Legislative and regulatory action on health care reform likely to give states more authority, says president of American Benefits Council at Sun Life…

Journal of Engineering

Legislative and regulatory action on health care reform likely to give states more authority, says president of American Benefits Council at Sun Life Summit

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Journal of Engineering -- The 5th annual Sun Life Summit featured experts in health care policy, workforce demographics, and technology, discussing the disruptors coming to the benefits industry. "Mastering the Benefits Disruptors: Politics, People, Technology", examined the theme of disruption in health care policy, workforce communications, and benefits technology.

James Klein, president of the American Benefits Council, a Washington, D.C. based employer benefits advocacy group, discussed the potential futures of the Affordable Care Act and the American Health Care Act in the keynote session, "Buckle Up: Riding the ACA Roller Coaster".

"Whether the bill stalls, or whether it does go through, we are going to see an effort both in the regulatory arena as well as the legislative arena, to devolve more authority to the states," said Mr. Klein.

Mr. Klein mentioned the Patient Freedom Act, (which would give states autonomy to structure their own health coverage system) as a potential model for how the final Congressional legislation may look. Democrats may also favor the Act, as it would allow "blue" states to retain the ACA. Looking long-term, if the ACA is repealed and its replacement is not successful, Democrats may advocate not for a return of the ACA - but for a single payer model.

In his discussion with moderator, James Slotnick, on employee benefits and forthcoming comprehensive tax reform, Mr. Klein continued, "There is an awareness that employers and workers are no longer looking at health and retirement in separate silos, and more as total rewards. Therefore we do have an opportunity, as tax reform moves forward, to do some things that help address the totality of the types of benefits that individuals need in order to have a sense of personal financial security-like disability or long term care."

In the panel "How to Reach an Ever-More Diverse Workforce", panelists discussed the nuances of employee communication and engagement. David Daskal of Jellyvision, Jacki Bassani of Willis Towers Watson, and Jason Averbook of LeapGen agreed that the concept and understanding of "personas" will lead HR professionals to produce tailored, effective benefits communications, and better employee communications in general.

The final panel, "When Will Employee Benefits Become Uber-ized", focused on various aspects of technology, including big data, predictive analytics, and AI. The panel featured Jeff Yaniga of Maestro Health, Scott Millson of MillsonJames, and Jeff Goldberg of Novarica. They discussed AI and predictive analytics as still young in insurance, but starting to grow, and rapidly. Currently mostly used for things like pricing or risk assessment, there is opportunity to look at claims data and outcomes, and drive things like service, product design, and employer interactions.

The 5th annual Sun Life Summit was held on May 16, 2017, and is now available for viewing online at www.sunlifesummit.com. Past summit themes include private exchanges, disability, and impacts of the Affordable Care Act.

Keywords for this news article include: Machine Learning, Sun Life Financial, Predictive Analytics, Emerging Technologies, Investment and Finance.