Vetting insurance carriers and benefits vendors is where employers quietly win or lose the year. Most pick on price, then find out what they actually bought at renewal.

In this Behind the Premium roundtable, veteran brokers and a benefits operator break down how to vet carriers and point solution vendors before you sign. We get into the questions that expose a bad fit, where hidden fees and network gaps hide, and who is actually accountable when a plan breaks.

It is built for employers, HR and benefits leaders, brokers, and CFOs who are tired of cycling through the same carriers and expecting a different result. You will walk away with tactics you can use right away: ask for real case studies, pressure test the ROI claims, simplify the employee experience, and move fast when a solution is not working inside ninety days.

The through line is transparency. When employers take control of their plan data and ask harder questions, the savings can be real, often in the range of 15 to 23 percent, without cutting benefits or narrowing access.

Featured voices:

Kody King, host, Behind the Premium

Ken Wosczyna, EBA One

Jon Knudson, Knudson Benefits Group (knudsonbenefits.com)

Jacob Davis, CEO, Weltrio (weltrio.com)

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro: vetting carriers and vendors

01:08 Meet the panel — Ken, Jon, and Jacob

02:39 Why renewal rates keep climbing

04:25 The biggest mistake employers make

05:15 A healthcare renaissance: real transparency

07:27 Point solutions — real value or expensive noise?

07:51 Start with a multi-year plan, not five at once

10:30 The red flag that makes a broker walk away

12:31 Quantifying savings and proving ROI

15:28 GLP-1 carve-outs and testing new trends

21:15 When a rollout backfires

27:07 Ask the questions you are scared to ask

33:47 Aligning on goals: why do you offer insurance?

38:54 The handoff problem — C-suite, HR, and the broker

45:27 Ninety days in and it is not working

48:35 The hot take: go self-managed

49:21 Wrap-up and subscribe

Subscribe for more conversations that pull back the curtain on how benefits really work. If you want to stop guessing at renewal, hit subscribe and follow along.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BehindThePremium

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/behind-the-premium

Can acting skills run a dental practice? Dental practice coach Micky Chorny says "YES!" The best consultants perform, connect, and listen like it's opening night.

Micky trained in acting at NYU. She spent years as a working actress in New York City, then one growth workshop changed her path. Today she runs Aligned Dental Practice, where she has coached hundreds of dental teams on leadership, communication, and the systems that make growth stick.

In this Behind the Bite interview, Kody King and Micky get into her origin story, why acting skills are undervalued in dental practice management, how to hire for potential over experience, and the daily morning huddle that closes gaps before they cost you money.

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Human connection over systems and hacks
00:28 - Meet Micky Chorny
01:16 - Origin story: acting to coaching
01:43 - Personal development epiphanies
02:23 - Moving into dental business coaching
03:17 - Building a consulting career
04:37 - Authentic leadership and communication
05:45 - Shifting from corporate to independent consulting
07:33 - Founding Aligned Dental Practice
09:14 - The limits of formal business education
11:11 - How acting sharpens leadership and engagement
14:38 - Personal development meets operational change
15:01 - Leadership, systems, and empowering people
16:11 - Presence and mental framework
17:27 - Micky's pillars: leadership, people, systems
18:22 - Making management enjoyable
19:10 - Living the brand and honoring your values
20:06 - Owner issues that need outside insight
21:11 - Outside perspective, faster growth
22:15 - Supporting trapped or thriving owners
23:34 - Building trust and managing client expectations
24:22 - Growth mindset for strong practices
27:50 - Beating industry myths with honesty and data
28:56 - Metrics, data, realistic goals
31:13 - Specialists for complex issues
32:03 - Outside perspective reveals hidden challenges
33:00 - Sneaky complexities in practice management
34:19 - Financial health: the overlooked complexity
36:30 - Knowing your limits and referring to specialists
37:30 - Communication habits that hold you back
39:30 - Repeatable processes for growth
41:47 - Active management through agreements and accountability
44:08 - Hiring potential over experience
45:02 - Continuous learning in team building
46:04 - Start with a daily morning huddle
46:55 - Closing remarks

CONNECT WITH MICKY CHORNY
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micky-chorny/
Aligned Dental Practice: https://aligneddentalpractice.com/

FOLLOW BEHIND THE PREMIUM
Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BehindThePremium
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/behind-the-premium

Partnership Disclosure: Behind the Bite is part of the Behind the Premium network, produced in partnership with Dental Skool, a free educational community for dental professionals. This is a promotional collaboration, not a paid sponsorship. Disclosed in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Chris Fogt has coached Team USA down an icy track at 90 miles an hour, where the gap between a medal and fourth place comes down to about three tenths of a second. In this Behind the Premium interview, he sits down with host Kody King to talk about what it takes to build a team that performs when the margin is that thin.

Chris is a three-time Olympian, a 2014 silver medalist in the four-man event, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. He went from high school and college track in Utah to the Olympic podium, and today he is the head coach of USA Bobsled, the team he led at the 2026 Winter Olympics. He came up through the Army's World Class Athlete Program, and he brings that same mix of discipline and drive to how he builds and leads his roster.

IN THIS EPISODE

- How the Army's World Class Athlete Program turns soldiers into Olympic athletes

- Chris's Olympic path: three Games, a 2014 silver medal, and balancing family with active-duty service

- Moving from athlete to head coach, and what he learned from mentor Brian Shimer

- How the team scouts talent from track, football, and other sports

- What separates elite performers: speed, strength, and mental toughness

- Why confidence and early access to sports matter so much for kids

- The youth-sports platform Chris is building for coaches, athletes, and parents

- Training, nutrition, and the small rituals that keep athletes sharp

- Staying competitive when weather and conditions work against you

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction: from military service to Olympic coaching
02:47 - Chris Fogt's Olympic career: events and medals
04:22 - From athlete to coach: mentorship and leadership
06:12 - How Olympic bobsled events are structured
08:29 - Training year-round: challenges and adaptations
10:16 - Nutrition and diet in high-performance sport
11:48 - Post-Olympics recovery: myths and realities
12:42 - How college athletes and military personnel join the team
13:41 - Recruitment combines and scouting new talent
16:32 - The move into coaching: motivation and experience
18:09 - Building team culture
19:07 - Olympic success stories
20:36 - How changing weather affects winter-sports training
22:18 - Building Arena Sports, a youth-sports marketplace
25:08 - Youth sports: confidence, access, and growth
28:41 - Personal work in youth fitness and community
32:01 - Inside Arena Sports: features, safety, and community
36:21 - How to get involved: tryouts and youth sports
37:12 - Final thoughts: patriotism and opportunity

LINKS
Subscribe for more Behind the Premium: https://www.youtube.com/@BehindThePremium
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/behind-the-premium
Chris Fogt, Head Coach, USA Bobsled: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-fogt/
Arena Sports (Chris's youth-sports platform): https://arenasports.space/
Bobsled combines and tryouts (GMTM): https://gmtm.com/
Army World Class Athlete Program: https://www.armywcap.com/
USA Bobsled & Skeleton: https://www.usabs.com/
Produced in partnership with Weltrio: https://weltrio.com/