BAN Blog

Meet the Member: Michele Kimes

Posted on by Benefit Advisors Network
CoyleKiley, Rockford IL. Photo by Mindy Joy Photography.

Michele is Vice President & Director of Employee Benefits at CoyleKiley, BAN’s most recent member agency. Michele graduated from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska with a degree in Journalism/Marketing. She began her insurance career in 1995 at Rockford Health Plans. Michele holds her Accident/Health, Life and Long Term Care licenses. She joined CoyleKiley in 2010.

What is your background, and how did you get into the EB business?
Shortly after graduating from college, I started working as an Operations Manager for a medical billing office in Rockford, IL. I became friends with a few of the Account Executives that worked for the local HMO plan, who had offices in our same building. They asked if I would be interested in working with them and that was the beginning of my insurance career in 1996. That HMO plan was then purchased by a larger regional plan and shortly after that in early 2003, I left the carrier side to become a consultant with a small, locally owned and operated Employee Benefit agency in Rockford. Then, in 2010, I joined CoyleKiley agency to develop the Employee Benefits Division, which has grown from 1 employee to 9 employees in 13 years.

What are your leadership principles?
I have these two sayings hanging up in my office:
Leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.
Leadership is not about being the best, but it is about making everyone else better.

What are you looking forward to achieving as a BAN member?
I am looking forward to collaborating with other insurance professionals on best practices to help me grow personally and professionally within my career.

How are you advising your clients regarding ongoing inflation, higher interest rates, and a shaky economy? Are you concerned about a recession?
We pride ourselves on our relationships with our customers which keeps us involved in their business throughout the year. We share industry trends as well as future outlooks with them on an ongoing basis so that price increases and economic setbacks are not a surprise. We have not spoken too much with our customers about a “recession” at this time.

What is your outlook for your agency in 2024?
To continue our 97% retention rate as being the “agency of choice” for our current customers as well as continue to grow locally, regionally, and nationally.

What is this industry’s largest challenge?
The cost of group medical insurance.

What are two lessons that you learned during your career that you can pass along to future leaders in the insurance industry?
I have learned that Transparency is always the best policy and to Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Michele can be reached at mkimes@coylekiley.com.

Follow Michele on LinkedIn.

BAN Forms Partnership with Connectify Marketing, LLC to Strengthen Member Support

Posted on by Benefit Advisors Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jessica Tiller
jtiller@pughandtillerpr.com

Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, IL — September 27, 2023 — Benefit Advisors Network (BAN), the premier international network of independent employee benefit brokerage and consulting firms, is excited to announce a strategic partnership with insurance agency marketing leader, Connectify Marketing. This strategic partnership amplifies BAN’s dedication to its core principles: business planning, collaboration, accountability, and sustainability. The new collaboration also highlights the vital role of an effective marketing strategy in boosting agency revenue.

“The Connectify Agency Marketing Program will help our members stand out in a crowded field of competition to win and retain clients with a platform that delivers top-tier marketing tools, content, and resources aimed at simplifying marketing, bolstering agency brands, generating leads, and engaging clients,” says Perry Braun, President and Chief Executive Officer of BAN.

Michael Gluck, Founder and CMO of Connectify Marketing, adds, “Our Agency Marketing Program offers BAN members the advantages of extensive marketing resources generally available to large corporations without a large-scale investment. Members can instantly utilize our marketing strategy, counsel, tools, resources, and solutions at a fraction of the individual cost.”

The program addresses crucial, often neglected marketing tasks that are vital to growth, which include marketing and brand strategy, producer marketing education, public relations, website management, newsletter publishing, email campaigns, social media management, reputation management, design services, and more.

BAN members will also have access to a team of marketing experts across a variety of specialties, who will keep them updated on the latest industry trends, technologies, and approaches. This shift towards outsourcing marketing functions is a game-changer for agencies aiming for heightened accountability, improved quality, consistent delivery, and cost-effective solutions. The additional marketing support also preserves precious time for smaller agencies and allows larger organizations to allocate resources as and when needed.

“We are confident that BAN’s strategic partnership with Connectify Marketing will offer an additional compelling value proposition for our members that will ultimately help them grow and better serve their customer base,” Braun concludes.

About Benefit Advisors Network (BAN)
Established in 2002, BAN is an exclusive, premier international network of independent, employee benefit brokerage, and consultancy companies. BAN delivers industry-leading tools, technology, and expertise to U.S. and Canadian member firms, enabling them to deliver optimum results to their employee benefit customers. To learn more, visit www.benefitadvisorsnetwork.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

About Connectify Marketing
Connectify Marketing Group is a dynamic marketing firm serving small to mid-sized insurance agencies across the United States. They provide the marketing tools a business needs to scale and the marketing programs and talent an agency needs to thrive — all from an integrated technology and service provider. Connectify Marketing empowers small to mid-sized agencies with the tools, strategies, and support they need to flourish in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Visit www.connectifymarketing.com or follow them on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Tug of war: The state of employer/employee relations

Posted on by Benefit Advisors Network

BenefitsPro asked readers who is in control of the state of employer/employee relations?

By Paul Wilson | September 21, 2023 at 08:17 AM

View the full article here

A balancing act

With all the media reporting, you would think employee relations are at an all time low. Yet, over half of employees say they’re extremely satisfied with their job, 62% are satisfied with their manager and 78% say they’re treated with respect.

According to The Conference Board, “once workers are paid competitively, a strong workplace culture is the most important factor… Leaders gain the most by offering flexible, hybrid work arrangements, and emphasizing work experience and culture factors.” Advisors must balance health and welfare offerings with a thorough review of compensation, engagement and ancillary products supporting holistic wellbeing.

Bobbi Kloss, VP Human Capital Management Consulting Services, Benefit Advisors Network

Benefit Advisors Network Partners with Truveris, Prescription and Pharmacy Benefit Management Experts

Posted on by Benefit Advisors Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jessica Tiller
jtiller@pughandtillerpr.com

CLEVELAND, OH (9/12/23) – Benefit Advisors Network (BAN), an international network of progressive and visionary employee benefit brokers and consulting firms from across the United States and Canada – has developed a strategic partnership with Truveris, a leading healthcare technology company focused on transforming and reducing pharmacy spend.

Under the terms of the new partnership, Truveris will offer BAN member firms its end-to-end pharmacy solution that uses proprietary technology to achieve the best pharmacy options for each employer client. The Truveris platform replaces traditional PBM procurement and oversight models by creating dynamic bid competition among PBM, enabling a direct comparison of contract terms to achieve price transparency, and providing 100% claims analysis throughout the contract term to verify that the awarded PBM is meeting their commitments outlined in the agreement. BAN members will also receive access to Truveris’ proprietary content, thought leadership, and educational events.

“We are excited to partner with Truveris. Adding them to our list of reputable partners provides our members with an expert who can help them and their employer clients navigate a very complex issue. We are confident our members will derive value out of this important partnership,” says Perry Braun, President & CEO of the Benefit Advisors Network.

Braun continues, “Plan sponsors are experiencing a dramatic rise in pharmacy costs and feel helpless in controlling their pharmacy benefits. Truveris creates PBM pricing transparency through an independent platform that drives competition and reduces pharmacy costs for employers.”

”BAN and Truveris have built our organizations around innovation and collaboration, especially to support the work of employee benefits firms,” says Nanette Oddo, CEO of Truveris. “Rising pharmacy costs, along with a lack of transparency and control, continue to be top priorities for employers and their plan members.  We’re excited to partner with BAN to support their member firms as they seek to provide employer clients with the most cost-effective pharmacy programs to fit their unique member needs.”

BAN will host an introductory call with Truveris for members on September 19. Steve White, Portfolio VP at Truveris, will lead this session. The agenda will provide a detailed overview of Truveris, the solutions available to BAN members, and when and how to access our partners at Truveris.

About Benefit Advisors Network
Founded in 2002, BAN is an exclusive, premier, international network of independent, employee benefit brokerage and consulting companies. BAN delivers industry leading tools, technology, and expertise to member firms so that they can deliver optimum results to their employee benefit customers. BAN intentionally limits membership because of the highly collaborative interactions. For more information, visit: www.benefitadvisorsnetwork.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

About Truveris

Truveris is a leading healthcare technology company focused on transforming and reducing pharmacy spend. Truveris has built the only independent, data-led tech platform that creates complete PBM pricing transparency and drives competition to reduce costs for employers. Our solutions replace traditional pharmacy procurement and renewal models for self-insured employers by providing deep insights, comparative procurement, 100% claims analysis, and member engagement solutions. For more information on our solutions, visit www.truveris.com.

Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Hands Down a Big Win for ERISA Preemption

Posted on by Stacy Barrow

After several failed attempts by pharmacy benefit managers (“PBM”) to challenge state laws regulating PBMs, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (in Pharmaceutical Care Management Association v. Mulready) handed down a big win for PBMs and, by extension, self-funded ERISA plans, when it held that provisions under an Oklahoma insurance law that established strict network adequacy standards and over-broad “any willing provider” requirements for PBMs were preempted by ERISA.  Certain provisions of the law were also successfully challenged as being preempted by Medicare Part D; however, the scope of this alert is limited to the portions of the 10th Circuit’s opinion related to ERISA preemption.

The Oklahoma PBM law at issue in the case, (1) sets forth stringent geographic parameters for making brick-and-mortar pharmacies available to plan participants, (2) limits the use of mail-order pharmacies as a replacement for brick-and-mortar pharmacies, (3) bars PBMs from promoting in-network pharmacies by offering financial incentives such as copay or cost sharing reductions, (4) requires PBMs to admit any provider willing to accept the PBM’s preferred network terms and conditions, and (5) prohibits PBMs from refusing to allow pharmacies with pharmacists on probation with the state regulatory agency from being in the PBMs’ network. 

When challenged at the district court level, the lower court determined that none of these provisions impacted plan design or choices for plan administrators and upheld the law.  However, on appeal, the 10th Circuit wholeheartedly disagreed, finding that these restrictions, among other things, infringe upon central matters of plan administration.  The court recognized that the Oklahoma PBM law network restrictions, “home in on PBM pharmacy networks – the structures through which plan beneficiaries access their drug benefits.  And they impede PBMs from offering plans some of the most fundamental network designs, such as preferred pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, and specialty pharmacies.”  Further, the court recognized that restricting PBMs from denying, limiting, or terminating a plan’s pharmacy contract because of licensure issues (i.e., allowing them to limit the network when a pharmacy has a pharmacist who is on probation with the state licensure agency) essentially forces the PBM to consider all pharmacies over any safety concerns the plan may choose to impose.

Thus, while the Oklahoma law does not directly regulate ERISA plans, but rather PBMs, the court recognized that ERISA plans are virtually compelled to use PBMs to administer their prescription drug benefits and, therefore, held that the Oklahoma law is preempted by ERISA as it impermissibly impacts and/or relates to ERISA plans by interfering with plan administrators’ ability to administer their plans uniformly.

Conclusion

PMBs have been a target of state regulation for some time, and we don’t anticipate that this decision will discourage them further, particularly in states outside the purview of the 10th Circuit.  In the meantime, it’s possible the case could ultimately be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  We will continue to monitor state PBM laws and the progress of this case.

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About the Author. This alert was prepared by Barrow Weatherhead Lent LLP, a national law firm with recognized experts on the Affordable Care Act. Contact Stacy Barrow or Nicole Quinn-Gato at sbarrow@marbarlaw.com or nquinngato@marbarlaw.com.
The information provided in this alert is not, is not intended to be, and shall not be construed to be, either the provision of legal advice or an offer to provide legal services, nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of the agency, our lawyers, or our clients. This is not legal advice. No client-lawyer relationship between you and our lawyers is or may be created by your use of this information. Rather, the content is intended as a general overview of the subject matter covered. This agency and Barrow Weatherhead Lent LLP are not obligated to provide updates on the information presented herein. Those reading this alert are encouraged to seek direct counsel on legal questions. © 2023 Barrow Weatherhead Lent LLP. All Rights Reserved.