Ep #99: Advocacy Helps Members Raise Their "Healthcare IQ" - With Julian Lago

This week, our subject matter expert is Julian Lago, co-founder and President of Benezon about how benefits advisors can help employees raise their “Healthcare IQ”. In light of recent reports that as many as three-fourths of employees don’t understand even basic benefits terminology, this offers yet another post-reform opportunity for adding value.Julian has spent the last five years working to understand how advisors can create a concierge service for employees to help them begin to understand the complexities of their plans and their claims. We also explore how having an advocate can help employees become better consumers. He believes it boils down to three key focus areas: awareness, engagement, and improvement.In this conversation, we talk about what you need to look for in your practice and how to keep a high touch environment while using technology to take the burden of every-increasing client demands for higher levels of customer services off your support staff. Julian is a Regional Vice President of the National Association of Health Underwriters and spends a great deal of time talking with benefit advisors who share the same common needs: being able to find time to build their practices while delivering world-class customer service without breaking the bank.What You’ll Learn From this Episode:How you can account for the continuing high level of health care illiteracy.What “Healthcare IQ” means.Whether more transparency will drive greater engagement.Whether “high touch” still matters.Julian’s 3 three key focus areas of advocacy for plan members.What’s the sword and what’s the shield?