Businessolver® Client Newsletter
12/16/2025
COMING SOON:
The Learning Hub
We’re giving the Tech with Heart Series a glow-up for 2026. The Learning Hub will launch the week of Jan. 6. We’re excited to share great new content in the format you know and love.
If you are registered for the Tech with Heart Series, you’ll be automatically registered for The Learning Hub. If not, keep an eye out for the next edition of The Wire on Jan. 6. There, you’ll find official registration information.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Upcoming Dates to Know
Holiday coverage and your next Wire
We are wishing the happiest of holidays to all our client administrators. We hope you can rest, relax, and enjoy friends, family, and food over the next few weeks. Here’s a reminder that our member services team is offline on December 24, after 2 p.m. CT, and all day on December 25 and January 1.
Additionally, we’ll see you for our next edition of The Wire on January 6.
Lastly, please consider taking a few minutes to complete your Client Pulse before we leave 2025 behind. We’d love to get your perspective on how the year went and how we could help you have an even better 2026.
Product News
Sofia Now Supports After-Hours Service Center Calls
Serving members with greater efficiency and more meaningful responses
Sofia made her long-awaited debut on the phones this week. Sofia now supports after-hours calls made to the Service Center. Upon calling in after-hours, members can speak naturally rather than navigating menu prompts—providing a more intuitive and conversational experience. Sofia will provide succinct, verbal answers that are no longer than 15 seconds to ensure clarity.
If Sofia can’t answer a question, she will direct the member to call back during normal business hours or consult their online Reference Center.
This feature is enabled for all Service Center clients and is currently only available after hours. We are excited to provide a better member experience after-hours with this new feature and to eventually roll out the experience during working hours in 2026.
Want to learn more about Sofia? Be on the lookout for our AI Engagement training in February. We’ll discuss this new feature and so much more. Plus, check out this short deck for more detail.
Expanded Benefits Preference and Benefits Literacy Surveys
Take advantage of these surveys to better understand your population
Member-facing surveys are an important part of the Benefits Insights Dashboard—they provide you member feedback on the enrollment experience, their understanding of benefits, and their benefit preferences.
We’re excited to announce that we’re adding questions to the Benefits Literacy and Benefits Preference Surveys that will go live January 1.
- The Benefits Literacy surveys will now include questions about preventive care, care settings (i.e., emergency room vs. primary care provider), and pharmacies and medication.
- The Benefits Preference surveys will now present questions that gauge member preferences on electable benefits. Previously, the questions only covered benefit programs.
If you’ve enabled the Benefits Literacy survey, new questions will be added automatically. If you want to remove them, work with your client team to do so before January 1.
For the Benefits Preference survey, you’ll need to manually select the new electable benefits questions in Company Access. We recommend including them to better understand which benefits employees want
Data from these new survey questions will begin to show in the Benefits Insights Dashboards in the weeks after January 1.
Check out this guide to learn more about Member Surveys.
Businessolver Wrapped: 2025 Product Enhancements
What a year! With your feedback, lots of hard work, and a dedicated team of Solvers…look what we were able to accomplish in 2025. As we close out the year and are gearing up for next year, take a look at some of the product enhancements we brought you this year.
Member Enhancements
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Multi-Factor Authentication upgrades
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Member Onboarding Guide
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Sofia UI updates
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Live agent chat authentication
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Verification Status Tracker
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Mobile App Branding
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Sofia Enrollment FAQ Upgrades
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Sofia Agentic Upgrades
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Enrollment Content Upgrades
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Enrollment Plan Details and Plan Documents display
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Enrollment Navigation and Panel Redesign
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Member Services appointment scheduling
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Sofia after-hours
MyChoice Accounts Enhancements
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Real time balance widget
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Updated member dashboard
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Debit card replacement and activation updates
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HSA Save option (money market)
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HSA online beneficiary designation
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HSA investment allocation percentage feature
Administrative Enhancements
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Sender Name field for emails
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New Benefits Insights Dashboards: Service Center Performance & Trends, Mobile app, Campaign Analytics, Participation Analytics
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Preferred Names for Members & Dependents
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Enhanced ECB and EDCB Reports
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Reference Center upgrades
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COBRA and Retiree Enrollment Service (CARE)
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Document Juicer
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Updated/additional surveys
Upcoming Sessions:
TODAY at 10 a.m. CT: Businessolver Roundtable // Navigating the 2026 Benefits Compliance Landscape
Join us in an hour for the ultimate compliance quiz challenge, where our expert panelists will face off in a Jeopardy-style competition—and you’ll have a chance to jump in for some high-stakes fun!
What’s in store?
Our expert panelists—Bruce Gillis, Head of Compliance at Businessolver, Brooke Salazar, Senior Director of Compliance at Compliance Dashboard, and Ben Conley, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw—will tackle hot topics like:
- Key 2026 deadlines
- AI in compliance
- Trends & risk management
Here’s the twist: You can jump in, answer questions, and rack up points for prizes! Plus, our Daily Double polls give you a shot at double points.
Join us today
Log in to the Hub
Not registered for the hub yet? Click here to sign up.
Upcoming Events
TBGH & DFWBGH 21st Annual Benefits Forum
Are you attending the Texas Business Group on Health (TBGH) and DFW Business Group on Health (DFWBGH) Benefits Forum tomorrow, Dec. 17? If so, stop by the Businessolver x Rightway booth to say hello!
We’re excited to be a sponsor for this great event. Our booth will have massage chairs available throughout the day. That said, spots are limited, so sign up now! Even if all the spots are taken, be sure to join the waitlist—everyone who signs up, including waitlist participants, will be entered to win a spa gift card for your own luxurious experience beyond the Forum!
What’s New in Compliance?
IRS issues draft publication of the 15-B Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits
The IRS has released a draft of the 2026 Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits (Publication 15-B). This guide explains the tax treatment of common fringe benefits such as commuter assistance, dependent care, and more.
Employers should review these updates to ensure payroll and benefit programs remain compliant in 2026. Changes in fringe benefit taxation can impact reporting requirements and employee communications.
Check out the 2026 draft to learn more.
CMS updates hospital price transparency requirements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized new rules to improve hospital price transparency. Hospitals must now publish actual dollar amounts in their machine-readable files (MRFs), including the median allowed amount (replacing estimated allowed amount) and the 10th and 90th percentile allowed amounts.
Greater transparency could influence health plan pricing and help employees make informed care decisions. Employers may want to monitor these changes as they could affect plan negotiations and employee education.
Read the CMS announcement for more detail.
A Peek at Our Pinnacle Partners: Global Benefits Are Evolving—Here’s What You Need to Know
Check out Benifex’s new global benefits report to see important trends, takeaways, and more
From rising employee expectations to evolving compliance demands, employers are navigating more complexity than ever before when it comes to global benefits. Whether it’s responding to legislation like the EU Pay Transparency Directive, meeting diverse employee needs across regions, or adapting to tighter wellbeing budgets—the pressure is on.
At the same time, the opportunity to deliver value through benefits has never been greater.
Check out Benifex's new report to get the the inside scoop on:
- The five biggest trends shaping global benefits strategy in 2025.
- Why global employers are investing in benefits technology and what’s coming next.
- How leading employers are scaling global benefits.
- And more!
A Peek at Our Pinnacle Partners: A simple, effective way to help your employees protect their pets
PetPartners OnePack PlanTM delivers a modern, best-in-class approach to pet insurance
Employees love their pets—and they want to protect them. PetPartners, our new Pinnacle Partner, believes that offering pet insurance shouldn’t be complicated. Instead, it should work like any other group benefit. Their OnePack Plan has a flat rate, simple setup, and one renewal date. Best of all? It integrates seamlessly into Benefitsolver for hassle-free payroll deductions.
This benefit supports your employee’s emotional and financial well-being while showing your commitment to their whole family. They get access to high-quality coverage for their pets with no age or breed restrictions, access to a 24/7 vet line, and much more. For you, it’s an easy way to enhance your benefits package, boost employee satisfaction, and differentiate your organization in a competitive market.
Ready to make pet insurance part of your benefits strategy? Learn more about PetPartners and how easy it is to add this valuable coverage to your program.