The Economics of Your Health Insurance Broker

Episode 11 of Services Economy with Fexingo dives into the opaque world of health insurance brokers — the middlemen who help employers choose plans. Lucas and Luna unpack how broker commissions create conflicts of interest, why most small businesses never see alternatives, and the quiet lobbying that keeps the system closed. With a focus on the 2024 rules that aimed to cap broker pay and the industry's successful pushback, the episode reveals a multi-billion-dollar layer of the healthcare system most people never think about. Specific numbers: brokers influence roughly 85% of employer-based coverage, and their fees can add $50 to $100 per employee per month — costs that get passed straight to premiums. The episode also explores one proposed fix: mandatory transparent bidding. Listeners walk away understanding a structural inefficiency in the $1.2 trillion employer insurance market. #HealthInsurance #InsuranceBroker #BrokerCommission #EmployerCoverage #TransparentBidding #ConflictOfInterest #HealthcareCosts #Economics #ServicesEconomy #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #SmallBusiness #Lobbying #InsuranceMarket #PremiumInflation #MiddlemanEconomy #Regulation #HiddenFees Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo