HR Benecast

In this episode, we're joined by Madison Connor, senior vice president of regulatory compliance and external affairs at Employers Health. She will share the latest in state and federal PBM legislation. Hear who's behind many of the recent PBM legislative initiatives, how PBMs like CVS and Optum Rx plan to handle these newly-proposed state laws and discover how employers can prepare for these new requirements.

Hear from employee benefits and compensation lawyer Jeff Zimon as he covers why fiduciary obligations are making headlines and what the Johnson & Johnson lawsuit means for plan sponsors. He discusses steps employers can take to ensure they are fulfilling their fiduciary duties, the importance of summary plan descriptions (SPDs) and the need for proper pharmacy benefit documentation.

The first 2024 episode of HR Benecast featuresCourtney Keefe, Employers Health's resident GLP-1 expert. She'll share utilization, discontinuation and coverage trends for GLP-1s and anti-obesity drugs. Listeners will hear the latest on anti-obesity drug coverage under the pharmacy benefit, new drugs in the pipeline and how the big PBM's are managing drugs like Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.

On our last episode of 2023, we sit down withRyan Siemers, founder and principal at Aegis Risk to cover all the intricacies of stop loss. As the costs of catastrophic claims continue to grow, reinsurance protection and medical stop loss are more important than ever. Listen to hear how costly gene therapies are impacting deductibles, potential health care industry changes could drive prices even higher and more.

To learn more about the Aegis Risk Medical Stop Loss Premium Survey visit https://www.aegisrisk.com/copy-of-stop-loss-premium-survey-header and to register to hear Ryan Siemers presentation on Medical Stop Loss & Risk Strategies for Catastrophic Claimants please visit https://www.employershealthco.com/resource-center/events/abf24/.

In this episode of HR Benecast, we're joined by Travis Baughn, vice president of clinical solutions at Optum Rx. Listen to hear how pharmacogenetics works and its importance for employers. He'll share what plan participants need to know, and how it can be used to reduce medical waste and long and complex medication journeys.

For additional resources on pharmacogenomics, please visit cpicpgx.org and pharmgkb.org.

Nearly half of working Americans have obesity, raising the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Hear from George Huntley, founding member and CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council, about the importance of addressing obesity and the role it plays in employee retention. He'll share successful treatment options and the direct and indirect benefits for plan sponsors and their participants.

On the latest episode of HR Benecast we're joined by George Huntley, founding member and CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council. He shares how plan sponsors can develop a benefits strategy to help employees with diabetes and other chronic conditions, advice for PBM contract negotiations, the latest in PBM legislation and more. 

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.; nearly half the adults in our country have high blood pressure, putting them at risk for heart disease and stroke. April is hypertension awareness month, so we sat down with Jenn Roberts of Hello Heart to discuss how employers can reduce heart-disease-related costs while supporting their employees' heart health. Together, Jenn and our host, Mike Stull, will share the importance of lifestyle changes in managing heart health, best practices for plan design and more. 

In our first episode of 2023 we answer your employee benefits and pharmacy benefit questions. Listen as we cover:

• The latest on rising insulin prices,
• What the launch of a Humira biosimilar means for payors and plan sponsors,
• How employers can combat exorbitant carve-out fees charged by some medical providers,
• The future of rebates,
• What employers can do to protect their pharmacy plan against the high costs of gene therapies,
• The ideal amount of time for a PBM finalist meeting, and
• Our predictions for pharmacy trend in 2023. 

Hear from Employers Health's Vice President of Clinical Solutions, Matt Harman, as he shares the clinical team's learnings at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus conference, what the team's growth means for Employers Health clients, upcoming clinical strategies for self-insured employers and more.