American Benefits Podcast

Feb 12 2025 48 ep. 42 mins 7

American Benefits Podcast artwork

Tune in for thought-provoking conversations with smart, creative thinkers in the fields of benefits, economics, government, demography and more. This show is brought to you by the American Benefits Council, a Washington D.C. trade association that advocates for employers, connecting public policy and private-sector solutions to shape employee benefits for the evolving global workforce.

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Enter Your Destination: Introducing the Council's Long-Term Strategic Plan

Feb 12 2025 42 mins

On Wednesday, February 12, the American Benefits Council released its long-term public policy strategic plan, DESTINATION 2030: A Roadmap for the Future of Employee Benefits. In this episode, host Jason Hammersla speaks with Strategic Plan Task Force Chair Tami Simon about the plan's development and ultimate framework for advancing holistic well-being.

Common Sense, Common Cause: Talking Health Care Value with National Alliance CEO Shawn Gremminger

Mar 22 2024 38 mins

Shawn Gremminger recently assumed the role of president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Associations -- a Council member and frequent ally on health care policy. In this episode, we discuss the National Alliance's unique structure and composition, its policy priorities and the importance of getting value for every health care dollar.

Windows on Benefits: Introducing New Board Chair Fred Thiele (Microsoft Corporation)

Jun 23 2023 48 mins

Fred Thiele, vice president, global benefits and mobility for Microsoft, will serve as chair of the American Benefits Council's Board of Directors for the 2023-2024 term. In this episode, he speaks with host Jason Hammersla about his company's unique approach to benefits, outlines his priorities for the next year and drops a few tales of questionable reimbursement requests.

Episode 45: Bigger Data: The First Step to Improving Health Equity (with Jennifer Haley, Urban Institute)

Sep 01 2022 39 mins

Diversity, equity and inclusion is a priority for many of the American Benefits Council’s member companies, who have in turn directed us to engage with these issues as they relate to employee benefits. Over the previous 12 months, the Council has established a task force to address social determinants of health and joined with a number of other esteemed organizations to release

Episode 44: Follow the Leader: Getting to Know the Council’s New Board Chair (with Tracy Watts, Mercer)

Aug 17 2022 34 mins

If the American Benefits Council is to be a leader in the employee benefits world, we must have strong internal leadership. The Council’s policy agenda is carefully considered and set by our Policy Board of Directors, made up of knowledgeable and dedicated human resource and benefits professionals at each of our most engaged member companies. Holding the gavel at the head of that

Episode No. 43: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: A Round-Up of the Council's International Benefits Activity

Aug 03 2022 34 mins

For many multinational companies, figuring out how to scale employee benefits for a global population is a critical element of their economic competitiveness. But if providing comprehensive employee benefit programs in the United States is like playing advanced chess, doing so on a global basis is like playing advanced chess on a moving speedboat. The American Benefits Council's po

Episode 42: Into the Deep End: The Big Splash of Pooled Employer Plans (with Rick Jones, Aon)

May 20 2022 30 mins

Even as policymakers discuss and debate the so-called "retirement savings gap," employers and others are starting to take part in a newly-minted coverage expansion tool: the SECURE Act of 2019 birthed the inception of the Pooled Employer Plan (PEP), which allows separate companies employers to team up and share plan administration for their collective employees. On this episode of

Episode 41: Get Out the Map: Paid Leave and the State of Play

May 05 2022 47 mins

Paid leave may not be an “employee benefit,” strictly speaking, in the same way that health coverage and retirement coverage are. But providing it has become a significant pressure point for employers, especially as an increasing number of states and localities have erected their own mandates over the last decade. In this episode, host Jason Hammersla talks about this slow-moti

Episode 40: No Surprises, Please: The Twisty Tale of 'Surprise' Medical Billing

Apr 21 2022 48 mins

The 2020 enactment of legislation to eliminate “surprise” medical billing was not just the most significant health care coverage legislation since the Affordable Care Act. It was also the culmination of a remarkable show of (relatively) swift and bipartisan lawmaking. Since that enactment, however, the story has taken dizzying twists and turns, with more to come as the regulato

Episode 39: Plumbing and the PBGC: How Plans and Participants are Getting Stuck

Mar 24 2022 38 mins

Even casual observers know that, over the past several decades, the nation's retirement system has evolved from a predominantly defined benefit system to a predominantly defined contribution system. That said, there are still nearly 47,000 defined benefit plans in the United States, (half of which are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC), covering almost 33