In episode 198, Coffey talks with Kelly Baringer about 2025 trends in employee health benefits and strategies for reducing healthcare costs. They discuss value-based care and directed networks that steer patients to providers with better outcomes; consumer-driven healthcare plans with transparent pricing and no balance billing; the rising costs of pharmacy benefits and hidden broker compensation; and fiduciary responsibilities of HR professionals when managing employee healthcare plans.

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Kelley Barringer

Kelley Barringer is a Vice President of Employee Benefits Consulting, with the Employee Benefits team located in Dallas, Texas. She serves as a senior client executive, client advocate, and key liaison with our clients’ executive teams, human resources, benefits, finance, and operations contacts. She provides oversight of the USI service team including overseeing the day-to-day needs of clients and is responsible for conducting periodic dialogue with key client contacts to assume overall satisfaction with the USI team. She joined USI in 2022 and has been in the insurance industry since 2015. Prior to USI, Kelley worked at Ardent Solutions/Alera Group for 6.5 years in employee benefits. Before that, she worked in technology sales and services at Canon USA. Kelley spent time in the medical device industry working with physical therapists and in operating rooms with implants. She has her B.S. in Exercise Science from (UTA) The University of Texas at Arlington and achieved her M.B.A. through (SMU) Southern Methodist University’s executive program. She was a Specialist in the US Army Reserve’s 441st Ambulance Unit, deployed to Camp Buehring, Kuwait as a medic. Kelley is involved in her local SHRM chapter, DallasHR, as a board member, and is a Tri-chair for the Richardson Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Leadership Committee. She and her oldest daughter are involved with their local National Charity League chapter. She also sits on the City of Richardson’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Board. Kelley was raised in Garland, TX and resides in Richardson, TX. She and her husband have three school-aged children.

Contact

Kelley Barringer can be reached at https://www.usi.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelleybarringer