About Us
Group Benefits LLC is an independent, national insurance and financial services firm created through the merger of like-minded, high-performing, entrepreneurial firms across the United States.
Why work with Alera Group? Because we provide the best of both worlds - national scope combined with local service. Our mission is to transform the client experience by providing a greater depth and breadth of resources, innovative thinking and constant collaboration, while maintaining strong local relationships.
Meet Our Team
Connie Stephens
Client Services Coordinator
Connie joined Alera Group formerly Group Benefits LLC in 2018 as Client Services Coordinator. She has over 19 years of Human Resources experience, with an emphasis on employee benefits support. With that perspective, she is committed to problem-solving, information processing, and providing top-notch service to our clients.
Debbie Vopel
Lead Client Services Coordinator
Debbie joined Alera Group formerly Group Benefits LLC in 2016 as Client Services Coordinator, bringing over 25 years of industry-related experience to the team. Her knowledge, attention to detail, personable skills, and the energy she brings to each client interaction demonstrates her deep commitment to ensuring a world-class experience for every client.
Lee Williams
Senior Data Scientist
Lee’s primary focus at Alera Group is to provide information to people in a way that they understand through data analytics, detailed financial analysis and predictive models for future medical plan performance and investment tools. He partners with employers to analyze health risk factors of employee populations alongside historical medical spend to identify areas of opportunity.
Resources
Hope House: Children’s Museum of Memphis After Dark Sponsor
We are a proud sponsor of the annual Hope House fundraiser – 2023 Children’s Museum of Memphis after Dark. All proceeds from the night benefit children and families affected by HIV and poverty in the Memphis area.
Hope House is a local organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by HIV and poverty. Since opening their doors more than 20 years ago, Hope House has impacted thousands of lives, helping families move out of poverty and preparing children for success in kindergarten and beyond. Hope House is a place individuals and families can depend on, lean on, and trust. Their vision is to be the catalyst for life-long change in the lives of those affected by HIV and poverty.
Click here to learn more about Hope House
Christ Community Health Services
Group Benefits LLC is proud to be a corporate partner with Christ Community Health Services.
Christ Community is one of the largest Faith-Based health centers in the nation and the largest provider of healthcare to the underserved in Shelby County providing care to over 58,000 unique individuals across eight locations in Shelby County and Jackson Tennessee.
Group Benefits LLC was a sponsor of their 25th anniversary celebration.
Click Here to view the Christ Community Health Services website
RIP Medical Debt: Alera Employees Relieve $450,000 of Debt Across TN
Help alleviate medical debt at Give a Fresh Start. National insurance brokerage firm teammates offer assistance with mounting debt in 2020.
Group Benefits LLC, an Alera Group Company, today announced that the employees of Alera alleviated $450,000 of medical debt across the state of Tennessee in December. This gift is part of more than $18 million in healthcare debt being relieved by Alera Group employees for struggling households across the country. Alera is one of the youngest and fastest growing privately-held, national insurance brokerage firms in the country.
Alera employees worked directly with the debt-forgiveness nonprofit, RIP Medical Debt, to identify individuals and families with outstanding healthcare-related bills in more than 200 cities located in 35 states across the country. Founded by two former debt collectors, RIP is able to purchase medical debts for those most in need in bundled portfolios for a fraction of their face value. One dollar donated relieves $100 of medical debt on average.
“As we reflect on the struggles of 2020, this gift comes straight from the heart of our Alera employees. Our teams across the country are passionate about giving back directly to the communities in which they live, work and play,” said Tim Finnell, managing partner of Group Benefits LLC, an Alera Group Company. “Medical debt is mounting more than ever and many families right in our backyard are in crisis. Buying and retiring medical debt allows our employees to truly give back and alleviate a worry for many as we enter 2021.”
Rather than waking up to the knocking of a debt collector, thousands of Americans will receive letters of forgiveness to alert them of the gift from Alera employees. These letters will be delivered throughout the winter targeting individuals and families living below 200% of the poverty level.
“It has been truly special watching Alera employees join hands in offering up their own assets and donations to enhance our ability to make an impact on this noble and worthy cause,” Finnell said. “This contribution perfectly showcases one of our core values of collaboration. Our teams always come together to advance thinking for our clients, strategize new solutions for success, but most importantly to help those in need.”
Hope House: Hoedown for Hope Sponsor
Group Benefits LLC is a proud sponsor of the Hoedown for Hope – Hope House’s annual fundraising event. All proceeds from the night benefit children and families affected by HIV and poverty in the Memphis area.
Hope House is a local organization with a mission to improve the quality of life for individuals and families affected by HIV and poverty. Since opening their doors more than 20 years ago, Hope House has impacted thousands of lives, helping families move out of poverty and preparing children for success in kindergarten and beyond. Hope House is a place individuals and families can depend on, lean on, and trust. Their vision is to be the catalyst for life-long change in the lives of those affected by HIV and poverty.
Click here to learn more about Hope House
Church Health Center: Preparing Meals for those in Need
Our Group Benefits LLC team prepared and served over 50 nutritious meals for members of the community.
Church Health Center is the largest faith-based privately funded healthcare organization in the United States, and is the medical home to tens of thousands of uninsured and underserved individuals and families across Shelby County, Tennessee. In fiscal year 2020 alone, Church Health saw more than 18,500 patients and had more than 55,500 patient encounters.
With a network of more than 1,000 volunteer providers and partnerships with congregations, health care institutions, businesses and facilities—in Memphis and across the United States–Church Health fosters health and well-being through clinical services, educational resources, family programs and outreach.
Donations to Ronald McDonald House
The Group Benefits LLC staff provides annual support to Ronald McDonald House.
Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis offers children with pediatric cancer and other catastrophic illnesses undergoing treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and their families a nurturing, family-centered residential community. The House fosters an environment of hope through support services and child-centered activities that encourage children to be children and keep families together near the care they need, always free of charge.
Near the care they need with the family they love.
Click here to learn more about Ronald McDonald House.
Making a Difference in Our Community
The staff of Group Benefits LLC proudly supports many other organizations in our community.
- Ronald McDonald House
- Community Alliance for the Homeless
- Arise2Read
- Mid-South Food Bank
- MIFA
- Salvation Army
- Memphis Union Mission
- Brinkley Heights Urban Academy
- Headsets for Learning
- The Gary Sinise Foundation
Make-a-Wish Sponsor
We are a proud sponsor of the Make-A-Wish event, Wine for Wishes. Through ticket sales, sponsorships, and the proceeds from a silent auction, the Associate Board will raise funds to grant life-changing wishes to local children battling a critical illness.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
Preparing for Open Enrollment: How to Engage and Educate Your Employees on Their Total Benefits Package
In this session, our experts will share guidance on setting yourself up for success during Open Enrollment.
August 21, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Q3 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
September 9, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Q4 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
November 4, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Legal Alert: Enforcement of the HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule Vacated Nationwide
On June 18, 2025, a federal district court in Texas vacated a significant portion of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy (“Final Rule”), which was implemented on April 24, 2024, on a nationwide basis. The Final Rule, which was implemented in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (effectively overturning Roe v. Wade), was intended to protect the ability of individuals to receive reproductive health care when the care is provided lawfully under the circumstances without risk of an individual’s identity or health information being disclosed for purposes of state criminal, civil or administrative investigations (or for imposing liability related to lawfully providing or obtaining reproductive healthcare).
July 21, 2025
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Employee Benefits
Legal Alert: Employee Benefits Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 3, 2025, Congress passed a reconciliation bill (the “Reconciliation Act”) previously named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but subsequently redesignated “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.”
July 8, 2025
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Benchmarking: How Do Your Organization’s Employee Benefits Offerings Stack Up?
For the sixth consecutive year, Alera Group is offering a valuable piece of market intelligence: our Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report. We’ll introduce the 2025 edition on its release date, June 26, with a one-hour webinar beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
June 5, 2025
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Reminder: PCORI Fees Due By July 31, 2025
Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2025 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) via Form 720, which was recently updated and released by the IRS.
June 3, 2025
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