Break the Cycle Podcast

Most employers don’t lose money because their benefits plan fails. They lose money because nobody stopped to ask if it still works.

In this episode, Amanda Gilbert, Vice President of Client Strategy and Engagement at Apex Benefits, moves the conversation from theory to practice. She walks through real client relationships: the problems they were stuck in, the strategy sessions that changed direction, and what happened once they got creative.

From a private university that solved a difficult renewal without disrupting a single employee, to a healthcare client whose growth plans reshaped their entire self-funded strategy, Amanda breaks down what separates a broker who shows up once a year from a trusted advisor who’s in it year-round.

A renewal meeting should not be the first time your broker talks about controlling benefits.

In this episode, Amber Chittenden, President of Apex Benefits, explains why employers need more than a transactional partner. Drawing on more than 30 years in the employee benefits industry, she shares how the broker role has shifted from shopping rates and negotiating renewals to helping organizations actively manage one of their largest business expenses.

Amber and Josh explore what employers miss when they focus only on fixed costs, why claims management requires year-round attention, and what separates a trusted advisor from a broker who simply brings back quotes. They also discuss how benefits should connect to broader business goals and what employers can ask to determine whether their current partner is truly accountable for results.

For any organization still treating benefits as a once-a-year renewal conversation, this episode offers a better standard for managing healthcare costs.

Most employers think they’re evaluating their broker relationship correctly. They’re not.

In this episode, John Gause, Founder and CEO of Apex Benefits Group, pulls back the curtain on 23 years of building something different, and why the benefits industry’s default approach to measuring broker performance is costing employers real money.

John shares the journey from group underwriter to industry disruptor: how he saw the gaps early, why he left a national firm to build something benefits-only, and how Apex pioneered the data, clinical, and pharmacy capabilities that most brokers are only now beginning to understand.

The conversation cuts to the heart of what employers should actually be asking: not what am I paying my broker, but what am I getting for it? Because if your trend is running at 7 or 8% every year and no one’s talking about why, that’s the real problem.

From predictive modeling to a six-year internal study showing Apex clients averaging just 2.2% claim cost growth, this episode makes the case for a different standard. One where your broker isn’t just servicing your account, they’re changing your future.

The employee benefits system has been stuck in a cycle of rising costs, reactive decisions, and limited visibility into what’s actually driving outcomes.

In this episode, Nolan Pearson, President and COO of Apex Benefits Group, shares what he learned from sitting in the CFO seat, managing benefits decisions that directly impacted both the business and its employees. He unpacks why so many organizations operate reactively, what happens when high-cost claims hit without warning, and why most brokers fail to offer anything meaningfully different.

From stop-loss surprises to long-term claims that drive ongoing costs, we explore what it really takes to move from reacting to proactively managing your benefits strategy and why that shift matters more than most leaders realize.

Healthcare costs don’t just rise on their own. There’s always a reason behind them, and most employers never get to see the full picture.

In this episode, Sarah Michaels, Chief Clinical Officer at Kinetiq Health, joins us to break down what’s actually driving healthcare spend and why the traditional approach of reacting to claims after the fact continues to fail employers.

We explore how the system itself is designed, and why convenience often comes at a significantly higher cost. Sarah also shares what employers are missing when they rely on data alone without understanding the story behind it, and how a more proactive, clinically informed strategy can change both outcomes and costs.

From high-cost claims to everyday decisions that quietly drive spend, this conversation reframes how employers should think about healthcare and what they can do differently moving forward.