Eye on 65 showcases creative ways for public sector plan sponsors to keep the promise of retiree health care
Via Benefits helps plan sponsors make sense of the various options available when it comes to their retiree population’s healthcare benefits. From Group Medicare Advantage Plans to individual marketplaces for Pre-Medicare retirees health reimbursement arrangements, Via Benefits helps plan sponsors manage change and helps retirees navigate choice. Subscribe to Eye on 65 with WTW’s Marianne Steger and Nina Krammer to find out how plan sponsors can sustain their retiree healthcare programs while offering their retirees personalized plans that fit their unique needs and budgets.
Included in this series:
Kicking off season 2 of Eye on 65, retiree David Sauter provides insights on transitioning into an individual marketplace as an early retiree, annual enrollment, and adapting to change in retirement.
Join host Nina Krammer for Eye on 65, a podcast tailored to employers and plan sponsors navigating the intricate landscape of retiree healthcare benefits. With a diverse background in healthcare marketing, Nina brings a blend of expertise and insight to each episode. Subscribe and listen to industry experts, benefit professionals and Via Benefits retirees share their stories about the individual marketplace and discuss the latest trends in retiree healthcare.
Third time’s a charm. Marianne celebrates her retirement in this episode of Eye on 65.
Marianne and Nina discuss what happens when someone turns 65 years old in the United States.
Helping you break down the HELPS law. What public safety retirees need to know.
Discussion about how the IRA, with a new law from Congress in place, makes for significant savings for today's retirees.
Host Marianne Steger and Chief Actuary Trevis Parson discuss what Other Post-Employment Benefits (aka OPEB) liabilities are and what plan sponsors can do to reduce them.
The true story of five retirees, picked to share their Via Benefits experiences.
Marianne Steger is on a mission to save retiree health care! She’s so devoted to the mission that she came out of retirement to become the director of public sector strategy for Willis Towers Watson. Previously, Marianne was the director of health care for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), where she ran the health care program for nearly a quarter of a million retirees and helped them transition from the OPERS group plan to the individual Medicare marketplace. With more than 35 years of experience in health plan strategy and design, employee benefits, labor relations, and public policy, Marianne works with public sector plan sponsors every day to help them preserve retiree health care benefits.
Drug coverage affordability really does exist in the individual Medicare marketplace!
Understand the differences between group Medicare and individual Medicare plans and which plans are best for retirees
Many workers retire before they are Medicare-eligible. Providing retiree health care coverage for them is quite challenging and expensive. Host Marianne Steger explains how the recent changes to the ACA made by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), have made health care for Pre-Medicare retirees accessible and more affordable.
A, B, C, D. Confused by the Medicare alphabet soup? Listen in as John Barkett and Marianne Steger sort through the ABCs of Medicare in this latest episode.
Get the scoop on what it’s like for a retiree to transition from a group health plan to a Medicare marketplace. In this episode, Donna Adassa talks candidly about her Medicare marketplace transition experience, including her aha moment while at an introductory seminar on Medicare, how she selected her health care plan, and her enrollment experience. Finally, she covers why she prefers the Medicare marketplace to her former group health plan.
How can an innovative approach to retiree health care help solve a city’s financial liabilities? The City of Memphis’ CFO shares her lessons learned.
The City of Memphis was facing $1.3 billion in unfunded OPEB liabilities and needed a solution. Our guest, Chief Financial Officer Shirley Ford, shares how she helped the city and its retirees find a win-win solution using the Individual Medicare Marketplace.
How to determine if your retiree health care program is future-proof
Providing retiree health care is more difficult than ever. As a result, the percentage of public sector employers who provide these benefits is shrinking. In this episode of Eye on 65, Marianne and John share the seven-question stress test that can be used to determine if your retiree health care program is built to last.
The individual Medicare marketplace – the best kept secret for delivering affordable retiree health care
What market dynamic allow individual Medicare marketplaces to offer better value than group plans and what does the transition to the individual Medicare marketplace really look like for both plan sponsors and their retirees? John and Marianne share their thoughts.
Options available for maintaining retiree health benefits
In this episode, John and Marianne discuss common challenges and goals for public sector plan sponsors in preserving retiree health care. Tune in to hear how public sector plan sponsors can keep their commitment of providing retiree health care, while lowering costs and providing affordable health plan options for retirees.
What makes working in the public sector unique and what’s at stake if retiree health care goes away
Hosts Marianne Steger and John Barkett kick off the series by talking about what makes public sector employees the strongest thread in the fabric of our communities. They also share how public sector employers can reduce their retiree health care liabilities.
