CRC Benefits Podcast

How Paid Family Medical Leave Changes Employer Benefits Planning

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Paid family and medical leave is expanding fast, and the hardest part for employers isn't learning one state's rule. It's realizing how quickly the planning window closes once a workforce crosses state lines.

Kaleb Bledsoe, CRC Benefits' National Ancillary Practice Leader, joins us to unpack where PFML stands today and why it now belongs at the center of benefits planning, not the edges.

We cover how to map exposure by where employees live and work, not where a company is headquartered, why remote teams raise the stakes, and what Maryland's early Declaration of Intent window means for prefunding decisions well before 2028.

We also break down the benefits stack brokers get wrong most often: PFML pays first, not instead of short-term disability, and state caps can leave real income gaps for higher earners.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

How Benefits Brokers Can Lead The PEO Conversation Early

Wed, 27 May 2026 10:00:00 -0500

A client brings up a PEO before you do and suddenly you are playing defense, walking into a story someone else already wrote. We dig into why that’s happening more often right now and how benefits brokers can keep their place as the trusted advisor when a professional employer organization enters the chat early. The big shift we’re seeing is not hype, it’s pressure: HR complexity, multi-state compliance, remote employees, and the constant strain of rising medical costs.

If you want to protect client relationships, expand your toolkit beyond the open market, and lead smarter HR and benefits conversations, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a broker who keeps getting surprised by PEOs, and leave a review with your biggest question about when PEOs truly make sense.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

When Required Notices Break Down - And How To Fill The Gap

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0500

The fastest way to get burned in benefits compliance is believing a notice “counts” just because it was sent. We sit down with Misty Baker, our Director of Compliance and Government Affairs, to talk about why required notices break down in the real world and what brokers and employers can do to make the message actually stick.

We get practical about the pressure points: COBRA timing (including the day-one initial notice), the decision to administer COBRA in-house versus using a third-party vendor, and the messy moments that happen when an employee hits a deadline they never realized applied to them. We also dig into digital delivery fatigue, why employees tune out even important emails, and how that creates extra work, late surprises, and avoidable liability.

Then we zoom out to the filings and deadlines that often get missed because “someone else” is assumed to own them. PCORI is the perfect example: what it is, who needs to file IRS Form 720 in self-funded and level-funded plans, and why July 31 should already be on your compliance calendar. Misty also explains a blunt reality of employee benefits compliance: employers are typically on the hook even when a broker or vendor is the one who dropped the ball.

If you want a clearer way to run client conversations, reduce penalties, and tighten your group health plan compliance process, this one will give you a framework. Subscribe to the CRC Benefits Podcast, share this with a colleague who owns compliance tasks, and leave a review with the notice or filing that causes the most confusion on your accounts.

Read Misty's article here: https://www.crcbenefits.com/tools-intel/why-required-notices-break-down/
Download the compliance doc and more here: https://www.crcbenefits.com/compliance/compliance-resources/

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

Innovative Solutions for the Small Group Market with Tiffany Stiller and UnitedHealthcare's commercial CEO Dan Kueter

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0600

We sit down with Dan Kueter, CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s commercial business, to unpack small-group cost pressures and explore how employers can counter trend with level funding and more transparent, tech-enabled benefits plan design. UnitedHealthcare’s Surest health plan offers a clear path to lower costs and a better consumer experience. In this episode, Dan gives a deep dive on how Surest is built around more than 1 million variable value-based copays that vary based on a provider’s historical performance, upfront pricing, and smart digital nudges.

We also cover today’s top trend drivers, including specialty drugs, GLP-1s, cell and gene therapy, and behavioral health. Dan breaks down how to choose between level funding and adjusted community rating and more detail about how Surest can help lower costs for employers and members alike.

You’ll also hear why digital engagement is key to real results, plus insights on broker education, rollout best practices, and how to partner with UnitedHealthcare for ongoing feedback and product refinement. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss upcoming episodes of the CRC BeneFit Check Podcast, where CRC Benefits delivers real insight, practical strategies, and smarter solutions to help you lead your clients with confidence.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

Pretty Easy Opportunity - Why to consider PEOs

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0600

Payroll tangles, patchwork compliance, and vendor sprawl can quietly drain a growing company. We sit down with CRC’s PEO leaders, Rob Schlossberg and Ari Wind, to map out when a professional employer organization unlocks simpler operations, stronger benefits, and fewer risks—and when it doesn’t. If your clients have multi-state teams, rising admin load, or employees asking for richer plans like IVF and modern voluntary benefits, this is a practical guide to the trade-offs that matter.

We break down what a PEO really delivers: integrated payroll, HR, workers’ comp, and compliance inside a single tech platform that cleans up onboarding, recordkeeping, and reporting. Rob and Ari explain why interest has surged, how to spot genuine fit signals across industries like private equity, nonprofits, logistics, and tech, and the common red flags that suggest the open market might be smarter. You’ll also learn how to protect clients with CPEO status and ESAC accreditation—critical safeguards that prevent tax restarts, ensure financial oversight, and backstop payroll and benefits through surety bonding.

What truly differentiates our approach is process. We start with a focused discovery call, run a consolidated RFP that works across multiple PEOs, guide demos and implementation, and deliver renewal strategies 90 days in advance. That solution-agnostic stance means we recommend PEO, open market, or hybrid based on real needs, not hype—sometimes even talking clients out of a PEO when it won’t serve them. As the market consolidates and matures, brokers who claim the PEO conversation early protect their relationships and win more often.

Ready to sharpen your edge? Listen now, subscribe for future conversations, and leave a review telling us your biggest PEO question or success story.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

ICHRA: A Smarter Way to Offer Benefits

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0500

If the phrase one-size-fits-all makes you wince, this conversation will feel like a breath of fresh air. We sit down with Patti Reimer to unpack how Individual Coverage HRAs (ICHRAs) turn rigid group plans into flexible, budget-friendly benefits that employees actually want to use. Instead of forcing everyone into the same carrier and network, ICHRAs let employers set a defined contribution while employees choose plans that match their doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions no matter where they live.

Brokers will find a clear playbook here. With nearly half of employers still unaware of ICHRAs, there’s a real first-mover advantage for those who lead the conversation. We share how CRC Benefits equips brokers with quoting support, ICHRA handbooks, presentation decks, and open office hours through Q4, making it simpler to consult, compare, and implement. We also look ahead to what’s next: tighter tech integration, smarter plan recommendations, and expansion into dental, vision, telehealth, and EAPs that round out a modern, portable benefits stack.

Ready to rethink benefits with flexibility, choice, and control? Press play, then subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who needs a smarter way to offer health coverage.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!

Breaking Down the One Big Beautiful Bill

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Ready for a healthcare shake-up? The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, is set to reshape how Americans access and manage healthcare for years to come.

In this first episode of the CRC Benefits Podcast, Misty Baker, CRC Benefits Director of Compliance, walks through the bill’s journey and breaks down four key provisions every benefits professional needs to know right now:

Permanent telehealth for HSA participants – removing barriers to virtual care
Dependent Care FSA expansion – $7,500 annual limits for individuals and joint filers starting in 2026
New “Trump Accounts” – tax-advantaged savings for children under 18, with $5,000 contribution limits and possible government funding for those born 2025–2028
Stricter ACA verification and Medicaid work requirements, plus extended paid family leave tax credits

Misty provides practical guidance on implementation timelines and what brokers should be doing today to prepare clients.

As Q4 approaches, understanding these changes is critical to building smarter benefit strategies. This episode delivers the clarity you need to move forward with confidence.

👉 Subscribe to the CRC Benefits Podcast for ongoing insights as these provisions roll out in 2025 and beyond.

Check out more info from CRC Benefits Tools + Intel here!