Read Dr. Betancourt's Bio
Hear Message from Dr. Betancourt

Lessons from 2020: COVID-19, Racism and Structural Equity

Dr. Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH
Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer
Massachusetts General Hospital

This year has been difficult, and transformational, as it relates to health equity. The dual pandemics of COVID-19, and the resurgence of racist events, have led to a major reckoning about how health care, and society, can be more just and equitable. This presentation will share key lessons from these experiences.

Dr. Larry Garber, MD
Reliant Medical Group

 
Marianna Gil
Director of Health Benefits
City of Boston

Dr. Kristi Henderson 
DNP, NP-C, FAAN, FAEN
SVP, Innovation & Telehealth
Optum

Moderated by
John Jesser
President of Clinical Solutions
Amwell

The Emerging Value of Telehealth – A Panel Discussion with a Telehealth Provider, an Employer and a Physician

The pandemic and resulting health crisis have forced employers and employees alike to seek alternative ways to access healthcare services. Telehealth has experienced explosive growth and provides a convenient and cost-effective way to receive services without leaving home or place of employment.

This session will discuss various models of Telehealth services, what place these services have in the overall scope of healthcare and where we believe this industry will move in the future. Hear perspectives from all sides of this issue — from Telehealth Provider to Physician to Employer — and learn what best practices you can employ moving forward.

Ashley Whillans 
Behavioral Scientist,
Assistant Professor at
Harvard Business School
Author

Time Smart: Scientific Strategies for Reclaiming Your Time & Living a Happier Life

Four out of five working adults report feeling like they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Time-poor people experience less joy each day. They laugh less. They are less healthy, less productive, and are more likely to divorce. In one survey of 2.5 million Americans, time poverty produced a stronger negative effect on happiness than being unemployed. How can we escape time traps that keep us from being the employee, leader, partner, and human being that we strive to be?

In this session, learn scientifically based strategies for improving “time affluence.” These strategies can free up seconds, minutes, and hours that, over the long term, become weeks and months that you can reinvest in positive and productive activities.

Hear about the factors that the speaker has observed — based on research with leaders, consultants, and 30,000 global employees — that are making all of us “time poor” during the COVID-19 pandemic; and strategies for building healthy habits, rituals, breaks, and boundaries to make this “forced experiment” in working from home more sustainable.

 Shawna Oliver
NA Benefits Strategy Lead
Manulife – John Hancock

A Behavioral Health Care Initiative – An Employer Case Study

Long before COVID-19, John Hancock planned to launch a new Employee Behavioral Health Initiative for 2020. Like many, never could they have imagined that just a few months later, behavioral health would be at the forefront of their overall employee well-being program.

This case study will explore: why they identified their behavioral health initiative as significant (prior to COVID-19); guidance provided to employees and family members for navigating/accessing/coordinating care through their medical plan/EAP/other onsite/near site partners; eliminating the stigma of behavioral needs within their multiple employee communities; and eliminating copayments and coinsurance for behavioral health care.  These topics and more will be shared by Shawna.   

 Signed by Julian Edelman

Exhibit Hall

Ample time will be allotted throughout the 2-day conference (before, during and after) to visit and explore the Exhibit Hall to learn the latest in benefits-related products and services, live video chat with exhibitors and qualify to enter a drawing for a New England Patriots football signed by Julian Edelman!

Read Joyce Russell's Bio
Hear Message from Joyce Russell

Go Above and Beyond: Always Put a Cherry on Top!

Joyce Russell 
President of the Adecco Group US Foundation
Author of Put a Cherry On Top: Generosity in Life and Leadership

In the spirit of finding a silver lining in 2020, one thing we can all agree on is the importance of relationships, and how those relationships can help carry us through all things in life.  Joyce Russell, President at Adecco Group US Foundation, and author of Put a Cherry on Top: Generosity in Life and Leadership will share personal stories and proven leadership lessons, as well as what it looks like to “put a cherry on top” in this new environment.

Sondra McVeigh
Head of Product Deployment
Empower Retirement

Seth Serxner
Chief Health Officer
SVP Population Health
Optum

Financial Wellness for Challenging Times

Employees continued to experience unprecedented levels of stress. One of the chief drivers of stress, even prior to the pandemic, is financial stress – stress over current finances, savings goals and retirement readiness – which impacts overall well-being.  According to a recent industry report, "Employees who feel supported by their employer report feeling more successful, valued, engaged, productive and respected. Unsupported, those feelings drop significantly." This session will help identify financial wellness resources, approaches and solutions you can implement that will support more stability and better business outcomes.

Tracey Crowell
Director, Benefits
VF Corporation

Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D.
CEO
Child Care Aware® of America

Mary Jane Williams
Vice President, Total Rewards
HarborOne Bank

Moderated by 
Jennifer Sabatini Fraone 
Director of Corporate Partnerships Boston College 
Center for Work & Family 

Caregiving During COVID-19 —
Employer Strategies and Community Resources to Help Employees Navigate “Back to School” and “Return to Office”

Back to school and return to office are impacting employees and their families in unprecedented ways. Resources are strained, and employers are considering a variety of caregiving solutions to creatively support employees who have child(ren) or caregiving responsibilities for a child(ren) of any age, pet owners and those with caregiving responsibilities for elderly parents and/or sick family members.

A work and family expert from the Boston College Center for Work & Family will moderate a panel of experts representing marketplace issues trends, employer considerations and solutions. The discussion will be framed within the context of the latest research. This session will address creative strategies and solutions, emerging trends and available resources and solutions to support employees and their families.

Kenneth Ralff
Senior Vice President 
Employee Benefits Office Leader 
Lockton

Mike Smith
AVP, Producer
Northeast Benefits
Lockton

Creativity in Crisis – Workforce Well-being Trends & Solutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our societies, communities, families and ourselves. Employee benefits are no exception. In this session, Lockton experts will discuss how health and welfare benefits strategies and priorities have changed through the lens of our 2020 national benefits survey and multiple pulse surveys conducted throughout the crisis. The focus will be on concrete steps that employers can take to promote and improve employee well-being with an emphasis on emotional and mental health. In addition, the pandemic has caused the largest leap in the digitization of business in history. Have benefits programs kept pace with this massive leap forward in tech? We will conclude discussing a roadmap that employers can implement in 2021 to control these shifting priorities and meet strategic objectives.

Why Employer Healthcare Cost Increases Could Accelerate (October 2020)
David Seltz
Executive Director for the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission

Solutions That Address Cost Drivers (October 2020)
Jeff Levin-Scherz, MD, MBA, FACP
Managing Director and Co-leader of the North American Health Management Practice at Willis Towers Watson

Federal Health Legislation and Regulation (October 2020)
James Gelfand
Senior Vice President, Health Policy, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)