Dive Brief:

• New technologies have led to seismic shifts in work lives, sending repercussions through all business operations -- including healthcare, according to an article at Employee Benefits News.
• Old ways of doing things no longer apply, writes author John Turner, president and CEO of Corporate Synergies, who adds that the idea of standing still is smart strategy has been disproved over and over again the last few years.
• Turner says there are four critical factors that will disrupt benefits in the future: definition of employees; the maturation of the public health insurance marketplaces; rising costs, and the next president.

Dive Insight:

Concerning defining an employee, Turner asks how people who work for "sharing economy" companies get their health insurance. Should they even be considered employees? He cites the recent California Supreme Court ruling that Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors, which he says creates significant questions over whether the company is responsible for the health insurance of tens of thousands of drivers. Will companies like Uber and other, similar businesses provide insurance to these workers? Or, he asks, will they pay the penalty for pushing them to the public exchanges?

Interestingly, as one commentor mentions, Turner leaves out technology as a disruptor, with companies such as Zenefits and others potentially turning employee benefits upside down.