80. Built Different: The Ethos Story w/ Chelsea Ryckis & Donovan Ryckis

The benefits industry is broken. $37,824. That's the average cost of a family of four on an employer-sponsored health plan in 2026 and it's growing at 9% a year. So how did we get here, and what does it actually look like to fight back?In this episode, host Austin Townend sits down with Chelsea Ryckis (President) and Donovan Ryckis (CEO) of Ethos Benefits for the origin story nobody asked for but everyone needs to hear. From Donovan's background as a fiduciary securities advisor who saw the same conflicts in healthcare and couldn't look away, to Chelsea getting hit in the head with a softball and learning the hard way that you can run but you can't hide from medical debt... this is the story of how Ethos was built different on purpose.Take the next step in your career. Start your CEBS journey today at CEBS.org.https://bit.ly/48k4aeZWhat You'll LearnWhy Donovan left a lucrative securities career to fix a bigger problem in healthcareChelsea's personal experience with medical debt and how it shaped the Ethos missionThe real definition of fiduciary — and the three things it actually requiresWhy there is zero fiduciary standard in insurance (and what that means for you)The $37,824 number every employer needs to hearA claim is a dollar, not a condition — and why that distinction changes everythingThe four things you can do with healthcare risk: reduce, avoid, retain, or transferWhy brokers go straight to the transfer (and how that lines their pockets)How to vet whether your advisor is actually living the fiduciary standard — not just marketing itWhere the industry is headed over the next five years, including PBM legislation and litigationat Connect with Chelsea Ryckis:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-ryckis-8508a192/Connect with Donovan Ryckis:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovanryckis/Connect with Austin Townend:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austintownend/Connect with Ethos Benefits:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethosbenefits/Website: https://www.ethosbenefits.com—Finished with the content? Claim your CE credit here:https://ideas.ethosbenefits.com/continuing-educationSHRM:Ethos Benefits is recognized by SHRM to offer professional development credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP® recertification activities.HRCI:Ethos Benefits is approved to offer HRCI® recertification credits for this program. This program has been approved for 0.5 - 1 HR (General) recertification credit(s) toward aPHR®, PHR®, SPHR®, and GPHR® certification.#EmployeeBenefits #HealthcareCosts #FiduciaryDuty #BusinessOfBenefits #EthosBenefits #HRLeadership #GroupHealthInsurance #BenefitsStrategy #HealthcarePlanning #PBM #ERISA #HealthBenefits #EmployerHealthcare #BenefitsBroker #OpenEnrollment #HealthcareCostContainment #SelfFundedHealthPlan #HRPodcast #BenefitsPodcast #PlanSponsor