77. A Candid Look at Health Benefits, Compliance, and the State of the Industry

82. A Panel Discussion with 2 Employer Case Studies w/ Jaimie Jarvis & Stephanie Porrino

At SHRM26, moderator Chelsea Ryckis and Ethos Benefits co-founder Donovan Ryckis brought two employers on stage to show what taking control of a self-funded health plan looks like in dollars and cents. Stephanie Porrino (formerly HR Director at Hendry Marine Industries, now Founder & CEO of Empower Healthcare Insights) and Jaimie Jarvis (HR Director at Kalos Services) walk through the plan changes, broker breakups, and multi-year strategy that took their companies from reactive renewals to governed, fiduciary-driven plans, backed by real claims data. We cover the four moving parts of every health plan (PBM, network, TPA, stop loss), why fully funded and level funded plans leave employers with no real data, how reference-based pricing works, and how two very different employers landed in the same place: lower costs, better access to care, and employees who feel it.What you'll learn: * Fully funded vs. level funded vs. self-funded, and why most employers never see their real claims data * How reference-based pricing works, and why 13 states have already adopted it * A 300-employee shipyard's five-year case study: 77% off billed hospital claims * How a construction company went from a 37% renewal increase to zero premium increases in four years * Why removing cost-sharing on primary care, imaging, and mental health can lower total spend * Why more balance bills can actually be a good sign * How to tell if your broker or advisor is really working in your best interest Get more on our guests at: Stephanie Porrino, Founder & CEO, Empower Healthcare Insights Website: https://empowerhcinsights.com [https://empowerhcinsights.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-kochporrino/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-kochporrino/]Jaimie Jarvis, HR Director, Kalos Services LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimie-nyhuis-jarvis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimie-nyhuis-jarvis/]Patrick Williams, Co-Founder, Fiduciary in a Box LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corporatefiduciary/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/corporatefiduciary/]Whether you're an HR professional, CFO, CEO, or just tired of rising healthcare costs, this is your call to rethink your benefits strategy and finally take control.Connect with Chelsea and Donovan: Website: www.businessofbenefitspodcast.com [http://www.businessofbenefitspodcast.com] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebusinessofbenefitspodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@thebusinessofbenefitspodcast] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethoseffectpodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/ethoseffectpodcast/] Chelsea: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-ryckis-8508a192/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-ryckis-8508a192/] Donovan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovanryckis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovanryckis/] The Business of Benefits Podcast:Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Ethos Benefits is a fee-only, fiduciary benefits consulting firm. We don't take commissions. We don't represent carriers. We represent you.—-Finished with the content? Claim your CE credit here:https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-education [https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-education]SHRM:Ethos Benefits is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.HRCI:Ethos Benefits is approved to offer HRCI® recertification credits for this program. This program has been approved for 0.5 - 1 HR (General) recertification credit(s) toward aPHR®, PHR®, SPHR®, and GPHR® certification.

81. Why Your Wellness Program Isn't Working: The Data-Driven Fix for Employee Burnout w/ Dr. Romie Mushtaq

In this episode of The Business of Benefits, host Chelsea Ryckis sits down with Dr. Romie Mushtaq, triple board-certified physician, national bestselling author, Chief Wellness Officer at Great Wolf Resorts, and founder of the brainSHIFT Institute, to have the workforce wellness conversation that the benefits industry has been missing. Dr. Romie pulls back the curtain on why burnout has become one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in corporate America, and what's actually driving the crisis. From her personal story of near-fatal burnout in 2010 to building science-backed, data-driven wellness programs for 14,000+ employees, she brings the clinical receipts to a conversation that most "wellness influencers" simply can't.Chelsea and Dr. Romie also dig into what burnout really looks like in claims data and it's probably not what you think plus how organizations of any size can build a culture shift that drives measurable ROI without jump ropes, Pelotons, or wellness apps nobody uses. The 45th Annual Employee Benefits Symposium (Aug. 23–26, Phoenix) is where benefits professionals go to connect, learn, and level up. Register by July 21 for early bird pricing: www.iscebs.org/symposium [https://www.iscebs.org/symposium] What you'll learn * Why burnout is being misdiagnosed and what employees are actually asking for * How the Busy Brain Test gives organizations a data-driven snapshot of workforce mental health * What burnout really looks like in claims data (hint: it's musculoskeletal injuries and metabolic syndrome, not just mental health claims) * Why trust is the pathway to actual utilization of every benefits program you've invested in * How Dr. Romie's three-pillar framework Protect Your Brain, Protect Your People, Protect Your Business, applies to companies of 25 or 25,000 * What happened when one plan sponsor removed every barrier to mental health access (the cost result will surprise you) * Why wellness dies when it lives solely with the benefits director * How empathy and accountability coexist and why caring cultures still have high expectations

80. Built Different: The Ethos Story w/ Chelsea Ryckis & Donovan Ryckis

The benefits industry is broken. $37,824. That's the average cost of a family of four on an employer-sponsored health plan in 2026 and it's growing at 9% a year. So how did we get here, and what does it actually look like to fight back? In this episode, host Austin Townend sits down with Chelsea Ryckis (President) and Donovan Ryckis (CEO) of Ethos Benefits for the origin story nobody asked for but everyone needs to hear. From Donovan's background as a fiduciary securities advisor who saw the same conflicts in healthcare and couldn't look away, to Chelsea getting hit in the head with a softball and learning the hard way that you can run but you can't hide from medical debt... this is the story of how Ethos was built different on purpose. Take the next step in your career. Start your CEBS journey today at CEBS.org. https://bit.ly/48k4aeZ What You'll Learn Why Donovan left a lucrative securities career to fix a bigger problem in healthcare Chelsea's personal experience with medical debt and how it shaped the Ethos mission The real definition of fiduciary — and the three things it actually requires Why there is zero fiduciary standard in insurance (and what that means for you) The $37,824 number every employer needs to hear A claim is a dollar, not a condition — and why that distinction changes everything The four things you can do with healthcare risk: reduce, avoid, retain, or transfer Why brokers go straight to the transfer (and how that lines their pockets) How to vet whether your advisor is actually living the fiduciary standard — not just marketing it Where the industry is headed over the next five years, including PBM legislation and litigation at  Connect with Chelsea Ryckis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-ryckis-8508a192/ Connect with Donovan Ryckis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovanryckis/ Connect with Austin Townend: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austintownend/ Connect with Ethos Benefits: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethosbenefits/ Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com — Finished with the content? Claim your CE credit here: https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-education SHRM: Ethos Benefits is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. HRCI: Ethos Benefits is approved to offer HRCI® recertification credits for this program. This program has been approved for 0.5 - 1 HR (General) recertification credit(s) toward aPHR®, PHR®, SPHR®, and GPHR® certification. #EmployeeBenefits #HealthcareCosts #FiduciaryDuty #BusinessOfBenefits #EthosBenefits #HRLeadership #GroupHealthInsurance #BenefitsStrategy #HealthcarePlanning #PBM #ERISA #HealthBenefits #EmployerHealthcare #BenefitsBroker #OpenEnrollment #HealthcareCostContainment #SelfFundedHealthPlan #HRPodcast #BenefitsPodcast #PlanSponsor

79. Stop Ignoring Women's Health Benefits w/ Brittany George

In this episode, host Chelsea Ryckis sits down with Brittany George( insurance industry veteran, founder of Her Consulting, and author of A Tale of Two Births) to pull back the curtain on maternal healthcare in America. Brittany brings a rare perspective: 17 years in health insurance, time at Fountain Health, and two profoundly different birth experiences that changed everything she thought she knew about the system she worked in. They cover the cascade of interventions most women don't know they're signing up for, why the incentives inside hospitals are misaligned against patients, what fentanyl has to do with labor and delivery, and — critically — what self-funded employers can do RIGHT NOW to support the women on their plans. What You'll Learn - Why 70% of women get an epidural containing fentanyl — and most aren't told - How a C-section can cost a health plan $80,000–$100,000+ vs. $4,000–$7,000 for a vaginal birth - Why doula coverage is the single highest-impact benefit employers can add today - The downstream health risks for dependents born via C-section — and what that means for your plan - How the birth center vs. hospital vs. home birth decision affects both outcomes AND claims - Why women at every stage — postpartum, perimenopausal, infertile — are being underserved by traditional benefits - What "A Tale of Two Births" taught Brittany about asking better questions in any healthcare setting Connect with Chelsea Ryckis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsearyckis Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com Connect with Brittany George: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyspaziano/ Website: https://ataleoftwobirths.com/ Connect with Ethos Benefits: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethos-benefits YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ethosbenefits Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethosbenefits Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com The Business of Benefits Podcast: Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Ethos Benefits is a fee-only, fiduciary benefits consulting firm. We don't take commissions. We don't represent carriers. We represent you. — Finished with the content? Claim your CE credit here: https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-education SHRM: Ethos Benefits is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. HRCI: Ethos Benefits is approved to offer HRCI® recertification credits for this program. This program has been approved for 0.5 - 1 HR (General) recertification credit(s) toward aPHR®, PHR®, SPHR®, and GPHR® certification.

78. The Real ROI of Mental Health Benefits

What if making mental health care completely free for your employees actually lowered your total plan costs? In this solo episode, host Chelsea Ryckis breaks down one of the most compelling case studies in Ethos Benefits' history, a manufacturing company with 350–380 employees that eliminated every financial barrier to mental health care. Zero copays. Zero deductibles. Unlimited sessions. Open network. No prior authorization. The result? 12% utilization (vs. a 4% national benchmark), 594 claims, an average of 14 sessions per member — and a total cost of just $7 per employee per month. Meanwhile, traditional plans with restrictions are benchmarking at $14–$17 PEPM for mental health. Chelsea also covers the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), updated in 2024, and walks plan sponsors through the compliance pitfalls she sees most often — from restrictive prior authorizations to narrow behavioral health networks to inconsistent NQTLs. This episode is for HR leaders, CFOs, and plan sponsors who are tired of designing benefits around fear of cost — and ready to see what happens when you design around actual employee needs. What you'll learn: Why EAPs alone are not enough (only 4% of employees actually use them) The real cost of untreated mental health: 23% more absenteeism and 3x higher healthcare costs What a zero-barrier mental health plan design actually looks like How 594 claims over 2.7 years cost just $129 per claim on average The MHPAEA compliance pitfalls plan sponsors overlook — including NQTLs and network adequacy Why the cultural component of mental health support matters as much as the plan design How to audit your current plan for mental health parity compliance. Connect with Chelsea Ryckis: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsearyckis Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com Connect with Ethos Benefits: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethos-benefits YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ethosbenefits Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethosbenefits Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com The Business of Benefits Podcast: Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Ethos Benefits is a fee-only, fiduciary benefits consulting firm. We don't take commissions. We don't represent carriers. We represent you. Learn about CEBS! In a field as complex as employee benefits and retirement, experience alone isn’t always enough. Credibility matters. That’s why professionals turn to CEBS—the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist designation. Developed in partnership with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, CEBS delivers comprehensive expertise across both group and retirement benefits—equipping you to lead with confidence and authority. Set yourself apart with a designation that speaks for itself. Start your CEBS journey at CEBS.org.  https://bit.ly/48k4aeZ — Finished with the content? Claim your CE credit here: https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-education SHRM: Ethos Benefits is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities. HRCI: Ethos Benefits is approved to offer HRCI® recertification credits for this program. This program has been approved for 0.5 - 1 HR (General) recertification credit(s) toward aPHR®, PHR®, SPHR®, and GPHR® certification.