is accelerating 5:58 - Tactical approaches in 2026 14:06 - How do we push back? 20:18 - Examining high-cost claims 26:02 - Fiduciary obligation to shareholders 37:53 - Cleaning up messes vs. new things 44:13 - What can I do right now? 48:10 - Connect with Chris online

Beyond the Status Quo: Unlocking Opportunity in Benefits & Healthcare (Feat: Milt Ezzard)

In this episode of Broken Benefits, we sit down with Milt Ezzard, a Global Benefits and Mobility Leader, to explore the untapped opportunity that exists within today’s benefits and healthcare landscape. Too often, organizations operate within the confines of legacy systems and outdated thinking. But as Milt shares, those willing to challenge the status quo have a real chance to unlock better outcomes—for their people and their business. From global strategy to forward-thinking program design, this conversation dives into what it takes to move beyond maintenance mode and start building benefits strategies that truly create value. If you’re a leader looking to rethink your approach and capitalize on the opportunity in front of you, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 1:47 - Being hesitant to try something new 8:25 - Best practices for Milt 16:20 - Getting back your control 30:13 - Holding vendors accountable 40:30 - Approaching AI products  46:32 - Building benefits that are loved 51:21 - Leveraging Glassdoor 53:26 - Closing remarks

Breaking the Trend: How Innovation Kept Healthcare Costs Flat for Decades (Feat: Todd Bisping)

In this episode of Broken Benefits, Lee Lewis sits down with Todd Bisping, Benefits Industry Innovator, to explore one of the most remarkable stories in employer healthcare strategy. For nearly two decades, Todd helped lead a benefits approach that achieved something most employers consider impossible: keeping healthcare cost trend flat while continuing to deliver meaningful value to employees. Rather than accepting the steady rise of healthcare costs as inevitable, Todd and his team took a different path — experimenting with new ideas, challenging industry assumptions, and focusing relentlessly on strategies that produced measurable results. In this conversation, Todd reflects on the lessons learned from years of leading benefits innovation, what it takes to implement change inside large organizations, and why employers have far more influence over healthcare outcomes than they often realize. If you’re a CHRO, benefits leader, or HR executive looking for real-world examples of what disciplined, long-term benefits strategy can accomplish, this episode offers both inspiration and practical insight. Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 1:27 - The best part about running benefits plans 8:59 - The misconception of innovating 19:14 - Leveraging case studies 32:32 - Irrelevant strategies employers need to stop 43:40 - Guiding your priorities 50:50 - The value of pilot programs 54:30 - Closing remarks