# 65. The New Fiduciary Frontier: Transparency, Litigation & the Future of Employer Health Plans

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/65-the-new-fiduciary-frontier-transparency-litigation-the-future-of-employer-health-plans
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252/65-the-new-fiduciary-frontier-transparency-litigation-the-future-of-employer-health-plans.md
Podcast: [The Business of Benefits Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-business-of-benefits-podcast-6744252)
Published: 2025-11-20T13:00:08+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/65-the-new-fiduciary-frontier-transparency-litigation-the-future-of-employer-health-plans--68649266
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/68649266/65.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2862

## Resource

In this episode of The Business of Benefits, Donovan Ryckis sits down with attorney and national thought leader Alden J. Bianchi to expose one of the most costly and overlooked failures in employer-sponsored healthcare: the illusion of broker transparency. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was supposed to fix hidden compensation. It didn’t. Instead, it created a fiduciary requirement to ask, without ever creating a requirement for brokers to actually tell. Employers are expected to manage fiduciary risk without pricing transparency, claims clarity, or conflict-free advice. Alden brings decades of experience advising Fortune 500 employers, consulting firms, and government agencies on ERISA, fiduciary duty, ACA compliance, transparency regulation, machine-readable files, and emerging litigation. In this conversation, he explains why: CAA compensation disclosures are “an absolute joke” Brokers and ASOs avoid disclosure by redefining themselves Employers are left negotiating blindfolded Current PBM and ASO lawsuits are stalled by standing issues Fiduciary governance needs to mirror 401(k) standards Machine-readable files and AI will change everything Hidden compensation lives in places most employers never look Transparency is worthless without someone who knows how to use the data If you're a CFO, CHRO, HR Director, consultant, or fiduciary of a health plan, this conversation will change how you see the entire benefits ecosystem. What You’ll Learn: Why CAA broker transparency rules failed How hidden compensation still influences broker recommendations Why employers must build fiduciary governance like their 401(k) plans The difference between named vs. functional fiduciaries How data, machine-readable files, and AI tools will reshape oversight Why market concentra…

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