Home > BBI in The News

From time to time, BBI or its people are quoted in the news. We link the news reports here so you can see them. For example, Jim Edholm was quoted in Law 360, an attorneys' magazine. You can read the article here.

Published Articles

In the last five years, our president, Jim Edholm, has published some 150 articles -- most as a guest columnist for the Lawrence Eagle Tribune, 6th largest paper in Massachusetts.

Jim's not doing that column anymore (although we plan to upload all relevant columns from the Tribune series in due time), but he has continued to publish in a number of prominent business journals.

To see his latest publications, click on the appropriate link below (newest articles first... page down to see older articles):

 

Health plans vary wildly in coverage of generics. (Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - April 19, 2012) - Benefits Package contains advice about benefits that law firms might want to offer their employees. I use generic drugs. I like generic drugs; they save me money and seem to do the trick. But not everyone feels the same way. Some people have allergies or side effects. Some doctors believe that the original is the only drug ...

Is your benefits broker keeping secrets from you? (IndUS Business Journal Online - March 21, 2012) - Do you ever wonder if your benefits broker is keeping secrets from you? He or she could be. There are things about your benefit programs that may be more in your broker's interest than in yours, so maybe - just maybe - he's not telling you all you ought to know.

Five Steps to Keep Your Benefits Broker Straight: Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance Reveals Industry's Best-Kept Secret (Marketwire News Releases - March 13, 2012) - Employers can often save money by partially or fully self-insuring their benefits program or moving to a different carrier. But your broker may not tell you that because it could cut his bonus, Jim Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance writes in Business Insurance magazine.

Limited-network plans may offer care you need – for less (Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - March 1, 2012) - Benefits Package contains advice about benefits that law firms might want to offer their employees. On Feb. 15, the Boston media was abuzz with the just-released news about the Retailers’ Association of Massachusetts making available a health plan to its members that was “20 percent cheaper.” It was a tempest in a teapot — and not the ...

Lured by the Group Captive By Dave Lenckus (Risk & Insurance March 1, 2012) - "No group captive is guaranteed to succeed. Benefits broker Jim Edholm -- who typically places coverage for employers with 30 to 130 employees, including a handful that self-fund -- does not like the idea of group captives."

Bonuses Can Incent Your Benefits Broker to Keep You with the Same Carrier and Plan and Pay More Than You Should (Business Insurance - Feb 20, 2012)

New Dental Plans Give Coverage More Bite, Crown Employee Benefits, Business Benefits Insurance's Edholm Writes in Mass. Lawyers Weekly (Marketwire - 12/16/2011) Small and medium-sized employers should take a fresh look at their old dental insurance plan.

Patient/Consumer Involvement in Care Is Being Promoted by New Health Care Development - Published: December 8, 2011 - The United States' Federal Government is seriously encouraging all of us (and by "all of us", I mean people who are old enough to get a health plan on their own) to take control of our healthcare while protecting our privacy. The ONC (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology) of the HHS (Health and Human Services) released its PHR (Personal Health Record) Model Privacy Notice.

Health Plan Changes in 2012 Under the Obamacare - Published: December 8, 2011 - A lot of things are taking place in the Massachusetts healthcare over the next couple of years. Okay, here are just some of the things that would take place in the year 2012 - that is, if the world does not come to an end. If you are fully insured, a lot of this will take place automatically: translation, you will be the one paying for the compliance, while your carrier will do the work for you. 

I Know the Problem With the United States' Health Care! - Published: December 8, 2011 - This is me screaming blue murder! Be prepared to go stark raving nuts when you finally know the problem with US healthcare!

Workplace Flexibility in the US Status Report - Published: December 7, 2011 - Workplace flexibility is a really great way of providing employees with the necessary resources that they require in order to remain occupied and successful at their place of work and at home.

TV talk, benefits style (Employee Benefit Adviser - September 1, 2011) By Brian M. Kalish - After going through all the normal marketing steps for his firm - direct mail, email and referral promotions, among others - benefits broker Jim Edholm has added another: videos.

BusinessBenefitsTV.com Shows Employers How to Get the Most From Their Employee Benefit Dollars ANDOVER, MA--(Marketwire - 07/21/11) - New Web TV Show From Business Benefits Insurance Gives Businesses Fast Practical Tips. Employers can get the scoop on the latest tactics and strategies on making the best use of their employee benefit dollars at www.BusinessBenefitsTV.com.

Changes in long-term care insurance warrant fast action Fri, June 24, 2011. Benefits Package contains advice about benefits that law firms might want to offer their employees. If you have a long-term care plan, at your firm or personally, you ought to review it and determine your strategy going forward.

How Your Small Business Can Get a Federal Grant to Start a Wellness Program: Business Benefits Insurance's Edholm Reveals ANDOVER, MA--(Marketwire - 06/14/11) - Wellness is all the rage at large employers today, but it's largely ignored at smaller firms, broker Jim Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance writes in a recent issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Group Health Insurance: What Makes An "Unreasonable" Rate Increase? - Published: December 28, 2010 - When does 3% equal 16%? In a bad economy when employers lay off employees. Insurance carriers are often criticized for raising rates by more than the medical inflation rate, but this article demonstrates that even when the carrier sticks closely to that medical inflation rate, the result for the employer can be a much larger increase.

Will a Better Dental Plan Reduce Your Company's Medical Claims? - Published: December 13, 2010 - Dental hygiene and low health insurance claims may be co-dependent. The "mouth-body connection" suggests that proper dental care can reduce health claims. The challenge for most employers is how best to administer such a program.

Overview of the Health Savings Account (HSA) Plan - Published: May 11, 2009 - There has been a lot of talk about the Health Savings Account, but many people aren't sure what this means or how it can help them. An HSA is actually a consumer spending plan that is used for health care. It's a way for an individual to save for future health care costs while keeping the money available for emergencies today.

Healthcare Plan Options: Strategies for Massachusetts Law Firms published in the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, January, 2009.

Here's to Your Health. This is an article that addresses how law firms can battle high medical insurance costs by pursuing options that increase claims savings and lower premiums and adjudication costs. Published in the March, 2009 edition of Legal Management.

Long Term Disability for Your Employees: To Choose the Best Insurance, Study the Language published in the Winter, 2008 edition of Employment Relations Today. 

Is Your Benefits Broker Leading You Astray? published in the Worcester Business Journal, January 7, 2008.

The Secret that Benefits Brokers Do Not Want Employers to Know in the November, 2007 issue of Employee Benefit Plan Review.

Smaller Companies Can Reduce Cost with Risk Sharing Employee Benefit Plan Review October, 2007

Health plan provisions save businesses cash (IndUS Business Journal Online - August 15, 2007) In the matter of controlling what you pay for your company health insurance, you probably have more flexibility than you may think. Most carriers have a wide range of plan options to choose from, and used creatively, they will help dramatically lower your cost.

"The 14 most commonly asked questions about health insurance self-funding," Article submitted for publication in Benefits and Compensation Solutions Summer, 2007

"To Control Premium Costs, Use Health Insurance Plan Provisions," IndUS Business Journal to be published in Summer, 2007

"Fighting Health Insurance Premium Inflation: What the Smaller Company Can Do" Submitted for publication in Employee Benefit Plan Review, Summer, 2007.

"Is Your Dental Plan Stuck in 1985?" Worcester Business Journal, June 25, 2007.