Opening Remarks

Naama O. Pozniak | Founder & CEO, Right Plan

Mindset Reset: Start Sharp Before the first session begins, Naama leads the room through a brief guided meditation — a moment to clear the noise, center your focus, and show up ready to absorb everything that follows. Come prepared to be present.

1 CE Credit
Mike Smith | President Emeritus, The Brokerage

Decision: Group Health or Medicare?

With over 11,000 Americans turning 65 every day, benefits professionals are fielding this question constantly — and getting it wrong can cost clients real money. This session cuts through the complexity of Medicare eligibility coordination with employer group coverage. Mike walks through how employer size, active employment status, HSA contributions, and COBRA all affect which coverage should be primary, when Medicare enrollment can be safely delayed, and when waiting triggers a penalty.

1 CE Credit
Henry Santos | Executive Vice President, Amwins/Stealth

Fundamentals of Self-Funding / Stop Loss 101
Self-funded plans now cover the majority of American workers in employer-sponsored insurance, and the migration toward self-funding is accelerating as fully-insured premiums keep climbing. But the mechanics of how these plans actually work remain a blind spot for many brokers. Henry delivers a practical primer on the architecture of self-funded plans: how specific and aggregate stop-loss coverage protects employers from catastrophic individual claims and runaway total plan costs, how to evaluate attachment points, and how to position self-funding conversations with mid-market clients who have never considered anything beyond a carrier quote.

Lunch

Grab lunch and connect with the companies making this day possible.

1 CE Credit (Pending)
Rachel Strauss | Founder & CEO, PBM Princess

Risky Business: PBMs, Stop-Loss & The Blind Spot Brokers Can't Afford to Ignore
Pharmacy costs now represent nearly a quarter of every employer health care dollar, and they're projected to climb another 11-12% in 2026. Meanwhile, the PBM landscape is in the middle of its most significant regulatory shakeup in decades. Rachel breaks down what brokers need to understand about PBM contract structures, where the hidden liabilities live, and how to ask the questions your clients aren't asking yet.

1 CE Credit
Kylie Everhart | Chief Commercial Officer, Kyra Health

ICHRA: How to Sell, Implement, and Avoid the Pitfalls
ICHRAs grew 52% among small and mid-size employers in 2025, and the pressure to understand this product is no longer optional. But ICHRA's potential and ICHRA's reality are still miles apart for many brokers. Commission structures are inconsistent. ACA affordability testing is misunderstood. Employee experience can collapse without the right administrative support. Kylie walks through what a winning ICHRA sale actually looks like, how to run the group-vs-ICHRA analysis correctly, what compliance requirements to build into every implementation, and where brokers are getting burned.

Julian Sado | Founder, L&D, Culture & Brand Strategist, Pivot-2-Change

The Human Algorithm: Social Selling in the Age of AI
AI can scale outreach. Only humans can earn trust. As automation floods inboxes and LinkedIn feeds with look-alike messages, the brokers and advisors who win long-term are the ones who understand what technology can't replicate: behavioral nuance, emotional credibility, and the ability to read a room, in person or online. Julian merges behavioral science with advanced AI tools to show sales professionals how to stay authentically human in a digital world. You'll leave understanding how perception and adaptive communication drive stronger client relationships, and how to use AI as a force multiplier rather than a substitute for the thing that actually closes deals.

Cash Bar Opens with Appetizers

Spencer Smith | SVP of Sales, Pareto Health

Captives for Smarties
For employers who've exhausted what traditional fully-insured and standard self-funded approaches can do, captives represent the next frontier. Spencer breaks down the captive model in plain terms: what a captive actually is, how risk is structured across member employers, the role of cost-containment strategies in making the model work, and why captive participation has been growing steadily as a response to unpredictable catastrophic claims. Whether you're new to captives or looking to sharpen how you position them with sophisticated clients, this session gives you the vocabulary, the framework, and the confidence to have the conversation.