Chelsea Ryckis Founder and President
Chelsea Ryckis is the founder and president of Ethos Benefits. BenefitsPRO named her its 2024 Advisor of the Year, and the YouPowered Symposium named her 2024 Most Innovative Healthcare Consultant. She leads plan strategy and benefits committee work for Ethos clients, and teaches other advisors how to run a health plan to a fiduciary standard.
Chelsea grew up in Canada and came to the United States as a Division I athlete at Stetson University. A brain injury during her college sports career ended her plan to attend medical school and gave her a first look at American health care from the patient's side. She took one lesson from it: if something can be done better, it should be. She joined Donovan as a partner in 2017.
Chelsea co-hosts the Business of Benefits podcast and produced the documentary "It's Not Personal, It's Just Healthcare." She speaks at SHRM, HR Florida, BenefitsPRO, ISCEBS and the Florida Alliance for Healthcare Value. She became an American citizen in 2024.
Recognition
- 2026 Advisor of the Year, Validation Institute Health Value Awards
- 2024 Advisor of the Year, BenefitsPRO
- 2024 Most Innovative Healthcare Consultant, YouPowered Symposium
- 2020 Rising Star Award, BenefitsPRO
Chelsea on the stage.
Engagements
HR Florida: A Fiduciary Framework for Managing Employer Healthcare Programs
Speaker
IFEBP and ISCEBS webinar: A Fiduciary Framework for Managing Employer Healthcare Programs
Speaker
SHRM26: Future Proofing Your Health Benefits, Multi-Year Planning and High Performance Program Design
Panelist, with Donovan Ryckis
Webinar: A Fiduciary Framework for Managing Employer Healthcare Programs
Speaker
Florida Alliance for Healthcare Value: The Future of Health Care, Built by Employer Leadership
Speaker
Health Benefits Conference and Expo, Ponte Vedra: A Fiduciary Framework for Managing Employer Healthcare Programs
Speaker
HR Florida, Orlando: 5 Better Questions That Will Transform Your Benefits Renewal Strategy
Speaker
SHRM Annual, San Diego: Health Plan Lawsuits and Employer Fiduciary Duty Explained
Speaker
Speaker, with Donovan Ryckis
BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, Boston: Documentary premiere
Presenter
YouPowered Symposium, Anaheim: Knuckling Down on Fiduciary Responsibility
Speaker
NexGen Advising Conference: Consultative Selling, From Broker to Advisor in Three Steps
Speaker
ISCEBS Symposium: Avoid ERISA Health Plan Lawsuits
Speaker, with Donovan Ryckis
Health Benefits Nation, Nashville: The Changing Role of Advisors
Speaker
Talks Chelsea gives
- A Fiduciary Framework for managing employer healthcare programs
- Health plan lawsuits and employer fiduciary duty, explained
- 5 better questions that will transform your benefits renewal strategy
- Future proofing your health benefits
- Consultative selling: from broker to advisor
To invite Chelsea to speak, email service@ethosbenefits.com with your event, the date, the audience and the topic you have in mind.
Watch and listen.
The captive is the broker's easy button
The captive is the broker's easy button
AI Care Navigation: Simpler for Employees, Smarter for Employers
Fiduciary Unfiltered: November 4th w/ Talia Carbah & Chelsea Ryckis
Benefits Dirty Dozen, Part 2
How to Vet Benefits Vendors
Employer Health Coalitions and Smarter Purchasing
Self-Funded Health Insurance, PBMs and Reference-Based Pricing
Department of Labor Audits Start With Your Process
A Panel Discussion with 2 Employer Case Studies w/ Jaimie Jarvis & Stephanie Porrino | SHRM26
Employee Wellness Programs Built on Data
Built Different: The Ethos Story | Ep. 80 | Chelsea Ryckis & Donovan Ryckis
Stop Ignoring Women's Health Benefits w/ Brittany George | Episode 79
The Real ROI of Mental Health Benefits w/ Chelsea Ryckis | Episode 78
The Doctor Who Cut the Middleman Out of Imaging w/ Cristin Dickerson, Green Imaging | Episode 76
PBM Rebates and Who Really Pays
Written or reviewed by Chelsea
- ACA reporting requirements.ACA reporting for employers: which form you file, deadlines for tax years 2025 and 2026, the December 2024 law changes, and penalties for late or wrong returns.
- What is aggregate stop-loss insurance?Aggregate stop-loss caps a self-funded plan's total claims for the year. How the aggregate attachment point is set, monthly vs. annual aggregate, and the ASD.
- Broker compensation disclosure.What the CAA's broker compensation disclosure rule requires, which brokers and consultants must disclose, the deadlines, and what to ask your broker.
- Employee benefits management.What employee benefits management covers, how it differs from strategy and administration, and a month-by-month calendar for overseeing your plan.
- What is Form 1095-B?What Form 1095-B is, who issues it, the line 8 coverage codes, who receives it, state mandates, the furnish-upon-request option and 2026 and 2027 deadlines.
- NQTLs and mental health parity.What an NQTL is, how it differs from a quantitative limit, which employer plans need a written NQTL comparative analysis, and where the 2024 parity rule stands.
- The PCORI fee.What the PCORI fee is, the per-covered-life rate for each plan year, who pays it, how to count covered lives, and how to file Form 720 by July 31.
- What is reference-based pricing?How reference-based pricing works for self-funded health plans, why balance bills happen, where the No Surprises Act helps, and what employers need in place.
- RxDC reporting.What RxDC reporting is, which group health plans must file, who files the P2 and D1 to D8 files, the June 1 deadline, and how to confirm your vendors filed.
- The summary plan description.What a summary plan description is, what ERISA requires it to include, when it must be delivered, and how it differs from the plan document and the SBC.
- Voluntary benefits and fiduciary duty.When employee-paid voluntary benefits become ERISA plans, what the DOL safe harbor requires, and why new class actions name employers and their brokers.
- PBM reform is now law.Federal PBM reform passed in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. What it requires of PBMs and employer plans, when it starts, and what to do now.
See what your plan is really costing you.
A Strategic Analysis starts with your plan documents and your broker agreement, then shows you what your plan costs, where the risk sits, and what a committee would decide with the full picture.