Title: Fiduciary Employee Benefits Consulting Source: https://ethosbenefits.com/ Publisher: Ethos Benefits Summary: Ethos Benefits is an employee benefits consulting firm that accepts fiduciary responsibility for its health plan advice, in writing, and keeps the record. # Fiduciary in writing. Accountability you can see. Fiduciary employee benefits consulting for employers who run on strategy. You run every other part of your business on strategy. Your health plan gets a renewal meeting and another increase. Ethos Benefits is the employee benefits consultant that accepts fiduciary responsibility for its advice on your health plan, in writing, keeps the record that proves it, and builds a plan that does more for your people and costs your company less. [Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) What a fiduciary owes you Strategic Analysis **Sample Manufacturing Co.** 412 employees · Plan year 2027 What we found **$1.18M** in spend the plan can control Prepared by Ethos Benefits Renewal analysis · 2027 **Three ways to fund next year** Carrier renewal, fully insured **+14.8%** Level funded **+6.1%** Self-funded with stop-loss **+2.3%** Recommended, pending committee vote Benefits committee · Q3 minutes Adopted the 2027 contribution strategy Shortlisted 3 of 7 PBMs for the RFP Reviewed stop-loss terms Next meeting · January 14 Fiduciary file **86** /100 Committee charter signed 408(b)(2) disclosures on file ERISA bond in force Ethos deliverables, illustrated with a sample company and sample figures. - **Our fee does not move with your premium.** One fee for health plan advice, agreed in writing before the work starts and disclosed in full. - **Fiduciary, in writing.** We accept fiduciary responsibility for our health plan advice in the engagement agreement. - **No kickbacks on your health plan.** No contingent bonuses, overrides or vendor payments tied to the plan we advise on. ## Recognized by the industry. Listed exactly as awarded, with who won each one. [Every award and all the press coverage](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) - [![Validation Institute Fiduciary Validation seal](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/awards/vi-fiduciary-validation-firm.png) **Fiduciary Validation, Benefits Firm** Ethos Benefits. Validation Institute. 2025](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) - [![Health Value Awards, presented by Validation Institute](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/awards/hva-2026-lockup.png) **Advisor of the Year, Health Value Awards** Donovan and Chelsea Ryckis, two of twelve Charter Fiduciary Advisors. Validation Institute. 2026](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) - [![bip, the official magazine of NABIP, Spring 2025](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/awards/bip-spring-2025.png) **Cover story, bip Magazine** Donovan and Chelsea Ryckis. NABIP, Spring 2025. 2025](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) - [![BenefitsPRO](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/awards/benefitspro.webp) **Advisor of the Year** Chelsea Ryckis. BenefitsPRO. 2024](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) - [![YOU Powered Symposium](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/awards/youpowered-symposium.webp) **Most Innovative Healthcare Consultant** Donovan Ryckis, 2026. Chelsea Ryckis, 2024. 2026](https://ethosbenefits.com/about/press) ## You are a fiduciary of your health plan. Nobody told you. Your 401(k) has a committee, minutes, benchmarking and an advisor who signs a fiduciary acknowledgment. Your health plan is the larger and less predictable spend, and it has a renewal meeting. ERISA does not distinguish between the two: if you sponsor the plan and make decisions about it, you are a fiduciary of it. ERISA §3(21)(A). The duty is the reason to run the health plan the way you already run the retirement plan, and to expect the people advising you to share it. What the duty requires Same duty, two plans - A committee that meets In place A renewal meeting - Minutes kept Every meeting Usually none - Vendors benchmarked On a schedule The renewal quote - How the advisor is paid A disclosed fee Built into the premium - Advisor signs as a fiduciary In writing Declined in the agreement How these plans are typically run. ### In court nowEmployers sued over their health plans, newest first 1. [Oct 20, 2026 **Compass Group loses on tobacco surcharge refunds** Mehlberg v. Compass Group USA](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation#cases) 2. [Oct 8, 2026 **Wells Fargo drug-cost appeal fully briefed** Navarro v. Wells Fargo & Co.](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation#cases) 3. [Sep 14, 2026 **J&J drug-cost appeal awaits argument** Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation#cases) [All 17 cases we track](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation) ## A fiduciary owes your plan three things. Most brokers owe it none of them. Your retirement plan has always been held to these ERISA fiduciary duties. Here they are in plain language, with the section of ERISA that says so. 1 ### Loyalty Act solely in the interest of the plan's participants and beneficiaries. **In practice:** nobody advising the plan should have an interest in it costing more. ERISA §404(a)(1)(A) 2 ### Prudence Act with the care, skill and diligence a knowledgeable person would use. **In practice:** document the alternatives, benchmark the vendors, read the claims, keep minutes. ERISA §404(a)(1)(B) 3 ### Follow the plan documents Run the plan according to the documents that govern it. **In practice:** the plan document, the SPD and the vendor contracts agree, and the plan does what they say. ERISA §404(a)(1)(D) ### Employee benefits broker or fiduciary consultant? | What the plan needs | A typical employee benefits broker | Ethos Benefits | | --- | --- | --- | | Fiduciary responsibility for health plan advice | Usually declined in the agreement | Accepted in writing | | The renewal | The carrier's quote | Alternatives documented and benchmarked | | Claims and pharmacy data | The carrier's summary | Read directly | | Vendor contracts | Reviewed at renewal, if at all | Reviewed on a schedule | | The decision record | Email threads | Committee minutes, kept in one place | How these roles typically work. ## The Ethos Method. How a fiduciary benefits consulting firm works. Your engagement runs the same five phases, in order. We take your plan apart and put it back together, and each phase teaches you something about your own plan before anything is changed. 1 ### Risk Reality - Cost trend - Stop-loss exposure - Contract terms - Who is paid what 2 ### Anatomy of a Plan - Every vendor - Every fee - Every hand-off - On one page 3 ### Invisible Invoice - Compensation - Spread - Quantified - Sourced 4 ### Ground Truth - Claims data - Pharmacy data - Read directly - No carrier summary 5 ### Fiduciary Framework™ - A committee - A charter - Benchmarks - Minutes ## Our executive team. Named in writing. Your plan is served by an Ethos Benefits client team of account executives and account managers, led by these executives. Every benefits advisor on that team works to a fiduciary standard of care. Your current benefit advisor can sign the same acknowledgment. If the answer is a paragraph, you have your answer. ![Donovan Ryckis](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/team/portraits/donovan.jpg) ### Donovan Ryckis Founder and CEO 2026 Advisor of the Year, Validation Institute. 2026 Most Innovative Healthcare Consultant, YouPowered Symposium. Former Series 65 investment advisor. ![Chelsea Ryckis](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/team/portraits/chelsea.jpg) ### Chelsea Ryckis Founder and President 2026 Advisor of the Year, Validation Institute. 2024 Advisor of the Year, BenefitsPRO. 2024 Most Innovative Healthcare Consultant, YouPowered Symposium. ![Patrick Ansara](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/team/portraits/patrick.jpg) ### Patrick Ansara Partner and Director of Client Operations Runs the Ethos Experience: the standing client call, the committee record and the service calendar. ## What it looked like for three employers. Your plan has its own starting point. These employers' published case studies show what changed for their companies and their people. ### Kalos Services HVAC, 400 employees 42% lower healthcare cost. Over $13.5 million saved. One delivery: the hospital pre-authorized $37,594, the plan paid $18,000, and the employee paid nothing. [Read the Kalos case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/kalos-services) ### Axiom Healthcare Senior living, 1,000 employees 27 to38% lower employee premiums, depending on the plan. Plan redesign moved cost off employees without moving it onto the employer. [Read the Axiom case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/axiom-healthcare) ### Hendry Marine Shipyard, 300 employees 77% below billed charges on $50.4 million in claims over five years. A self-funded plan with reference-based pricing paid $11.4 million. [Read the Hendry Marine case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/hendry-marine) Figures as published in Ethos Benefits case studies, with client permission. - > The reality is, if this industry worked well, there’d be no need for Cost Plus Drugs. There’d be no need for Ethos… We’re here because of the information asymmetry. **Mark Cuban** Founder, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. On Business of Benefits, Episode 75. [Watch the episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HGlqOeHxcw) - > The numbers spoke for themselves. We were able to lower deductibles and decrease employee premiums by 27 to 38% depending on the plan. The service we’re getting from Donovan and his team is just tremendous. **Brenda Kruse** CFO, Axiom Healthcare Services [Read the Axiom case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/axiom-healthcare) - > There’s no legal requirement for them to act in your best interest. And once you understand that… everything starts to make sense. **Bryan Orr** President and Co-Founder, Kalos Services [Read the Kalos case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/kalos-services) - > I said there is absolutely no way, you guys are nuts, and it sounds too good to be true. So I decided that I needed to learn. We took an EOB from one of my employees, ran it through what it would be through reference-based pricing, and the light bulb went on. **Stephanie Porrino** Former HR Director, Hendry Marine Industries [Read the Hendry Marine case study](https://ethosbenefits.com/results/hendry-marine) ## The Fiduciary Framework™. A business plan for your benefits. Your benefits get the same plan as the rest of your business: three to five years out, measured every quarter. Your committee sets the goals and tracks the numbers against them. Ethos builds the plan with you, reports against it and keeps the record of every decision. - **Goals for the plan** What the plan has to do for your people and for your budget, agreed by your committee. - **KPIs and targets** Cost, trend, claims and pharmacy spend, each measured against a target you set. - **A three to five year plan** The direction for funding, vendors and plan design, year by year. - **Quarterly reviews** Results against target, reviewed with your committee every quarter. - **Committee record** Every decision, filed with its minutes. [See the Fiduciary Framework™](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-framework) ## The record your team keeps. Your plan finally has a memory. Most benefits programs run on inboxes, last year's deck and a renewal call. Your Ethos team keeps every file, number and decision about your plan in the Ethos Fiduciary OS, in one place, year after year, and you can ask it anything. [Tour the Fiduciary OS](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os) - ### Your files, KPIs and history **Today.** Files in inboxes, KPIs in last year's deck, no trend line and no benchmark. **With Ethos.** Every file, KPI, benchmark and trend in one place, kept for every plan year. - ### How decisions get made **Today.** The renewal is decided on a call, and the reasoning is never written down. **With Ethos.** A formal review and decision process, with the reasoning in your fiduciary file. - ### Answers to plan questions **Today.** Plan questions mean digging through PDFs or waiting a day for your broker. **With Ethos.** Ask any plan question across every line of coverage and get the cited answer. Coming soon [![Fiduciary file screen: the committee self-assessment score, plan years kept separately and archived, and scored Fiduciary Framework™ items. Sample data.](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/portal/11-fiduciary-file.jpg)](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) - A self-assessment on the Ethos Fiduciary Framework™, scored every quarter - Charter, meetings, minutes and decisions, with the reasoning recorded - Each plan year kept separately and archived for at least six years [See the fiduciary file](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) [![Documents screen: drop-in upload, documents on file, items needing an update or missing, and a library filtered by line of coverage. Sample data.](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/portal/03-documents.jpg)](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#organized) - Drop in a stack of files and Ethos AI sorts each one by plan and type - Know right away what's on file, out of date or missing - Filter by medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, life and disability [See the document library](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#organized) [![Compliance calendar screen: requirements that apply, what is done and due, and each deadline with its owner and status. Sample data.](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/portal/12-compliance-calendar.jpg)](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) - Notices, ERISA, ACA, CAA, HIPAA, testing and filings in one calendar - See what's due in the next 45 days and who owns it - Add every deadline to your own calendar [See the compliance calendar](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) [![Renewal screen: decision timeline, how the increase breaks down, a cost sharing slider and four funding scenarios side by side. Sample data.](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/portal/06-renewal.jpg)](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) - What drove the increase, and how much Ethos negotiated off - Model cost sharing and see the paycheck impact first - Approve a scenario and send leadership the summary [See renewal decisions](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#decisions) [![Ask Ethos screen: plain-language answers about the renewal, each citing the plan document and page it came from, with the account executive joining the thread. Sample data.](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/portal/02-ask-ethos.jpg)](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#ask) - Plain-language answers across every line of coverage - Each answer links to the exact page it came from - Your Ethos team sees every thread and steps in when needed [See Ask Ethos](https://ethosbenefits.com/fiduciary-os#ask) Portal screens show a sample company and sample figures, not client results. Features marked Coming soon are in development. ## We publish what we learn. A podcast and two documentaries on who pays. Your team can understand how the plan is priced whether or not you hire us. Chelsea and Donovan Ryckis and their guests cover what employers pay for health plans, who benefits, and how to change it. Real cases, real numbers, no sales pitch. ### The Business of Benefits. A new episode every two weeks. Featured episode · Apr 9, 2026 **Mark Cuban: Your Broker is Lying To You | Episode 75** 1. 2. 3. [Every episode on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@thebusinessofbenefitspodcast) · [Episode notes and transcripts](https://ethosbenefits.com/podcast) ### Documentaries. Two films on who pays. [It's not personal. It's just ~business.~ Healthcare. Documentary, 2024. Produced by Ethos Benefits **It's Not Personal, It's Just Healthcare** How employer health plans are priced, and who pays. Watch the trailer](https://ethosbenefits.com/documentaries/its-not-personal-its-just-healthcare)[![Side Effects May Include: the hidden costs of prescription drugs](https://ethosbenefits.com/assets/photos/doc-side-effects.jpg) Documentary, 2025. Produced by Ethos Benefits **Side Effects May Include** The hidden costs of prescription drugs, and who pays for them. Watch the trailer](https://ethosbenefits.com/documentaries/side-effects-may-include) [Webinar recordings](https://ethosbenefits.com/events) ## Learn the plan. Before the renewal does. Your committee gets plain-English guides to the rules and the money behind an employer health plan, each with its sources, and the newest analysis as we publish it. ### Benefits 101 - [**ERISA vs. non-ERISA** How ERISA and non-ERISA health and welfare plans differ: which plans are exempt, and how reporting, fiduciary duties, claims rules and legal remedies compare.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/erisa-vs-non-erisa) - [**Form 1095-B vs. 1095-C** Form 1095-B vs. 1095-C: who files each ACA form, what each one reports, the deadlines for tax years 2025 and 2026, and how employees receive them.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/1095-b-vs-1095-c) - [**Self funded vs. fully insured** Self-funded vs. fully insured health plans, plus level funding and reference-based pricing, compared on risk, cash flow, data, state law and filings.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/self-funded-vs-fully-insured) - [**How does stop-loss insurance work?** How stop-loss insurance works for self-funded health plans: specific vs. aggregate coverage, attachment points, contract types, lasering and cost.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/stop-loss-insurance) - [**PBM spread pricing** What PBM spread pricing is, a worked example, how to spot it in a pharmacy contract, and what the 2026 federal PBM law changes for employer plans.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/pbm-spread-pricing) - [**The ERISA compliance checklist** An ERISA compliance checklist for employer health and welfare plans, with each document, notice and filing, who it applies to, and when it is due.](https://ethosbenefits.com/benefits-101/erisa-compliance-checklist) ### New and updated - [Insight · Nov 12, 2026 **Choosing an employee benefits broker** How to choose an employee benefits broker, what to ask about pay and conflicts, and why a fiduciary standard of care matters for your health plan.](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/choosing-an-employee-benefits-broker) - [Insight · Nov 12, 2026 **ERISA health plan litigation** ERISA health plan lawsuits over drug prices, PBM contracts, tobacco surcharges and voluntary benefits. What each case alleges, where it stands, and what to do.](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/erisa-health-plan-litigation) - [Insight · Nov 12, 2026 **How employers can lower healthcare costs** How employers can lower healthcare costs without raising deductibles, from pharmacy and large claims to site of care, and what Kalos Services did.](https://ethosbenefits.com/insights/how-to-lower-healthcare-costs) [Everything in Learn](https://ethosbenefits.com/learn) ## Questions employers ask first. Am I a fiduciary of my company's health plan? If you sponsor an ERISA-covered plan and make decisions about it, yes. ERISA §3(21) defines a fiduciary by function, not title. Is my benefits broker a fiduciary? Usually not, and usually by contract. Most agreements state the firm is not a fiduciary. Ethos provides a signed acknowledgment in its engagement agreement. What does a well-run renewal look like? Alternatives documented, vendors benchmarked, compensation disclosures reviewed, claims read directly, and a committee decision with minutes. What is the difference between an employee benefits broker and an employee benefits consultant? A broker places coverage and usually declines fiduciary responsibility in the agreement. An employee benefits consultant like Ethos Benefits accepts fiduciary responsibility for its advice on your health plan, in writing, and documents the alternatives, the benchmarks and the decision. What ERISA fiduciary services does Ethos Benefits provide? Ethos Benefits provides [fiduciary governance](https://ethosbenefits.com/services/fiduciary-governance) for your health plan: a committee charter, documented vendor reviews and benchmarking, minutes and compliance deadlines, with fiduciary responsibility for its advice accepted in writing. How is Ethos paid? A fee for healthcare plan advice, agreed with you in writing, that does not change when your premium changes. ## Start with the plan nobody has shown you. Your Strategic Analysis begins with your broker agreement and your plan documents, then the plan itself: what it costs, where the risk sits, and what a committee would decide with the full picture. [Request a Strategic Analysis](https://ethosbenefits.com/strategic-analysis) [Call (407) 803-4710](tel:+14078034710) ### The Ethos Edition One email a month on what is changing in employer health plans, written for the person who signs the check.