We believe in 100% transparency and zero conflicts of interest
Simpara clients all receive our compensation disclosure statement upon engaging with us. We do not rely on, nor participate in carrier commissions (percentage of premium arrangements), bonus payments, overrides, or other hidden & seemingly conflicting forms of payment to actively manage your corporate health plan. While we believe this approach should be the standard in the industry, unfortunately we are in the minority.
Understand the big picture
Benefits compensation, fees, commissions, conflicts of interest, and complex ownership structures make it difficult to gain context on benefits packages.
Qualified and effective solutions often go unused because of undisclosed compensation arrangements and other conflicts of interest. This prevents you from seeing a clear picture—optimal services, clear financial benefits and enhanced service to employees.
Advisor compensation isn't the only, or even the primary, reason to select particular products or work with a specific advisor, but understanding incentives is a critical, foundational step to wise purchasing.
If an advisor truly puts your interests first, they should have no reason not to help you understand underlying incentives.
Best Practices
Expect complete and meaningful disclosure, just like you do in every other significant vendor relationship
Have pointed conversations and mandate disclosure before entering into an arrangement with a broker, consultant, or vendor
Be cautious of firms and people that are especially apprehensive about full disclosure. It's a strong indicator of misaligned interests
During contract negotiations, set expectations that you will request complete and meaningful disclosure
At the end of each plan year, require complete and meaningful disclosure for the plan year
Disclosures should be provided within the first 90 days following the end of the plan year
Require projected costs for each variable cost item for the upcoming plan years while under contract
