Margin of Care

Fertility, Menopause, and the Care Gap Employers Can’t Ignore

Fertility and family-building benefits are changing fast, and they now reach far beyond pregnancy. In this episode, Kirk sits down with Dr. Asima Ahmad, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Carrot Fertility, to unpack what “high-quality care” really means across fertility, male factor support, perimenopause and menopause, and more. They dig into how employers can reduce friction, improve outcomes, and protect ROI by pairing people with the right providers, offering wraparound clinical and emotional support, and building a comprehensive experience that drives real engagement. Margin of Care is presented by Garner Health. Learn more at garnerhealth.com

Hard Truths for Clients

Being a healthcare consultant has never been harder. Rising costs, private equity pressure, fragmented point solutions, and constant scrutiny from CFOs and executives have changed what clients expect from their advisors. In this live panel recorded at a recent event, seasoned consultants Chris Merrill (IMA), Rico Bocala (USI), and Scott Wood (Benefit Commerce Group, an Alera Group company) share hard-won lessons on managing trend conversations, navigating tough client moments, and maintaining trust when the answers aren’t easy. From telling clients what they need to hear (not what they want to hear) to narrowing bloated solution menus and proving ROI in a high-pressure environment, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to stay relevant as a benefits advisor today. Margin of Care is presented by Garner Health. Learn more at getgarner.com

How Benefits Leaders Are Rethinking Cost, Care, and Trust in 2026

Employers are being forced to make harder benefits decisions than ever before. Rising costs, high turnover, and uneven access to care have turned benefits strategy into a series of real trade-offs, not theoretical ones. Recorded live at Garner’s Strategic Advisors Summit in Park City, this episode of Margin of Care features Steven Reszczynski, VP of Benefits at Global Medical Response, and Courtney Rodriquez, SVP of People Success and Enablement at MarketStar. Together, they share how they are rebuilding benefits strategies in the wake of COVID while balancing employee experience, financial sustainability, and trust. The conversation covers how mental health has become a core cost driver, when narrow networks work and when they break down, why ER overuse remains so difficult to solve, and how GLP-1 coverage is forcing employers to rethink ROI in the face of high attrition. This is a candid look at how benefits leaders are navigating cost, care quality, and workforce expectations heading into 2026. Margin of Care is presented by Garner Health. Learn more at getgarner.com

The Real Problem With Benefits Utilization

Employers aren’t short on benefits. They’re short on connection. In this episode of Margin of Care, Kirk sits down with Chad Cruse [chatgpt://generic-entity?number=0], VP of Ecosystem at Benefitfocus [chatgpt://generic-entity?number=1], to unpack why utilization remains one of the biggest failures in employer healthcare. Despite an explosion of digital health tools and point solutions, most employees still struggle to understand what’s available to them—or how to use it when they actually need care. Chad explains how rapid growth and capital inflows have fragmented the healthcare landscape, creating plenty of aggregators but very few true curators. He shares why benefits administration platforms are uniquely positioned to serve as year-round engagement partners, not just open-enrollment destinations, and how real-time data, smarter routing, and ecosystem design can drive meaningful behavior change. The conversation also explores what separates effective digital health partnerships from shelfware, why efficacy and long-term commitment matter more than flashy features, and how employers can move from offering benefits to actually helping employees use them. If utilization is the real ROI problem in healthcare, this episode lays out what it takes to fix it. Margin of Care is presented by Garner Health. Learn more at getgarner.com

How AI and Talent Are Reshaping Healthcare

Healthcare is being reshaped by two powerful forces: rapid advances in AI and a fundamental shift in what leaders, operators, and employees expect from work. In this episode of Margin of Care, Kirk Czonstka sits down with Sonia Millsom, CEO of Oxeon and longtime healthcare operator, to unpack how talent, leadership, and technology are colliding in today’s healthcare market. Drawing on her experience across organizations like UnitedHealthcare, Iora Health, Best Doctors, and Maven Clinic, Sonia shares what she’s seeing from the front lines of executive search and investment. The conversation explores how resilience has replaced grit as the defining leadership trait, why clock speed and decision-making matter more than ever, and where AI is truly creating leverage versus hype. They also dive into what today’s talent market reveals about the state of healthcare, how benefits are evolving as a differentiator for attraction and retention, and why employers must rethink one-size-fits-all approaches in a multi-generational workforce. This episode is a candid look at how healthcare leaders can adapt, build resilient organizations, and make smarter bets on both people and technology in an era of constant change. Margin of Care is presented by Garner Health. Learn more at getgarner.com