HR Benecast's podcast

It's annual review season at Employers Health — when clients meet with our team to hear how their pharmacy benefit plan is performing, what they should watch for in the future and plan changes to consider to reduce or minimize future pharmacy benefit costs. In the episode, we sit down with Devon Feriance and Tori Sinclair to hear the main themes they're seeing in these reviews, how employers are dealing with the onslaught of legislative changes and, of course, GLP-1s and benefits trends for 2026. 

When it comes to pharmacy benefits, no topics make headlines like GLP-1s and weight loss programs. On this episode of HR Benecast,  Dr. Lia Rodriguez and Erin Bacon from CVS Health share what makes a clinical weight loss program really work. Listen to hear the latest obesity stats, obesity's link to other chronic conditions, the importance of lifestyle changes and more. 

Biosimilars have been around for nearly a decade, but with Humira's list price of around $7,000, biosimilars for the drug are making an incredible splash in the pharmacy industry. With several biosimilars already launched in 2025 and more in the pipeline, many plan sponsors are wondering how to navigate the integration of these products into their pharmacy benefit strategies.   In this episode, Employers Health's Mike Stull chats with Jeff Casberg, head of clinical pharmacy at IPD Analytics to discuss all things biosimilars, including how biosimilar launch dates and pricing are determined, cost savings associated with these products, the importance of biosimilar formulary positioning and more.    Want to hear more from Jeff? Join us at the Annual Benefits Forum April 22-23 in Columbus, Ohio, where he'll present "The Impact of New Drugs and Therapies on PBM Spend." 

Our host, Mike Stull, talks with Employers Health's Senior Vice President, Regulatory Compliance and External Affairs Madison Connor as she covers the latest state and federal employee benefits and PBM legislation under the new presidential administration. Together, they'll cover proposed bills affecting anti-steering legislation including mail vs. retail, preferred pharmacy networks and more. They'll discuss how Rutledge vs. PCMA affects state pharmacy reimbursement laws, ERISA preemption and more. Finally, hear how the rule-making process under a new president could affect your benefit plans.

Cell and gene therapies (CGT) are widely considered a triumph of scientific innovation, focusing on providing cures for diseases rather than treatments. By 2030, it's predicted that over 100,000 U.S. patients will utilize some form of CGT. While CGTs are revolutionary, these therapies come with a giant price tag, leaving many employers wondering how they'll afford potential CGT use for their population.     In this episode, Employers Health's Mike Stull is joined by Drew Wilkins, managing director at Deloitte Consulting to discuss the major costs associated with CGTs, how companies can manage this costly class and how employers can prepare for its surge in the future.  

In this episode of HR Benecast, Mike Stull and Eric Dublikar cover your pharmacy and employee benefits questions including:   What's new in federal and state pharmacy benefit legislation. How Employers Health is working to help clients manage changes to their PBM plans.  What the switch to biosimilars for Humira and Stelara means for plan sponsors?  What impact are GLP-1s having on employer drug spend? Trends in GLP coverage for weight loss.

This episode features Employers Health Chief Operating Officer, Zach Hostetler. He joins our Chief Sales Officer, Mike Stull to discuss pharmacy benefit rebate credits and why they exist. They'll cover how rebate credits are calculated, how long we can expect rebate credits to be around, how Employers Health is working to validate the value of the rebate credits and more. 

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 features Courtney 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 with Ryan 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. 

On this episode of HR Benecast we hear from George Huntley founding member and CEO of the Diabetes Leadership Council. Listen to hear how the Diabetes Leadership Council works to reduce overall spend for employers and those living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Hear from 2021 Excellence in Benefits Award Winner Chris vanNatta, manager of human resources and global benefits at The Timken Company. He shares the importance of relationships, responsiveness and passion when working in benefits and manufacturing. Hear his tips for success in benefits.  The Excellence in Benefits Award, presented annually by Employers Health, seeks to recognize an individual who has made meaningful impact in the field and/or delivery of employee benefits. Nominations for the 2022 award will close on October 3, 2022.

In this episode, we're joined by Brian Beran, vice president of channel partner sales, at AccessHope, a company that offers cancer support services as an employee benefit to employers and their health care affiliates. Hear how AccessHope connects members and their treating oncologists to the renowned expertise of National Cancer Institute (NCI)–Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. AccessHope currently serves over 3 million plan members through more than 80 employers including 21 of the Fortune 500.

Hear from Senior Vice President of Client Solutions, Zach Hostetler as he shares how the Employers Health client solutions team has grown, what that growth means for clients and what the team is doing to help employers tackle rising health care and pharmacy benefit costs. 

In this new feature, we ask our host and Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Stull, some of the pharmacy and other benefits-related questions we hear frequently from our listeners. Listen in for his insights on rebate chasing, the middle man's impact on PBM, copay accumulator programs, what ongoing market consolidation means for employers and much more! 

Our host, Mike Stull, recently sat down with Michelle Wang, senior pharmacy management consultant at Milliman, one of the world's largest independent actuarial and consulting firms. Listen as she explains the importance of biosimilars for plan sponsors, the potential savings opportunities for plan sponsors and their participants and what employers/plan sponsors can do to take advantage of these opportunities. 

We recently sat down with Kelly McDevitt, president of the Integrated Benefits Institute, a health and productivity research non-profit. She shares details and findings on IBI's latest employer research studies covering employee mental health, virtual care and workplace program measurement.  Listen to hear how employers are addressing the quality of virtual care, COVID's impact on preventative care, long-term effects of working from home, return to work programs and more. . 

In this episode, Employers Health's Chief Strategy Officer, Mike Stull, is joined by Nanette Oddo, chief strategy officer at Truveris. A well-known player in the employee and pharmacy benefits industry, Truveris is an advocate for employers, providing a single source of objective truth for pharmacy benefits.  Listen in as these leaders in the pharmacy benefit management industry discuss what differentiates the various PBMs and how employers and their plan participants may benefit from recent PBM/health plan mergers.    

On this episode of HR Benecast we are joined by Mark Bolton, senior director of public policy and senior legal counsel at Greenwich Biosciences and Employers Health's Vice President of Clinical Solutions, Matt Harman.  Together, they share the findings of a recent employer roundtable on cannabis in the workplace. They'll cover employers' top concerns regarding coverage of cannabis under the employee benefit plan, the process of taking a cannabis drug through the FDA approval process, what employers should be thinking about when it comes to cannabis and medical marijuana policies, the future of the drug and employee benefits policies and more. 

Hear from 2020 Excellence in Benefits Award winner Theresa O'Callaghan. As the executive director of benefit programs and corporate human resources at Kaman Corporation, she shares how she got her start in employee benefits and Kaman's innovative efforts to make a difference in plan participants' lives. Plus, hear how the organization's executive leadership team plays a crucial part not only in her success as a benefits professional, but also to the organization's overall benefit plans. 

Discover what we're hearing from self-insured employers throughout the country including: How COVID changed their employee benefits strategy in 2020. Specialty management and other high-cost issues faced by employers. What employers are focusing on and the challenges they're anticipating in 2021. Listeners will also hear an update on the Employers Health client solutions team's growth and how they work with the EH clinical pharmacists as an extension of the benefits team.  

In this episode, Mike Zucarelli clinical pharmacist and national pharmacy practice lead for CBIZ and host Mike Stull discuss the impact of specialty medications on employers’ budgets and the strategies being adopted in the marketplace such as copay maximizer programs and specialty prior authorizations.

Join us as Mike Stull talks with Christian Moreno to hear his insights on the current state of employee benefits. Hear the newest trends and top priorities he's seeing from employee benefits professionals; how wellness, disease management, utilization, specialty and COVID-19 all play into stop loss management; and other health benefit developments. 

Hear from Right Direction co-director, Sean Godar, as he shares the latest developments and updates on Right Direction, a high-impact, turnkey initiative that raises awareness about depression and other mental health conditions in the workplace. He shares how employee benefits and HR professionals can utilize the initiative to provide free resources, tools and expert guidance on workplace mental health to help create a healthier and more engaged workforce. Right Direction is an initiative from the American Psychiatric Association Foundation's Center for Workplace Mental Health and Employers Health, a professional benefits organization. Right Direction is supported by Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (TPUSA) and Lundbeck U.S.

We recently interviewed Tracy Spencer, senior vice president of employer groups and strategic clients at Pharmaceutical Strategies Group, a leading pharmacy intelligence and technology company. In this episode Tracy shares opportunities for employers in the PBM marketplace, the latest plan design trends and developments including copay programs, needs-based programs and more.     

In this episode listeners will hear from Peggy West, director of compensation and benefits at Formica, and Rocke Blair, managing director at Sheridan Road Advisors, a HUB International Company, as they share how they've worked proactively to help employers and employees realize both the economic and health benefits of treating health and retirement benefits as one.

In this episode we'll cover questions from the audience including the affects of COVID-19 on the PBM industry, how pharmacy rebates work, how minimum rebate guarantees are determined and some of your most frequently asked questions about specialty pharmacy. 

We speak with Kelsey Dieters, a clinical pharmacist at Employers Health as she updates us on gene therapy, the latest in specialty pharmacy. She'll share what these drugs are, how they can help patients and what employers can do to mitigate the risk of these drug's often high price tag.  If you'd like to learn more about gene therapy and what it could mean for your organization's employee benefit plan, join us March 18 at the PBM Conference where Matt Harman and Kelsey Dieters, from the EH clinical team will present Employers and Gene therapy, the Past, Present and Future.

Hear from Vice President of Account Management, Zach Hostetler, as he shares with our host what we’re hearing from member organizations including what they are focused on and benefit challenges they are anticipating in 2020 and beyond. He’ll also provide an update on our growing account management team and the resources they provide to member organizations and their benefit teams.

Dave Uldricks, vice president, PBM contracting and strategy, joins us to cover changes in the pharmacy benefit management industry and how they affect plan sponsors and their participants. Listeners will learn about the uniqueness of the Employers Health Annual Market Check and its importance in remaining competitive. 

In this episode our host, Mike Stull, will share a special announcement about a new PBM offering for Employers Health members. Hear from 2019 Excellence in Benefits Award Winner Rachelle Firestone as she shares what makes her career in employee benefits so rewarding and what she sees as the biggest challenge for benefits professionals today. Also, don't forget to submit the keyword to enter to win a $50 Visa gift card. 

Learn about the latest in pharmacy innovations at CVS Health including real-time benefits, other technological advances and how members benefits from the long standing relationship between Employers Health and CVS Health. 

Learn how employers will benefit from Employers Health's new pharmacy residency program from Director of Pharmacy, Matt Harman, along with Kevin Wenceslao, pharmacy resident. They'll share the benefits of an on-site flu clinic, trends in pharmacy benefits and more. 

Hear from guest speakers Carol Harnett, a speaker, writer and health / disability consultant and from Pam Little, president/CEO of Blue Communications, and Bernie Knobbe, VP of global benefits at AECOM, as we join them live at the Health and Benefits Leadership Conference. They'll highlight what attendees can expect from their presentations at the upcoming Employers Health Innovations in Benefits Conference. 

Hear from Doug Nelson, vice president of compensation and benefits, at The Timken Company as he shares how the company is stepping forward to raise awareness of teen and adolescent suicide.

In this episode you'll hear from our CMO, Mike Stull, as he looks back on 2017 and shares what's ahead for the PBM industry in 2018. And, our host, Marcas Miles, will share real world examples of how employers use Right Direction to address depression in the workplace. 

Employers Health's Marcas Miles shares details, on Right Direction, a free initiative to help employers reduce the stigma around depression in the workplace. 

Employers Health's Marcas Miles talks with CEO Chris Goff about a new benefits strategy available to members and Marcas answers a listener's question about communicating with employees. 

Employers Health CMO Mike Stull updates benefits professionals on pharmacy trend, pricing models and what we've seen in terms of pharmacy benefits for 2016. 

Our November episode, features special guest, Garrett Brown, JD, associate counsel at Employers Health as he fills us in on fiduciary duties and related responsibilities of plan sponsors. 

Hear from Employers Health's Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Stull, on topics including the drivers of pharmacy trend, an update on pharmacy trend for the first half of 2016, news and notes on the PBM marketplace and more. Mike will also provide an update on upcoming Employers Health events and how your organization can benefit from them. 

Listen to learn from Employers Health's Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Stull, and his guest, Matt Harman, Director, Clinical Pharmacy Strategies. Matt will discuss specialty drugs and what employers can do to manage costs. We'll also cover the various types of private exchanges and what we can expect from them. We'll share the importance creating a positive working environment through wellness programs. Finally, we'll highlight one of our featured vendor partners, Delta Dental.

Listen to learn from Employers Health's Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Stull, what a Market Check and Pricing Improvement Analysis is, how it works and what it means for your business. In this episode, we'll cover PBM contracting, the various vendors including CVS Caremark, OptumRx, the various aspects of pharmacy benefits and more. We'll also highlight one of our featured vendor partners, ComPsych, and its GuidanceResources EAP.